Wednesday, September 10, 2014

CAMPUS ROMANCES "Love was My College Major"

School's back in session, and it's time for your lesson in love...
...from a writer who takes the "book" part of "comic book" to the extreme!
Considering letterers have always been among the poorest-paid of the various contributors to comics, I wouldn't be surprised if whoever did this job said "The hell with it! I'd rather dig ditches. It'll be easier!" after finishing the assignment.
The art for this tale from Avon's Campus Romances #2 (1949) by Manny Stallman and John Guinta tries to compete with the text, but some panels look like the illustration was just an afterthought.
The script, by an author whose name is lost in the mists of history, reads like a radio soap opera, with an incredible amount of "internal monologue" by Karen.
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 out sponsor..
 featuring the cover from the issue of Campus Romances this story is taken from!

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

"Harvey and Duke" by Stan Goldberg

In tribute to the late Stan Goldberg, here's a 1970 story illustrated by him...
...featuring a red-headed high-schooler and his clique...but it's not Archie Andrews and company!
Despite taking all the established Archie tropes, reworking them slightly by making Harvey the "new kid in town", and adding Stan Goldberg's extremely Dan DeCarlo-esque art, Stan Lee's final Silver Age co-creation, Harvey, was gone after only six issues from 1970-72!
At least it lasted longer than Stan's previous Archie clone, Homer Hooper, which went bye-bye after only four issues.
The poor-selling series is very HTF and has never been reprinted.
Stan Goldberg went to DC, where he did other Archie-style strips for a couple of years before making his way to Archie, where he worked continuously (with occasional freelance gigs) up to his recent passing.
Next week:
We don't know what it'll be, but...
You'll Cry Your Eyes Out if You Miss It!
(Oh, you've heard that, eh?)

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

FAST WILLIE JACKSON "Failing Sailing"

It's nearly the end of summer, so let's take a cruse with a bunch of comic book teenagers and young adults!
What could go wrong?
Was the story supposed to run one or two pages longer?
It seems odd to end it at this point without seeing what's in the chest...
Illustrated by Gus Lemoine, the script for this tale from Fitzgerald's Fast Wilie Jackson #6 (1977) was either by him or publisher/editor Bertam Fitzgerald.
Previously, Gus pencilled shorts and a couple of covers at Archie Comics from 1967 to the mid-1970s.
The Fast Willie books were his final credited work.
(There is a theory that Gus was really Henry Scarpelli, a versatile humor artist who did work for Archie as well as Archie-clone books for both Marvel and DC.
The period when "Gus" was active at Archie was before Scarpelli's credited work appeared there, so...it's like "Gee, Clark, we never see you when Superman's around! Why's that?"
Lois Lane couldn't prove it, either.)
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 out sponsor...
featuring the cover art from the HTF premiere issue
on kool kollectibles!

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

DARING LOVE "Dear John"

What's the worst sort of mail for a guy in the military to get from your sweetheart?
But, what are the consequences when the letter turns out to be...oh, just read the story...
Wasn't it lucky that the blindness (which is only temporary) kept him from reading the "Dear John" letter in this amazingly politically-incorrect tale?
The writer and artist for this lead story in Gilmor's Daring Love #1 (1953) are both unknown.
The book is the last of three attempts by different publishers to use the "Daring Love" title on a comic book.
None lasted more than three issues and, in fact, this was the only issue from this publisher.
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 out sponsor...

Thursday, August 14, 2014

CAREER GIRL ROMANCES "No Prospects"

Here's a short from 1971 that reads more like a tale from the 1950s...
Appearing the the back of Charlton's Career Girl Romances #63 (1971), this uncredited story plays out as if Women's Lib wasn't one of the hot points of the era!
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 out sponsor...