Wednesday, January 10, 2018

TIME FOR LOVE "It's Like Wild, Wild, Wild!"

Here's a cover that presents both the beginning and the ending of the story!
How does that work?
Read for yourself!
See?
The cover is a composite of the first and last panels of the never-reprinted story from Charlton's Time for Love #13 (1969)!
I love the cover copy "Time for Swinging...Time for Dreaming!"
Think the "old fogies" at the Comics Code Authority realized the phrase they were approving?
But there's no mistaking the message of the story itself...counter-culture BAD!
It's obvious Vince Colletta is the inker of both the story and cover, but the writer and penciler are unknown.
Next Week:
We don't know yet what we'll present, but we can guarantee...
You'll Cry Your Eyes Out if You Miss It!
And now a word from our sponsor...
Please Support True Love Comics Tales
Visit Amazon and Order...

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

TENDER LOVE STORIES / REALISTIC ROMANCES "I Deceived My Love"

When I first saw this tale in the back of Skywald's Tender Love Stories #3 (1971)...
...I knew it was "off", but I couldn't quite figure out how or why!
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 (updating clothing and hairstyles) 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.
(Note: you can see the new tale this reworked story backs-up HERE!)
Note that none of the captions or dialogue were rewritten/updated, so the reference to Hal's sister dying in "the first war" on page 3 didn't make sense to a Vietnam War-era reader in 1971!
(But it would to a post-WWII-era reader because it references World War I!)
Ironically, this tale required more redrawing than most!
Bill Everett not only had to do the usual "updating" on people, but on vehicles and technology as well!
Here's the original, Rafael Astarita-rendered story from Avon's Realistic Romances #4 (1952)...
Though published in 1952, the tale was written/illustrated several years earlier and tossed into this anthology with little concern for timeliness!
In fact, look at the inside cover/contents page...
This story is described in the lower right corner...with an illustration that has nothing to do with the tale!
Next Week:
We don't know yet what we'll present, but we can guarantee...
You'll Cry Your Eyes Out if You Miss It!
And now a word from our sponsor...
Please Support True Love Comics Tales
Visit Amazon and Order...
Agonizing Love

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

HI-SCHOOL ROMANCE "Three's a Crowd in Love"

Oddly, though this New Year's Eve tale is subtitled "A True Hi-School Romance"...
...it concerns college students who are friends and/or lovers!
Though the writer and artist(s) are unknown, this story from Harvey's Hi-School Romance #3 (1950) is one of their most popular!
It was reprinted three times in various romance titles from 1955 to 1958, but hasn't been seen since...until now!
Hope you enjoyed it, and have a Happy New Year this weekend!
Next Week:
We don't know what we'll present..yet,
but we can guarantee that...
You'll Cry Your Eyes Out if You Miss It!
And now a word from our sponsor...
Please Support True Love Comics Tales
Visit Amazon and Order...
Agonizing Love

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

"Gift of the Magi" by O Henry

Our post of an adaptation of O Henry's famous Xmas tale is our most popular Christmas post...
...and we have no doubt this will match or exceed it!
This never-reprinted adaptation of the O Henry short story from First Comics/Berkley Publishing's short-lived revival of Classics Illustrated was written and illustrated by Gary Gianni in his comic book debut!
Trivia: Gianni scripted and rendered the entire six-story issue, #15 (1990), himself!
Gary's detailed, decidedly-retro style has since made him a fan favorite, especially for his work on Indiana Jones, The Shadow, Doc Savage and Hellboy!
Merry Christmas to All...
...and to All, a Good Night!

Wednesday, December 13, 2017

BARBIE "See You Later, Christmas Gator" Part 2: Special Delivery & Part 3: The Present

 ...on Christmas Eve, Santa Claus runs into trouble when he's forced down over Florida by a tropical storm!
Luckily, Barbie is nearby...
Normally, we'd run Part 3 next week, but the chapters are so short, we're going to present it now...

Written by Angelo DeCesare, penciled by Mario Capaldi, and inked by John Lucas, this never-reprinted tale from Marvel's Barbie #50 (1995) was typical of the kool flights of fancy the series specialized in.
Barbie, and its' sister title Barbie Fashion, were two secret success stories for Marvel in the 1990s.
Because they weren't superhero titles, the hardcore (mostly male) fans never even noticed them, but the two books ran an impressive 63 and 53 issues respectively at a time when many titles lasted 12 issues...or less!
Next Week:
O Henry's Classic Christmas Tale...
The Gift of the Magi!
You'll Cry Your Eyes Out If You Miss It!
And now a word from our sponsor...
Please Support
True Love Comics Tales!
Visit Amazon and Order...