Most romance comics tales about disease involve nobility and sacrifice...
...but not this one (which, technically, isn't a romance comic tale)!
BTW, since numerous others (including her servants) were in close physical contact with Anne and didn't catch the disease, the only way it could be transmitted was via (ahem) "marital relations"!
(Fine, no more euphemisms...sexual intercourse!)
Pretty kinky for a Silver Age Comics Code-approved tale, eh?
Plotter Stan Lee, writer Larry Lieber, penciler Gene Colan, and inker Dick Ayers all had experience in romance genre comics, but this particular story appeared in Atlas' Tales to Astonish #28 (1962)...a sci-fi anthology...just as Atlas was transitioning into Marvel Comics!
(Trivia: the previous issue of Astonish featured the first appearance of Hank (Ant-Man) Pym!)
I can't help but wonder what the target audience of 8-to-15 year old boys thought of this particular tale...
Next Week...
Another Tale of Debilitating Conditions and Desire!
You'll Cry Your Eyes Out If You Miss It!
And now a word from our sponsor...
Marvel's picked some of the best love comics from the 60s and 70s...including "My Heart Broke in Hollywood,"
Collects Love Romance #89 and #101-104; My Love #2, #14, #16 and #18-20; Teen-Age Romance #77 and #84, Our Love Story #5; and Patsy Walker #119.
