Wednesday, January 15, 2025

TEEN CONFESSIONS "Wild Side"

Though the Book has "Teen" in the Title...

...these people are obviously not teenagers!
Young adults, yes!
But not teenagers!
One other note: the same art was used for both the cover and the splash page.
If the art director had left the "Wild Side" lettering in place on the lower right of the splash page (the way it is on the cover), there would've been room for the caption to go across the top of the page without it crashing into the bearded artist's model's head, throwing off the composition of the art!










Argentinian artist Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez began his American comics career at Charlton in 1967, doing a lot of romance comics work!
This never-reprinted tale from Charlton's Teen Confessions #61 (1970) is from the end of his romance genre work as Charlton's editors finally gave him a chance to branch out into the horror genre, which brought him to DC Comics' attention.
Unfortunately, DC had cancelled their remaining romance titles a couple of months before they hired him!
But Garcia-Lopez barely-noticed as he was swamped with work as they used him in many different genres from horror to sci-fi to superheroes!


In the early 1980s, Jose also became their primary licensed-property artist, with work on everything from lunchboxes to t-shirts to toy packaging to food items!
His work, with updated costume modifications, is used to this day!
Next Week:
We're Not Sure Yet Exactly What We'll Present!
But...
You'll Cry Your Eyes Out if You Miss It!
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Wednesday, January 8, 2025

Amourous Education TEEN-AGE ROMANCE "We Can't Marry Yet"

Though "Instant Gratification" is a Way of Life Today...
...it wasn't always so, as this never-reprinted story from Atlas' Teen-Age Romance #70 (1961) proves!
Edited/plotted by Stan Lee, scripted by Larry Lieber, penciled by Dick Giordano, and inked by Vince Colletta, this well-told tale of gratification deferred benefits from an especially-good coloring job by a (sadly) unknown colorist who was obviously "feeling" the material!
Next Week:
We're Not Yet Sure What We'll Present!
But We Can Guarantee That...
You'll Cry Your Eye Out if You Miss It!

Tuesday, December 24, 2024

Do You Love O Henry's Yuletide Classic "Gift of the Magi" as Much as We Do?

...we've presented three of them, each with its' own particular charms!
and
O Henry's classic Christmas story of True Love has been adapted into every media format imaginable, sometimes as a period piece, sometimes updated to the present, and, in a couple of cases, projected into the future!
 Merry Christmas
and
Happy New Year!
We'll be back on January 8, 2025
You'll Cry Your Eyes Out If You Miss It!

Wednesday, December 18, 2024

HI-SCHOOL ROMANCE "Baby-Sitter's Blues"

From the title, you wouldn't think this was a Yuletide story...
...but it most definitely is!
Does this story (by unknown writers, artists, or a writer-artist) from Harvey's Hi-School Romance #3 (1950) give you the "warm and fuzzy" feeling such holiday tales are supposed to provide?
Merry Christmas!!!

Wednesday, December 11, 2024

BARBIE "See You Later, Christmas Gator" Part 2: Special Delivery & Part 3: The Present

 ...on Christmas Eve, Santa Claus runs into trouble when he's forced down over Florida by a tropical storm!
Luckily, Barbie is nearby...
Normally, we'd run Part 3 next week, but the chapters are so short, we're going to present it now...

Written by Angelo DeCesare, penciled by Mario Capaldi, and inked by John Lucas, this never-reprinted tale from Marvel's Barbie #50 (1995) was typical of the kool flights of fancy the series specialized in.
Barbie, and its' sister title Barbie Fashion, were two secret success stories for Marvel in the 1990s.
Because they weren't superhero titles, the hardcore (mostly male) fans never even noticed them, but the two books ran an impressive 63 and 53 issues respectively at a time when many titles lasted 12 issues...or less!
Next Week:
We're Not Sure Which Yultide Tale We'll Present!
But We Do Guarantee...
You'll Cry Your Eyes Out If You Miss It!
And now a word from our sponsor...
Support
True Love Comics Tales!
Visit Amazon and Order...