A First for Me: A Look at Romance Comics!
Courtesy of the Marvel Masterworks line (RIP?) I finally checked out an example from the romance genre of comics. In the most positive sense, I don’t think I’ll be trying anything else from the genre. Sometimes you need to try something to find out you don’t like it, right?!
Romance Comics
After the end of the Second World War, the initial popularity of the superhero genre died down. Comics publishers were naturally looking around for new ideas and romance comics were born. These were pioneered by the great Jack Kirby and Joe Simon, co-creators of Captain America.
By the way, Wikipedia has a great over view of the romance genre. Definitely worth a read if you’re interested in comics history.
By the late 1940s and early 1950s, the romance genre was very popular. Naturally then, Atlas Comics (another precursor company to Marvel Comics) jumped on to the bandwagon.
In some ways, the Venus stories collected in this volume of the Marvel Masterworks bridge the superhero and romance genres. I don’t know whether that was Atlas Comics being canny or simply a by product of Venus being the literal Goddess of Love with the godly powers that go with that. This lends some of the stories a very strong fantastical element.
Venus the Goddess of Love
The basic set up can be boiled down to: the goddess Venus, bored of an eternity on the planet Venus (rather on the nose, but probably too obvious to pass up!) wishes herself to Earth. She pops up in the middle of a busy thoroughfare in New York and causes a disruption.
Fortunately, a magazine publisher passes by the commotion. He senses the potential for publicity, commandeers Venus, marches her off to his offices and installs her as an editor. Much to the chagrin to his secretary who had been positioning herself to be the next editor!
A Product of Their Times, and Everything That Goes With That!
As I mentioned above, the better stories bridge romance, adventure and fantasy. However, it does feel like Atlas couldn’t quite decide whether to stick with one genre or the other.
More than anything, the big sticking point for me is that these are stories haven’t aged that well. Written by men (for the most part), aimed at young adult women and of course, with the social attitudes of the mid-Twentieth Century!
So, a young woman can aspire for a career as long as her boss is a man. Thus, male pride is preserved! If she’s not got career aspirations, she must be pining for a husband. If she can’t get the husband she wants, then she’ll remain an unhappy spinster! Finally, if she doesn’t fall into either of those roles then she must be consumed by jealously of Venus for being so beautiful!
I’m exaggerating slightly but boy, did I find reading the stories rather maddening at times.
Venus and … Thor?
One thing I will say about the writing is that it was genuinely funny in places. The juxtaposition of a goddess in a fairly mundane working situation was handled well and reminded me of the later Thor comics of the 1960s. Indeed, it even feels like the soapy elements from the romance genre was carried over to the Marvel super heroes. These Venus stories almost feel like a dry run for them in some places.
The Art!
More positively, the art across the various stories is really good. I am by no means an expert on mid-Twentieth Century fashions, but the art feels much more contemporary to the period than say Superman stories from the time do.
Unfortunately the credits are patchy due to the limited records kept at the time. According to the contents page, some of the artists who worked on these Venus stories include:
- George Klein
- Ken Bald
- Ed Winiarski
- Don Rico
- Joe Maneely
- Werner Roth
- Mike Sekowsky
It’s interesting to some artists working in a genre that I wouldn’t have associated with them before. George Klein in particular is much more associated in my mind with inking DC’s Superman comics.
Left Hanging – But There’s Hope!
I have to admit, if I wasn’t collecting Masterworks volumes I would have happily skipped over this. So sometimes the collecting obsession pays off! I can not recommend the writing but the art was frequently gorgeous.
I did enjoy some of the stories that delved into fantasy and adventure. However, looking ahead to later issues of Venus a volume two would have been very interesting indeed. The Venus comics moved right across genres, from fantasy to science fiction and then to horror! Bill Everett also started working on the comic and provided some stunning art by all accounts.
Alas, Venus volume two never happened in the Masterworks line. Fortunately publisher Fantagraphics picked up the baton with a volume two seamlessly picking up where the Masterworks left off. Less fortunately for me, it seems to be quite hard to find in the UK. However for any interested readers in the US, that volume sounds like a perfect way to get the rest of the Venus comics.
