Crimebuster
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Post by Crimebuster on Jan 25, 2016 1:00:06 GMT -5
Valentine's Day is nearly upon us. Plus I'm really bored. So I'm starting a review thread of classic SIlver Age and Bronze Age romance comics. Most of these will be DC, and frankly, I probably won't post in this thread very often. But I have more than a full short box of romance comics that I haven't read yet, so I figure I might as well post my thoughts as I go. I'm just going to start right at the front of the box and read whatever it happens to be. Since the primary box is all DC stuff, the winning comic turns out to be... Falling in Love #54
November, 1962
Story One: An art model is in love with the instructor who uses her for his lessons. But he ignores her! Wracked with anguish, she dates one of his students, leading to misunderstanding and woe. And it also leads to this top notch panel:  Heartbroken over the teacher's blindness to her feelings, she quits. He then hires her as a personal model for one of his own paintings, but she quits that too. When he asks what her deal is, she pitches a fit that involves making out with him. Then the lights go on in his head and he figures out what's what. Luckily, he loves her too! You dumb fools, so much wasted time! At least now that have the rest of their lives to make up for their mistake. THE END! Story Two: Holy crow, this one is a doozy. A gal named Mary starts seeing this hot guy all over town, staring at her. It's kind of exciting when it's not being wicked creepy. Finally, he introduces himself; his name is Curtis, and soon enough, they're in love! So much so that Mary is finally able to get past her secret heartbreak: not another boy, but rather the untimely death of her big sister three years earlier. Bolstered by Curtis's love, Mary finally gets the courage to look through her sister's belongings, and discovers something shocking: Curtis is actually John, her sister's fiance! She confronts him and he's like, yeah, I was following you around pretending to be a different guy, but now that I know you, I actually love you for yourself, not just because you look exactly like your dead sister who I was really in love with:  Mary, for her part, does not believe him. Good on you, Mary. He begs her for another chance, and she says... well, maybe someday she'll consider it. and that's THE END! Wow. Just wow. Story Three: Boy, I thought nothing could top the last story, but let's turn the page for a humdinger. Brenda is an aging movie star. She tries to get a role, but the producer won't give her the part, and he goes on a psychologically abusive rant about how she's a heartless monster who has never loved anyone, which he knows because he's in love with her and she never returned his affection. So she can go sit and spin because she's not a real woman at all. Confidence destroyed by this passive aggressive tirade, the emotionally devastated Brenda soon falls for a young wannabe actor. She goes right over the edge into full obsession mode:  Unfortunately, it turns out he is just using her in order to meet the big shot producer. Publicly humiliated, Brenda crawls back to the producer, who says that now that she's had her heart broken, she's finally right for the part - and for the part she should have been playing all along, his lover. With no other options left, the cowed and defeated Brenda agrees. A tale of emotional abuse in three acts. THE END!! Story Four: Another lovelorn lady starts fantasizing about a dude in a travel poster and literally goes out of her mind:  She finally books a vacation to the destination on the poster hoping to meet him. Amazingly, she does, and they totally do it. But then dream turns to nightmare when she sees him with another woman, and in a fit of jealousy she leaves. Luckily for her, he tracks her down and true love wins out! THE END!!! Notes: There are no story credits for any of these stories. The cover, which is also used as the splash for the fourth story, is by Jazzy John Romita. I would swear on a stack of bibles that the first story has art from Mike Sekowsky, and that seems to be right according to the GCD. They have no writers listed, but the art credits are listed like so: Story One: Mike Sekowsky and Mike Peppe (inks) Story Two: Bill Draut Story Three: Bernard Sachs Story Four: Werner Roth and John Romita (inks) I kinda dug the Werner Roth art; it had just a hint of formal stylization that made it interesting. The stories were completely batshit nuts, of course, but I expect no less. That's why we read them, after all. Besides the stories, there were two other features: a two-page advice/lterr column by "Carol Andrews," where she gives advice like telling girls not to reveal their feelings to boys because boys like a sense of conquest and you need to maintain the mystery; and a one page fashion spread:  My Grade: B. The second and third stories were real winners. That's the stuff! |
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Jan 25, 2016 1:20:04 GMT -5
Great thread CB Never collected romance books but this past summer I picked up this book from the library and really enjoyed it  IDW published it and its a great compendium of golden and atomic age romance tales.“I Fell for a Commie!”, “Love of a Lunatic!”, “Yes, I was an Escort Girl!”, “Love, Honor and Swing, Baby!”, Gangster’s Girl”, “Too Fat to Frug!” How can one resist this lineup. And much more |
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Crimebuster
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Post by Crimebuster on Jan 25, 2016 1:43:09 GMT -5
Falling in Love #88
January, 1967
Story One: A dude and a gal kinda/sorta meet, if you can call looking at each other across a room "meeting." That's enough for Tina, though; she falls in love with him, finds his address in the phone book, and writes him a letter expressing her undying love. As one does. Naturally. So, Gene calls her the next day, they have a hot date and make out. Tina again expresses her love, and Gene's like, whoa, sister. Let's slow that roll. So Tina breaks up with him! Well, that was over fast. Except. Then, she moves to Rome. And one day, she finds a sculpture of her head in a store window. Turns out Gene is also living in Rome, and he's working through his feelings of rejection one creepy statue at a time. They reunite and vow never again to part, because apparently, they are both total psychos. THE END!! Story Two: Janey is a naive girl who relies on her cousin Carol for guidance in love. Which is a really dumb thing to do, because Carol is a man-hating harridan who drives everyone off to "protect" Janey. Even though this is obvious, Janey doesn't cotton to it until a bro named Sam shows up and exposes Carol for the witch she figuratively is. Sam and Janey then properly make out. True love! THE END! Story Three: Joan is a good time girl; she likes guys, she just doesn't want to get attached. That changes when she falls for Denny, but even after they've been dating for weeks, he still just won't seem to return her affection. It really starts getting to Joan:  Eventually, though, he loosens up and they totally start doing it. So things are great, until Joan has to go on a month-long business trip. I mean, don't go crazy here, she's a secretary, of course. But still, she's gone. And when she comes back, stark reality hits: Denny was just using her to get close to get "best friend" Brenda. Brenda gloats about this on the phone, and in person, inviting Denny over so she can watch Denny smash Joan's heart to pieces. Denny admits he was using Joan all along just to meet Brenda - but then he reveals that it backfired and he accidentally fell in love with Joan anyway! So it's Brenda who gets her heart smashed! The moral of the story: these three people are all total assholes and deserve to make each other's lives total hell. THE END!! Notes: The cover is signed by the great Jay Scott Pike. The other credits are iffier, from GCD: Story One: inks by Bernard Sachs Story Two: no idea Story Three: art by Carl Pfeufer Additionally, there's a sweet two page fashion spread by Tony Abruzzo:  This isn't the only reference to mods. There's a fantastic text page that talks about the introduction of a new phenomenon in New York City: discos. And as part of this, it makes reference to Andy Warhol's experimental films. It's a surprisingly interesting glimpse into the changing NYC scene of the mid-late 60's:  And there's another iffy advice column from Carol Andrews. My Grade: C+. Not nearly as fun (read: insane) as #54 was.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jan 25, 2016 6:19:08 GMT -5
Story Two: Holy crow, this one is a doozy. A gal named Mary starts seeing this hot guy all over town, staring at her. It's kind of exciting when it's not being wicked creepy. Finally, he introduces himself; his name is Curtis, and soon enough, they're in love! So much so that Mary is finally able to get past her secret heartbreak: not another boy, but rather the untimely death of her big sister three years earlier. Bolstered by Curtis's love, Mary finally gets the courage to look through her sister's belongings, and discovers something shocking: Curtis is actually John, her sister's fiance! She confronts him and he's like, yeah, I was following you around pretending to be a different guy, but now that I know you, I actually love you for yourself, not just because you look exactly like your dead sister who I was really in love with: Mary, for her part, does not believe him. Good on you, Mary. He begs her for another chance, and she says... well, maybe someday she'll consider it. and that's THE END! Wow. Just wow. Story Three: Boy, I thought nothing could top the last story, but let's turn the page for a humdinger. Brenda is an aging movie star. She tries to get a role, but the producer won't give her the part, and he goes on a psychologically abusive rant about how she's a heartless monster who has never loved anyone, which he knows because he's in love with her and she never returned his affection. So she can go sit and spin because she's not a real woman at all. Confidence destroyed by this passive aggressive tirade, the emotionally devastated Brenda soon falls for a young wannabe actor. She goes right over the edge into full obsession mode: Unfortunately, it turns out he is just using her in order to meet the big shot producer. Publicly humiliated, Brenda crawls back to the producer, who says that now that she's had her heart broken, she's finally right for the part - and for the part she should have been playing all along, his lover. With no other options left, the cowed and defeated Brenda agrees. A tale of emotional abuse in three acts. THE END!! Crud, that's some intense stuff for impressionable young readers. |
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Post by Icctrombone on Jan 25, 2016 6:50:09 GMT -5
This is better than coffee.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2016 9:48:31 GMT -5
Wtf is all this?  You members here can post some crazy, suck-you-in stories and reviews. These reviews right here make me want to read romance comics. I've got to have that messed up junk in my life. Those stories sound so damn creepy. How could I not want to read that?? |
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Post by DubipR on Jan 25, 2016 11:30:19 GMT -5
Just a quick plug for an amazing book (if you can find it), Jeanne Martinet's awesome Truer Than True Romance is a hoot! Deleting all the script, Martinet makes a new story that's up to date and funny as hell   I'll post actual comics a bit later on... |
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Post by MDG on Jan 25, 2016 13:37:14 GMT -5
Great thread CB Never collected romance books but this past summer I picked up this book from the library and really enjoyed it IDW published it and its a great compendium of golden and atomic age romance tales.“I Fell for a Commie!”, “Love of a Lunatic!”, “Yes, I was an Escort Girl!”, “Love, Honor and Swing, Baby!”, Gangster’s Girl”, “Too Fat to Frug!” How can one resist this lineup. And much more My son gave this to me for xmas--I'd read a couple of the stories before, in reprints. Unfortunately, few live up to the promise of their titles. |
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Crimebuster
CCF Podcast Guru
Making comics!
Posts: 3,958
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Post by Crimebuster on Jan 25, 2016 13:54:46 GMT -5
Wtf is all this? You members here can post some crazy, suck-you-in stories and reviews. These reviews right here make me want to read romance comics. I've got to have that messed up junk in my life. Those stories sound so damn creepy. How could I not want to read that?? I might have some doubles somewhere I can send you, I'll check. I know I used to have several, since I buy these in bulk lots and there's often overlap. I'll see what i can dig up. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2016 14:16:44 GMT -5
Wtf is all this? You members here can post some crazy, suck-you-in stories and reviews. These reviews right here make me want to read romance comics. I've got to have that messed up junk in my life. Those stories sound so damn creepy. How could I not want to read that?? I might have some doubles somewhere I can send you, I'll check. I know I used to have several, since I buy these in bulk lots and there's often overlap. I'll see what i can dig up. Really??? Thank you!!! You just brightened my day.  |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2016 21:58:58 GMT -5
Wtf is all this? You members here can post some crazy, suck-you-in stories and reviews. These reviews right here make me want to read romance comics. I've got to have that messed up junk in my life. Those stories sound so damn creepy. How could I not want to read that?? This thread is not complete without...  |
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Post by Reptisaurus! on Jan 25, 2016 22:28:09 GMT -5
Heh heh heh. I have never seen that before.
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Jan 25, 2016 22:45:42 GMT -5
A ..ahem.. Golden Age Classic  |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2016 22:57:19 GMT -5
Wtf is all this? You members here can post some crazy, suck-you-in stories and reviews. These reviews right here make me want to read romance comics. I've got to have that messed up junk in my life. Those stories sound so damn creepy. How could I not want to read that?? This thread is not complete without... Yessssss! |
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Crimebuster
CCF Podcast Guru
Making comics!
Posts: 3,958
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Post by Crimebuster on Jan 26, 2016 0:46:13 GMT -5
Falling in Love #95
November, 1967 Story One: Meg sees a dude from across the room and falls instantly in love, and she knows that he's fallen for her with one look as well! Man, is it just me, or was romance apparently much less complicated in the 1960's than it is now? It's just like elves recognizing each other in Elfquest. One complication here: Meg's younger sister Kitten gets it in her head that she's going to win the guy. Meg decides she's going to beat Kitten to the punch, so she goes on the offensive, tracking down the guy - name of Dave - first, and wrangling a date out of it. Meanwhile, Kitten is making her own moves on Dave, and talking constantly about Dave and whatever. So Dave shows up for the date - with Meg - and Kitten is devestated, because Meg never once even mentioned she was interested in Dave. The whole sister warfare thing was going on inside her own head. Dave and Meg go out, and Meg suddenly realizes what a complete ahole she was to her sister. Meg insists that Dave take Kitten out on a pity date instead. Dave does this, but when they return, Meg learns that Dave just used the date as an opportunity to disabuse Kitten of any notion she might have a chance. Kitten pretends to be okay with this, since it means Meg's happiness, and Meg and Dave get it on, secure in the knowledge that they have effectively wrecked the heart of a young girl for no good reason at all other that petty jealousy. THE END!! Story Two: Oof. Denise is a successful model in the big city. She returns to her home town to revel in her success, but her fun is dashed when she runs into Simon. Simon, you see, was once her true love, but a girl named Laura stole him away, so Denise fled to the city. Now she's back and she realizes she still has feelings for Simon. She flees again! But only into the woods; the city is a little too far away this time. Simon comes after her and reveals he wants her back! But Laura overhears him and runs off, weeping. Denise tracks her down and is like, you know, I came here to steal Simon back, but now that I have, I've suddenly realized he's a no good bum. And now that you know it too, we can both go live our lives without worrying about Simon messing them up! Denise pats herself on the back for doing Laura a favor and returns to the city. I wonder how Laura feels about this "favor?" Doesn't matter! THE END!! Story Three: Jean is another girl who has fallen in love with a guy without ever even talking to him, and as always, she's too shy to talk to him. I was about to ask why I never meet girls this easy, but the answer is obvious: because they're too afraid to talk to me. Dammit! The object of her affection is a dude named Billy. So she decides to get the next best thing: a dog, which she names Billy. One day, walking past Human Billy's house, her dog runs off and starts doing it with Human Billy's dog! Jean and Human Billy decide the dogs have the right idea. See how easy that was? THE END!! Story Four: Ah, the cover story. So, Lisa is a dowdy homebody. But one day, she wakes up to realize that somewhere along the way she sprouted some top shelf breasts, and suddenly, all the boys are coming to her yard. She falls in love with one of them, a guy named Peter. But she still finds herself flirting wildly with every dude she sees, because she's just so entranced with the powers of her new rocking bod. One of these guys comes over and starts making out with her - just as Peter arrives! The other guy quickly excuses himself, and Lisa explains that she's a bad person. Peter says, that's okay, because you're hot. And then they do it! THE END!! Notes: Okay, I'll get to the stories soon enough, but we really have to start with the advice column this time, because my god, it is so egregious I don't even know how to react. A girl writes in to say that her boyfriend is constantly going on jealous rages, to the point where she's afraid to even look at other people, keeping her eyes on the ground at all times in order to avoid being screamed at by her enraged, possessive boyfriend. Carol responds by first asking if the boy might have had a bad expereince with a previous girlfriend who cheated on him, and if so, it's up to this girl to prove to him that she truly loves him. But if he didn't have a bad experience before? Well, then it's probably the girl's fault! "is it possible you are somehow responsible for the way he feels? Have you made him quite certain that you are honestly and truly in love with him?" So, yes: the fact that her boyfriend is emotionally manipulative and prone to controlling rages is her fault for not proving to him that she loves him enough! WHAT THE HELL. My god. Anyway, at least Carol does one interesting thing this issue that doesn't involve victim blaming. At the end of the column, she has a little note that reads "I want to alert you to a brand new teenage magazine that's coming your way. It's called TEEN BEAT and it's absolutely the grooviest yet!" The weird thing is, this is not the magazine Teen Beat that we know, but a different magazine with the same title that came out at the same time. Not sure how that happened, but DC quickly changed the title of their series to Teen Beam,which makes no sense; theirs was cancelled, while the other Teen Beat was published for 40 years. Okay, so the stories. We're just a couple issues in and we're already seeing some of the same familiar tropes. In the first tale we get a) sisters who are b) competing for the same man. We're going to see a lot of this! Sometimes it's best friends and not sisters, but this sort of crap happens a lot. And we also get two stories of women who fall in love with someone without even talking to them, and in both cases, the guy feels the same way (though at least in the second, he doesn't fall for her until they meet). This also happens a lot. Plus, there's the "happy ending" - no matter how downbeat the story is, the last panel always gives some kind of ray of romantic hope, even if it's small, or totally incongruous with the rest of the tale. This issue's art credits, courtesy of GCD: Story One: Jay Scott Pike Story Two: Frank Giacoia and Bernard Sachs Story Three: Nick Cardy Story Four: Tony Abruzzo Cover: Tony Abruzzo - as usual, the cover is also the splash page of one of the stories That's a pretty good lineup of artists right there. My Grade: C. The lineup of artists elevates a book that just doesn't have quite enough crazy to really make it stand out. Except for that advice column, which might be the craziest thing I've read yet. So terrible.
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