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!

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Marvel Romance Redux
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Romance on the Range COWGIRL ROMANCES "Send Back My Love"

Return to the Old West, Where Men were Real  Men, Women were Real  Women...

...and, in those days before e-mail (or even a telephone), a letter to one's true love could take days...or weeks!

This was the final tale in Fiction House's CowGirl Romances #12 (1954), which was, sadly, the final issue of the series.
Unfortunately, the identities of the creatives involved have been lost to the mists of time!

Next week:

We haven't decided yet what 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...

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The Cowboy

A New Western Romance Graphic Novel

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Lusty Landlords & Titillating Tenants FOR LOVERS ONLY "Three Rooms with Love"

When You Find an Apartment for an Unusually-Low Rent, There Might  be a Catch!

Cover art by Enrique Nieto

Or you might be the catch, in this never-reprinted story from Charlton's For Lovers Only #81 (1975)!

Penciled/inked by Enrique Nieto and scripted by an unknown writer, this story does have somewhat creepy vibes, but it all turns out fine in the end!
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..
Support True Love Comics Tales!
Visit Amazon and Buy...

Charlton Companion
Which Covers the Company's Entire Output...Including Romance Comics!
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Tales Twice-Told TIPPY TEEN / VICKI "3rd Finger, Right Hand"

She's supposedly two different girls, almost a decade apart...

...even though both of them have the same boyfriend!

When this story from Tower's Tippy Teen #3 (1966) was reprinted in Atlas/Seaboard's Vicki #1 (1975), more than just the fashions and hairstyles were altered*.

Tippi became "Vicki", though her boyfriend remained "Tommy Trippit" in both versions!
Trivia: this was one of the most-reprinted Tippi Teen stories of all!
Besides the reprint in Vicki, it had previously-been reprinted (without hair/fashion alterations) in the final issue of Tippy Teen in 1969!

Why did Seaboard change the character's name from Tippy to Vicki?

Nobody's certain.

But, since Vicki was cancelled after only four issues, the question is now moot.

*With sales falling on most non-superhero genres in the late 1960s (including Western and war as well as romance and teen humor [except for the Archie titles]), "updated reprinting" became a common practice on teen humor and romance comics until the genres all-but died out in the late 1970s.

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 teen humor and romance comics, unlike superhero comics, totally-changed every 5-6 years anyway, and wouldn't notice the "old" plots.

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..

Support True Love Comics Tales!

Visit Amazon and Buy...

Archie's Rivals in Teen Comics

1940s-1970s

An Illustrated History

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