True Love Comics Tales

Wednesday, May 10, 2023

Anything BUT Archie CLUB 16 COMICS "Heavens to Betsy! Wheel of Betsy's Zodiac"

Here's a never-reprinted story from Eastern Color's Club 16 Comics #1 (1948)...

...starring the character who was cover-featured on three of the four issues of the comic!

Presumably, the "Indian Sign" he's referring to is something like this...

...since Native American iconography was popular in advertising/branding until the 1970s!

Artist Jimmy Thompson was both prolific and versatile, working on everything including Westerns, crime, war, romance, humor, and superheroes for almost every publisher including Eastern Color, McKay, DC, Timely, Fawcett, Avon, and Street & Smith.

Next Week:

Another Example of Humor That Doesn't Look Like Archie!

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

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Archie's Rivals in Teen Comics

1940s-1970s
An Illustrated History

Wednesday, May 3, 2023

Anything BUT Archie / Wedding Bliss WENDY PARKER "Getting Married!"

For over the past half-century, when you think "teen/young adult humor" in comics...you think Archie!

But, before the early 1960s, there was a lot more to the genre, as we'll show you, beginning with this never-reprinted tale from Atlas' Wendy Parker #1 (1953)!

Wendy Parker first appeared in Atlas' Miss America #53 (1953), which already featured Patsy Walker and Hedy Wolfe (who had their own comics as well).

Wendy was a rational, logical, young woman, unlike the ditzes who tended to populate the genre.

As you've seen in this tale, it was literally everybody else in the strip who were...well...ditzes!
Wendy was immediately given her own book, which lasted only eight issues, but she continued to appear as a backup feature in other titles for another year, before finally disappearing.
And I do mean "disappearing"!
None of her stories has ever been reprinted!

Next Week:

Another Example of Humor That Doesn't Look Like Archie!

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

And now a word from out sponsor..

Please Support True Love Comics Tales!

Visit Amazon and Buy...

Archie's Rivals in Teen Comics

1940s-1970s
An Illustrated History

Thursday, April 27, 2023

Advice d'Amour LOVE STORIES OF MARY WORTH "Her Selfish Love!" Conclusion

We Have Already Seen...

War hero Ian McLane and actress Seline Adair seemed like the ideal couple.

But Seline's teen sister Binnie lusted after Ian!

When, in a misunderstnding, Seline apparently dumped Ian, Binnie (whom Ian doesn't know is Seline's younger sibling) made her move...

So Binnie was Seline's daughter...who married Ian, who Binnie said was too old for Seline!

This actually isn't unusual for radio/tv soap operas, which have gone to far more outrageous lengths to surprise the audience!

BTW, though nosy Mary Worth never had an actual newspaper advice column, the comic introduced one (albeit totally-scripted)...

Love Stories of Mary Worth continued for another four issues before cancellation and she hasn't had a steady comic book since then.

The Mary Worth newspaper strip continues to this day and you can find the latest "three-Kleenex tale HERE!

Next Week:

We're Not Yet Sure What Theme We'll Present, But We Can Say...
You'll Cry Your Eyes Out If You Miss It!
And now a word from our sponsor!
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True-to-Life Adventures of
MARY WORTH

Wednesday, April 26, 2023

Advice d'Amour LOVE STORIES OF MARY WORTH "Her Selfish Love!" Part 1

Winding up this month's theme is the ultimate comics busybody...

...the four-color embodiment of the little old lady who lives next door and has an opinion about everything!

We now take a pause, dear reader!

But we're not going to make you wait until next week, because you'll see the heart-rending conclusion...

TOMORROW!
(And, Yes, You'll Cry Your Eyes Out If You Miss It!)

Despite the caption in the splash panel talking about "actual case files" and "famous newspaper love advisor", Mary Worth was never used as a pseudonym for an actual columnist like "Beatrice Fairfax".
But the character (and her tendency to meddle in romance) was so well-known in 1930s and 40s pop culture, that it seemed like she probably did have a non-comics feature in newspapers!
And the book's title is somewhat misleading, since the tales have nothing to do with Mary's personal life!
It's about the people around her, most of whom only appear in a given plotline, then disappear, never to return!
BTW, the book (like almost all non-newspaper appearances of the character) reprints daily and Sunday newspaper strips.
Only the cover and splash page are new illustrations!
The book crams a plotline that ran for two to three months into a single issue!
So, instead of the usual three rows of panels (or fewer if you have half-page or full page panels), it's four rows of dialogue-heavy panels!
But if you're a soap opera fan, the strip is a true visual embodiment of the genre!

And now a word from our sponsor!
Please Support True Love Comics Tales!
Visit Amazon and Buy...

True-to-Life Adventures of

MARY WORTH