Written by: Various
Art by: Various
Publisher: IDW
Weird Love has seen the publication of three issues, and it’s only getting weirder. The compilation of love comics from the ‘50s and ‘60s is a strange look at the history of comics and the sort of stories people found entertaining in the middle of the 20th century.
This particular issue collects such gems as, “There’s No Romance in Rock and Roll,” a cautionary tale about the foolishness of empty-headed teenage girls who ignore their mothers and listen to too much loud music; “Weep, Clown, Weep,” a story about a young woman who loves everything about her man, except the fact that he’s a sad clown; and “Love, Honor, and Swing, Baby,” about a young woman who regrets marrying a hippie swinger and runs home to her parents until he shapes up (a transformation that only took three days).
The comics collected in Weird Love are really similar to one another. They are all four-color comics and obviously, they are all love stories, but they all have similar plot lines, even with weird elements added in. In each story, the girl meets a guy she just adores except for this one small problem, and either she has to change her personality to suit his needs, or he needs to change his to suit hers, but the change happens and they all live happily ever after.
It’s interesting to look at the slight variations in style between the comics that were published in the early fifties compared to the late sixties, but even still, a lot of the themes are pretty consistent, even after twenty years had passed. For instance, one of the earlier comics is warning against the dangers of rock and roll, and then the comic from 1969 is warning about the dangers of being a hippie swinger.
While each comic has an entirely different artist, the styles are so similar (and maybe even limited because of the technology of the time) that they fit together pretty seamlessly.
Weird Love is an entertaining comic. It takes a while to read, as its fairly text heavy, and this particular issue feels a little repetitive, but I recommend picking up at least one issue, just for something weird.
