Have you seen the new J-Lo romcom Marry Me? Nothing in the marketing lets you know that it’s based on a graphic novel. Originally published by Keenspot, created and written by Bobby Crosby and drawn by Remy “Eisu” Mokhtar back in 2007, [amazon text=Marry Me the comic book&asin=1932775749] focuses on a Britney Spears analogue rather than the J-Lo analogue J-Lo plays in the movie. As such, the book has an extra keenness to it when read from a 2022 lens.
Superstar “Stasia” has it all — multi-platinum albums, sold out arena tours, and millions of adoring fans. But she also has a string of ex-boyfriends and a dissatisfaction with her life. As the story plays out, Crosby delves deeper into how tightly she’s controlled by her father (ring a bell?) and false her image is.
Out in the audience at a concert in Oklahoma, high school counselor Guy and his best friend Parker have front row seats. Dragged along by Parker, Guy has absolutely no idea who Stasia is, except awareness that both Parker and his students love her. In fact, superfan Parker seems to border on dangerous obsession — she claims to run Stasia’s Wikipedia page, and again from 2022, we know how that goes.
It’s her sign that says “Marry Me,” but she needs Guy to hold onto it while she runs to the bathroom. So when Stasia — exhausted by relationships and musing over arranged marriages — looks into the audience, the high school counselor gets the nod. Somehow an actual priest shows up in the middle of the concert.
It’s an effective rom-com aimed at middle school readers, though Crosby skips over a step or two. Most of what actually happened on stage is parsed out throughout the story as Guy and Stasia find out who the other person is, parallel to the central question — was this a legal marriage? It’s meant to be lighthearted, and for the most part it works.
These leads are considerably younger than their movie counterparts. Not being able to compare to the movie narrative, it does seem like both age approaches could work. The impulsivity of Stasia’s decision works for a 25 year old in a bubble, and Guy certainly seems more stable than Kevin Federline was at the time. To Crosby’s credit, both romantic leads have depth, though he and Mokhtar were clearly working in a heightened manga style that allows for side characters to be shallower and more cartoonish.
Looking back gives it a bittersweet tinge — how much the mainstream dismissed the humanity of the pop product that Stasia represents. Though it would be nice to think we’ve gotten better, that may be wishful thinking. But if you read Marry Me, you don’t have to take on my melancholy. Romantic comedy isn’t a genre often associated with comics (at least not in the 21st century), but this was/is a great example of how well it can work. (Volume 2, Big Celebrity Wedding, is due in March.)
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