Amorous Education CAMPUS ROMANCES "What College Failed to Teach Me"

The Older Man/Younger Woman Trope Gets an Added Boost...

...with a never-reprinted story that involves (potentially) incest!

Can you tell this is a pre-Comics Code Authority story?

Illustrated by Ed Waldman and scripted by an unknown writer, this tale from Avon's Campus Romances #2 (1949) is meant for an older audience (late teen/early adult) audience than romance comics from the mid-1950s onward!

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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Love on the Racks

A History of American Romance Comics

SUGAR BOWL COMICS "Ginny in 'I Hate Men!' "

Why can't hating men be fun?

This never-reprinted entry in the teen humor genre from Eastern Color's Sugar Bowl Comics #2 (1948) answers the question!

Ginny Lambert was the comic's lead character, and disappeared when the book was cancelled after only five issues!
None of the title's stories have ever been reprinted, and we intend to correct that oversight in the future.
Illustrated by Gerald "Jerry" Fasano, who worked in the business from 1949 to 1959, then disappeared.

Whether he passed away or simply switched to another profession is unknown, as is the scripter of this tale.

Next Week:

Our Final "I Hated Men" Tale is Fatal for One of the Characters!

You'll Cry Your Eyes Out if You Miss It!

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Archie's Rivals in Teen Comics

1940s-1970s

An Illustrated History

Laugh at Love on Valentine's Day MARGIE COMICS "Elusive Valentine!"

Here's a never-reprinted Valentine's Day treat...

...from almost 80 years ago years ago, featuring a teen humor character from the company that later became Marvel Comics!

Until the mid 1970s when Archie Comics became the sole "teen humor" publisher, every company had several titles with wacky teenage protagonists.
Margie, created/written/illustrated by Morris Weiss was typical of the genre...

• Irresponsible, impulsive teen (of either gender)!
• Usually-clueless object of affection!
• Constantly-irritated parents!
• An annoying younger sibling (usually of the opposite gender to the protagonist)!
• Various eccentric friends!

Initially a backup strip that floated to whatever humor comic needed a 5-6 page filler, she finally got her own title by taking over Timely's Comedy Comics in 1946 as of #35 and holding on to it until #50 in 1950, when the book became Reno Browne: Hollywood's Greatest Cowgirl.
Margie went back to being a floating backup strip for another year before disappearing completely, never to be seen again!
This particular tale (one of the few comic tales I could find with "Valentine's Day" in the title that didn't deal with the famous gang-war massacre!) is from Timely's Margie Comics #37 (1946).

Happy Valentine's Day!

John Buscema Tales COWBOY ROMANCES "Cowgirls Don't Cry!"

Then-fledgling (now-legendary) artist John Buscema entered the comics field in 1949...

...and this tale, combining romance with a contemporary Western setting, was among the stories he illustrated that year!

This never-reprinted story from Atlas' Cowboy Romances #1(1949) was one of nine romance tales John illustrated that year.

Six of them were for Western romance comics!

(It was a very popular sub-genre at that point!)
BTW, John followed the established format for Atlas Comics' romance stories.
No full-page "splash" pages!
Six-panels to a page (except for the first page).
Lots of medium (from the waist up) and close-up panels.
When Buscema began working for other publishers, those restrictions no longer applied, and the artist we've come to know and admire burst forth...

Next Week, a 1950s story from John Buscema!

Witness his artistic evolution decade by decade!

You'll Cry Your Eyes Out If You Miss It!

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Big John Buscema

Comics and Drawings

A combination of complete checklist of Buscema's comic and magazine work and a heavily-illustrated catalog of a 2009 Italian museum exhibition of his work!

Anything BUT Archie CLUB 16 COMICS "Heavens to Betsy! Wheel of Betsy's Zodiac"

Here's a never-reprinted story from Eastern Color's Club 16 Comics #1 (1948)...

...starring the character who was cover-featured on three of the four issues of the comic!

Presumably, the "Indian Sign" he's referring to is something like this...

...since Native American iconography was popular in advertising/branding until the 1970s!

Artist Jimmy Thompson was both prolific and versatile, working on everything including Westerns, crime, war, romance, humor, and superheroes for almost every publisher including Eastern Color, McKay, DC, Timely, Fawcett, Avon, and Street & Smith.

Next Week:

Another Example of Humor That Doesn't Look Like Archie!

You'll Cry Your Eyes Out if You Miss It!

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Archie's Rivals in Teen Comics

1940s-1970s

An Illustrated History

Advice d'Amour LOVE STORIES OF MARY WORTH "Her Selfish Love!" Conclusion

We Have Already Seen...

War hero Ian McLane and actress Seline Adair seemed like the ideal couple.

But Seline's teen sister Binnie lusted after Ian!

When, in a misunderstnding, Seline apparently dumped Ian, Binnie (whom Ian doesn't know is Seline's younger sibling) made her move...

So Binnie was Seline's daughter...who married Ian, who Binnie said was too old for Seline!

This actually isn't unusual for radio/tv soap operas, which have gone to far more outrageous lengths to surprise the audience!

BTW, though nosy Mary Worth never had an actual newspaper advice column, the comic introduced one (albeit totally-scripted)...

Love Stories of Mary Worth continued for another four issues before cancellation and she hasn't had a steady comic book since then.

The Mary Worth newspaper strip continues to this day and you can find the latest "three-Kleenex tale HERE!

Next Week:

We're Not Yet Sure What Theme We'll Present, But We Can Say...

You'll Cry Your Eyes Out If You Miss It!

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True-to-Life Adventures of
MARY WORTH

Advice d'Amour LOVE STORIES OF MARY WORTH "Her Selfish Love!" Part 1

Winding up this month's theme is the ultimate comics busybody...

...the four-color embodiment of the little old lady who lives next door and has an opinion about everything!

We now take a pause, dear reader!

But we're not going to make you wait until next week, because you'll see the heart-rending conclusion...

TOMORROW!

(And, Yes, You'll Cry Your Eyes Out If You Miss It!)

Despite the caption in the splash panel talking about "actual case files" and "famous newspaper love advisor", Mary Worth was never used as a pseudonym for an actual columnist like "Beatrice Fairfax".
But the character (and her tendency to meddle in romance) was so well-known in 1930s and 40s pop culture, that it seemed like she probably did have a non-comics feature in newspapers!
And the book's title is somewhat misleading, since the tales have nothing to do with Mary's personal life!
It's about the people around her, most of whom only appear in a given plotline, then disappear, never to return!
BTW, the book (like almost all non-newspaper appearances of the character) reprints daily and Sunday newspaper strips.
Only the cover and splash page are new illustrations!
The book crams a plotline that ran for two to three months into a single issue!
So, instead of the usual three rows of panels (or fewer if you have half-page or full page panels), it's four rows of dialogue-heavy panels!
But if you're a soap opera fan, the strip is a true visual embodiment of the genre!

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True-to-Life Adventures of

MARY WORTH