YOUNG ROMANCE "See Yourself as He Sees You"

Here's a totally-surreal tale from the editor who created the romance genre in comics...

...which appeared in the next-to-last issue of this series!

In 1947, Joe Simon (with Jack Kirby) created Young Romance, the first romance comic, for Prize Comics...which sold the title to DC when the publisher went out of business in 1963.

In 1973, DC returned Simon to the editorship of Young Romance as of #196.

Joe attempted to "update" the title by dropping all the traditional "romance artists" from new material, assigning edgier, experimental types like the ones who illustrated this short from #207 (1975), Jerry Grandenetti and Craig Flessel.

It didn't work, and, with sales dropping, the book (which had gone bi-monthly) ended with the next issue, #208.

Next Week:

We're Not Sure Yet Exactly What We'll Present!
But...

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

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Young Romance
And

Young Romance
Volume 2

TRUE LOVE PROBLEMS AND ADVICE ILLUSTRATED "Love Flirt" After and Before

When this story appeared in Harvey's True Love Problems and Advice Illustrated #36 (1955)...

...the newly-formed Comics Code forced some alterations to the reprinted tale!

Now, here's the original version, from True Love Problems and Advice Illustrated #16 (1952)...

Wow!

There's a lot more of Kit in that splash panel!

And there's a "naughty" caption in the second panel that the reprint leaves out!

The last word balloon "Hold me close, Bill -- very close!" was removed from the reprint!

In the reprint, part of the second panel's caption is deleted, Kit's swimsuit is blackened out, and her bust is reduced...and it wasn't a very revealing swimsuit to begin with!

The only change here is the removal of Kit's cleavage in panels 1, 3, and 5 and a change in her eyes in panel 4!
Interesting what the Comics Code Authority thought was "naughty" enough to warrant removal/modification, especially her eyes in panel 4 of the final page...

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We're Not Sure Yet Exactly What We'll Present!
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You'll Cry Your Eyes Out if You Miss It!

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Love on the Racks

A History of American Romance Comics

ADVENTURES IN ROMANCE "September Squall"

With autumn right around the corner...

...here's a tale for the final weekend of warm weather that really fits the concept of a "beach read'!

You'll note a couple of two-page spreads at the beginning of the story.
This particular comic series, St John's Adventures in Romance #1 (1949), experimented with doing double-page spreads to establish a distinctive "look".
Sadly, it only lasted two issues.  ;-(
Artist Warren King spent several years in comic books doing everything from superheroes to horror to romance, before moving into newspaper cartooning, becoming the in-house editorial artist at the NY Daily News and winning the National Cartoonists Society Best Editorial Cartoonist Award in 1968.
He passed away in 1978.

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?)

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(t-shirt, mug, tote bag, etc.)

 embellished with the cover art from this week's torrid tale...

 ...by clicking HERE!

CINDERELLA LOVE "A Record-Breaking Affair"

Though technology changes, the human heart remains the same...

...as this tale, set long before iPods and digital music, demonstrates!

 

This story of workplace romance in a (then) high-tech setting was published in Cinderella Love #27 (1955).

If you don't know what "lp records" or "mimeographing" or "filing cards" are, ask your parents (or grandparents).

Trivia: There had been a previous series named Cinderella Love, which was canceled at #15.

At the same time as Cinderella Love, another comic from the same company, called Romantic Marriage, began publishing, continued to #24, then changed it's name to Cinderella Love, ending it's run with #29.

Thus, collectors of romance comics should note that Cinderella Love ran #1-15, then 25-29, with no issues 16-24!

Neither Cinderella Love or Romantic Marriages has been used as the title of a comic book since!

Next Week:

We're Not Sure Yet Exactly What We'll Present!
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You'll Cry Your Eyes Out if You Miss It!

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Love on the Racks

A History of American Romance Comics

HOLLYWOOD ROMANCES "Discovery"

One of the kooler sub-genres of romance comics is the "starlet love" category...

...combining show business glitz with romance!
This tale is from the longest-lasting title in that sub-category!

Argentinian artist Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez began his American comics career at Charlton in 1967, doing a lot of romance comics work!

This never-reprinted tale from Charlton's Hollywood Romances #52 (1970) is from the end of his romance genre work as Charlton'e editors finally gave him a chance to branch out into horror which brought him to DC Comics' attention.

They offered him more money and used him in many different genres horror to sci-fi to superheroes!

Unfortunately, DC had cancelled their remaining romance titles a couple of months before they hired him!

But Garcia-Lopez barely noticed as he was swamped with work!

Jose became their primary licensed-property artist, with work on everything from lunchboxes to t-shirts to toy packaging to food items!

Today, at 70, he still works on projects for them, and shows no signs of wanting to retire!

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We're Not Sure Yet Exactly What We'll Present!
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Modern Masters Volume Five
Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez