ok .. . . even tho this is a personal list?

they HAVE to be on here. At first I had them in the #11 spot. . but realized that they really do mean enough to me, that they deserve to be higher, so ultimately ended up at my #6.

Lois & Clark.

yes, she started out as an annoying plot device who was determined to "unmask" Superman - when she wasn't being just a damsel in distress for him to save.

but she started evolving fairly quickly (and really hit some controversial (and silly) topics in her own book as a reporter)

and they grew together.

from this:



to this:





so . . yeah.


not much else to say.

Hawkeye and Mockingbird



I Really loved their relationship during the West Coast Avengers era.. it was one of those you where you new they were perfect together, but almost too much so, so they had a stormy relationship. The story where Mockingbird lets the Phantom Rider die and Hawkeye angsts over what to do about it is one of my favorites about what it means to be an Avenger (which has, of course, been completely invalidated in recent times, but that's OK... Wolverine has never been in MY Avengers )

I mean, Hawkeye literally went to hell for her, that's something! I didn't love bringing her back, but it did at least give us some more great character moments between these two.

6. David and Eileen

1972, and Charlton is once again doing whatever the heck it feels like doing. In this case, pushing boundaries in the pages of Just Married with a new ongoing serialized soap opera about the interfaith romance between David and Eileen.





David is Jewish. Eileen is Irish Catholic. Both of their families want them to marry within their own faith, and disapprove of their relationship. Yet David and Eileen decide to go against their families and tradition - and societal mores at the time - and get married anyway.

What follows is a relatively realistic look at the struggles of regular newlyweds - things like financial troubles, and miscommunications - mixed with the constant pressures form their families and faiths.

I love these soap operas, and this one is particularly interesting, pushing boundaries. It ran for 9 issues, from issues #93-101. And it also gave us one of the sexiest romance covers around - #99, where the newlyweds are shown in bed sharing a single pair of pajamas. Great stuff from Charlton!

I just realized that this years subject is right in your wheelhouse. In the 70's there was a TV show called Bridget loves Bernie about a Catholic and Jewish person marrying. 

#6 Ben & Alicia

In the words of Joe Jackson, "Is she really going out with him?" We've all seen a romantic couple and thought, how did that happen? Two unlikely people in a deeply romantic relationship that stands in defiance of the stereotype. Billy Joel & Christie Brinkley (money & fame do wonders there, though), Ric Ocasek & Paulina Poriskova, Kevin Smith & Jennifer Schwalbach, wrestling announcer/promoter/tv host Joe Pedicino & broadcast partner Bonnie Blackstone (they hosted an 8 hour block of pro wrestling programming, from various promotions, on Atlanta tv, from the mid-late 80s through the mid 90s).....



Beauty & the Beast.

Speaking as a short guy, whose weight has gone up and down over the years, it is heartening to see a couple where it is obvious that there is more than physical attractiveness (at least, according to society at large) at work, that they see the true person beyond their physical appearance. In comics, that is Ben and Alicia.

Stan & Jack gave the Puppet Master a stepdaughter to use to manipulate the FF, but she rebelled. She is blind, due to an accident involving his radioactive clay, but she doesn't let her blindness hold her back. Ben is tormented by his monstrous appearance, forever changed by the cosmic ray belt he passed through. He has seen people draw away in fear, if not run and scream in terror. His personality was mercurial before, but the tragedy of his transformation hardened him more than his skin. And then he met Alicia. She can't see his form, but she can hear his words and sense his heart, and she fell for him in a big way. However, Alicia is a sculptress and she is very adept and sensing contours via touch. She has done statues of Ben, touched his face and body. She knows what his outward appearance looks like. It doesn't matter, because she knows his soul even better.

Ben has maintained his humanity, thanks to his family, the Fantastic Four and Alicia. He is Franklin's Unca Benjy, who he adores without reservation. He is Torch's best friend, though neither would ever say it out loud, in front of others. To the world, he is Ben Grimm, the Thing, either a scary monster who fights other monsters, or the blue-eyed idol of millions. To Alicia, he is Ben.

Writers have put them through the wringer and have written misguided soap operatic pieces separating them, for dubious and plain BS reasons, but love finds a way. And, finally.....FINALLY....they got their moment of wedded bliss. Probably won't last, unless they put it in the movies; but, embrace it while you can.



Mazel tov!

Oh, and a belated Happy Hanukkah!

As I struggle to catch up...and it ain't getting better with my schedule this week...

6.  Ralph and Sue Dibny



I don't make many bones about the fact that Silver Age DC books don't work for me any more.  One of the few exceptions are the Elongated Man back-ups.  Because they're just fun and they're short enough I don't expect a lot from them.  And they have Ralph and Sue.  They're just a fun couple who had all the potential in the world as time went on.  I always desperately wanted a good writer to put Ralph and Sue in to a book that would have essentially been The Thin Man with superheroes.  We never quite got that.  But we got a fun couple nonetheless.