OUR LOVE STORY "But How Can I Love a Square?"

It was the 1960s, and if you weren't "hip", you were a "square".

Today, we call them "conservatives".

I hate to say it, but Nan seems unbelievably shallow!

This Stan Lee scripted/Gene Colan penciled/Frank Giacoia inked tale from Marvel's Our Love Story #3 (1969) was one of the few two-parters the Silver Age Marvel romance titles did!

Oddly, it wasn't cover-featured for either segment, as you'd expect such a story designed to draw repeat customers would do!

Next Week:

The Startling and Extremely-Manipulative Conclusion!
But Remember...

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

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Marvel Romance: the Trade Paperback!

Marvel's picked some of the best love comics from the 60s and 70s!

"It Happened at Woodstock," "My Heart Broke in Hollywood," "Love on the Rebound!"

Collects Love Romance #89 and #101-104; My Love #2, #14, #16 and #18-20; Teen-Age Romance #77 and #84, Our Love Story #5; and Patsy Walker #119.

YOUNG ROMANCE "Full Hands, Empty Heart" Conclusion

We Have Already Seen...

Art by Bob Oksner and Frank Giacoia

...Nurse Phyllis Carter and Doctor Allan Tate bond over working together in the ER, and a romance develops between the medical professionals.
But it's a romance with a complication the medical professionals never thought they'd have to deal with...

Wait.
The doctor she's working with has just been murdered in front of her!
Even if she wasn't romantically-involoved with him...
They can't let her sit down and rest?
She's clearly in shock!
I wouldn't want her near patients in her present condition!
Plus, the police won't want to talk to her as a witness to the murder?
Speaking of that...has anybody restrained Johnny?
Written by Robert Kanigher, penciled by John Rosenberger and inked by Vince Colletta, this cover-featured story from DC's Young Romance #194 (1973) tries to jam a legitimate moral into the last few panels instead of giving it an extra page to play out in a more coherent manner.
Editor/writer Robert Kanigher was the most vocal proponent of racial equality in the DC editorial "Old Guard" of the 1950s-70s, scripting numerous anti-racist stories as well as introducing several Black characters into the DC Comics universe including...

...Nubia, the second ongoing character to bear the Wonder Woman title, as well as scripting this somewhat infamous Lois Lane story...

Though he meant well, Kanigher was rather heavy-handed, sometimes sacrificing plot logic (like the ending of "Full Hands, Empty Heart") to make a moral point.

Note: On some pages Phyllis (and other Black characters') skin is gray/purple and on some it's brown.
That's because on the pages showing her as gray, the color separators used the wrong combination of yellow, red (magenta) and blue (cyan) screens.
When the story was reprinted in Simon & Schuster's Heart Throbs: Best of DC Romance Comics (1979) trade paperback, the only editorial change was to correct the Black skin tones.

All the other coloring remained the same.

Next Week...

We Don't Know What We're Presenting...Yet!

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

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featuring the cover art from all four HTF issues
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OUR LOVE STORY "Game of Triangles"

Though told from the viewpoint of the male protaganist...

...this story was, allegedly, written by one of the few female writers in Bronze Age comics.

Was it?

Read, and judge for yourself...

This never-reprinted tale from Marvel's Our Love Story #20 (1972) was scripted by Joy Hartle and illustrated by George Tuska and Paul Reinman.

Most people believe "Joy Hartle" was a pseudonym for Gary Freidrich.

"Joy" had only two stories to her credit, both romance tales that appeared almost simultaneously in late 1972-early1973.

And, in fact, Gary's sister-in-law is named Joy Hartle!

But Gary was working steadily for Marvel at this point, scripting Captain America and Sgt Fury, as well as co-creating both the motorcycle-riding Ghost Rider and a new version of the Frankenstein Monster (both with Mike Ploog)!

So why the pen-name?

The only thing I can think of is that these stories were done during the brief period in 1971-72 when Gary had left Marvel to work at the short-lived Skywald Publishing, and were "inventory" stories used to fill out what would've been all-reprint issues of the dying romance comics line.

BTW, the cover-featured tale has one of the worst romance comics covers I've ever seen...

Art by Alan Weiss & Frank Giacoia with retouching by Marie Severin and John Romita

Heck, the guy looks more like a stalker than a lover...

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?)

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SINISTER HOUSE OF SECRET LOVE "Bride of the Falcon" Conclusion

When Last We Left Our Heroine...

...Kathy Harwood thought she found the man of her dreams.

He turned out to be a nightmarish control freak with an ominous secret she's about to discover...

Written by Frank Robbins and illustrated by Alex Toth and Frank Giacoia, this book-length tale from DC's Sinister House of Secret Love #3 (1972) is considered by many to be one of the high points of the title's all-too brief run.

Be here next Wednesday for our last Halloween-season entry!

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 out sponsor...

Visit our

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SINISTER HOUSE OF SECRET LOVE "Bride of the Falcon" Part 4

When Last We Left Our Heroine...

Kathy Hammond's romantic dream-come-true is rapidly becoming a nightmare!

Count Lorenzo Di Falcone, the "man of her dreams" is showing himself to be a hot-tempered bully.

She finds her pet dog lying dead in the garden.

And when the handsome gondolier who ferried her to the castle shows up and tries to warn her of danger, he is attacked and apparently killed by the Count's falcon...

Will Kathy's now fully-functional senses enable her to make sense of the frightening goings-on at Castle Falcone?

Be here Friday for the fear-fraught finale...

Written by Frank Robbins and illustrated by Alex Toth and Frank Giacoia, this book-length tale from DC's Sinister House of Secret Love #3 (1972) is considered by many to be one of the high points of the title's all-too brief run.

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SINISTER HOUSE OF SECRET LOVE "Bride of the Falcon" Part 3

We Have Already Seen...

Kathy Harwood , who believed her deafness kept her from finding someone who would love rather than pity her, travelled halfway around the world to Venice to meet and marry a mysterious man whose poignant love letters wooed her across the ocean.

When she finally met Count Lorenzo Di Falco she discovered he too, had a handicap; the right side of his face was heavily-scarred from an accident with his pet falcon!

In addition, the Count is caring for his invalid mother, a quadriplegic who cannot speak.

Kathy and Lorenzo make plans to wed, but must wait until Mama Di Falco either gives her approval, or passes away.

Kathy begins nursing Lorenzo's mother in the hope of convincing her to allow them to wed, but the old woman seems immovable...

What is the secret Roberto may not live long enough to tell Kathy?

(And how does he even know about such a secret?)

The questions are piling up, and the answers are there...if you know where to look!

Be here Wednesday for both questions and answers...

Written by Frank Robbins and illustrated by Alex Toth and Frank Giacoia, this book-length tale from DC's Sinister House of Secret Love #3 (1972) is considered by many to be one of the high points of the title's all-too brief run.

Visit our

True Love Comics Tales™

Comics Collectibles Shop