''I ♥ Marvel'' (also known as ''I Heart Marvel'' or ''I Love Marvel'' and commonly stylized as ''I (heart) Marvel'') is a series of connected one-shots published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

. The comic book series was released in February 2006 and cover-dated April 2006 to coincide with the

romance Romance may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings ** Romantic orientation, the classification of the sex or gender with which a pers ...

-themed holiday of

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...

. The comic books tell several romantic stories featuring characters from the Marvel Comics. Each issue focuses on a different area of the

Marvel Universe The Marvel Universe is a fictional shared universe where the stories in most American comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Comics take place. Superhero teams such as the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Guardia ...

. Despite appearing to be a typical fifth-week event comic, February 2006, like every February (excepting

leap year A leap year (also known as an intercalary year or bissextile year) is a calendar year that contains an additional day (or, in the case of a lunisolar calendar, a month) compared to a common year. The 366th day (or 13th month) is added to keep t ...

s), had only four weeks.

Concept and creation

Development

Marvel Comics Editor Aubrey Sitterson stated, "''I (Heart) Marvel'' aims to pay homage to a (somewhat) forgotten part of mainstream comics, while sparking new interest in the genre. ..There is always a chance that something larger could spin out of an event like this. It's no big secret that one of the most useful parts of month-long events like this, or the Marvel Monster Month is to gauge fan reaction and interest. If it looked like fans would eat up a monthly romance comic--whether related to the stories we have cooked up for February or not--you better believe we'd be diving in head first to get it to you."

Publication history

''My Mutant Heart'' was released on February 1, 2006. ''Web of Romance'' was released on February 8, 2006. ''Marvel Ai'' was released on February 15, 2006. ''Outlaw Love'' was released on February 22, 2006. ''Masked Intentions'' was released on March 1, 2006.

Issues

My Mutant Heart

''My Mutant Heart'' was the first one-shot published and was an

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Although initial ...

-centric issue. The issue included the following stories: *''The Promise'' - A

Wolverine The wolverine ( , ; ''Gulo gulo''), also called the carcajou or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species, member of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. The w ...

story written by

Daniel Way Daniel Way (born December 27, 1974) is an American comic book writer, known for his work on Marvel Comics series such as '' Wolverine: Origins'' and ''Deadpool'', as well as the ''Deadpool'' video game. Career Way received the Xeric Grant in 20 ...

and with art by Ken Knutsden. Wolverine recalls an affair that he had in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

in 1943. *''How Love Works'' - A Doop story written by

Peter Milligan Peter Milligan (born 24 June 1961) is a British comic book writer who has written extensively for both British and American comic book industries. In the UK, Milligan has contributed to numerous anthology titles including '' 2000 AD'', ''Revol ...

with art by Marcos Martin. A private investigator follows a woman who is having an affair with Doop. *''My Girlfriend, The Thief!'' - A story about

Cannonball A round shot (also called solid shot or simply ball) is a solid spherical projectile without explosive charge, launched from a gun. Its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the barrel from which it is shot. A round shot fired from a lar ...

written and drawn by

Tim Fish Tim Fish (a pen name; born 1970) is a comic book author and artist and playwright, known for the comics ''Cavalcade of Boys'' and its spin-off graphic novels, short stories for various anthologies and the original graphic novel '' Liebestrasse'', ...

Web of Romance

This second issue focuses on

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

as he tries to think of a gift to give to

Mary Jane Watson Mary Jane "MJ" Watson is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, making her first appearance in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #25 (June 1965), and subsequent ...

for Valentine's Day. The story was written by

Tom Beland Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name. Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tom'' (1973 film), or ''The Bad Bunch'', a blaxploitation film * ''Tom'' (2002 film) ...

and with art by

Cory Walker Cory Walker (born 1980) is an American comic book artist known for co-creating the Image Comics superhero series '' Invincible'' with writer Robert Kirkman. He gained recognition for his dynamic penciling on the early issues of ''Invincible'' an ...

and

Cliff Rathburn Cliff Rathburn is an American comic book artist. He pencils, inks, colors and greyscales. Career Rathburn did some early work at DC Comics. He later known for providing the greyscale coloring for Robert Kirkman's long-running series '' The Walki ...

Marvel Ai

''Marvel Ai'' (subtitled ''Ai = Love'' or ''Ai is Japanese for Love'') was the third issue and featured various Marvel heroes and manga-inspired art. The stories included were all written by C. B. Cebulski and were as follows: *''Meld With You'' - (Art by Tomoko Taniguchi) The

Scarlet Witch The Scarlet Witch is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The X-Men #4 in March 1964, in the Silver Age of Comic Boo ...

recalls her date with The Vision. *''The Silence of the Heart'' - (Art by Kei Kobayashi)

Medusa In Greek mythology, Medusa (; ), also called Gorgo () or the Gorgon, was one of the three Gorgons. Medusa is generally described as a woman with living snakes in place of hair; her appearance was so hideous that anyone who looked upon her wa ...

contemplates her relationship with

Black Bolt Black Bolt (Blackagar Boltagon) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in ''Fantastic Four'' #45 (December 1965). Black Bolt is the ruler of A ...

. *''Love is Blindness'' - (Art by ''Toga'') A story without speech in which the Black Widow and

Elektra Electra, also spelt Elektra, was a daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra in Greek mythology. Electra or Elektra may also refer to: Animals * ''Electra'' (bryozoan), a genus of aquatic invertebrates * ''Elektra'' (bug), a genus of insects in the ...

fight over Daredevil.

Outlaw Love

Written by

Fabian Nicieza Fabian Nicieza (; December 31, 1961) is an Argentine-American comic book writer and editor who is best known for his work on Marvel titles such as ''X-Men'', '' X-Force'', ''New Warriors'', ''Nomad'', ''Cable'', '' Gambit'', '' Deadpool'' and ' ...

and with art by

Jon Proctor Jon is a shortened form of the common given name Jonathan, derived from "YHWH has given". The name is spelled Jón in Iceland and on the Faroe Islands. In the Nordic countries, it is derived from Johannes. Notable people * Jon Aaraas (born 1986 ...

, this issue focuses on the relationship between supervillains the Answer and

Ruby Thursday Ruby Thursday (Thursday Rubinstein) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is usually depicted as a member of the Headmen. She is named for The Rolling Stones song " Ruby Tuesday". Publication history R ...

Bullseye Bullseye or Bull's Eye may refer to: Symbols * ◎ (Unicode U+25CE BULLSEYE), in the Geometric Shapes Unicode block * (Unicode U+0298 LATIN LETTER BILABIAL CLICK), the phonetic symbol for bilabial click Animals and plants * Bull's Eye, '' Eury ...

also appears, as do the

Sisters of Sin The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several fictional teams and organizations and this page lists them. 0–9 198 A A-Force A-Next A.I. Army The A.I. Army is a fictional organization appearing i ...

(

Torso The torso or trunk is an anatomical terminology, anatomical term for the central part, or the core (anatomy), core, of the body (biology), body of many animals (including human beings), from which the head, neck, limb (anatomy), limbs, tail an ...

Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash th ...

, Hoodwink, and Raunch) in a cameo.

Masked Intentions

Fabian Nicieza wrote this issue which presents two different stories of young superheroes in love. *''First Kiss'' - (Art by

Paco Medina Paco is a Spanish nickname for Francisco. According to folk etymology, the nickname has its origins in Saint Francis of Assisi, who was the father of the Franciscan order; his name was written in Latin by the order as (father of the community); h ...

)

Squirrel Girl Squirrel Girl (Doreen Allene Green) is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Will Murray and writer-artist Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' vol. 2 #8, ...

is infatuated with Speedball. *''Last Date'' - (Art by

Mike Norton Mike Norton is an American comic book artist and writer, known for his work on '' Battlepug''. Early life Mike Norton first discovered comics as a child when his father gave him a copy of ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #163, before he was old enoug ...

)

Justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

and Firestar of the

New Warriors The New Warriors are a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They traditionally consisted of teenage and young adult heroes, and were often seen to serve as a junior counterpart to Avengers (comics) ...

prepare for their wedding, but Firestar has cold feet.

Reception

Critical response

Ryan Ten of ''

Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and comic books. It is owned by Valnet, parent of publications including Comic Book Resources, Collider, MovieWeb and XDA Developers. ...

'' included the ''I ♥ Marvel'' comic book series in their "10 Most Romantic Comic Books" list, writing, "The novelty of getting to see famous Marvel characters experience or reflect on love is heartwarming across the board, and a different flavor from what is normally seen in the comics." Cailyn Szelinski of ''

Comic Book Resources ''CBR'', formerly ''Comic Book Resources'', is a news website primarily covering comic book news, comic book reviews, and comic book–related topics involving movies, television, anime, and video games. It is owned by Valnet, parent of publicat ...

'' ranked the ''I ♥ Marvel'' comic book series 9th in their "10 Cutest Romance Comics."

Sales

According to

Diamond Comic Distributors Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. (often called Diamond Comics, DCD, or casually Diamond) is an American comic book distributor serving retailers in North America and worldwide. It transports comic books and graphic novels, as well as other popu ...

, ''My Mutant Heart'' was the 170th best selling comic book in February 2006. ''Web of Romance'' was the 165th best selling comic book in February 2006. ''Marvel Ai'' was the 179th best selling comic book in February 2006. ''Outlaw Love'' was the 183rd best selling comic book in February 2006. ''Masked Intentions'' was the 215th best selling comic book in March 2006.

References

{{Reflist 2006 comics debuts Marvel Comics one-shots Marvel Comics titles Romance comics