Psychedelic Romance, Drug-Fueled Love and… Steranko!
Sure, love is like a drug sometimes — but what kind of drug? Is it a quick pick-me-upper like caffeine? Is it the kind of drug that makes you taste colors? Heck, some might argue that it’s the type of drug that makes you look like Nick Nolte’s mugshot after a couple of weeks.
As a special Valentine’s Day treat, Journalista points readers to a pair of stories that deal with exactly that question, in their own ways.
In Our Love Story #5, Jim Steranko provides the trippy interior art to a Stan Lee story titled "My Heart Broke in Hollywood."
Honestly, I didn’t even have a chance to read the story. I started looking at the art and woke up two hours later covered in Sun Chips and Kool-Aid. It’s THAT good.
Next we have George Evans’ anti-drug themed "Slave of Despair" from a 1951 issue of Romantic Secrets.
This one tells the tale of Edith, a girl-next-door type with a world of opportunities and a steady beau, who makes a couple of bad decisions and ends up seduced by the "jungle beat" of hazy dance clubs and a pill-pushing, smooth-talking stranger. Soon she’s stealing from cash registers and acting like a funnybooks version of Amy Winehouse.
… But seriously, folks, who hasn’t had a first date like that, right?
Anyone?
*sigh*
No first dates, but I've had a few last dates like that…
The Steranko story should've been titled 'The Return of the Puffy Shirt'!