WOMEN IN LOVE "I Was a Greenwich Village Character"

For over a century, NYC's Greenwich Village has been considered a creative utopia...

...and the unknown writer of this tale seems very familiar with the workings of both the commercial art and fine art communities that mingled in The Village!

This never-reprinted tale from Ziff-Davis' 100-page one-shot Women in Love (1952) is incredibly-overwritten, as if it was a prose story that just happened to have illustrations!

Artist Gerald McCann had the unenviable task of trying to actually illustrate panels that are overflowing with captions and text!

Next Week:

We're Not Sure Exactly What We'll Present!
But...

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

And now a word from out sponsor..

Support True Love Comics Tales!

Visit Amazon and Buy...

Love on the Racks

A History of American Romance Comics
Paid Link

Anything BUT Archie! HOMER HOOPER "Twelve-Dollar Conundrum"

How Close Can You Come to Being an Archie Clone...without  Being Sued?

Atlas Comics sure gave it a shot with this series!

This typical tale from Atlas' Homer Hooper #3 (1953) was scripted by Stan Lee and illustrated by Hy Rosen.

Besides the blonde (who was well-off but not rich), the red-headed lead and the nasty frenemy, the series also featured a brunette, Homer's skinny best friend with a big nose, an athlete, brainy nerd, annoyed teachers and principal, etc.

Hy Rosen, who did a credible job as a Dan DeCarlo clone was one of the few artists working in the style who didn't end up at Archie Comics.

In the mid-1940s he added newspaper editorial cartooning to his already-busy schedule.

When comics almost died in the mid-1950s, Hy took on advertising storyboard work to take up the slack, creating the "White Tornado" ad campaign for Ajax Cleanser!

Hy's last work was for Harvey Comics in the early 1990s...on New Kids on the Block and Saved by the Bell comics!

Interestingly, his eulogy at his "home" newspaper, The Albany Times-Union, makes no mention of his comic book work!

Next week:

We haven't decided yet what it'll be, but we can guarantee that...

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

(Oh, you've heard that, eh?)
And now a word from our sponsor..

Support True Love Comics Tales!

Visit Amazon and Buy...

Archie's Rivals in Teen Comics

1940s-1970s

An Illustrated History
Paid Link

Halloween HeartBreak MENACE "Fake!"

 Remember the old adage "Don't judge a book by it's cover"?

 Here's the codicil; "It goes both ways"!

Illustrated by Al Eadeh, this tale from Atlas' Menace #10 (1954) follows the classic trope of golddigger tripped up, not by her own greed, but by the fact her husband (who still loves her) is not even human!

Remember, the target audience for horror (as opposed to romance) comics was 8-14 year old boys, to whom girls were "yukky".

And for whom Lois Lane , the nosy reporter who was always trying to either expose Superman's secret identity or trick the Man of Steel into marrying her, was the typical woman!

Next Week:

We Don't Yet Know What We'll Present, But We Guarantee That...

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...

Gothic Tales of Haunted Love

Paid Link

Advice d'Amour LOVE DIARY & LOVE JOURNAL "Prescription for Happiness" & "SOS for Love"

You'll Note We're Combining Two Romance Counseling Features into One Post!

It's because of legendary artist John Buscema!

Though most of his romance comics stories were one-shots...

...along with one two-parter (as shown HERE and HERE), he did do two series of 2-3 page shorts!

Entitled "Prescription for Happiness" and "S.O.S. for Love", the shorts featured distressed lovers asking a counselor for advice, much like the licensed (and unlicensed) advisors we've been presenting in our Advice d'Amour tales!
Appearing in Orbit's Love Diary and Love Journal comics, the strips initially-featured rotating artists, but once Buscema took over, he stayed on both of them for the remainder of their runs, doing almost a dozen tales of woe!

Yes, the title on this one is "S.O.S. Love in Distress".

To be fair, this was the final strip in the final issue of Love Journal, so the editor can be forgiven for letting the incorrect header slip by!
After all, what were they going to do...fire him?
In a couple of cases, as Orbit was winding down operations just before cancellation, they took an "S.O.S. for Love" strip from the previous year like this one...

...and re-ran it as "Prescription for Happiness", just changing the logo and re-naming the counselor...without even redrawing him to match the other strip's host!

I guess they thought "PfH's" Ray Mann and "S.O.S.'s" Mark Ford were interchangeable!

Next Week

It's Time for the Annual Gothic Romance Beach Read, Running Monday Thru Friday!

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 Buy...

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!

Paid Link

Advice d'Amour MR ANTHONY'S LOVE CLINIC "I Thought You Were Single"

We've Met This Real-Life Romance Know-It-All Before...

...as seen HERE, but you won't see him this time until near the end of this sorrowful tale, when he'll dispense his "Advice d'Amour"!

This never-reprinted tale from Hillman's Mr Anthony's Love Clinic #3 (1950) showed the title's namesake knew his stuff...at least when it came to matters of the heart!

Next Week...

Another Busybody Who Believes He/She Knows What's Best for Our Love Lives!

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

And now a word from our sponsor...

Please Support True Love Comics Tales

Visit Amazon and Order...

Agonizing Love

The Golden Age of Romance Comics

Paid Link

Advice d'Amour DR ANTHONY KING: HOLLYWOOD LOVE DOCTOR "Dr. Anthony King, Hollywood Psychiatrist"

This Month, We Return to a Previous Topic...

...busybodies who, solicited (as in this case) or unsolicited, will offer their advice to set your off-the-rails love life back on-course!
(Is it just me or is that grin in the splash panel somewhat...disturbing?)

This premiere tale from the good doctor's first issue of Toby's Dr Anthony King: Hollywood Love Doctor (1951) can't make up it's mind if it's a detective tale or a romance story.

And while the first issue emphasized an entertainment industry connection, the second issue dropped "Hollywood" from the title and he started treating the miserable love lives of everyday people!
The artist is Myron Fass.
But, sadly, the writer is unknown.

Next Week:

Another Story Hosted by Someone Who Believes He/She is Qualified to Solve Other People's Problems!
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...

Love on the Racks

A History of American Romance Comics
Paid Link

Divorce American Style SICK "Divorce, of Course!"

Ending a Marriage Can Be a Grim Experience!

...so let's lighten the mood with a bit of humor, specifically, parody!

Last year, we presented a month of comic stories about "Love Advisors" including real-life radio show host Mr Anthony...who actually had no qualifications whatsoever to counsel troubled lovers!

Well, he inspired imitators, some of whom made the transition from radio to TV!
This never-reprinted story, illustrated by the versatile Bob Powell, from Prize's MAD Magazine imitator Sick #3 (1960) is a parody of the entire counselor genre, not any particular inept advisor!

Next Week:

Our Final Diatribe (For Now) About Divorce!

And, as Always, We Guarantee That...

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 Buy...

Sincerest Form of Parody

Paid Link