When I first saw this tale in the back of Skywald's Tender Love Stories #3 (1971)...
...I knew it was "off", but I couldn't quite figure out how or why!
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 6-12 page lead story and use retouched reprints (updating clothing and hairstyles) to fill out the book.
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 romance comics, unlike superhero comics,
totally-changed every 5-6 years anyway, and wouldn't notice the "old"
plots.
(Note: you can see the new tale this reworked story backs-up
HERE!
)
Note that none of the captions or dialogue were rewritten/updated, so the reference to Hal's sister dying in "the first war" on page 3 didn't make sense to a Vietnam War-era reader in 1971!
(But it
would to a post-WWII-era reader because it references
World War I!)
Ironically,
this tale required more redrawing than most!
Bill Everett not only had to do the usual "updating" on people, but on vehicles and technology as well!
Here's the original, Rafael Astarita-rendered story from
Avon's Realistic Romances #4 (1952)...
Though published in 1952, the tale was written/illustrated several years earlier and tossed into this anthology with little concern for timeliness!
In fact, look at the inside cover/contents page...
This story is described in the lower right corner...with an illustration that has nothing to do with the tale!
Next Week:
We don't know yet what we'll present, but we can guarantee...
You'll Cry Your Eyes Out if You Miss It!
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