Romance on the Range COWGIRL ROMANCES "Men Died for My Kisses!"

It's been a while since we've run a Western romance comic...

...so we looked for the most sensational story title we could find!

This 1950 one-shot from Atlas Comics is either #1 (if you go by the cover numbering) or #28 (if you go by the indicia on the inside cover).

The #28 indicates it's a continuation of Jeanie Comics, a teen humor title which ended two months earlier with #27.

As for why it's a one-shot, it seems rival Fiction House released their own Cowgirl Romances simultaneously...or just before...Atlas.\d

Fiction House's title continued for 11 more issues while Atlas' book disappeared after this one appearance.

Penciled by Pierce Rice and inked by Christopher Rule.
The scripter is unknown!

Fun fact: Atlas released six different Western romance titles in 1949-50, more than any other comics company...

Cowgirl Romances (1 issue)

Cowboy Romances (3 issues)

Love Trails (1 issue)

Rangeland Love (2 issues)

Romances of the West (3 issues)

Western Life Romances (3 issues)

You gotta give them credit.

When Atlas saw a hot trend, they jumped on it whole-heartedly!

Next week:

We haven't decided yet which Western Romance Story 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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The Cowboy
Western Romance Graphic Novel
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Swinging '70s Stories OUR LOVE STORY "Game of Triangles"

Though told from the viewpoint of the male protaganist...

...this story was, allegedly, written by one of the few female writers in Bronze Age comics.

Was it?

Read, and judge for yourself...

This never-reprinted tale from Marvel's Our Love Story #20 (1972) was scripted by Joy Hartle and illustrated by George Tuska and Paul Reinman.

Most people believe "Joy Hartle" was a pseudonym for Gary Freidrich.

"Joy" had only two stories to her credit, both romance tales that appeared almost simultaneously in late 1972-early 1973.

And, in fact, Gary's sister-in-law was named Joy Hartle!

But Gary was working steadily for Marvel at this point, scripting Captain America and Sgt Fury, as well as co-creating the motorcycle-riding Ghost Rider and a new version of the Frankenstein Monster (both with Mike Ploog)!

So why the pen-name?

The only thing I can think of is that these stories were done during the brief period in 1971-72 when Gary had left Marvel to work at the short-lived Skywald Publishing, and were "inventory" stories used to fill out what would've been all-reprint issues of the dying romance comics line.

BTW, the cover-featured tale has one of the worst romance comics covers I've ever seen...

Art by Alan Weiss & Frank Giacoia with retouching by Marie Severin and John Romita

Heck, the guy looks more like a stalker than a lover...

Next Week:

We're Not Sure Yet Exactly Which 1970s Story We'll Present!

But...

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

And now a word from out sponsor..

Visit Amazon and Buy...

Marvel Romance: the Trade Paperback!

Marvel's picked some of the best love comics from the 60s and 70s!

"It Happened at Woodstock," "My Heart Broke in Hollywood," "Love on the Rebound!"

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.

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Swinging '70s Stories JUST MARRIED "Why am I Here?"

This Month, We're Taking Romance Stories from Different Publishers...

...with one unifying aspect: the fact they're from the 1970s, the twilight of the genre!

This never-reprinted tale from Charlton's Just Married #74 (1970), written by Joe Gill and illustrated by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, takes the "misunderstanding the situation because of lack of information" trope to a new level.
Only the superb artwork makes the silly plotline tolerable!

Next Week:

We're Not Sure Yet Exactly Which 1970s Story We'll Present!

But...

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...

Modern Masters Volume Five

Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez

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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 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!

And Now a Word from Our Sponsor!

Please Support True Love Comics Tales

Visit Amazon and Order...

Matt Baker

Art of Glamour