Teen Angst - a Treasury of '50s Romance comics

If you had told me ten years ago that I would be reading and enjoying romance comics of the 1940s, '50s, and '60s, I would have told you that you were nuts.  Romance comics were just something I was never interested in growing up.  As an adult, however, I have learned to appreciate them - not just for the pretty art, but also for the historical context of the stories, the moral high ground taken by some of the authors, and the crafty way that the stories more times than now showed the female lead in a bad light, having to learn her lesson when it comes to love, being chaste and honest, and remaining true to one's self.  Rarely do you come across romance comics with a male lead character, and perhaps that stems from the fact that these comics (at least, back in the days when they were published) were aimed at the female readers.  Yet, reading them today, these stories that were considered too racy and a bad influence on kids back then are definitely tame compared to comics that you will find published in the 2020s!

 

Teen Angst is a collection of romance stories from various issues of Realistic Romances, Romantic Love, Teen-Age Romances, Wartime Romances, and Teen-Age Temptations, all published between 1951 and 1953, before the Comic Code Authority put a kibosh on tales such as these. They were collected and published by Malibu Graphics back in 1990, at a time when independent comic companies were really hitting their stride in the industry.  Collected and edited by the company's Creative Director, Tom Mason (who also provided a short introduction to the collection), the book showcases a number of great artists, including legends Matt Baker and Everett Raymond Kinstler.  Baker was one of the first known African-American comic book artists, probably best known for his work on Phantom Lady.  He has been called one of the best "Good Girl" artists in the industry.  Kinstler was drawing comic books from the age of 16 and eventually graduated to portrait painting, including U.S. Presidents such as Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan.  During their careers, both artists spent some time doing work on romance comics, and this collection is a nice representation of their work.

 

The stories are not collected chronologically, as there is really no need, since each six to nine page story is unrelated to any of the others.  While the table of contents identifies the comic each story is pulled from, as well as the year of publication, it sadly does not specifically identify the artist of each story.  Kinstler signed the first story, so that one is easily identifiable; as for the rest of the stories, I had to do some digging online to discovery who drew the remaining tales:  Kinstler (pp. 1 and 38); John Rosenberger (pp. 8, 14, and 29); Rafael Astarita (pp. 21 and 71); Maurice Gutwirth (p. 98); Luis Zansky (p. 127); and Baker (pp. 54, 61, 80, 89, 119, and 139).  The stories on pages 45, 104, and 112 do not have credited artists, and I was unable to locate any information online as to who might have drawn those tales.  In addition, the three pages preceding the first story on page 1 offer up  some absolutely gorgeous frontspieces drawn by Kinstler for issues of Realistic Romance and Romantic Love - the black and white images are captivating!  These frontspieces were collages that gave readers a brief glimpse into the stories that were waiting for them in each issue.

 

And speaking of stories, let's talk about the tales that are collection in Teen Angst.  After all, the art may be beautiful to look at, but without the story, the comics do not really mean much.  Tom Mason has to be given credit for picking a wide variety of stories, which offer up great examples of pre-Code comics that dealt with divorce, violence, and a lot of sexual subtext.  There is a story about a woman so in love with her man, she enlists in the military so she can follow the love of her life onto the front lines in "Our Love was Battle-Scarred!"  Then there is a story about a woman who believes she is a jinx to any man who loves her after the first two men she loves are killed in strange accidents in "Jinx Girl."  Another story finds a young woman determined to rise above her poor childhood, even if it means killing the rich, elderly man she married in "Dangerous Woman."  If that was not bad enough, next up is "Fatal Romance!" in which young woman gets hooked up with the wrong man from a carnival and speeds off on a crime spree that ends in death!  In "Make-Believe Marriage," a young woman pretends to be married in order to get a job, only to have her make-believe husband show up and nearly spoil everything!  "Thrill Hungry" is a tale about a woman who ends up believing the wrong man and nearly causes a spy to get away with government secrets, while "Deadly Triangle" features another tale of a woman making the wrong choice in men, leading to her nearly dying when the crook uses her as a human shield against the police!  One of my favorites is "Borrowed Love," a dying woman wants more than anything to be truly loved, and when she finally meets the man who could be that love, he tears her away from the housekeeper that has raised her, she learns a startling secret about her illness!  That story is probably the closest to a soap opera mystery, which is likely why I enjoyed it so much.

 

There are plenty of other stories - "Triumphant Kisses" and "I Craved Excitement" and "Fast Company" and "I Was a Love Gypsy" and a number of others that deal with young women who are looking for love in all the wrong places and in too many faces and ultimately must face the consequences of their actions.  The collection is truly a treat for comic fans and those who love tales of romance, as it offers up such diverse stories - no two are alike, and not every story has a happy ending!  I guess the only thing they really have in common is that the woman in these tales all learn their lesson by the end of each story, some with much more dire consequences than others!  I would love to know who the authors are for these stories and what other work they did; it would be interesting to see if any of the writers went on to become big names in the comic industry (or elsewhere!).

 

In addition to these comic reprints, there are three short prose stories from Teen-Age Romances #20 and #22 (published in 1952).  I cannot say these stories were all that interesting, as they did not feature the intensity of the drama that the actual comic tales did.  In fact, I think I got more of a kick seeing some of the original ads from these romance comics interspersed throughout the collection than I did the prose tales.

 

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who loves great storytelling filled with plenty of drama and in some cases violence.  And the art is most certainly something that can be appreciated in these stories, if nothing else.  Huge thanks to Malibu and Tom Mason for putting this together back in the day, and grateful there are still copies available out there for purchase!  (And if you want a bit more info, check out the interview with Tom Mason at the Malibu fan Facebook page - Interview with Tom Mason.)

RATING:  10 peek-a-boo lace negligees out of 10 for preserving some classic romance comics that are worth more than just a second glance!

Seven Seas Comics - a PS Artbooks Collection

PS Artbooks has been collecting a lot of great Golden Age stuff for a while.  I have the Phantom Lady books they put out, and I've also recently bought the Senorita Rio books they have published.  Happened across this book in an issue of Previews some months back, and even though it is a "softee" (paperback) collection (I have only gotten all hardcover to this point), I ordered it, because I had never heard of the comic, nor of its lead character, "South Sea Girl."  Being a fan of female-led comics, I obviously could not pass up this one.  But I quickly discovered, once I started reading it, that Seven Seas Comics had a lot more than just "South Sea Girl" to offer!

Unfortunately, this softee collection did not have any introduction or other preface that provides any information about the comics, so I was forced to go online and find out what I could about Seven Seas Comics.  This six-issue series was published by Universal Phoenix Features (owned by Samuel "Jerry" Iger) and ran from 1946 to 1947.  The comic featured stories by some rather big named Golden Age greats, such as Matt Baker, Thorne Stevenson, and others, and the first two issues featured eight stories, including a prose story, and a "Salty Stuff" page that gave readers info on nautical knowledge, from the use of flags for communication among ships to how to tie various knots to the meaning of different colored lights, etc.  By issue three, however, the number of stories were reduced, and by the end of the series, there were just five stories in each issue. However, several of the regular features continued throughout the series, including my two favorites: "South Sea Girl" and "Tugboat Tessie."

"South Sea Girl" was originally drawn (and written?) by Matt Baker, a Golden Age artist who is probably best known for his work on Phantom Lady, when that character was taken over to Fox Comics back in the '40s, as well as all of the Canteen Kate comics.  It has been alleged that South Sea Girl, whose name is Alani, was inspired by actress Dorothy Lamour, who starred in a number of South Sea Island films back in the late '30s and early '40s (see, South Sea Girl in Seven Seas Comics).  As stated in the introduction text box of that first issue, Alani is the ruler and protector of the Vanishing Isles, a small group of islands in the South Seas that is "shrouded by whispering mists" and, for the most part, hidden from the prying eyes of mankind.  Each story, Alani faces off against invaders - whether it be poachers, Hollywood executives, pirates, or even murderous criminals - and each time Alani proves to be more than any of these man (or women!) can handle.  The stories are relegated to the end of the first several issues, but clearly it must have been a hit with comic readers, because starting with the fourth issue, "South Sea Girl" became the lead story for those last three issues.  Although Matt Baker signs off on the first several stories, the final tales are credited to "Thorne Stevenson," and it seems there are conflicting thoughts from online sources, as some thing Stevenson is simply a pseudonym for Baker, while others indicate Stevenson is actually Manning Lee Stokes, who wrote the stories, while Baker continued to provide art, albeit uncredited.  I supposed at this late date, we will likely never know for sure...

"Tugboat Tessie" was something of a unique character (at least to me).  Tessie is a tough-as-nails, working woman who runs her own tugboat business with her daughter, Melody (who is the real beauty of the strip). Tessie is always vying for business against Bill Jetty, a veteran tug boat sailor who is always stealing her business.  The stories are humorous, as Jetty ultimately falls into trouble, and Tessie and Melody have to bail him out, ultimately scoring the job (and the pay that goes with it!).  What I find interesting is that Tessie has plenty of meat on her bones, is an older woman, is not pretty by any means - and yet, she is not only the lead character in the stories, but the hero of every story!  Melody, the beautiful blond daughter, is the bombshell all the boys are after, but she has no interest in any of them - her only interest is in helping her mother run a successful business and often times jumping into the water to save a man who has fallen overboard.  The stories definitely turn the tables on the standard "damsel in distress" trope, as these stories all feature MEN in distress!  They are all a joy to read, and they definitely made me chuckle more than once or twice.  The stories are credited to Lee Stoken, who I found online to actually be Manning Lee Stokes, who authored the stories, while Matt Baker provided the art.  Funny how the two features I liked most in this comics are authored and drawn by the same creators!

Other characters who appeared within the run are Captain Cutlass by "Jonathan Lee" (who, big surprise, turns out to actually be yet another pseudonym for Manning Lee Stokes), The Ol' Skipper by Ruth Roche under the name "Rod" Roche, Harbor Patrol by (you guessed it!) Manning Lee Stokes, and Sagas of the Seas: Authentic Adventures (which stories remain uncredited, although there is speculation that Robert Webb may have provided the art).  Of these, the Captain Cutlass and Harbor Patrol stories are very readable - the Cutlass tales about pirates on the high seas, while the Patrol tales are about the police working to keep the docks safe from criminals.  The Ol' Skipper is about a retired sailor who tells some pretty tall tales that usually result in some benefit to him or the person to whom he's sharing the story.  I wouldn't say they are spectacular, but they are cute for what they are.  The Sagas of the Seas are - well, in one word - boring!  I did not find any of them interesting in the least.  Then there are the comedy strips, "Tall Stories" (which later changed to "Tall Tales") and "Marty and the Mermaid," neither of which I really enjoyed.  I've never been much of a fan of "funny comics," so these stories I pretty much skipped.

What bothered me most about the collection, though, is the fact that issue 3 is not included.  There is no explanation or apparent reason why this collection only includes issues 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6.  They went to the trouble of reproducing not only the glossy paper for the covers, including the ads on the inside front cover and the inside and outside back covers, yet they left out an entire issue.  I do realize the stories are not serialized, so the missing issue does not mean I actually missed out on a part to an on-going serial; yet, it does mean I do not have the entire series, with is rather disappointing.  Perhaps PS Artbooks was unable to locate a complete copy of the issue for purposes of reproducing it, or perhaps there was something in the issue that was not yet in public domain, I honestly have no idea.  When I did a search for information on Seven Seas Comics online, I found a number of sites that listed individual issues, but found very few sites that provided more detailed information about the series as a whole.  One website (Seven Seas Comics) did give a bit of background for the creation and intention of the series, so that was something, at least.  

Overall, the five issues I read in this collection were worth the purchase.  It still amazes me how easily these creators of the Golden Age were able to tell complete stories in just 5 to 8 pages, while today's creators can't seem to complete a story in less than 4 to 6 issues!  It's a shame we didn't get more stories of South Seas Girl and Tugboat Tessie, but I suppose they were characters of their time, and there they shall forever remain.

RATING:  8 self-center Hollywood starlets out of 10 for good, clean comic stories that prove (to me, at least!) just how much better the stories and art of yester-year are compared to today's comics.