It's the Season for Lovin' ADVENTURES IN ROMANCE "September Squall"

Now that it's September...

...let's tell a seasonally-appropriate, never-reprinted, cover-featured story that really fits the concept of a "beach read'!

The painted cover art (by the story's artist, Warren King) was based on the final panel.
While other comics publishers used painted covers on their romance comics, most of those were re-used pulp or paperback paintings which were unrelated to the interior stories!
You've likely noted a couple of two-page spreads at the beginning of the story and at the conclusion.
St John's Adventures in Romance #1 (1949), experimented with doing double-page spreads in each story to establish a distinctive "look".
Sadly, the series only lasted two issues.  ;-(
Artist Warren King spent several years in comic books doing everything from superheroes to horror to romance, before moving into newspaper cartooning, becoming the in-house editorial cartoonist at the NY Daily News and winning the National Cartoonists Society Best Editorial Cartoonist Award in 1968.
He passed away in 1978.

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 out sponsor..
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Romance Without Tears
featuring comics stories written by Dana Dutch! 
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A Month of Matt Baker TEEN-AGE ROMANCES "How Could I Fight Temptation?" / DIARY SECRETS "Temptation Was My Weakness"

Our Final Entry in A Month of Matt Baker...

...is an almost-stereotypical comic book love story, but told with finesse and style..with one weird aspect!

Can you tell what it is?

 

Published in St John's Teen-Age Romances #2 (1949), this story, written by Dana Dutch, penciled by Matt Baker and inked either by himself or by Ray Osrin hits all the classic elements of the genre.

The weird part is that the students are all drawn like college-age kids, but it's clearly set in high school!
When it was reprinted in St John's Diary Secrets #19 (1953), the title was changed...

...but nothing else in text or art was altered!

Next Week:

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

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

And Now a Word from Our Sponsor!

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Matt Baker

Art of Glamour

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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!

And Now a Word from Our Sponsor!

Support True Love Comics Tales

Visit Amazon and Order...

Matt Baker

Art of Glamour

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A Month of Matt Baker TEEN-AGE ROMANCES "They Called Me a Wayward Girl"

Sometimes a "Bad Girl" is Just a Mis-directed "Good Girl"...

...who just needs a chance!

Scripted by Dana Dutch and illustrated by Matt Baker, fresh off his tenure at Fox Comics where he illustrated scantly-clad heroines like Phantom Lady and Rulah, the two teamed-up in this premiere issue of St John's Teen-Age Romances (1949), beginning a run that matched Simon & Kirby's genre ground-breaking romance books for Prize Comics in storytelling and sales!

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!

And Now a Word from Our Sponsor!

Support True Love Comics Tales

Visit Amazon and Order...

Matt Baker
Art of Glamour
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WARTIME ROMANCES "Lovelife of an Army Nurse"

It is said that "All is fair in love and war"...

...as this nurse learns the hard way in a story from St John's Wartime Romances #1 (1951)!

Penciled by legendary "good girl" artist Mat Baker and inked by Ray Osirin, this tale of combat and cattiness was typical of the more adult approach that St John's creatives took in their various romance titles.

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...

Matt Baker

Art of Glamour

Romance on the Range ADVENTURES IN ROMANCE "Stopgap: the Saga of Coby Nash"

Though not strictly a "Western romance" title......St John's anthology Adventures in Romance was an attempt to mix several genres with romance...including high adventure, swashbuckling pirates, and, as you'll see, Westerns...to attract both male and female readers!

Despite running romance strips in almost every genre (except horror and sci-fi), the book only lasted two issues.

Illustrator Leonard Starr spent a decade in comics before moving on to newspaper comic strips, first as an assistant on Flash Gordon, then as the creator/writer/artist of the long-running Mary Perkins: on Stage!
He's best known to contemporary audiences as the creator/writer/designer of the animated TV series ThunderCats!

Next Week:

We're Not Yet Sure 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 Order...

Cowgirl Bride