Laugh at Love! MARVEL ROMANCE REDUX "Girl with Bogart's Brain!" / MY LOVE "As Time Goes By!"

Several years after DC did Truer than True Romance...

...Marvel did a similar project...but with a couple of differences...

Rewritten by John Lustig, already known for a similar series of re-written comics called Last Kiss, this Gene Colan penciled, Dick Giordano inked tale originally appeared in Marvel's My Love V2N16 (1972), originally scripted by Gary Freidrich during a period when Bogie-mania was sweeping the country due to interest in the actor as a result of Woody Allen's then-current movie Play It Again, Sam, where the ghost of Humphrey Bogart appears to Allen's nebbishy neurotic character to offer advice about romance.

With the Bogie revival in full swing in art/revival theatres (there were no DVD/BluRays, streaming services or even VHS tapes or Turner Classic Movies in 1971), someone at Marvel decided it would make a kool romance tale...

BTW, we mentioned there were a couple of differences between Marvel Romance Redux and Truer Than True Romance...
1) This project was limited to stories just reprinted that same year in the trade paperback Marvel Romance (2006)...

...perhaps because the raw source material (photostats and film negatives) was readily-available.

And it explains the title; Marvel Romance Redux!
2) The rewrites were all done by male writers who likely weren't actual fans of the original stories (though they were fans of the artists' work...in other genres)!

Next Week:

Another Serious Romance Story Rewritten for Laughs and We Guarantee That...

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

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Marvel Romance Redux

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!)

And Now a Word from Our Sponsor...

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

Love in the Time of Covid-19 TALES TO ASTONISH "Scheme!"

Most romance comics tales about disease involve nobility and sacrifice...

...but not this one (which, technically, isn't a romance comic tale)!

BTW, since numerous others (including her servants) were in close physical contact with Anne and didn't catch the disease, the only way it could be transmitted was via (ahem) "marital relations"!

(Fine, no more euphemisms...sexual intercourse!)

Pretty kinky for a Silver Age Comics Code-approved tale, eh?

Plotter Stan Lee, writer Larry Lieber, penciler Gene Colan, and inker Dick Ayers all had experience in romance genre comics, but this particular story appeared in Atlas' Tales to Astonish #28 (1962)...a sci-fi anthology...just as Atlas was transitioning into Marvel Comics!

(Trivia: the previous issue of Astonish featured the first appearance of Hank (Ant-Man) Pym!)

I can't help but wonder what the target audience of 8-to-15 year old boys thought of this particular tale...

Next Week...

Another Tale of Debilitating Conditions and Desire!

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

And now a word from our sponsor...

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Marvel Romance: the Trade Paperback!

Marvel's picked some of the best love comics from the 60s and 70s...including "My Heart Broke in Hollywood,"

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.

OUR LOVE STORY "He's Hers, But--I Want Him!"

A story so moving...so true to life...that the same book ran it twice within three years!

Here it is, from Marvel's Our Love Story #6 (1970) and Our Love Story #21 (1973)

Apparently fashions and hairstyles didn't change enough to warrant modifying the art by Gene Colan and Dick Ayers as is usually done with reprints!

Next Week:

We're Not Sure Yet Exactly What We'll Present!
But...

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

And now a word from out sponsor..

Please Visit Amazon and Order...

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.

OUR LOVE STORY "You Can't Love Again"

We Have Already Seen...

...since Nan's doing such a good job, I'll just let her explain...

Wait..Mike deliberately planted stories in the press about his "professional disgrace"...just to see if she loved him?
Mind you, this was in the pre-Internet days, but even so, the word would have spread around both the entertainment and legal worlds pretty damn quickly!
Makes you wonder how he cleaned up that mess!
This Stan Lee-scripted/Gene Colan-penciled/Frank Giacoia-inked tale from Marvel's Our Love Story #4 (1970) 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!
Even stranger...when the two-parter was reprinted, it appeared in two different titles several months apart!
And...this part (the conclusion) was reprinted before the first part!

Next Week:

We're Not Sure Yet Exactly What We'll Present!
But...

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

And now a word from out sponsor..

Please Visit Amazon and Order...

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.

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!

And now a word from out sponsor..

Please Visit Amazon and Order...

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.