10 Comics for You to Love on Valentine’s Day

Today’s romance comics look nothing like they did in their “golden age,” and thank heavens for that. Once upon a time, romance comic books were more popular than superhero comics. Following WWII, interest in action-adventures such as writer Joe Simon and artist Jack Kirby’s Nazi-punching Captain America was on the decline, so in 1947 they turned their attention to a new series, Young Romance, and gave birth to a genre in the process.

A Whirlwind Romance (Comic)

By the early 1950s, nearly all comic book publishers had at least one title on romance comics. And since this was the original make-America-great era, they were primarily morality tales, teaching that women would find happily-ever-after-ness only if they gave up their careers and subjected themselves to patriarchal marital bliss.

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But starting with the major breakthroughs of 1960s feminism, love in funnybooks has come a long way, baby. Diversity is now the norm. In my recent Print “Best Comics” series, I’ve already noted The Provocative Colette and A Sea of Love. And hey, I also featured DC Comics’ two-genre saga of Batman and Catwoman’s eventful wedding day, which you can read here.

And that’s just a start. Here are yet more recent titles that offer a great range of approaches to the subject so near and dear to our annual February 14th celebration. Providing a variety of outstanding visual interpretations as well as unconventional narratives, here are ten stunning tales of…

Mila, a teenager who finds herself attracted to a ghostly warrior from ancient times.
Emma, living in 1920s Lapland, whose search for her fiancé becomes a journey of self-discovery.
Prince Sebastian, who, with the aid of his talented dressmaker, maintains a secret life at night as Lady Crystallia of Paris.
Daisy, Esther, and Susan, whose lives as university students are thrown off-kilter when a boy declares his love.
Pearl, an aspiring tattoo artist who bonds with one of the Yakuza clan who are demanding that she become an assassin instead.
A writer-artist whose candid autobiographical graphic novel details her struggles with anxiety, self-esteem, and sexual concerns.
Nora, who solves her boyfriend problems by falling in love with a 500-pound bear.
Julie, a coffee shop barista who transforms into a werewolf when she gets angry, and her friends and fantasy creatures.
Persephone, whose classical myth of being abducted by Hades is given a contemporary twist in an ongoing webcomic.
Women who can only find fulfillment in subservient domesticity, in a series of now-campy 1950s romance comic book reprints.

Happy Valentine’s Day!