Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Gothic Romance Beach Reads for the 4th...

There's nothing like a juicy Gothic romance novel for reading while lounging on a blanket under a sun umbrella...



And, for those who prefer a traditional prose tale to the graphic novel format...
and
Enjoy the long weekend!

Next week:
The Return of Reach for Happiness...
You'll Cry Your Eyes Out if You Miss It!
(We're up to the 11th episode and things are really getting juicy...)

And now a word from out sponsor...
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Wednesday, June 24, 2015

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.
(We ran a couple of Fiction House's Cowgirl Romances stories HERE and HERE.)
Fiction House's title continued for 11 more issues while Atlas' book disappeared after this one appearance.
Neither the writer or artist(s) are known.
Fun fact: Atlas released six different Western romance titles in 1940-50, 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 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...
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Wednesday, June 17, 2015

REACH FOR HAPPINESS Episode 10 Part 2

xxx
...and with that happy semi-resolution, we continue our tale...
As you can see from the ad at the end of the tale, DC had several romance titles going simultaneously!
At that point (early 1967), superheroes made up only about two-thirds of their output in any given month.
For example, the month this issue of Secret Hearts came out, DC also published Falling in Love #90, Girls' Love Stories #126, and Girls' Romances #124 (pictured).
The Young Love issue shown, #61, came out the next month.
The remaining non-costumed character titles included sci-fi anthologies (which had begun adding superhero lead features) war, and humor comics.
Compare that with today's superhero-dominated (and lower-selling) output...

This chapter of "Reach for Happiness" from Secret Hearts #119 (1967) was written by Jack Miller, with layouts and pencils by several different people including Jay Scott Pike, John Rosenberger, Ross Andru, and Gene Colan with inks by several people I can't identify right off.
Be back next month as we continue romance comics' longest-running soap opera!
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...
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Wednesday, June 10, 2015

REACH FOR HAPPINESS Episode 10

How can you not love a story that opens with...
...now, let's see what leads up to this wonderfully over-the-top pronouncement!
Wait!
We're going to break off at a point where everyone is actually...happy?
What the hell is happening?
 Next Week...
Scheming, plotting, and emotional manipulation!
(Ah, that's more like it!)
We can guarantee that...
You'll Cry Your Eyes Out if You Miss It!
(Yeah, we say that a lot...but it's true!)
This chapter of "Reach for Happiness" from Secret Hearts #119 (1967) was written by Jack Miller, with layouts and pencils by several different people including Jay Scott Pike, John Rosenberger, Ross Andru, and Gene Colan with inks by several people I can't identify right off.
And now a word from out sponsor...
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Wednesday, June 3, 2015

TEEN-AGE ROMANCE "A Teen-Ager Can Also Hate!"

As the song goes; "There's a thin line between love and hate..."
...as Helen is about to discover...when she's forced to do the thing many kids hate most of all!
When we mentioned "the thing many kids hate most of all", of course we were taking about piano lessons!
What did you think we were talking about?
This tale from Atlas/Marvel's Teen-Age Romances #86 (1962) was written by Stan Lee, penciled (and possibly plotted) by Jack Kirby, and inked by Vince Colletta.
(Kirby and Colletta also did the cover.)
The story was reprinted almost a decade later with considerable alterations to "update" the hairstyles and clothing.
We'll bring that version to you later this summer.
BTW, this was the final issue of the title, which was replaced on the schedule by The Incredible Hulk.
Wonder whatever happened to him?
Next week:
The Return of Reach for Happiness...
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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