Saturday, September 25, 2010

Guy's Point of View Week - Marvel's "The Game of Triangles!"

"The Game of Triangles!"
Our Love Story #20 (December 1972)
Cover art by Alan Weiss (pencils) and Frank Giacoia (inks)
Story penciled by George Tuska and inked by Paul Reinman
Story written by Joy Hartle

So far, all of the examples here at Sequential Crush of romance stories told from the male perspective have been from DC. Not to fear romance fans! Marvel got in on it too! One such story "The Game of Triangles!" from Our Love Story #20 (December 1972) warns against falling in love with two ladies simultaneously.

"It's not easy for a guy to tell this kind of story..."


Dick has been going steady with blonde beauty Carol, but when he meets spontaneous Tracy -- he is completely smitten. Tracy not only has a wild side and is beautiful, but she is filthy rich to top it off. Well, her dad is anyhow! Not long after they meet, Dick is introduced to Tracy's father who assures Dick that if he is the right man for his daughter, he stands to inherit a lot of money.


Dick finds himself in quite a predicament -- steady, loyal, and loving Carol or moneybags Tracy?


Dick remembers all the good times he had with Carol and agonizes over staying with her or dumping her for his new found sugar mama. Meanwhile, Tracy is up to no good herself.


When Tracy runs into Carol and Dick at a party, she becomes miffed at the fact that she has competition. She demands that Dick come over to her house and explain. With an intense kiss, Dick proclaims that he has only been "fooling around" with Carol. Not satisfied with his word, Tracy calls Carol and tells her that she is with Dick. Wanting to see for herself, Carol goes to the dance that Dick and Tracy are attending. Carol sees them together and with a broken heart, runs off into the night -- never to be seen again.


Thinking he has caused Carol's death, Dick stays in his house mourning. Tracy continues to live it up in secret with her scruffy lover, Doug. In a moment of privacy (or so they think) Tracy and Doug celebrate their impending scam -- with disastrous results.


Immediately after busting his daughter, Tracy's father receives a phone call from Dick. Dick is told by Tracy's father of her scheme and how she had been dating Doug all along. Just as Dick goes to hang up the phone, none other than Carol walks through the door. Dick is shocked to say the least, but Carol explains what happened the night of her disappearance. Distraught, she merely ran away. It just so happened that her car was stolen that night and thrown in the river -- making it look as if she had committed suicide. With a kiss of ultimate relief, Dick tells Carol how very sorry he is. The story ends with a warning...


"When you go for more than one heart at a time...
the heart you break may be your own..."

Very wise advice -- and all from a male character's perspective! Have a great Saturday, and I will be back with one more story to round out "guy's point of view" week!

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