Tales Twice-Told TIPPY TEEN / VICKI "3rd Finger, Right Hand"

She's supposedly two different girls, almost a decade apart...

...even though both of them have the same boyfriend!

When this story from Tower's Tippy Teen #3 (1966) was reprinted in Atlas/Seaboard's Vicki #1 (1975), more than just the fashions and hairstyles were altered*.

Tippi became "Vicki", though her boyfriend remained "Tommy Trippit" in both versions!
Trivia: this was one of the most-reprinted Tippi Teen stories of all!
Besides the reprint in Vicki, it had previously-been reprinted (without hair/fashion alterations) in the final issue of Tippy Teen in 1969!

Why did Seaboard change the character's name from Tippy to Vicki?

Nobody's certain.

But, since Vicki was cancelled after only four issues, the question is now moot.

*With sales falling on most non-superhero genres in the late 1960s (including Western and war as well as romance and teen humor [except for the Archie titles]), "updated reprinting" became a common practice on teen humor and romance comics until the genres all-but died out in the late 1970s.

Editors felt that:

a) the plots were relatively timeless.

b) updating the art was cheaper than totally-redrawing the story. 

c) the artists were better-utilized doing stuff that sold better (like superheroes).
d) the audience for teen humor and romance comics, unlike superhero comics, totally-changed every 5-6 years anyway, and wouldn't notice the "old" plots.

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 our sponsor..

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Archie's Rivals in Teen Comics

1940s-1970s

An Illustrated History

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It's the Season for Lovin' MY ROMANTIC ADVENTURES "Spring Meeting"

Since Spring is now in full bloom, let's look at a tale from a Spring over a Half-Century ago...

...and see a story that some would say could happen today, almost 70 year later!

"I figured right off that any check I gave you would be just a way of keeping the money in the family!"?

Now that's a lawyer!

This never-reprinted short illustrated by Al Williamson and Angelo Torres (who penciled and inked different sections as they passed the pages back and forth) appeared in ACG's My Romantic Adventures #86 (1958).

Odds are the script was by editor Richard E Hughes who wrote almost everything at ACG!

Next Week:

We don't know what we'll present..yet,
but we can 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 Buy...

Agonizing Love

The Golden Age of Romance Comics
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Tales Twice-Told TENDER LOVE STORIES & YOUNG ROMANCE "Fashion Plate"

When is a contemporary love story not  a contemporary love story?

When it was "contemporary" a decade earlier!

You'd think a tale heavily-oriented about current fashion would have been written and drawn...well...currently!

But this story, published in Skywald's Tender Love Stories #4 (1971), wasn't scripted and illustrated in 1971!

It was created almost a decade earlier...in 1963!

Published in Prize's Young Romance #124 (1963), the original version illustrated by Bob Powell's art studio presents the male ingenue first as a leather-clad biker, then as a preppie, and finally as an average Joe.

The reworked version, re-inked by Bill Everett, presents the guy first as a leisure-suited layabout, then a double-breasted suit-clad dandy, and finally, again, as an average Joe.

You'll also note in both cases, Bob starts out with extreme hairstyles, then gets trimmed as the tale goes on!

Of course, looking back on these tales decades later, both stories seem like "period pieces"!

And, yes, we did wear clothes like you see here in both those time periods!

They were considered "cutting edge" then.
"Why did the publisher and editor take an old story and rework it?" you may ask...

With sales falling on most non-superhero genres in the late 1960s (including Western and war as well as romance), this "updated reprinting" became a common practice on romance comics until the genre all-but died out in the late 1970s.

Publishers would do a new 8-20 page lead story and use retouched reprints to fill out the book.
(Some of the books were 100-page "Super Spectaculars"!)

Editors felt that:

a) the plots were relatively timeless.

b) "updating" existing art was cheaper than totally-redrawing the story. 

c) artists were better-utilized doing stuff that sold better (like superheroes).

d) the audience for romance comics, unlike superhero comics, changed every 5-6 years anyway, and newer readers wouldn't notice the old plots!

Next Week...

We Don't Know What We're Presenting...Yet!

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

And now a word from our sponsor!

Support True Love Comics Tales by Visiting Amazon and Buying...

Marvel Romance
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Love and the Law POLICE TRAP "Masher!"

Riding the NYC subway can  be an adventure...

...like this atypical tale of lechery, love, and the law!

This tale of female empowerment from 1954 is from the first issue of Mainline's short-lived 1950s anthology Police Trap, illustrated (and probably written) by Bill Draut, who also did a lot of romance comics work in the 1950s-1970s, primarily for Harvey, Toby, and DC.
He continued producing material until the mid-1980s, ending up (like many other comic artists) working on animated tv series, where he was one of the primary designers for the original GI Joe cartoon.
And, please remember to be observant and careful when you ride public transportation!

Psychedelic '60s Stories MOD LOVE "Shadow from His Past"

 Concluding Our Segue Back to the Swinging '60s...

...we present the last story from the comic magazine (not comic book) Mod Love!

It's the cover-featured narrative of a musician, the girl who loves him and a...

Published in 1967. all three of the comic stories in Western Publishing's Mod Love were written by Michael Lutin, and illustrated by already-established European fine artist Michael Quarez!

The only other comic-style work in the mag was a two-page spotlite feature about the trendy NYC fashion boutique called Tiger Morse's Teenie Weenie...

Next Week: We Return to an Anything Goes Format for March!

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

Psychedelic '60s Stories MOD LOVE "As Long as I Win"

We Continue Our Segue to the Swinging '60s...

...with another time-lost, never-reprinted story from the one-shot comic magazine (not comic book), Mod Love!







The mag, published in 1967. was written by Michael Lutin, and illustrated by already-established fine artist Michael Quarez!
Next Week: the Final  Story from Mod Love !
You''ll Cry Your Eyes Out if You Miss It!