Showing posts with label comics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label comics. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 1, 2026

Love IS Lunacy A MOON, A GIRL...ROMANCE "I Was Jilted and Had No Desire to Live!"

Sometimes, you just want a three-hankie tear-jerker...
...to cleanse your soul...and here it is!
I know, I know.
This being EC Comics, you half-expected her to take the poison, become zombified, and eat Gregg when he came to the door.
And, the story from EC's A Moon, a Girl...Romance #9 (1949) is so cliched that it might have inspired writer/illustrator Al Feldstein to think about doing exactly that when, a year later, EC began doing its' now-classic horror comics titles!
BTW, if the book's title seems a little...weird, it's due to Post Office regulations!
Really!
Back in the days of getting subscription magazines by mail, a publisher had to purchase a separate license for each one to get the low "second class" magazine mailing rate!
But that license would apply only to one periodical at a time!
If you launched a differently-titled periodical, you had to buy a separate license for that book!
Comic publishers were notoriously-stingy, so if a book wasn't selling, they'd reformat it, but try to keep the title as similar as possible to avoid buying a new mailing license!
This series started out as Moon Girl and the Prince, about a super-heroine and her consort.
With #2, it became just Moon Girl, as the Prince was downplayed in the stories.
But when violent 'true crime' stories were introdued as of #7, the series was retitled Moon Girl Fights Crime.
When that didn't boost sales, Moon Girl was dropped entirely, and, in #9, the book became a romance comic called A Moon, A Girl...Romance!
But sales still didn't improve, so it was revamped as of #13 into s sci-fi/fantasy book called Weird Fantasy, atnad after four issues the PO said "ENOUGH!" and forced EC to finally pay for a new second class mailing license!
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

Wednesday, March 18, 2026

Advice d'Amour PERSONAL LOVE "Sob Sister's Scandal"

What Happens When a Love Advisor Gives You the Wrong  Advice...Deliberately?

This never-reprinted story from Eastern's Personal Love #10 (1951) give us the answer!









Bill (Sub-Mariner) Everett illustrated (and perhaps scripted) this titillating tale filled with twists and turns!

Next Week:
We Have No Idea What Story 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...
Support True Love Comics Tales
Visit Amazon and Buy...
Agonizing Love

Wednesday, July 23, 2025

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...

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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Wednesday, July 16, 2025

Advice d'Amour MARY WORTH featuring TOM KANE

Comics' Best-Known Little Old Lady/Busybody Returns...

...with a never-reprinted compilation from her still-ongoing newspaper comic strip!







Appearing in the Standard Comics one-shot Major Hoople Comics (1943), this 1942 tale by "Dale Allen" (Co-creators writer Allen Saunders and artist Dale Connor) introduced Connie Barclay, who ends up marrying ongoing character Tom Kane, and the two then fade from the series.
Ironically, Dale Connor left the strip shortly after this.
Ken Ernst, the longest-running illustrator on the strip began his run, which would continue until he passed away in 1985.
As we mentioned, the series continues to this day, one of the few to survive from the 1930s to the present without a break!
Check out the current Mary Worth strip HERE! and a cool article about the series (with timeline) HERE!

Next Week:
Another Annoying Busybody Offers Love Advice!
And We Can Say...
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...

Wednesday, May 15, 2024

INTIMATE LOVE "I Hated Men"

Sometimes there are valid reasons for women to be cautious about men...

...but rarely are there situations that require not just distrust, but hatred of the other gender!
We don't know who scripted or illustrated this never-reprinted story from Standard's Intimate Love #13 (1951), but this tale is a classic example of unrealistic plotting and scripting, even by comic book standards!

Next Week...
Another Story About a Woman Who Proclaims...
"I HATED MEN!!!"
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...

Tuesday, January 30, 2024

John Buscema Tales "Prescription for Happiness" & "S.O.S. for Love"

Though most of John Busecema's 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 presented last year 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...
What Will February Bring?
At This Point, We Haven't Decided Yet!
But We Can Assure You...
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 Buy...

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!