True Love Comics Tales

Wednesday, March 6, 2024

NOUGHTS AND CROSSES Part 1

The story of star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet and their warring families has been told...and retold...for centuries...

...often updated to reflect the current audience!

This new version, currently available in prose, live theatrical performances, audiobooks, a 2-season TV mini-series, and a graphic novel adapting the first prose novel, is set in contemporary times, though not in the usual location, as you shall now see...

As you might have guessed, this is an alternate reality where, instead of European nations colonizing the rest of the world centuries earlier, African nations did the exploring and colonizing!

(The BBC, which has a TV mini-series based on the book, did an intro into the political/social situations of the world HERE.)

Adapted from the prose novel by Malorie Blackman by Ian Edgerton and illustrated by John Aggs, the graphic novel has been selling well on both sides of the Atlantic.

Next Week:
Callum and Sephy are now going to the same school!
There's going to be fireworks...though maybe not the type you're hoping for!
As Always, We Guarantee That...

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

And now a word from our sponsor...

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Noughts + Crosses

Book 1 (of 6)

by Malorie Blackman

and/or
Noughts + Crosses
the Graphic Novel
by Malorie Blackman, Ian Edginton and John Aggs
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Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Laugh at Love FLIP! "For the Love of Mike"

Our final "Laugh at Love" entry was created for one of the many MAD comic book clones of the 1950s!

But, it was illustrated by an artist who was noted for his serious romance comic stories!

Writer Nat Barnett never wrote a romance comic tale.

His two-dozen or so comic book scripts ranged from humor (including this story from Harvey's Flip! #1 [1954]) to horror to war, but absolutely no love comics!
Artist Bob Powell was another matter, as anybody who has perused this blog can tell you!
Starting with "I Joined a Teen-Age Sex Club!" he's one of the biggest comic creatives featured here!
As a bonus for our finale of fun, here's the original art for this story, thanks to the ever-amazing Kraktactaka!

Next Week:
We're devoting all of March to one graphic novel of True Love based on a very popular (and controversial) prose series!
And, as Always, We 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 Buy...

Sincerest Form of Parody

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Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Laugh at Love MARVEL ROMANCE REDUX "Love Me, Love My Clones!" / MY LOVE "Jilted!"

It's possible to interpret "symbolic" splash panels literally...

...as RE-writer Paul Di Fillipo does in this story...which is not originally by writer Jean Thomas, penciler Gene Colan, and inker Bill Everett as these credits list!

Before we proceed to the original tale, we'd like to point out that the art here is so iconically "romance comic", that a panel from page 3 was used for the cover of the trade paperback reprint Marvel Romance (2006)...

So, who did the art?

All will be revealed at the end...

For the record, the art is by penciler Don Heck and inker John Romita Sr!

The writer is unknown, but suspected to be Stan Lee!

I did a little research on-line at the Grand Comics Database (an amazing resource) and discovered...
1) There are a couple of dozen romance comics tales spread over several different publishers titled "Jilted" or "Jilted!" (Note the exclamation point!)
2) None of the stories with that title had credits for Jean Thomas. Gene Colan, or Bill Everett!
3) The Marvel Romance Redux reworking's credits list John Romita as penciler and Jim Mooney as inker...with question marks, and states..."Art is credited to Gene Colan, pencils, and Bill Everett, inks, but this is clearly in error."
Sloppy reference work on Marvel Romance Redux by the editor and/or assistant editor, eh?

Next Week:
Our Final Humorous Romance Story (for now) and We Guarantee That, Even Though It Is Funny...

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...

Marvel Romance Redux

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Laugh at Love on Valentine's Day MARGIE COMICS "Elusive Valentine!"

Here's a never-reprinted Valentine's Day treat...

...from almost 80 years ago years ago, featuring a teen humor character from the company that later became Marvel Comics!

Until the mid 1970s when Archie Comics became the sole "teen humor" publisher, every company had several titles with wacky teenage protagonists.
Margie, created/written/illustrated by Morris Weiss was typical of the genre...

Irresponsible, impulsive teen (of either gender)!
Usually-clueless object of affection!
Constantly-irritated parents!
An annoying younger sibling (usually of the opposite gender to the protagonist)!
Various eccentric friends!

Initially a backup strip that floated to whatever humor comic needed a 5-6 page filler, she finally got her own title by taking over Timely's Comedy Comics in 1946 as of #35 and holding on to it until #50 in 1950, when the book became Reno Browne: Hollywood's Greatest Cowgirl.
Margie went back to being a floating backup strip for another year before disappearing completely, never to be seen again!
This particular tale (one of the few comic tales I could find with "Valentine's Day" in the title that didn't deal with the famous gang-war massacre!) is from Timely's Margie Comics #37 (1946).

Happy Valentine's Day!

Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Laugh at Love TRUER THAN TRUE ROMANCE "What Are You Saying?!" & YOUNG ROMANCE "Heartbreak"

Yep, we're taking a humorous look at romance during the month of Valentine's Day!

And we're starting it off with another of Jeannie Martinet's rewrites of an otherwise never-reprinted DC Silver Age tale!

Now that you've seen how this story was reconceived for the cynical 2000s in Watson-Guptill's Truer Than True Romance (2001), let's see what the unknown original writer of this Jack Sparling-penciled and Vince Colletta-inked tale from DC's Young Romance #161 (1969) had in mind...