What do you think?
Rate this book
Young Romance
Young Romance: The Best of Simon and Kirby's Romance Comics
In the late 1940s, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby set the comics world on fire with romance comics. Exciting, innovative, and beautifully drawn, these stories, aesthetically, remain a high point in both artists’ careers. These two towering titans of the field produced stories for titles such as Young Romance, Young Love, and Western Love for over 12 years until Kirby moved on to a little-known outfit called Marvel Comics, where he would become the unrivaled King of Comics and co-creator (along with Stan Lee) of many of the most iconic characters in American history, such as the Fantastic Four, The Hulk, Iron Man, X-Men, Thor, etc. Young Romance: The Best of Simon & Kirby's 1940s-’50s Romance Comics brings this wonderful work back to light by reprinting 21 stories in full-color, from 13 years of Simon and Kirby’s romance comics: 200 pages of never-before reprinted material painstakingly restored over a five-year period by award-winning artist and animator Michel Gagné (Flight, Star Wars: Clone Wars).
208 pages, Hardcover
Published February 14, 2012
5 people are currently reading
135 people want to read
About the author
Joe Simon
357 books26 followersJoseph Henry "Joe" Simon (born Hymie Simon) was an American comic book writer, artist, editor, and publisher. Simon created or co-created many important characters in the 1930s-1940s Golden Age of Comic Books and served as the first editor of Timely Comics, the company that would evolve into Marvel Comics.
With his partner, artist Jack Kirby, he co-created Captain America, one of comics' most enduring superheroes, and the team worked extensively on such features at DC Comics as the 1940s Sandman and Sandy the Golden Boy, and co-created the Newsboy Legion, the Boy Commandos, and Manhunter. Simon & Kirby creations for other comics publishers include Boys' Ranch, Fighting American and the Fly. In the late 1940s, the duo created the field of romance comics, and were among the earliest pioneers of horror comics. Simon, who went on to work in advertising and commercial art, also founded the satirical magazine Sick in 1960, remaining with it for a decade. He briefly returned to DC Comics in the 1970s.
Simon was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1999.
With his partner, artist Jack Kirby, he co-created Captain America, one of comics' most enduring superheroes, and the team worked extensively on such features at DC Comics as the 1940s Sandman and Sandy the Golden Boy, and co-created the Newsboy Legion, the Boy Commandos, and Manhunter. Simon & Kirby creations for other comics publishers include Boys' Ranch, Fighting American and the Fly. In the late 1940s, the duo created the field of romance comics, and were among the earliest pioneers of horror comics. Simon, who went on to work in advertising and commercial art, also founded the satirical magazine Sick in 1960, remaining with it for a decade. He briefly returned to DC Comics in the 1970s.
Simon was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1999.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
May 7, 2018
Joe Simon and Jack Kirby more know for works like Captain America also created probably less know today Romance Comics!
The collection might be out dated, silly and cheese still fun to read. These works, especially early works deal with almost ever social issues at the time (except interracial and same-sex relationship that, at the time, which could of gotten at "best" lost of job. At worst jail or institute into mental hospital which unless rich were not good places).
The collection might be out dated, silly and cheese still fun to read. These works, especially early works deal with almost ever social issues at the time (except interracial and same-sex relationship that, at the time, which could of gotten at "best" lost of job. At worst jail or institute into mental hospital which unless rich were not good places).
February 18, 2014
A beautifully restored (by Michel Gagne) overview of some of Simon and Kirby's romance output, from 1947 to 1959.
As we know from previously reading Simon and Kirby romance comics, the early years are the hardest hitting, with dense, detailed, almost claustrophobic art, social concerns comics hadn't addressed before and characters you care about who seemingly stepped out of '30s Warner Bros. films.
The post-code stories, by contrast, are glib, short, drawn quickly (i.e. cranked out) and border-line bizarre in their heightened abbreviations of romance story tropes and formulas.
There's been recent discussion online as to whether Kirby wrote these stories. I don't think there's any doubt he wrote most of them. The book is filled with his cadences, word choices, sentence structures, rhythms, ideas, themes and very deliberate ways of expressing himself.
Specifically, much of the writing here sounds quite like the unpublished romance comics Kirby wrote and drew for DC in the early '70s. For better or worse, Kirby's writing sometimes had an unintentional formality, a sometimes awkward, didactic way of expression that was uniquely his, God love him for it. Who else could have written, "The years that bound us were snapping cords of living tissues that inflected horrible pain upon us both as the hand of death reached to sever the last remaining strand..."? From "The Town and Toni Benson!"
Or, try this line on for size: "I didn't see the descending blow! Its devastating impact was transmitted to me through its unfortunate recipient." From "Sailor's Girl".
And: "My meeting with Sophie Morrison Scott recalled to my mind the jungle sequence of an old movie in which the unarmed native having been frozen into immobility by the ominous low rumble of sound behind him, turns slowly about - and watches with terrible fascination the stealthy movements of the tigress as her sleek, cat-like shape emerges into full view...peering out of Sophie's blase mask was a predatory animal poised to spring..." Great stuff, from "The Town and Toni Benson!"
As we know from previously reading Simon and Kirby romance comics, the early years are the hardest hitting, with dense, detailed, almost claustrophobic art, social concerns comics hadn't addressed before and characters you care about who seemingly stepped out of '30s Warner Bros. films.
The post-code stories, by contrast, are glib, short, drawn quickly (i.e. cranked out) and border-line bizarre in their heightened abbreviations of romance story tropes and formulas.
There's been recent discussion online as to whether Kirby wrote these stories. I don't think there's any doubt he wrote most of them. The book is filled with his cadences, word choices, sentence structures, rhythms, ideas, themes and very deliberate ways of expressing himself.
Specifically, much of the writing here sounds quite like the unpublished romance comics Kirby wrote and drew for DC in the early '70s. For better or worse, Kirby's writing sometimes had an unintentional formality, a sometimes awkward, didactic way of expression that was uniquely his, God love him for it. Who else could have written, "The years that bound us were snapping cords of living tissues that inflected horrible pain upon us both as the hand of death reached to sever the last remaining strand..."? From "The Town and Toni Benson!"
Or, try this line on for size: "I didn't see the descending blow! Its devastating impact was transmitted to me through its unfortunate recipient." From "Sailor's Girl".
And: "My meeting with Sophie Morrison Scott recalled to my mind the jungle sequence of an old movie in which the unarmed native having been frozen into immobility by the ominous low rumble of sound behind him, turns slowly about - and watches with terrible fascination the stealthy movements of the tigress as her sleek, cat-like shape emerges into full view...peering out of Sophie's blase mask was a predatory animal poised to spring..." Great stuff, from "The Town and Toni Benson!"
July 21, 2017
I bumped into this book accidentally in the library while looking through the graphic novels section for something interesting. I never thought I'd end up reading a collection of 1940s/1950s romance comics but I'm so glad I did! They were so fun and melodramatic and despite the cheesiness and the obviously outdated gender roles it was really romantic and very enjoyable! The art is vibrant and very beautiful and the stories pack a lot of emotion into only a few pages each which I found really exciting. Probably wouldn't be to everyone's taste but personally I loved it.
October 21, 2020
This was wild to read. I really appreciated the intro and the end notes for context, especially about when the guidelines changed (although I didn't notice too much difference beyond outcome of story). It was wild to see on the covers and ads the notation of "True stories!" I just can't quite believe that, but I am not sure you are supposed to.
For the romance fans out there, these may not be what you would expect. They often don't fit out current reference for what make a romance a romance, and the earlier ones feel more like cautionary tales. They are always about a relationship though, and from a trope point of view it's really cool to see what comes up (cowboy/star comes to town, dating the boss, childhood sweethearts) as well as darker themes like revenge and dating the enemy. Some of the stories had some cringe-y moments and themes, but I am finding that is often if the case with anything where you are opening the vaults.
It was really interesting from a cultural/historical perspective both generally and for the romance genre. I also loved the notes about how the project came to be, and came together, as well as examples of restoration. It is clear a lot of love went into creating this collection, which is a wonderful thing to see. I am really glad I picked this one up.
For the romance fans out there, these may not be what you would expect. They often don't fit out current reference for what make a romance a romance, and the earlier ones feel more like cautionary tales. They are always about a relationship though, and from a trope point of view it's really cool to see what comes up (cowboy/star comes to town, dating the boss, childhood sweethearts) as well as darker themes like revenge and dating the enemy. Some of the stories had some cringe-y moments and themes, but I am finding that is often if the case with anything where you are opening the vaults.
It was really interesting from a cultural/historical perspective both generally and for the romance genre. I also loved the notes about how the project came to be, and came together, as well as examples of restoration. It is clear a lot of love went into creating this collection, which is a wonderful thing to see. I am really glad I picked this one up.
June 24, 2021
I have heard of romance comics through ComicBookGirl19c and happened on this book in the clearance bin of a comic store. I can feel the emotion of the stories, even if I do not agree with some of the old fashioned courting methods on display. It is interesting to look at a time capsule from the past and compare with the present. Also did some further digging into the Young Romance series and found that there were some interracial stories published but were not in this book, hope another one rectifies this.
December 12, 2021
This was my first comic book/graphic novel ever. It was very interesting. While I loved reading about the romance, I’m not sure this type of book is my favorite. Reading about their romance that evolved through the years was amazing to read about.
February 19, 2018
An intriguing collection of a now-forgotten genre of comicbooks - the romance comic. Sweet and nostalgic, these issues captue the innocence and hope of the post-war period.
January 7, 2020
The comics that started the romance comics trend in the 1940s and 1950s. I've read some of the individual issues before but thoroughly enjoying reading them again here.
March 2, 2016
Reseña de Andrés Accorsi para su blog:
http://365comicsxyear.blogspot.com.ar...
No aprendo más... Allá por el 08/11/12, cuando me devoré ese masacote de historietas románticas publicadas por DC en los ´60 (Young Love) afirmé que ese libro era el único de su género que me pensaba comprar. Pero apareció muy barato este, con historietas aún más antiguas, que van de 1947 a fines de los ´50, firmadas nada menos que por Joe Simon y Jack Kirby, los inventores del género romántico. La presencia de los próceres y el hecho de que fueran sólo 21 historietas y reeditadas a color me llamó la atención como para volver a darle una chance a estos “secretos del corazón” que en su mejor época vendían –literalmente- millones de ejemplares y lograban holgadamente eso que hoy parece imposible para el comic yanki, que es llegar masivamente al público femenino.
Entre muchas historias muy chatas y muy pelotudas, encontré un par realmente fuertes. “Her Tragic Love” es la historia de una mina enamorada de un tipo condenado a muerte por un crimen, y además del romance hay una situación muy tensa, en la que no sabés si Sam Ford es culpable o inocente hasta el final. “Fraulein Sweetheart” cuenta el romance a contramano entre una chica alemana, que fuera fanática del Führer, y un soldado yanki de los que ocupan la ciudad de Marburg una vez derrotado el Tercer Reich. Un tema espinoso, como el de la desigualdad entre las clases sociales, está muy bien abordado en “Shame”. La extensa “I Want Your Man!” (14 páginas con texto como para 48) le da una linda vuelta de tuerca al viejo tema de “dos minitas compiten por un chongo”. Y la otra que me sorprendió fue “Lovesick!”, con un giro argumental infrecuente, que deja muy mal parado al protagonista, mientras que casi siempre las que se mandan cagadas grossas (y a veces aprenden la lección) son las chicas.
El principal problema, del que no zafa ninguna historia, es que Simon narraba en pocas páginas historias bastante complejas. Y como Kirby nunca metía más de siete cuadros por página, hay páginas realmente repletas de texto, donde entre globos y bloques se morfan más del 60% de las viñetas. Los diálogos son blanditos, muy reiterativos, y los bloques ahondan en lo que el dibujo no muestra, básicamente en lo que las minitas (que casi siempre narran en off) piensan y sienten. Rápidamente te cae la ficha de que si no leés los bloques de texto, las historietas también se entienden y hasta se disfrutan un poquito más.
Con estas restricciones, más las que se suman a partir de 1954 cuando el Comics Code Authority achica las márgenes de lo que se puede mostrar en una historieta, está todo dado para que la mayoría de los relatos, leídos hoy, resulten un embole, soso, obvio y con menos onda que Inés Pertiné. Por suerte, alguito se puede rescatar, sobre todo comparado con lo que vimos en el Showcase de Young Love, donde no había ni en pedo argumentos tan interesantes como esos cinco que –en distinto grado- me gustaron.
El dibujo del Rey está a años luz de los trabajos con los que redefinió el comic-book en los ´60. Arranca muy pegado a su estética “cuarentosa” (esa derivada de Milton Caniff y Alex Raymond, pero sin el virtuosismo de ninguno de los dos) y de a poco evoluciona hacia el Kirby más identificable, aunque –por supuesto- le falta el power, la intensidad, la emoción de sus comics en los que chabones musculosos con poderes se cagan a trompadas. Alguna vez yo dije que un comic de Kirby sin machaca es como un clásico sin goles, un boliche sin minas, un kiosco sin alfajores... y lo sostengo. Acá suelen estar muy buenos los dibujos más grandes, los que el Rey se mandaba (no siempre) a modo de splash page; y después, en el “viñeta a viñeta”, hay lindas composiciones, pero no genialidades. Quizás debido a que el texto (no el dibujo) llevaba adelante los relatos, y porque al haber tanta cantidad de letras por cuadro, el ídolo casi no tenía lugar para dibujar.
En fin, si te interesa conocer cómo nace la historieta romántica, o querés ver qué hacía Kirby antes de irse a DC a crear a los Challengers of the Unknown y esas historietas bizarras que vimos el 29/05/12, este libro está muy bien. Si no, la verdad que no se justifica el esfuerzo.
http://365comicsxyear.blogspot.com.ar...
No aprendo más... Allá por el 08/11/12, cuando me devoré ese masacote de historietas románticas publicadas por DC en los ´60 (Young Love) afirmé que ese libro era el único de su género que me pensaba comprar. Pero apareció muy barato este, con historietas aún más antiguas, que van de 1947 a fines de los ´50, firmadas nada menos que por Joe Simon y Jack Kirby, los inventores del género romántico. La presencia de los próceres y el hecho de que fueran sólo 21 historietas y reeditadas a color me llamó la atención como para volver a darle una chance a estos “secretos del corazón” que en su mejor época vendían –literalmente- millones de ejemplares y lograban holgadamente eso que hoy parece imposible para el comic yanki, que es llegar masivamente al público femenino.
Entre muchas historias muy chatas y muy pelotudas, encontré un par realmente fuertes. “Her Tragic Love” es la historia de una mina enamorada de un tipo condenado a muerte por un crimen, y además del romance hay una situación muy tensa, en la que no sabés si Sam Ford es culpable o inocente hasta el final. “Fraulein Sweetheart” cuenta el romance a contramano entre una chica alemana, que fuera fanática del Führer, y un soldado yanki de los que ocupan la ciudad de Marburg una vez derrotado el Tercer Reich. Un tema espinoso, como el de la desigualdad entre las clases sociales, está muy bien abordado en “Shame”. La extensa “I Want Your Man!” (14 páginas con texto como para 48) le da una linda vuelta de tuerca al viejo tema de “dos minitas compiten por un chongo”. Y la otra que me sorprendió fue “Lovesick!”, con un giro argumental infrecuente, que deja muy mal parado al protagonista, mientras que casi siempre las que se mandan cagadas grossas (y a veces aprenden la lección) son las chicas.
El principal problema, del que no zafa ninguna historia, es que Simon narraba en pocas páginas historias bastante complejas. Y como Kirby nunca metía más de siete cuadros por página, hay páginas realmente repletas de texto, donde entre globos y bloques se morfan más del 60% de las viñetas. Los diálogos son blanditos, muy reiterativos, y los bloques ahondan en lo que el dibujo no muestra, básicamente en lo que las minitas (que casi siempre narran en off) piensan y sienten. Rápidamente te cae la ficha de que si no leés los bloques de texto, las historietas también se entienden y hasta se disfrutan un poquito más.
Con estas restricciones, más las que se suman a partir de 1954 cuando el Comics Code Authority achica las márgenes de lo que se puede mostrar en una historieta, está todo dado para que la mayoría de los relatos, leídos hoy, resulten un embole, soso, obvio y con menos onda que Inés Pertiné. Por suerte, alguito se puede rescatar, sobre todo comparado con lo que vimos en el Showcase de Young Love, donde no había ni en pedo argumentos tan interesantes como esos cinco que –en distinto grado- me gustaron.
El dibujo del Rey está a años luz de los trabajos con los que redefinió el comic-book en los ´60. Arranca muy pegado a su estética “cuarentosa” (esa derivada de Milton Caniff y Alex Raymond, pero sin el virtuosismo de ninguno de los dos) y de a poco evoluciona hacia el Kirby más identificable, aunque –por supuesto- le falta el power, la intensidad, la emoción de sus comics en los que chabones musculosos con poderes se cagan a trompadas. Alguna vez yo dije que un comic de Kirby sin machaca es como un clásico sin goles, un boliche sin minas, un kiosco sin alfajores... y lo sostengo. Acá suelen estar muy buenos los dibujos más grandes, los que el Rey se mandaba (no siempre) a modo de splash page; y después, en el “viñeta a viñeta”, hay lindas composiciones, pero no genialidades. Quizás debido a que el texto (no el dibujo) llevaba adelante los relatos, y porque al haber tanta cantidad de letras por cuadro, el ídolo casi no tenía lugar para dibujar.
En fin, si te interesa conocer cómo nace la historieta romántica, o querés ver qué hacía Kirby antes de irse a DC a crear a los Challengers of the Unknown y esas historietas bizarras que vimos el 29/05/12, este libro está muy bien. Si no, la verdad que no se justifica el esfuerzo.
March 12, 2016
Young Romance: The Best of Simon and Kirby's Romance Comics (1947-57/ Collected 2012): written and illustrated by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby; restored and edited by Michel Gagne: That time in the late 1940's and early 1950's when Joe Simon and Jack Kirby invented the Romance comic book for an under-served audience of teen-aged girls? Remember that? No? Well, it happened.
And those comics were immensely popular. But then the Great Disaster of American comic books, the Comics Code Authority, came to pass. America's rapidly evolving species of comic books for teens and adults were neutered, rendered into stories primarily of interest only to children.
But during that brief flourishing, Romance comics were huge. And Simon and Kirby demonstrate in these pages, lovingly restored by Canada's own Michel Gagne, that they were masters of something other than superhero comics.
The dozen or so pre-Code stories collected here are a lot of fun -- pulpy, full of emotion, and often dealing with quite adult characters and situations. One can see why they were so popular. They're models of narrative economy. But they also hew quite close to realism in Simon and Kirby's art, with carefully modulated bursts of melodrama and bombast. As with a lot of other pre-Code comics, these suggest an American comic-book industry and readership unencumbered by the ball-and-chain of the superhero. It's like catching glimpses of a lost, better world. Highly recommended.
And those comics were immensely popular. But then the Great Disaster of American comic books, the Comics Code Authority, came to pass. America's rapidly evolving species of comic books for teens and adults were neutered, rendered into stories primarily of interest only to children.
But during that brief flourishing, Romance comics were huge. And Simon and Kirby demonstrate in these pages, lovingly restored by Canada's own Michel Gagne, that they were masters of something other than superhero comics.
The dozen or so pre-Code stories collected here are a lot of fun -- pulpy, full of emotion, and often dealing with quite adult characters and situations. One can see why they were so popular. They're models of narrative economy. But they also hew quite close to realism in Simon and Kirby's art, with carefully modulated bursts of melodrama and bombast. As with a lot of other pre-Code comics, these suggest an American comic-book industry and readership unencumbered by the ball-and-chain of the superhero. It's like catching glimpses of a lost, better world. Highly recommended.
March 29, 2014
You guys, you have no clue how much I adore romance comics. They're ridiculous and ham-fisted and display the strangest and worst (and surprisingly, sometimes amazing) gender politics. Kirby's art is a joy to see restored, and Joe Simon's bombastic plots feature women taming sailors and women almost dying in stampedes if not for their cowboy love interests. Seriously, this volume is tons of fun, even in the Comics Code era. Sure, the stories are blander, and women have less sexual agency, but somehow, people's fever-pitch emotions are even more entertaining and hard to understand in the 1950's stories.
January 24, 2016
Jack Kirby and Joe Simon pioneered romance comics, and this book assembles a generous collection of them with good historical essays and restoration work. The art and writing was done by their stable of talent, but Kirby and Simon oversaw every stage. I was expecting plenty of cheese, and while there is some of that, the stories can be surprisingly effective at times. If you want the bizarre excesses of some romance comics, you'll have to look elsewhere. Most of these are pretty straightforward. The art is a mixed bag, but every once in a while, usually on the first pages, you see King Kirby's hand at work.
April 17, 2014
These are hilariously lurid - just a book of cover art alone would be gold. But the plots? Some serious WTF. A member of the Nazi youth gives up her American love because she can't denounce Hitler; a woman throws herself out of a window because she thinks her man is dying in the electric chair; there's the hilariously titled My Cousin From Milwaukee; and Norma, Queen of the Hotdogs.
You just can't make this stuff up.
You just can't make this stuff up.
July 10, 2014
Retro romance at its finest.
The stories are refreshing in their earnestness, and occasionally sobering in their portrayals of conventional romance with its rewards and pitfalls. Especially interesting in the collection is the contrast in story-lines pre/post censorship bylaws.
Brimming with snappy one-liners, exuberant physicality, and rose-tinted romance, this collection is a sexy edition to any bookshelf.
The stories are refreshing in their earnestness, and occasionally sobering in their portrayals of conventional romance with its rewards and pitfalls. Especially interesting in the collection is the contrast in story-lines pre/post censorship bylaws.
Brimming with snappy one-liners, exuberant physicality, and rose-tinted romance, this collection is a sexy edition to any bookshelf.
August 4, 2016
I'd call this a mixed bag:
Two of the stories are obviously not drawn by Kirby, who probably did just the layouts, and the post Comics Code tales are losers.
However, there are a few classics among the rest and it's cool to see Kirby trying to tell a story without a lot of the dynamic action scenes which are his trademark.
Two of the stories are obviously not drawn by Kirby, who probably did just the layouts, and the post Comics Code tales are losers.
However, there are a few classics among the rest and it's cool to see Kirby trying to tell a story without a lot of the dynamic action scenes which are his trademark.
June 23, 2015
Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, better known for creating Captain America, Iron Man, the Fanastic Four, etc etc, also wrote a lot of romance comics for teens and adults in the 40s/50s and they are hilariously awesome and weird. The strips were beautifully restored, and there are bonus covers in there as well.
May 7, 2016
Read for the summer reading program at MPL.
December 17, 2016
I got this from the main library and its awesome.
August 14, 2018
Coyer Summer Bash
These bittersweet stories of romance are gorgeously illustrated and are a snap shot of fifties comics. Gorgeously illustrated and full of dramatic highs and lows
These bittersweet stories of romance are gorgeously illustrated and are a snap shot of fifties comics. Gorgeously illustrated and full of dramatic highs and lows
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews