Romantic entanglements abound in comics for Valentine's Day
While Valentine’s Day may be better-known as a day to celebrate love with flowers, cards or candles, comic books are also part of the festivities. Comic-book characters through the years have also taken part in the holiday, including some with brand-new specials for 2022 in advance of Monday's holiday.
Archie Andrews of Archie Comics is well known for his romantic entanglements, primarily with Betty and Veronica. This year, the 2022 “Archie’s Valentine’s Spectacular” finds Archie dealing with the aftermath of dating pop star “Taylor Sweet” and becoming the subject of her song “Gingerbread Boy.”
Meanwhile, in “Archie Jumbo Comics Digest” #116, on sale now, Archie decides to have a less materialistic Valentine’s Day — but he doesn’t know that Betty and Veronica have decided to join forces to surprise him with a lavish Valentine’s gift.
In the pages of DC Comics’ “Strange Love Adventures” #1, eight different stories revolve around the Valentine’s Day concept, featuring Superman, Batman, the Flash, Gorilla Grodd, Sgt. Rock and Peacemaker.
The lead story, “Lightning in the Bottle,” by writer Stephanie Phillips and artist Jon Sommariva, goes back to earlier in Harley Quinn’s life, when she was still romantically involved with the Joker, but the pair frequently were on the outs. In this story, a downturn in her relationship with “Mr. J” leads Harley to deface the entrance to the Hall of Justice and pick a fight with Shazam.
Dynamite Entertainment takes on Valentine’s Day in ancient times with the “Red Sonja Valentine’s Special 2022.”
In the times of ancient barbarians, Red Sonja is one of the most skilled and valiant warriors. Chuck Brown, writer of “Bitter Root” joins artist Jordi Perez among others for this year’s Valentine’s special featuring the hero. In the story, in a magical land far from Hyrkania, Red Sonja has temporarily developed supernatural abilities to manipulate fire. In “Burning Love,” she must venture into this land where powerful warlords possess ice powers — and one has exchanged their heart and soul for power. Sonja must defeat a greedy cherub ogre and restore peace to the freezing lands in this special with a Valentine’s-themed twist.
Matthew Price, matthew@matthewLprice.com, has written about the comics industry for more than two decades. He is the co-owner of Speeding Bullet Comics in Norman.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Word Balloons: Romantic entanglements abound in comics for Valentine's Day
