Barbara Slate’s “Angel Love” was a fascinating story that was no doubt a rare thing to see in the mid ’80s from a major comic book company.
TITLE: Angel Love Issue #1
YEAR: August 1986
COMPANY: DC Comics
By Barbara Slate
There have been comic books about romance and shenanigans ala slice-of-life type of storylines.
Some may be familiar with Betty and Veronica or even Katy Keene ala Archie Comics, Marvel Comics Patsy & Hedy and Millie the Model. Stories focusing on a woman and stories that were no doubt sign of their times.
And while such stories of relationships, the good and bad things in their life are part of today’s comic books and integrated into a characters development, those stories went farther back then because they were not superhero stories. They were romance/drama or friend/frienemy type of storylines.
In 1986, DC Comics did something different by allow a short series (8 issues + 1 special) created by Barbara Slate that is more like what one would see in today’s series or even a series like “Sex and the City” or even “Friends”.
The series would revolve around the character Angel Love, an artist during her time off and a waitress at Balloon restaurant on the Upper West Side of New York City.
In episode 1, Angel has fallen for Don, the temporary bartender and wants to confess her love to him. Meanwhile, when Don confesses that he likes her, he asks her out on a date.
But while out on a date with Don, she finds out that he’s often snorting cocaine.
Meanwhile, her ditsy roommate Wendy is an aspiring actress and allows a drunk homeless guy who breaks into their home to hangout and watch her act.
Meanwhile, what an interesting storyline that you wouldn’t see on an Archie comic book in the ’80s, let alone from a Marvel storyline.
But it was DC Comics who wanted to try something different and this was before their Vertigo Comics line existed and while it may seem with the artwork that it may be comparable to a comic like DC Comics’ Binky’s Buddies from the ’60s and ’70s, Barbara Slate’s “Angel Love” was a fascinating story that was no doubt a rare thing to see in the mid ’80s from a major comic book company.