Beach Read HONEYMOON OF HORROR "Chapter One - Death in the Night"

Stretch out on your beach blanket (under your umbrella) and enjoy a time-lost gothic romance...
...told in graphic novel form!

Confused?

Writers Sy Reit & Jack Oleck, along with artist Tony DeZuniga, had exactly that in mind when they created this never-reprinted story from DC's Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love #2 (1971)

Be here tomorrow, when we present...

"Chapter Two - Who Am I?"

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

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Showcase Presents

Secrets of Sinister House

...which reprints the four issues of Sinister House of Secret Love, this book's sister gothic romance title, but in black and white!

DARK MANSION OF FORBIDDEN LOVE "Mystery of Dead Man's Cove!"

Before we present our annual multi-chapter "beach read" gothic romance graphic novel next week...

...here's a short novelette to whet your appetite!

This never-reprinted tale from DC's short-lived gothic romance title Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love #2 (1971) was written by Mary Skrenes and illustrated by Don Heck.

Be here on Monday for...

Honeymoon of Fear

(Actually, the story's title is "Honeymoon of Horror", but the Comics Code Authority wouldn't allow the use of the words "Horror" or "Terror" on covers at the time!)

Amorous Education/Wedding Bliss OUR LOVE STORY "A Boy to Marry!"

Our final Amorous Education entry until September...

...involves graduation and the choices made after it, as this cover by John Buscema and inker John Verpoorten shows!

Written by Stan Lee, penciled by Gene Colan and inked by Dick Ayers, this tale from Marvel's Our Love Story #8 (1970) shows not going to college has its' benefits...perhaps not the message Stan meant to send...

It's also a perfect segue into our theme for June...Wedding Bliss, all about the actual ceremony when two souls are bonded into one..but in romance comics it doesn't always go smoothly, as you'll see starting next week!

Next Week...

We Don't Yet Know What We'll Present!

But, We Can Guarantee That...

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

(Yeah, we know you've heard that before, but it's true!)

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Agonizing Love
The Golden Age of Romance Comics
(BTW, note she's wearing a wedding dress!)

Amorous Education TENDER LOVE STORIES "Campus Crusader in Love!"

Good Deeds or Good Loving...

That's the choice Christine has to make when her love of social justice and her love for her long-time friend come into conflict...

Unfortunately, none of the creatives were credited, so the writers and artists are regrettably, unknown.

However, the cover art is clearly inked (and probably penciled) by John Severin.

This cover-featured tale from Skywald's short-lived Tender Love Stories #3 (1971) was the only new story in the 52-page book!

The rest were reprints modified to update the clothing and hairstyles to then-current trends.

It was a common practice on romance titles from the mid-1960s until the genre died out in the mid-1970s.

BTW, if this story looks familiar, it was the very first tale we ran on this blog back in 2011.

Unfortunately, the Dreaded Deadline Doom caught up with us, so we decided to do a "re-presentation" rather than miss a week.

Next Week...

We haven't decided yet what 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 our sponsor...

You can own a kool komic collectible
(t-shirt, mug, tote bag, etc.)

embellished with the cover from this week's torrid tale...

...by clicking HERE!

LOVE STORIES "Make Me BEAUTIFUL!"

We considered putting this one under the "Amorous Education" header...

...but school isn't a major plot point in this never-reprinted tale from DC's Love Stories #148 (1973)!

Sometimes there are just no words...nor in this case, oddly, any credits!

 Next Week:

We don't know what we'll publish...yet!

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

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True Love Comics Tales!

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TEEN-AGE ROMANCE / OUR LOVE STORY "Summer Must End!"

We're only at the middle of August, not quite at the end of Summer......

Cover art by Jack Kirby and George Klein

...but this tale by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Vince Colletta just screamed to be told (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 tomorrow, Marvel could modify more than just the art!

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