Move over, Fabio! Here comes Mario!
Illustrator Echo Chernik collaborated with our pal Shutterstock to come up with what romance novels would look like if they feature 8-bit characters instead of beefcakes. Take a look:
The Forbidden peach, starring Mario, Princess Peach and Luigi, with the tagline "All the coins in the Kingdom couldn't get him the one thing he desired most."
Collector of Hearts, starring Link and Zelda "Their love would become the stuff of legend."
Shot to the Heart: Their Dreams of Desire Just Flew South ... Forever, starring
Dog and Duck.
Fierce Moves, starring Ken and Ryu. "They could defend against anything ... except each other"
Chernik said this about this one:
"Street Fighter was fun. I wanted something genuine. I toyed with a fight-scene romance, but finally settled on an image from a very romantic gay-marriage scene, where one man was gripping the other firmly by the lapel. I downloaded textures for the gi collars, and even a hand wrap. To allude to the fight that led up to the romantic situation, I montaged in a wonderful fight scene. Once my montage was in place, I painted on top."
View more over at Shutterstock's blog - Thanks Danny!