LOVE STORIES "Dumb Doll"

Usually, "dumb doll" refers to a scatterbrained ditz, but not in this story...

If anything, this lady is one of the smartest people in any room!

Though now politically-incorrect, "dumb" was commonly-used to mean "mute" or "unable to speak", whether from a birth defect, accident, or in some cases, deliberate mutilation.

The phrase "deaf and dumb" (a condition which was far more common) indicated being unable to hear and speak!

When this never-reprinted tale was published in DC's Love Stories #151 (1973), we didn't have technology to assist in regaining speaking communication like THIS.

Writer Robert Kanigher, was a social justice warrior before they were identified as such.

His intentions were noble and he tried his best, but was a little too heavy-handed.

We Don't Yet Know What We'll Present Next Week!

But We Can Guarantee That...

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

And Now a Word from Our Sponsor...

Please Support True Love Comics Tales

Visit Amazon and Order

DUMB

Living Without a Voice

HEART THROBS "I Know My Love!"

The story we presented yesterday, "Summer Love", had previously-appeared under this cover...

..in DC's Heart Throbs #63 (1960).

When it was reprinted in 1970, the title was also changed.

(DC tended to do this more than Marvel.)

It drives comics historians nuts trying to match up different printings of stories!

John Romita Sr was doing a lot of romance comics work for DC during this period, before leaving to go to Marvel in early 1965.

You'll note that, besides the usual "updating" of hair and clothing, the art in the reprint version shown yesterday is "extended" on each page because the original pages had a printed header across the top of the art area.

The reprints eliminated the headers, and the art was extended either along the top or bottom of the page, depending on which way would be easier and/or faster to do.

As we showed HERE, 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 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.

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...

Check out the

True Love Comics Tales™

Comics Collectibles Shop

GIRLS LOVE STORIES "Summer Love"

Here's some light beach reading now that summer's under way...

...in fact, it's so light, there's no dialogue or captions!

Not a single, solitary word, except the title...

This silent story was re-presented from DC's Girls' Love Story #155 (1970).
The writer is unknown, but the art is by penciler John Romita Sr and inker Bernard Sachs!
You may wonder how and why the artist who was then drawing Spider-Man for Marvel would do a romance comic story for rival DC?

If you come back
Tomorrow
I'll explain!

And now a word from out sponsor...

Visit our

True Love Comics Tales™

Comics Collectibles Shop

YOUNG LOVE "When Love Has Gone"

It's hard to believe this tale by a master of graphic storytelling has never been re-printed...

...since its' only appearance in DC's Young Love #73 (1969)!

When this story was published, illustrator/letterer/colorist Alex Toth was only doing a few comics tales a year due to his incredibly-heavy workload as character designer and storyboard artist at animation giant Hanna-Barbera on everything from Space Ghost to Scooby Doo!

It's a textbook example of a comic story that could be used as a shot-for-shot storyboard for a TV show or a sequence in a feature film!

Next Week:

We Don't Know What We'll Present...Yet!

But, We Guarantee That...

You'll Cry Your Eyes OutIf You Miss It!

(and now a word from our sponsor...)

Please Support

True Love Comics Tales!

Visit Amazon and Order...

Treasures Retold

Lost Art of Alex Toth

A MOON, A GIRL...ROMANCE " I Was Jilted and Had No Desire to Live!"

Sometimes, you just want a three-hankie tear-jerker...

...to cleanse your soul...and here it is!

I know, I know.

This being EC Comics, you half-expected her to take the poison, become zombified, and eat Gregg when he came to the door.

And, the story from EC's A Moon, a Girl...Romance #9 (1949) is so cliched that it might have inspired writer/illustrator Al Feldstein to think about doing exactly that when, a year later, EC began doing its' now-classic horror comics titles!

Next Week:

We Don't Yet Know What We'll Present!

But We Guarantee That...

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

And Now a Word From Our Sponsor...

Please Support

True Love Comics Tales

Visit Amazon and Order...

A Moon, a Girl...Romance / Saddle Romance

The Two Complete Series in One Volume