Tales THRICE Told: TEEN-AGE ROMANCE / OUR LOVE STORY "Summer Must End!" & MARVEL ROMANCE REDUX "I Was a Beach Blanket Barbarian!"

For Some People, the End of Summer Can't Come Fast Enough...

Cover art by Jack Kirby and George Klein

...but this torrid tale by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Vince Colletta just screamed to be told as soon as possible (and not for the reason you think)!

PSST!

Wanna know a secret?

This story, which we're presenting from Atlas' Teen-Age Romance #84 (1961) later appeared in Marvel's Our Love Story #9 (1971) in an extremely-modified form!

The art in Our Love Story was retouched by art director John Romita Sr to "update" the hairstyles and some of the fashions, including the swimsuits...

"Why did they do that?" you may ask...

With sales falling on most non-superhero genres in the late 1960s (including Western and war as well as romance), this "updated reprinting" became a common practice on romance comics until the genre all-but died out in the late 1970s.

Publishers would do a new 6-12 page lead story and use retouched reprints to fill out the book.

Editors felt that:

a) the plots were relatively timeless.

b) updating the art was cheaper than totally-redrawing the story. 

c) the artists were better-utilized doing stuff that sold better (like superheroes).

d) the audience for romance comics, unlike superhero comics, totally-changed every 5-6 years anyway, and wouldn't notice the "old" plots.
But this wasn't the last time the story would be modified.
As you'll see, Marvel could modify more than just the art!
Five years after DC did the snarky Truer than True Romance trade paperback...

..which took old romance comics and rewrote them,.Marvel did a mini-series based on the same concept...except it was written entirely by males!

(The DC book was rewritten by a female writer.)

Here's what they did with "Summer Must End"...an interesting combination of both the Jack Kirby/Vince Colletta original and the John Romita Sr-modified/updated version..

Re-written by John Lustig, who had experience doing similar re-writes of Charlton's First Kiss romance comic series as Last Kiss.
You can check that out HERE!

Next Week...

We Don't Yet Know What We'll Present, But We DO Know...

You'll Cry Your Eyes Out If You Miss It!

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Marvel Romance Redux
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Romance on the Range COWGIRL ROMANCES "Send Back My Love"

Return to the Old West, Where Men were Real  Men, Women were Real  Women...

...and, in those days before e-mail (or even a telephone), a letter to one's true love could take days...or weeks!

This was the final tale in Fiction House's CowGirl Romances #12 (1954), which was, sadly, the final issue of the series.
Unfortunately, the identities of the creatives involved have been lost to the mists of time!

Next week:

We haven't decided yet what story it'll be, but we can guarantee that...

You'll Cry Your Eyes Out if You Miss It!

(Oh, you've heard that, eh?)

And now a word from out sponsor...

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Visit Amazon and Buy...

The Cowboy

A New Western Romance Graphic Novel

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Tales Twice-Told TENDER LOVE STORIES / REALISTIC ROMANCES "I Deceived My Love"

When I first saw this tale in the back of Skywald's Tender Love Stories #3 (1971)...

...I knew it was "off", but I couldn't quite figure out how or why!

With sales falling on most non-superhero genres in the late 1960s (including Western and war as well as romance), this "updated reprinting" became a common practice on romance comics until the genre all-but died out in the late 1970s.

Publishers would do a new 6-12 page lead story and use retouched reprints (updating clothing and hairstyles) to fill out the book.

Editors felt that:

a) the plots were relatively timeless.

b) updating the art was cheaper than totally-redrawing the story. 

c) the artists were better-utilized doing stuff that sold better (like superheroes).
d) the audience for romance comics, unlike superhero comics, totally-changed every 5-6 years anyway, and wouldn't notice the "old" plots.
Note that none of the captions or dialogue were rewritten/updated, so the reference to Hal's sister dying in "the first war" on page 3 didn't make sense to a Vietnam War-era reader in 1971!
(But it would to a post-WWII-era reader because it references World War I!)
Ironically, this tale required more redrawing than most!
Bill Everett not only had to do the usual "updating" on people, but on vehicles and technology as well!
Here's the original, Rafael Astarita-rendered story from Avon's Realistic Romances #4 (1952)...

Though published in 1952, the tale was written/illustrated several years earlier and tossed into this anthology with little concern for timeliness!
In fact, look at the inside cover/contents page...

This story is described in the lower right corner...with an illustration that has nothing to do with the tale!

Next Week:

We don't know yet what we'll present, but we can guarantee...

You'll Cry Your Eyes Out if You Miss It!
And now a word from our sponsor...
Support True Love Comics Tales

Visit Amazon and Order...

Agonizing Love

The Golden Age of Romance Comics
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Love IS a BattleField SECRET STORY ROMANCES "Mary Parker's Man!"

When Your Former Military Commander Becomes Your Boss in Civilian Life...

...things may not go smoothly, on the job or personally!

So, Mary Parker's childhood love turns out to be a sleazy schmuck!

And, as the final panel points out, she's finally found a real man, not a juvenile loser!

Illustrated (and possibly written) by Bill Everett, this never-reprinted story from Atlas' Secret Story Romances #1 (1953) goes in a totally-different direction from what you saw at the beginning of the tale, when Danny was portrayed as far more sympathetic!

Next Week:

We don't know what we'll present..yet,
but we can guarantee that...

You'll Cry Your Eyes Out if You Miss It!

And now a word from our sponsor...
Support True Love Comics Tales

Visit Amazon and Buy...

Agonizing Love

The Golden Age of Romance Comics
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