It’s just Siskoid and Furn in this episode of Lonely Hearts – ON LOCATION! – as the boys hit the local comic book store in search of romance comics! Plus, Romance Comics Theatre!
Listen to Episode 7! (The usual filthy filthy language warnings apply.)
You can play the podcast using the player above or by right-clicking “download”, choosing “Save Target/Link As”, and selecting a location on your computer to save the file (31MB).
Or subscribe to the Lonely Hearts Podcast on iTunes!
Something we found but did not buy (included for the unintentional yucks):
If you’d like to follow along with Romance Comics Theatre, it’s real easy:
Further credits :
“Comic Book Romance” (Theme for Lonely Hearts Podcast) by Johnny and the Jokers.
“Here’s to the Losers” (End theme for Lonely Hearts Podcast) by James (Vic Fontaine) Darren.
Relevant teaser clip from “True Romance” by Tony Scott (script by Quentin Tarantino), starring Patricia Arquette and Christian Slater
Additional audio:
Romance Comics Theatre Music: “Only You” by Franck Pourcel’s French Fiddles
Bonus clips from: “Samson” by Regina Spektor; “The Science Love Song” by Asap Science.
Thanks for leaving a comment, Lonely Hearts!
The Lonely Hearts Romance Comics Podcast 
This was interesting to hear, since I found myself wondering how you guys were even finding these comics. A little peek behind the scenes was appreciated and fun to hear. And what an epic Romance Theater this month!
As to the question that came up as to who exactly writes these responses when they appear to come from a “council” or “cabal” as you put it: they’re the ramblings of one Nathaniel Wayne, host of Council of Geeks and 90s Comics Retrial. The story of why one man bears the title of a group is a fascinating one indeed, fraught with danger and exciting twists… or you know, maybe it was a name of what was originally planned as a scripted series that over time evolved into various solo driven projects but I wanted to keep the name because it sounded more official. Whatever.
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In most cases, the stories used have been reprinted. Cowgirl Romances, for example, is a reprint available on Comixology. Many of the stories have been from Weird Love, an anthology series from IDW. Anthology reprint books of DC romance (Heart-Throbs) and Simon & Kirby’s Young Romance have also been invaluable.
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Fun episode as always gents.
Thinking about Marvel’s long history with romance comics, I wonder if they would ever branch out into the romantic comedy genre via a Marvel/Netflix original show? Probably too much of a change to the brand, but the appearance of various Walker girls throughout Marvel’s history makes me wonder what that might look like. Hopefully no one’s head would get crushed in a car door.
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Yeah, I don’t know that they’d ever try something with Patsy, Millie or Night Nurse, seeing as there are plenty of other shows doing romance. But you never know.
The DC shows are perhaps more likely to use characters like that in their shows, going by the cornucopia of relatively obscure characters turning up in those shows. DC doesn’t really have them though. Certainly no one on par with Patsy Walker. I would love for Lady Cop to show up though.
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BTW–That Classics Junior cover: what is Jay Garrick doing, exactly?!?
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We dare not think about it too much.
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Long time listener, first time commentator! Since I finally caught up on the show (again, I think. You guys kept making more and leaving me behind) and I’m too tired tonight to do anything of true value, I’ll review the shows backwards until I get sleepier or lose interest or can’t remember what was said in that episode or get drawn into a YouTube video in another tab.
💔 Mac and I are both big Tarantino fans, and I gave him a True Romance DVD as a present, though I’ve only ever seen it once or twice decades ago and didn’t like it overly much. I wonder if I’d like it better with the passage of time (ala Jackie Brown) or less (Reservoir Dogs, though it’s still pretty good.)
💔 The accents of the ladies in Romance Comics Theatre were super cute. One of the better stories so far, too.
💔 I got really into Regina Spektor in the early ’00s after I heard a segment about her on NPR that specifically showcased “Samson.” I hung with her until Begin to Hope, but lost interest as she got more mainstream and poppy. My sensibilities were pointedly offended by the rerecording of “Samson,” which I still absolutely love in the 2002 version, but sounds “wrong” in the one used in the podcast.
💔 I’ve got a stack of low grade Patsy Walkers and Patsy & Hedy’s I pulled together through a few eBay lots for an average of about $2-3 per issue, though that approach also left me with a bunch of duplicates and focuses mostly on the sixties stuff. The Patsy line didn’t switch from teen humor to romance until 1964, so your found copy won’t much resemble the show’s usual fare. I really enjoy the comedy material, and getting the Rolled Spine boys to read those isn’t like pulling teeth. Meanwhile, I had three copies of the “graduation issue” that marked the turning point, handed them out months ago, and nothing has come of it. I recorded some material from that period with just Mac, and it was pretty lifeless. It’s a problematic hybrid where the characters are lightweight and there’s no true resolution because it’s a continuing strip maintaining a status quo, but there are romantic overtones and more where serious art. It’s neither fish nor fowl, not weird or funny, and it’s no wonder the new direction killed both books after a year and change. Millie the Model made the same mistake, but absorbed the problematic elements better through a more flexible format and by going back to humor instead of getting cancelled outright.
💔 There’s tons of romance comics available free online in the public domain, but you’re perhaps better off with curated reprints than swimming through all that raw pulp.
💔 Digging the show. On to the next in reverse chronological order…
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First, great bullets Frank, and thanks for commenting. You’re always thorough, informative and honest. Now my turn:
True Romance: Haven’t watched it in a long long time, but I did rate it fairly highly. It’s the sweetest thing Tarantino’s every written, certainly. Worth it for Christopher Walken if nothing else.
Cute voices: And they’re pretty cute in real life too. Adele kind of looks like Jessica Alba and I like to say Irene is a Ferrari, i.e. not everyone can’t attempt to drive it.
Regina Spektor: For me she pretty much begins and ends with Après Moi (le Déluge).
Patsy Walker: We’ve covered Archie, so I’m game if it’s got a teen humor bent. It was the only issue in the store, so we were beggars and not choosers.
Public domain: Yes, and I have pulled a few and done research there, but might as well throw support behind those who are actively keeping some of that material alive.
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Ta for another nifty piece of podcasting. I loved the romance theatre, I never knew Bernard Sachs wrote and pencilled as well as inked – you can’t have see where he began and Gil Kane ended. I love the super-clean work here. And what a wise tale.
(If I’m lucky enough to have you read out my comment, will you pretend I’m Canadian so I get the sexy accent treatment?)
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I don’t think I’ve ever NOT read a comment. I’m even going to read all of Frank’s from this week and damn the length. And I’ve read your comments before, no? As for doing in the F-C, since I can’t do your Scottish accent, and I refuse to paint you as a Cockney the way Fire & Water does, I guess it’ll have to do.
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You know, I can’t recall the last time I saw an old romance comic in “the wild”. Now I’ll be looking for them next time I’m at the local comic shop. I doubt I’ll buy them, mind you, but I will look. I’ll leave my romance comic entertainment up to you guys and your radio troupe.
Bernard Sachs had a long career at DC. He drew and/or inked many of the later JSA adventures in All-Star Comics, when the artwork got a shot in the arm from folks like Carmine Infantino and Alex Toth. And he went on to be Mike Sekowsky’s first inker on JLA. Good, smooth DC house style stuff!
Enjoying the hell outta the show. You guys are doing a bang-up job. Always a lot of fun, but oddly insightful at times!
Chris
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Funny you should mention Alex Toth at this juncture…
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