Romance comics

[stealthwise]

I read "Blankets" after hearing from about four different friends (and numerous internet sources) that it was absolutely brilliant. I was extremely underwhelmed, and thought that the vast majority of its contents were masturbatory (one scene in particular was quite literally fitting of that description). I might read it again someday, but I didn't really dig it.

I read "Strangers in Paradise," found the first volume promising, but hated the eventual spiral towards spy-romance hybrid boring, and the "will she/he/she, won't they?" machinations extremely irritating, and as a result, hate the series with a passion.

I read "True Story, Swear to God" volume one, and while it's earnest and cute, the storytelling is so basic (as in, nothing interesting Ever happens) and the dialogue boring (as in HORRIBLY CONTRIVED, even Bendis's incessant ranting would be preferred), and as a result, I can't stand it either.

Yet, I like Andi Watson's understated works like "Dumped" and "Breakfast After Noon", while few other people, including the ones I know and forced to read, seem to care. Am I just a weirdo?

[heystacy]

Diversity in reading is great! Enjoy it.

[Corrina]

I didn't like Andi Watson's book that I read, I enjoyed Tom Beland's book, but I can't stand "Blankets."

Though I am amused at calling them romance comics. I'd call them drama and leave it at that.

Never read "Strangers In Paradise."

[Winslow]

I read Christine Norrie's Cheat from Oni Press, and thought it was an interesting look at marital infidelity (not really "romance" - but a certainly a comic that tackled a plot that had an emphasis on relationships).

I haven't read Oni Press' Three Day's in Europe, but some people that have opinions on comics that I really trust have recommended it.

[Charles RB]

Does Preacher count as romance? There was a lot of it in the comic, after all.

[K'Nort]

I still haven't read Blankets and I'm a girl. Nor Strangers in Paradise. Romance isn't my thing.

I love TSSTG, however. As much for the family interactions as the main relationship.

Did Andi Watson write Love Fights? I did like that. Didn't read the others, however.

[Corrina]

I'd define a 'romance' as a story in which the main focus is the romance.

Andi Watson's "Slow News Day" would count, as would TSSTG. Blankets too.

I haven't read Preacher, but it sounds like the romance was a subplot.

[Charles RB]

it sounds like the romance was a subplot.

No, it was a pretty crucial part of the story and the final issue mostly focused on it.

[K'Nort]

No, it was a pretty crucial part of the story and the final issue mostly focused on it.

*plugs ears because just finished second trade*

[Cam63]

There's enough romance in most genres.

[shrike]

oooooooo Preacher!

[Calamas]

To me romance is a sub-plot, not a genre.

In real life, however, romance is waaaaaay too much drama.

But that’s another story.

[The Xenos]

Clearly, manga has much more romance comics than US comics. Then again they got a bigger diversity and more female oriented books anyway.

Right now I have the Socrates in Love manga and the romcantic comedy manga Love Roma on my too read pile.

I also ahve volume 2 of Midori's Days. It's about a guy who ends up dating his right hand. Wait... it's about a guy who wakes up one day to find that his right hand has turned into a girl he never noticed who's had a crush on him for a while. You know, there's just no way to describe it without it sounding really really disturbing. Trust me though, it's actually kinda cute and endearing.

I also read Genshiken, which is mainly about a bunch of anime and manga geeks and their school club, but also has some geek romance mixed in.

I find Oni Press tends to have some decent romance and relationship books. Blue Monday showed me that you could ahve a modern Archie that's not just for ten year olds. It's like Archie by way of John Hughes.

Liberty Meadows was heavy on the romance stuff. Though it started out as a newspaper strip, it was also published as a comic.

There's also a number of nice romantic (and tragically romantic) one shot tales in Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan's Demo. Wood also just came out with a new series Local.

I myslef keep mulling over an idea of a romantic comic loosely and sometimes not so losely based on a relationship I was in as well as various situations and conversations around it. I also want to throw in serious religous themes. Cause, hey, that's makes the idea sound even more unheard of if it wasn't already crazy enough. Plus that's kinda the stuff i think about anyway and I think I got some interesting things to say that could turn out to be a damn good story, especially in comics.

-Xenos

[K'Nort]

Box Office Poison had some very realistic relationships.

[FantomasPR]

True Stories is fantastic. It would need ninjas and monkeys to be better.

[TheLyle]

Hmmm, so many great titles on this list. Personally, I love romance stories, at least I do when they're not too formulaic.

I agree about Blue Monday, it's a great update to the Archies though I think Chynna shows her influences too clearly and limiting her audience.

Truth be told, what I like best about Strangers in Paradise is that it throws a bunch of romance cliches at a same-sex couple, though there are great characterization moments.

I tried sampling Box Office Poison a few times and didn't care for the characterization.

While I liked the senario of Three Days in Europe, it didn't give me a reason why those two unpleasant people should be together.

Andi Watson is Mister Faboo to me, I adore all his work that came after the first Skeleton Key trade.

I totally gush over how manga has finally brough romance comics back to prominence. I love Erica Sakuazawa's works. Hot Gimmick and Tramps Like Us are on my to read list for the praise I've heard for them.

[Brian Cronin]

I will admit that sometimes, I am so desperate to encourage the production of romance comics that I sometimes am willing to overlook story flaws, just because I admire the willingness of the creators to attempt to add more work to the romance genre.

For instance, I want more comics like F-Stop, but I really did not like F-Stop that much. It seemed like the most generic romantic comedy movie, only in comic form.

It almost seems sometimes that if you took a shitty romantic comedy MOVIE plot, and made it as a comic book, then you'd be praised as innovative. For instance, anyone see that Freddy Prinze/Monica Potter movie?

If that movie was done as a comic, I almost guarantee that it would be critical hit.

And yet, as a movie, it was considered crap.

I apologize for throwing out a scenario that I, myself, have no answer to, but is it BAD to "over"praise a work because it is a genre that is lacking in comics?

-Brian

[Corrina]

Yes.

I want good stories. I'd like good romance stories, not bad ones.

[Brian Cronin]

But if you encourage the genre, more people will work in it, leading to good romance stories.

Or, at least, that would be the theory.

-Brian

[Corrina]

But if the stories aren't good, readers are more likely to conclude the whole genre isn't good.

If you're trying to get comic fans interested in romance stories, writing a bad romance story isn't going to do it.

[Brian Cronin]

But if the stories aren't good, readers are more likely to conclude the whole genre isn't good.

If you're trying to get comic fans interested in romance stories, writing a bad romance story isn't going to do it.

Not trying to get comic fans interested in romance stories, trying to get comic writers/companies interested in MAKING them.

-Brian

[stealthwise]

The debate you guys have going is something I've been thinking about for quite some time.

I hear about the books I mentioned earlier; Blankets, True Story... etc, and they just don't do anything for me at all. Brian's point about something being overrated just because it's different for a comic is pretty valid. But I agree with Corrina, writing crap isn't going to attract anyone.

[Winslow]

The Manga Island Article this week mentioned Dark Horse was going to try and adapt Harelquinn Romance Novels into comics.

The upcoming roster of titles is strong, and even includes Harlequin romance titles, venturing into new territory and trying to branch out to different markets. I'm curious how this will go, but I have to applaud Dark Horse's willingness to try new things.

[Charles RB]

It disturbs me that adapting something into a comic and Harlequin Romance books are considered trying new things.

[Brandon Hanvey]

I've done a little research into the romance comic genre since I'm doing one right now.

I tend to favor books that are simple. I usually don’t like it when it is a tome about what the author thinks “love” is.

Some of my favorites are pretty much anything by Andi Watson: Slow News Day, Dumped, Breakfast After Noon, Love Fights. True Story Swear to God by Tom Beland, The Scott Pilgrim series by Bryan Lee O'Malley. Though not a straight romance comic, it has strong romantic themes.

[Corrina]

I'm trying to get a hold of some of the new Dark Horse comics early, for an article for Sequential Tart.

Harlequin has a really fantastic sales & distribution department in America and overseas. They're trying something non-traditional, the comic book market. I'm guessing they're as interested in international sales as US sales.

[Brandon Hanvey]

The Beat linked to http://www.myromancestory.com/ recently. They are romance novels in comic form.

[matterconsumer]

I enjoy the idealism of romance comics from days long past. Sentimental...

[Apathy Boy]

I read "Blankets" after hearing from about four different friends (and numerous internet sources) that it was absolutely brilliant. I was extremely underwhelmed, and thought that the vast majority of its contents were masturbatory (one scene in particular was quite literally fitting of that description). I might read it again someday, but I didn't really dig it.

I read "Strangers in Paradise," found the first volume promising, but hated the eventual spiral towards spy-romance hybrid boring, and the "will she/he/she, won't they?" machinations extremely irritating, and as a result, hate the series with a passion.

I read "True Story, Swear to God" volume one, and while it's earnest and cute, the storytelling is so basic (as in, nothing interesting Ever happens) and the dialogue boring (as in HORRIBLY CONTRIVED, even Bendis's incessant ranting would be preferred), and as a result, I can't stand it either.

Yet, I like Andi Watson's understated works like "Dumped" and "Breakfast After Noon", while few other people, including the ones I know and forced to read, seem to care. Am I just a weirdo?Well, if you're a weirdo, so am I. Um, that was meant to be reassuring.

I (heart) Andi Watson, but I didn't really care for BLANKETS, TRUE STORY SWEAR TO GOD and STRANGERS IN PARADISE at all, because long-form romance stories rarely work. The interest in a romance lies in the chase, but if the story runs too long, you either wind up with the frustration of a repeated bait-and-switch (a la Moonlighting) or you wind up with a bunch of pretentious navel-gazing whining. It's a frickin' relationship. Get over it!

I admire the craft that went into BLANKETS, but well-crafted whiny teenage poetry is still whiny teenage poetry, y'know?

LIBERTY MEADOWS is probably the best long-running romance comic that I can think of. But that's probably due more to the story tangents than to the core relationship itself.

[the4thpip]

True Stories is fantastic. It would need ninjas and monkeys to be better.
And even so it would have to be pretty damn spiffy ninjas and monkeys!!

[TheLyle]

I've done a little research into the romance comic genre since I'm doing one right now.

I tend to favor books that are simple. I usually don’t like it when it is a tome about what the author thinks “love” is.

Some of my favorites are pretty much anything by Andi Watson: Slow News Day, Dumped, Breakfast After Noon, Love Fights. True Story Swear to God by Tom Beland, The Scott Pilgrim series by Bryan Lee O'Malley. Though not a straight romance comic, it has strong romantic themes.

Oooh, that sounds like something to look forward to... I hope you're aiming to be selling it at APE? (That reminds me, I've been meaning to get around to saying something nice about The Steroes, which I've enjoyed.)

BTW, I can see the Andi Watson influence to your work.

[Brandon Hanvey]

Oooh, that sounds like something to look forward to... I hope you're aiming to be selling it at APE? (That reminds me, I've been meaning to get around to saying something nice about The Steroes, which I've enjoyed.)

BTW, I can see the Andi Watson influence to your work.


The book, "entanglement", will be for sell at APE 06. It is a 112 page digest-sized comic.

[stealthwise]

Well, if you're a weirdo, so am I. Um, that was meant to be reassuring.

I (heart) Andi Watson, but I didn't really care for BLANKETS, TRUE STORY SWEAR TO GOD and STRANGERS IN PARADISE at all, because long-form romance stories rarely work. The interest in a romance lies in the chase, but if the story runs too long, you either wind up with the frustration of a repeated bait-and-switch (a la Moonlighting) or you wind up with a bunch of pretentious navel-gazing whining. It's a frickin' relationship. Get over it!

I admire the craft that went into BLANKETS, but well-crafted whiny teenage poetry is still whiny teenage poetry, y'know?

Yeah, that's pretty much how I felt. Blankets wasn't bad, but I couldn't understand why everyone was telling me that it was so good. I mean, I've read romantic subplots in a ton of superhero and webcomics that were far more interesting. Craig's psuedo-self in his book basically only exists for the purpose of the relationship in that story, when you don't care much about the relationship, then the entire comic falls apart for you as a reader.