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!

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Gothic Tales of Haunted Love

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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!

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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!

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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!

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Agonizing Love

The Golden Age of Romance Comics

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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!

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Love on the Racks

A History of American Romance Comics
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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!

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Sincerest Form of Parody

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Divorce American-Style BEST LOVE "I Craved His Kisses!"

No, This Isn't a Romance on the Range Story...

...it's definitely Divorce American-Style, and just happens to start in the present-day West...specifically Las Vegas, home of "quckie divorces"!

Scripted by an unknown writer (but likely the book's editor, Stan Lee), penciled by Werner Roth & Bill Everett and inked by Everett, this story of divorcees, divorce lawyers, and...well...failed divorce (which means a rekindled, successful marriage) and another, likely, marriage...appeared in Timely's Best Love #36 (1950).

Next Week:

We Have No Idea Which Story of Divorce We're Going to Run...Yet!

But We Guarantee...

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

And now a word from our sponsor...

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Agonizing Love

The Golden Age of Romance Comics

(which reprints this story of almost-divorce and horny divorce lawyers)
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Prom Night: Dream or Nightmare? JETTA OF THE 21st CENTURY "Jet Jaunt"

It's Prime Time for Prom time...Even If It's in the Future...as Seen from the 1950s!

(We didn't skip the 1950s, just moved it down the line)

But, in teen humor comic books (even set in the future), things never go smoothly!

 

OK, maybe it's just as well that we of the real 21st Century still don't have flying cars...

As you might have guessed, Archie artist Dan DeCarlo was the illustrator for this tale from Standard Comics' Jetta of the 21st Century #5 (1952), which was actually her first issue!

(Issues 1-4 were a romance comic called Today's Romance!)

Next week:

Our Final Prom Story, Set in the Swinging '70s! And we can guarantee that...

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

(Oh, you've heard that, eh?)

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Dan DeCarlo's Jetta