Yuletide Tidings PEP COMICS "Archie in 'Christmas Cheers' "

It's comics' all-American boy...as most of you don't know him...

...a buck-toothed, layabout, closer to Reggie (who doesn't appear in this tale), than the wholesome teen of today!
(BTW, for an explanation of War Bonds, and why Archie's dad invested part of his son's $50 check, go HERE!)

Written by Harry Sahle and Ed Goggin, penciled by Sahle and inked by "Ginger" (Virginia Drury), this story from MLJ's Pep Comics #46 (1944) is notable for the debut of two characters; Pop Tate, owner of "Pop's Chocklit Shop" (Called "Tate's" in this tale), and Gabby, a short-lived character who screwed-up other people's lives by continually blabbing things others were not meant to know!

As you can see, the original Bob Montana character designs (which Sahle and Drury matched almost exactly) had not yet been updated to the streamlined Dan DeCarlo versions, which serve as the primary templates of the characters from the 1950s to this day!

Next Week:

We don't know what we'll publish...yet!

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Archie and Friends All-Stars Christmas Stocking
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COOKIE "Turkey Meets Jerky"

I couldn't find a single romance comic with a Thanksgiving theme...

...but, thankfully (pun intended), teen humor comics have a number of them!

Note, there is a romantic sub-plot involving Cookie's girlfriend AngelPuss!

Curiously, this tale, written and illustrated by Dan Gordon, is from the same issue our previous Cookie holiday tale appeared in, ACG's Cookie #10 (1947)!

Dan Gordon was a writer-animator-director for the Fleischer Studios (Superman, Popeye), then went into comics, finally returning to animation at Hanna-Barbera where he co-created (among others) The Flintstones!

Next Week:

We don't know what we'll publish...yet!

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

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Great Treasury of Christmas Comic Book Stories

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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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

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!

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

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Archie's Rivals in Teen Comics

1940s-1970s

An Illustrated History

Laugh at Love FLIP! "For the Love of Mike"

Our final "Laugh at Love" entry was created for one of the many MAD comic book clones of the 1950s!

But, it was illustrated by an artist who was noted for his serious romance comic stories!

Writer Nat Barnett never wrote a romance comic tale.

His two-dozen or so comic book scripts ranged from humor (including this story from Harvey's Flip! #1 [1954]) to horror to war, but absolutely no love comics!
Artist Bob Powell was another matter, as anybody who has perused this blog can tell you!
Starting with "I Joined a Teen-Age Sex Club!" he's one of the biggest comic creatives featured here!
As a bonus for our finale of fun, here's the original art for this story, thanks to the ever-amazing Kraktactaka!

Next Week:

We're devoting all of March to one graphic novel of True Love based on a very popular (and controversial) prose series!

And, as Always, We Guarantee That...

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...

Sincerest Form of Parody

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