Prom Night: Dream or Nightmare? YOUNG ROMANCE "Campus Outcast"

It's May, the month of the annual high school/college ritual known as "The Prom"!

Will it be a fond memory...or something best forgotten?

We're starting the month off with a story from the guys who created the romance comics genre, Joe Simon & Jack Kirby in a never-reprinted tale from Prize's Young Romance #3 (1948)!

Though penciled and inked by long-time Simon & Kirby Studio artist Bill Draut, it's obvious the layouts are by Jack Kirby.
And, though no scripter can be traced, it's more than likely that, with that melancholy ending, Kirby and/or editor Joe Simon penned the story.
Note: We're beginning with a Young Romance story from the 1940s, and we'll end the month with a Young Romance story from the 1970s!
In between we'll look at proms in the 1950s, 60s, and even the future!

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

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Young Romance

Best of Simon & Kirby's Romance Comics

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A Month of Matt Baker WARTIME ROMANCES "Road to Disgrace"

Before 1973, serving in the military, whether voluntary or conscripted (the Draft)...

...used to be a part of almost every American man's life.

So, it seemed logical that there would be romance comics based around something that affected almost all young (18-25), eligible males, and the women who loved them!

The penciler of this never-reprinted story from St John's WarTime Romances #4 (1952) is legendary good-girl artist Matt Baker, aided by long-time inker Ray Osrin, but the writer is unknown.

Next Week:

We Don't Yet Know Which Matt Baker Story We'll Present, But We Guarantee that...

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

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Matt Baker

Art of Glamour

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A Month of Matt Baker COWGIRL ROMANCES "Stars Fell on Arizona" / MOVIE COMICS "Mitzi in Hollywood Meets Sonny Sagebrush"

We've shown you reprints where fashions and hairstyles were updated...

but this story from Fiction House's CowGirl Romances #10 (1952) doesn't do that!

OK, pretty straightforward tale of a starry-eyed girl living near a movie location, getting to appear in the movie, meeting her screen idol, and not finding true love, right?

But, that's not how it started out!

This is actually a re-use of lovely Matt Baker art for an earlier ongoing series, Mitzi in Hollywood, about a struggling actress looking for her big break in Hollywood!

This particular episode from Fiction House's Movie Comics #4 (1947) was about working as an extra on a Western movie set...and the original script was quite different...

Sadly, this was the final issue of Movie Comics, so no more Mitzi adventures ever appeared...except as heavily-modified reprints like our lead story!
Though Matt Baker is best-known as a cheesecake/glamour girl artist, he was, in fact, quite proficient in other genres, such as Westerns (as shown above), sci-fi, war, adventure, and even horror!
And yes, he did a lot of romance stories and covers, as you'll see all this month!

Next Week:

We Don't Yet Know Which Matt Baker Story We'll Present, But We Guarantee that...

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

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Matt Baker

Art of Glamour

DARLING ROMANCE "I Stole My Sister's Man"

Did a woman write this tale...

...a story about a sleazy, sordid, and slutty sibling trying to steal her sister's guy!

(and it's from Archie Comics, no less!)?
Read it, and tell us what you think!

The success of Simon & Kirby's Young Romance unleashed a horde of romance comic imitators  including this decidedly non-Archie title from Archie Comics.

These pre-Comics Code series featured stories that rivaled the true confessions-style magazines for naughtiness and radio soap operas for ridiculous plot twists, as this tale from Darling Romance #1 (1949) demonstrates.

The unknown writer (who must've believed they were being paid by the word) went under the pen-name "Mary Woods"!
But does it "read" like a man or woman wrote it?
What's your opinion???
OTOH, the art of Bill Fix (who did only romance stories during his short career in comics) is very distinctive...and he conveniently signed it!

Next Week:

We Have No Idea What We're Going to Run...Yet!

But We Guarantee...

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Agonizing Love

The Golden Age of Romance Comics

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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!

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Archie's Rivals in Teen Comics

1940s-1970s

An Illustrated History

Love is a Prison ALL TRUE ROMANCE "Love Blind"

There's a cliche about how "girls love bad boys"...

...and Sally Jones is about to discover how "bad" a boy Ace Miller is...and how he'll prove Love is a Prison!

The scripter for this never-reprinted story from Comic Media's All True Romance #9 (1953) is unknown, and the art is by the staff of the Iger Studio, who provided editorial and art services to small publishers who didn't have their own creatives.
So, we don't know who to credit (or blame) for this particular tale.
Note: as of the next issue, the publisher began producing their own material using a mix of established and new/upcoming writers and artists who created a unique look and tone for their entire line (not just the romance books) until the company's demise two years later due to the industry-shaking "Seduction of the Innocent" mania of the mid-1950s.

Next Week...

Another Story About How

Love is a Prison!

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

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Agonizing Love

The Golden Age of Romance Comics