1. Phantom Stranger and Cassandra Craft

As seen in PHANTOM STRANGER #17, 22,23,24 by Len Wein and Jim Aparo

My top choice is a love that didn’t last, that couldn’t last, but that brought so much to (again) one of my favorite characters. Maintaining the right balance between his nature as a man of mystery and as an engaging character was the biggest challenge in making the Phantom Stranger a series worth following, and no one did it better than Wein and Aparo (arguably, no one else did it at all). The idea of giving this cipher of a superhero a love affair was a bold one, and Wein played it safe by having the Stranger part from this blind, blonde psychic in pink at the end of the first story: “The path I travel is a winding one—with no beginning remembered and no end in sight—and I am cursed to travel it—alone!” That comment alone summarizes everything the reader could have inferred thus far in the series, but now we knew that he did indeed was subject to human passions and needs.

Judging from the letters page a couple of issues later, Cassandra was a hit with the readership and Wein and Aparo brought here back for a trio of issues shortly thereafter. Those issues are the high point of the series, starting with a tease of stability and permanence—the Stranger concludes issue 22 hand-in-hand with Miss Craft, saying “Until this sickness is wiped from the face of the Earth, you will stay by my side—and we shall face the Dark Circle----together!”

The next issue, the Stranger is Cassandra’s “darling”, as they travel by jet to Paris (globe-trotting was always prominent in Wein and Aparo’s run, and the Stranger was no stranger to conventional travel now and then!). His nemesis Tannarak returns (who made my list of favorite villain designs a few years back in this celebration) and the issue end with all three characters teaming to combat the Dark Circle! A heel-face turn and a romance—bringing this feature to life in ways it never had been before!

But with the next issue, the end came. The Stranger’s path could not long sustain the permanence of an Earthly human relationship, and with the defeat of the Dark Circle and the heroic sacrifice of Tannarak, the Stranger allowed himself to be presumed dead, with Cassandra’s tears a small price to pay for her freedom from the Stranger’s eternally-persisting mission. Just two issues later, Wein and Aparo would wrap up everything in what was to be the final issue of the series, saved at the last minute from the ax, but never to recover the heights it had achieved thanks in large part to this short but vital romance.

Sometimes a short-lived but powerful love story has an impact that a long-term one doesn't, and this one leapt to my mind on reading the initial announcement for this year's topic, so, without too much effort at justification, I rank it as my favorite. Cassandra would reappear, she'd be reinvented (as would the Stranger) in the New 52, but these four issues are the definitive and only necessary parts to the tale of love between the two. Re-reading this saga in preparation for this entry may be my favorite Classic Comics reading of 2021, as this celebration has, as usual, been my favorite Classic Comics posting of the year. This community has been a treasured part of my life in these crazy times; I've loved taking a bigger part in the forum once again, I've loved getting to know so many of you face-to-face with the wonderful Zoom meetings, and I've learned so much more about this 50-year hobby of mine from all of your individual contributions. At the conclusion of a celebration of love on the comics panels, please allow me to express a sincere expression of love to you all! Please do everything possible to survive and thrive in 2022 so we're all here for another round 12 months from now!

Best wishes to all for a satisfying holiday season!

Nightwing and Starfire

I know lots of people like Dick Grayson as a couple with others, but to me, there's only one choice. Dick and Kori are the perfect 'opposites attract' couple. The both make the other better. DC even seems to realize it... all the Titans animated movies seem to have them together.