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!

Support True Love Comics Tales

Visit Amazon and Buy..

Marvel Romance Redux
Paid Link

Valentine's Week Special YOUNG LOVE "Be My Valentine"

It's Almost Valentine's Day...

...and this never-reprinted tale from Prize's Young Love V4N1-#31 (1952), written and illustrated by the team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, who pioneered the romance comics genre, is all about a Valentine's Day card and it's effect on both sender and receiver!

While Young Love was the second romance comic published (Simon & Kirby's earlier comic, Young Romance in 1947 was the first), it was the last ongoing romance comic book published by a major publisher, ending it's run in 1977!
(Though Prize's comic book line had gone out of business in 1963, DC bought out the publisher's inventory, including unused material, and kept both Young Love & Young Romance going until the '70s!)
BTW, you may have noticed the handsome guy in the cover photo looked sort of familiar!
He's Robert Redford, and the photo was taken during his "photographer's male model" period in the early 1950s!

Next Week: We Return to the Swinging '60s for Another Torrid Tale of Mod Love !
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...

Young Romance

Best of Simon & Kirby's Romance Comics

Paid Link

Love in the Office YOUNG ROMANCE "I Love You, Frank Gerard"

 You think "mansplaining" is a new phenomenon?

Hardly.

It was happening at least as far back as 1948, when this tale appeared!

This never-reprinted story of business, love, and the business of love is from Prize's Young Romance #4 (1948).

Layouts by Jack Kirby, pencils by Jerry Robinson & Mort Meskin, inks by Joe Simon.

The writer is unknown, but believed to be Simon and/or Kirby.

Next Week:
We're Not Yet Sure What We'll Present!
But We 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 Buy...

Young Romance

Best of Simon & Kirby's Romance Comics

Paid Link

Prom Night: Dream or Nightmare? YOUNG ROMANCE "Campus Outcast"

It's May, the month of the annual high school/college ritual known as "The Prom"!

Will it be a fond memory...or something best forgotten?

We're starting the month off with a story from the guys who created the romance comics genre, Joe Simon & Jack Kirby in a never-reprinted tale from Prize's Young Romance #3 (1948)!

Though penciled and inked by long-time Simon & Kirby Studio artist Bill Draut, it's obvious the layouts are by Jack Kirby.
And, though no scripter can be traced, it's more than likely that, with that melancholy ending, Kirby and/or editor Joe Simon penned the story.
Note: We're beginning with a Young Romance story from the 1940s, and we'll end the month with a Young Romance story from the 1970s!
In between we'll look at proms in the 1950s, 60s, and even the future!

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...

Young Romance

Best of Simon & Kirby's Romance Comics

Paid Link

Romance on the Range REAL WEST ROMANCES "To Fight for Her Man!"

In the Old West, Men Were Real Men, Women Were Real Women...

and everybody had real guns...and knew how to use them!

Edited by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby (the team who invented the romance comics genre), Real West Romances was one of two cross-genre titles Prize Comics published between 1949-1950, with the other being Western Love, also edited by Simon & Kirby!

This particular never-reprinted tale from V1N2 (1949) was illustrated by Leonard Starr, and likely written by Simon and/or Kirby.

It's also probable Kirby did rough layouts for the story.

Next week:

We haven't decided yet which Western Romance 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...

Support True Love Comics Tales

Visit Amazon and Buy...

The Cowboy

A New Western Romance Graphic Novel

Paid Link