Romance comics are a

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

comic books A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

that were most popular during the

Golden Age of Comics The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era in the history of American comic books from 1938 to 1956. During this time, modern comic books were first published and rapidly increased in popularity. The superhero archetype was created and many ...

. The market for comics, which had been growing rapidly throughout the 1940s, began to plummet after the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

when military contracts to provide disposable reading matter to servicemen ended. This left many comic creators seeking new markets. In 1947, part of an effort to tap into new adult audiences, the romance comic genre was created by Joe Simon and

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...

with the

Crestwood Publications Crestwood Publications, also known as Feature Publications, was a magazine publisher that also published comic books from the 1940s through the 1960s. Its title ''Prize Comics'' contained what is considered the first ongoing horror comic-book fea ...

title '' Young Romance''.

History

As World War II ended the popularity of superhero comics diminished, and in an effort to retain readers comic publishers began diversifying more than ever into such genres as

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science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

, horror and romance comics. The genre took its immediate inspiration from the romance pulps; confession magazines such as '' True Story''; radio soap operas, and newspaper

comic strips A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...

that focused on love, domestic strife, and heartache, such as '' Rex Morgan, M.D.'' and '' Mary Worth''. Teen humor comics had romantic plots before the invention of romance comics. Simon and Kirby's '' Young Romance'' debuted in 1947. In the next 30 years, over 200 issues of the flagship romance comic would be produced. My Life True Stories in Pictures 4

By 1950, more than 150 romance titles were on the newsstands from

Quality Comics Quality Comics was an American comic book publishing Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, ...

, Avon,

Lev Gleason Publications Lev Gleason Incorporated, formerly known as Lev Gleason Publishing, is a Canadian comic book company founded by Leverett Stone Gleason (1898–1971). They were the publisher of a number of popular comic books during the 1940s and early 1950s, incl ...

, and National (

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

). The DC Comics romance line was initially overseen by Jack Miller, who also wrote many stories. (Later, a number of female editors oversaw DC's romance line, including Zena Brody and Dorothy Woolfolk.) As author Michelle Nolan writes, "National's romance line was remarkably stable and thus must have sold consistently well. Beginning in 1952, ... the company produced '' Girls' Love Stories'', '' Girls' Romances'', and '' Secret Hearts'' on a bi-monthly basis through late 1957, when those three titles along with ''Falling in Love'' began to appear eight times per year.... The company picked up a fifth romance title, '' Heart Throbs'', ... after Quality Comics left the business in 1956." By 1970, right before the romance market collapsed, DC had seven romance titles. Fox Feature Syndicate published over two dozen love comics with 17 featuring "My" in the title—''My Desire'', ''My Secret'', ''My Secret Affair'', et al.

Charlton Comics Charlton Comics was an American comic-book publishing company that existed from 1945 to 1986, having begun under a different name: T. W. O. Charles Company, in 1940. It was based in Derby, Connecticut. The comic-book line (comics), line was a divi ...

published a wide line of romance titles, particularly after 1953 when it acquired the

Fawcett Comics Fawcett Comics, a division of Fawcett Publications, was one of several successful comic book publishers during the Golden Age of Comic Books in the 1940s. Its most popular character was Captain Marvel, the alter ego of radio reporter Billy Bats ...

line, which included '' Sweethearts'', '' Romantic Secrets'', and '' Romantic Story''. ''Sweethearts'' was the comics world's first monthly romance title (debuting in 1948), and Charlton continued publishing it until 1973. Artists known for their work on romance comics during the period included Tony Abruzzo, Matt Baker,

Frank Frazetta Frank Frazetta (born Frank Frazzetta ; February 9, 1928 – May 10, 2010) was an American artist known for themes of Fantasy art, fantasy and science fiction, noted for comic books, mass market paperback, paperback book covers, paintings, p ...

Everett Kinstler Everett Raymond Kinstler (August 5, 1926 – May 26, 2019) was an important American artist, whose official portraits include Presidents Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan both of which hang in The White House.Jay Scott Pike, John Prentice, John Romita, Sr.,

Mike Sekowsky Michael Sekowsky (; November 19, 1923 – March 30, 1989) was an American comics artist known as the penciler for DC Comics' '' Justice League of America'' during most of the 1960s, and as the regular writer and artist on ''Wonder Woman'' durin ...

Leonard Starr Leonard Starr (October 28, 1925 – June 30, 2015) was an American cartoonist, comic book artist, and advertising artist, best known for creating the newspaper comic strip ''Mary Perkins, On Stage, On Stage'' and reviving ''Little Orphan Annie'' ...

Alex Toth Alexander Toth (; June 25, 1928 – May 27, 2006) was an American cartoonist active from the 1940s through the 1980s. Toth's work began in the American comic book industry, but he is also known for his animation designs for Hanna-Barbera through ...

, and

Wally Wood Wallace Allan Wood (June 17, 1927 – November 2, 1981) was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, widely known for his work on EC Comics's titles such as ''Weird Science (comic), Weird Science'', ''Weird Fantasy'', an ...

Decline and Golden Age demise

In his book ''

Seduction of the Innocent ''Seduction of the Innocent'' is a book by German-born American psychiatrist Fredric Wertham, published in 1954, that warned that comic books were a harmful form of popular literature and a serious cause of juvenile delinquency. The book was tak ...

'' (1954),

Fredric Wertham Fredric Wertham (; born Friedrich Ignatz Wertheimer, March 20, 1895 – November 18, 1981) was a German–American psychiatrist and author. Wertham had an early reputation as a progressive psychiatrist who treated poor black patients at his Lafa ...

argued that romance comics sexualized female characters, stating that many of them used sensual images, such as accentuated breasts and hips, to attract the attention of readers, especially teenage boys, which he saw as a form of premature and inappropriate sexual stimulation. He also mocked warnings such as “Not Intended For Children,” which, according to him, only increased youthful interest, and satirized figures such as the “super-lover,” the romantic version of superheroes. For Wertham, these magazines were even more boring than detective comics, filled with sentimentality, false feelings, and hypocrisy. Following the implementation of the Comics Code in 1954, publishers of romance comics self-censored the content of their publications, making the stories bland and innocent with an emphasis on traditional patriarchial concepts of women's behavior, gender roles, domesticity, and marriage. When the sexual revolution questioned the values promoted in romance comics, along with the decline in comics in general, romance comics began their slow fade. DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and

carried a few romance titles into the middle 1970s, but the genre never regained the level of popularity it once enjoyed. The heyday of romance comics came to an end with the last issues of ''Young Romance'' and ''Young Love'' in the middle 1970s. Charlton and DC artist and editor

Dick Giordano Richard Joseph Giordano (; July 20, 1932 – March 27, 2010) was an American comics artist and editor whose career included introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes and serving as executive editor of DC Comics. Ear ...

stated in 2005: " rls simply outgrew romance comics ... he content wastoo tame for the more sophisticated, sexually liberated, women's libbers howere able to see nudity, strong sexual content, and life the way it really was in other media. Hand-holding and pining after the cute boy on the football team just didn't do it anymore, and the Comics Code wouldn't pass anything that truly resembled real-life relationships." Decades later, romance-themed comics made a modest resurgence with Arrow Publications' "My Romance Stories",

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, manga and Artist's book, art book publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon, by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, O ...

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

-style adaptations of

Harlequin Harlequin (, , ; , ) is the best-known of the comic servant characters (Zanni) from the Italian commedia dell'arte, associated with the city of Bergamo. The role is traditionally believed to have been introduced by the Italian actor-manager Zan ...

novels, and long-running serials such as ''

Strangers in Paradise ''Strangers in Paradise'' is a creator-owned comic book series, written and drawn by Terry Moore, which debuted in 1993. Principally the story of a love triangle between two women and one man, ''Strangers in Paradise'' began as a slice-of-li ...

'' — described by one reviewer as an attempt "to single-handedly update an entire genre with a new, skewed look at relationships and friendships."

In popular culture

Pop artist

Roy Lichtenstein Roy Fox Lichtenstein ( ; October27, 1923September29, 1997) was an American pop artist. He rose to prominence in the 1960s through pieces which were inspired by popular advertising and the comic book style. Much of his work explores the relations ...

derived many of his best-known works from the panels of romance comics: * '' Crying Girl'' (1963) — adapted from "Escape from Loneliness," pencilled by Tony Abruzzo and inked by Bernard Sachs, in '' Secret Hearts'' #88 (DC Comics, June 1963) * '' Crying Girl'' (1964) — adapted from "Exit Love--Enter Heartbreak!", drawn by Werner Roth and John Romita Sr. in ''Secret Hearts'' #88 (DC Comics, June 1963) * '' Drowning Girl'' (1963) — Lichtenstein adapted the splash page from "Run for Love!", illustrated by Tony Abruzzo and lettered by Ira Schnapp, in '' Secret Hearts'' #83 (

, November 1962) * '' Hopeless'' (1963) — adapted from a panel from the same story, "Run for Love!", artwork by Tony Abruzzo and lettered by Ira Schnapp, in ''Secret Hearts'' #83 (November 1962) * '' In the Car'' (sometimes called ''Driving'') (1963) — adapted from a Tony Abruzzo panel in '' Girls' Romances'' #78 (DC, September 1961) * '' Oh, Jeff...I Love You, Too...But...'' (1964) — adapted from a panel by Tony Abruzzo * '' Ohhh...Alright...'' (1964) — also derived from ''Secret Hearts'' #88 (June 1963) * '' Sleeping Girl'' (1964) — based on a Tony Abruzzo panel from '' Girls' Romances'' #105 (October 1964). * '' We Rose Up Slowly'' (1964) — based on a panel from '' Girls' Romances'' #81 (January 1962)

Notable romance comics

Reprints

Comics historian John Benson collected and analyzed St. John Publications' romance comics in ''Romance Without Tears'' (

Fantagraphics Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and (formerly) the Erotic comics, erotic Eros Comix imprint. They have managed sev ...

, 2003), focusing on the elusive comics scripter Dana Dutch, and the companion volume ''Confessions, Romances, Secrets and Temptations: Archer St. John and the St. John Romance Comics'' (Fantagraphics, 2007). To research the 1950s era of romance comics, Benson interviewed

Ric Estrada Ric Estrada (February 26, 1928 – May 1, 2009) was a Cuban Americans, Cuban-American comics artist who worked for companies including the major American publisher DC Comics. He also worked in comic strips, political cartoons, advertising, story ...

Joe Kubert Joseph Kubert (; September 18, 1926 – August 12, 2012) was a Poland, Polish-born Americans, American comic book artist, art teacher, and founder of The Kubert School. He is best known for his work on the DC Comics characters Sgt. Rock and Hawk ...

and

, plus several St. John staffers, including editor Irwin Stein, production artist Warren Kremer and editorial assistant Nadine King. In 2011, an anthology ''Agonizing Love: The Golden Era of Romance Comics'', edited by Michael Barson, was published by Harper Design. In 2012, many of Simon and Kirby's romance comics were reprinted by Fantagraphics in a collection entitled ''Young Romance: The Best of Simon & Kirby's 1940s-'50s Romance Comics'', edited by Michel Gagné.

British romance comics

Romance comics in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

also flourished in the mid-1950s with such weekly titles as '' Mirabelle'' ( Pearson), '' Picture Romances'' ( Newnes/ IPC), ''Valentine'' (

Amalgamated Press The Amalgamated Press (AP) was a British newspaper and magazine publishing company founded by journalist and entrepreneur Alfred Harmsworth (1865–1922) in 1901, gathering his many publishing ventures together under one banner. At one point the ...

), and ''Romeo'' (

DC Thomson DC Thomson is a media company based in Dundee, Scotland. Founded by David Couper Thomson in 1905, it is best known for publishing ''The Courier (Dundee), The Courier'', ''Evening Telegraph (Dundee), The Evening Telegraph'' and ''The Sunday Pos ...

). All four titles lasted into the 1970s. Other British romance comics included ''Marilyn'' (1955–1965), ''New Glamour'' (1956–1958), ''Roxy'' (1958–1963), ''Marty'' (1960–1963), and ''Serenade'' (1962–1963); all of which eventually merged into '' Valentine'' and ''Mirabelle'' (''Valentine'' itself merged into ''Mirabelle'' in 1974). In 1956–1957

launched a line of monthly romance titles: ''Blue Rosette Romances'', ''Golden Heart Love Stories'', ''Love & Life Library'', and ''Silver Moon Romances''. In April 1965, all four titles were merged into the single weekly '' Star Love Stories'' title, with one issue per month maintaining the cover logo from the original companion titles. ''Star Love Stories'', which changed its name to ''Star Love Stories in Pictures'' in 1976, lasted until 1990.''Star Love Stories in Pictures'' entry
Grand Comics Database. Retrieved March 10, 2021. The

photo comic Photo comics are a form of sequential storytelling using photographs rather than illustrations for the images, along with the usual comics conventions of narrative text and word balloons containing dialogue. They are sometimes referred to in ...

romance titles ''Photo Love'' and ''Photo Secret'' debuted in 1979 and 1980 respectively. They both eventually merged into another publication.

References

Notes

Citations

Sources

External links

''Young Romance''
at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

Archived
from the original on December 18, 2011. *
Sequential Crush
a blog "devoted to preserving the memory of romance comic books and the creative teams that published them throughout the 1960s and 1970s"

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