Wedding Bliss AGONIZING LOVE & "Hurry Up Marriage!"

This absolutely wonderful trade paperback about romance comics...

... features a crying bride on the cover from a cover illustrated by the legendary Jack Kirby from the groundbreaking comic he co-created with Joe Simon, Young Romance!

But here's the kicker...there's no story inside to go with the cover!

Simon and Kirby often would do a cover concept first, then do a story based on it!

Sometimes they'd come up with a cover idea...but then couldn't expand it into a tale they were creatively-satisfied with!

But, the cover was pretty good, and they didn't want it to go to waste, so they'd use it anyway!
This situation existed with all three of the Simon & Kirby Prize Comics romance titles; Young Romance, Young Love, and Young Brides!

Here's another cover involving a bride and groom that didn't have a story attached...

Here's a generic one that could've been (and was) used on any of the series...

And here's one that did have a related story in the issue...

BTW, note the differences, including the fact there's no gruff Old West-style sheriff in the tale below!

Cover art is by John Prentice, and the story art is by Bob McCarty, both working from Jack Kirby layouts!

Next Week...

We return to Super-Love with a special look at the soap opera-style Mighty Thor/Jane Foster romance!

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

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Agonizing Love
The Golden Age of Romance Comics

YOUNG ROMANCE "See Yourself as He Sees You"

Here's a totally-surreal tale from the editor who created the romance genre in comics...

...which appeared in the next-to-last issue of this series!

In 1947, Joe Simon (with Jack Kirby) created Young Romance, the first romance comic, for Prize Comics...which sold the title to DC when the publisher went out of business in 1963.

In 1973, DC returned Simon to the editorship of Young Romance as of #196.

Joe attempted to "update" the title by dropping all the traditional "romance artists" from new material, assigning edgier, experimental types like the ones who illustrated this short from #207 (1975), Jerry Grandenetti and Craig Flessel.

It didn't work, and, with sales dropping, the book (which had gone bi-monthly) ended with the next issue, #208.

Next Week:

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

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

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Young Romance
And

Young Romance
Volume 2

YOUNG ROMANCE "Different!" Conclusion

We Have Already Seen...

Successful businessman Jack Williams and his family move to a small town where they're welcomed with open arms...until the locals discover he's an immigrant and his real name is Jacoby Wilheim!

(Note: he and his wife appear to be naturalized American citizens, and the children are apparently native-born Americans!)

Suddenly, business falls off, and his family become social pariahs!

Joe Simon and Jack Kirby weren't the sorts to let social injustices stand without speaking out.

The prejudices presented here, though mild, were (and are) quite real, and Simon & Kirby should be credited with trying to present the truth about them to their impressionable audience in Prize's Young Romance #30 (1951).

Next Week...

Our Annual Month-Long Halloween Extravaganza Begins!

We can guarantee that...

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

(Yeah, we say that a lot...but it's true!)

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Young Romance 2

Best of Simon & Kirby's Romance Comics

YOUNG ROMANCE "Different!" Part 1

With ethnic and religious prejudice on the rise again...

...perhaps we should look back on how pop culture tried to deal with it back in the 1940s...

For the answer to that, you'll have to be back here next Wednesday!

Joe Simon and Jack Kirby weren't the sorts to let social injustices stand without speaking out.

The prejudices presented here, though mild, were (and are) quite real, and Simon & Kirby should be credited with trying to present the truth about them to their impressionable audience in Prize's Young Romance #30 (1951).

And now a word from our sponsor..

Please Support True Love Comics Tales

Visit Amazon and Order...

Young Romance

Best of Simon & Kirby's Romance Comics

YOUNG ROMANCE "Man-Hater"

WIth the GOP Presidential Convention in full swing...

...let's look at what Repugs (and immature boys) think women are like and what it takes to "tame" them!

Written and penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Kirby and Joe Simon, this never-reprinted tale from Prize's Young Romance #3 (1948) is almost a spoof of the "I'll trick the superior (more intelligent/athletic) woman into loving me" storyline that actually was popular in B-movies of the period!

Next Week...

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

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

(Yeah, we say that a lot...but it's true!)

And now a word from out sponsor...

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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:

The Return of Reach for Happiness...

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

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

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STRANGE WORLD OF YOUR DREAMS "I Talked with My Dead Wife!"

Can the power of love enable a deceased spouse (and mother) to communicate...

...from beyond the grave to protect her loved ones?

In 1950, the writer/artist team of Simon & Kirby created Black Magic, a comic book about unexplained phenomena which quickly became a best-seller.

Their publisher, Prize Comics asked them for another, related series, so they conceived and produced Strange World of Your Dreams.

The theme was dreams and nightmares, with the added aspect of having readers submit their own dreams to be dramatized and analyzed in the comic!

This particular tale from SWoYD #1 (1952), written and illustrated by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, theorized that a deceased mother's love for her child transcended the boundaries of life and death with the unwitting aid of her still-grieving husband, a tale of true love, but not a romance, per se.

SWoYD was an interesting approach to the horror genre, but unfortunately, it didn't sell well enough to survive past it's 4th issue.

Next week:

We wind up our fantasy-themed October posts with a woman who returns from the grave to protect her spouse from werewolves!
And, as always, we can guarantee that...

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

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

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