• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Baker Romance
42 42

13,498 posts in this topic

Here's a cool Baker splash from Love Romances 45... I cleaned it up a bit in Photoshop. I think there is a good chance Baker also inked this one.

HeartSoulSplash.jpg

 

I think the inker is Anderson (cf "Cult of Killers", Wanted #52)

 

I'm not sure I agree. You can see some similarities with the CL cover above. I looked at the Anderson story thanks for the reference. I don't really know much about him but looking at the story he has kind of a cross hatch look to his shading which I don't see in this particular story line. I'll have to look and see if I can see any other stories outside of Atlas that have this type of "dreamy" appearance.

 

I understand your doubts, and I wouldnt stake my life on it either! (You know far more about baker romance than I do.)

 

As Scrooge said, the face and hair of the woman lower left is very like Harry's work. I agree that the "Cult of Killers" story has very heavy cross-hatching. The way I read it, and I'm only speculating here, is that Anderson fitted his inks to suit Baker's romantic style. Anderson did do some work for Atlas - there are a few horror stories I've seen.

 

He is arguably the most underrated artist of the era. (He is Jim Vadeboncoeur's favourite comic book artist)

 

 

 

 

This story is my favorite romance story outside of the St. John's because of the attention to detail. If Anderson did indeed ink this, I wish he would have been able to do many more with Baker. I'll have to look up some more about Anderson. He looks like he was also a great illustrator too. I wonder why he wouldn't have just done his own pencils too? You can see that Anderson cared about what he was doing and not just cranking out the panels.

 

 

He appears to have been a dedicated christian who painted religious paintings for minimum wage. Speaking as an artist myself, its clear to me that he had mastery of technique, the rendering of surfaces, anatomy and composition. As a painter he depicts an etherial. light-filled earthly paradise.

 

His use of pencil and/or inks shows a darker sensibility however. No less masterful - but almost as though he moonlighted as a (sinful?) journeyman comic book artist (maybe to pay the bills allowing him the time to paint the religious pictures). But there is usually a darkness to his comic work, therefore well suited to Atlas horror and Wanted. Perhaps it didnt occur to his editors that he might adapt his style to romance tales? He only seems to have inked a couple of romance stories for Atlas.

 

His powerful and stylistically distinctive use of inks is arguably a match for Baker - and he would surely have respected Baker's sensibility and understood his technique. I believe he would have sought to "fit" Baker's style, but was simply too strong an artist to subsume his own personalty completely.

 

I'm sure it's clear to all baker lovers, that even when inked by a mediocre artist, Baker's style is too distinctive to disguise - but conversely, and with apologies for stating the obvious - it does make it difficult to be sure how much of "baker art" includes the work of lesser artists. Especially if the "lesser" artist is a Harry Anderson!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I nearly forgot about this nice comic book from my collection. I haven't had the chance to have it slabbed yet, but one day I will. Diary Secrets #11 with a really sweet sheen to the cover. I suspect all Diary Secrets' Comics reprint other St. John romance comics, and this one is no exception. It reprints 3 stories from TR#3, and one from Pictorial Confessions #2.

 

Can't wait to see scans of your Phantom Lady comics, as well as the spanking panels. (Sure, it's kinky, but it's also dang funny.)

 

What do you think is the best thread here to post my PL's in? So far as the spanking panels, the funny thing about collecting any specific type of interior story theme, whether spanking panels, bondage panels, Atom Bomb panels, or Vampire appearances, GGA comics (and so on), is that the collection itself becomes very esoteric in it's outward appearance. For instance Spanking panels appear in many appealing titles such as TR#3, Diary Secrets #11, Patsy Walker, Candy, Crack, Feature, Spirit Sections, Crimes By Women etc., etc. So unless I started my own thread, I'd have to post these all over the board. (Well, I post them over at my website). Let me say, the spanking panels all tie into GGA, which was my original interest in collecting Golden Age Comics. The best ones are the wildest, funniest and sexiest.

 

I have many other non-spanking panel GGA titles as well, such as Phantom Lady, Torchy, Rulah and All Top. I am a true collector at heart, and even have another collection of very high grade late '60s - early '70s TV comics such as Land Of The Giants, Sid & Marty Krofft & even Jay Ward, but mostly Hanna-Barbera. But that again is for another thread or two. I'm sure many of you out there collect more than just a single theme when it comes to comic books.

 

For now, Diary Secrets #11

 

 

102408.jpg.c321d536671fba30019e5428d72a41ff.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am not a Baker collector but I've been keeping an eye out for this one for a while as it is one of, if not my favorite Baker Romance cover. I don't need high-grade. Glad to see the interiors are nice as well :)

 

103045.jpg.4fb74422575c1e09b2d964f954d2b39b.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am not a Baker collector but I've been keeping an eye out for this one for a while as it is one of, if not my favorite Baker Romance cover. I don't need high-grade. Glad to see the interiors are nice as well :)

 

 

Nice pick-up Scrooge.

 

Any splashes to share? :wishluck:

 

From what little I've seen, Baker's Teen-Age Romances interiors appear to be far superior to the rest of his St.John's work. (They're richer, more complete drawings. A Flagship title of the company gets the best work deal?)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's a cool Baker splash from Love Romances 45... I cleaned it up a bit in Photoshop. I think there is a good chance Baker also inked this one.

HeartSoulSplash.jpg

 

I think the inker is Anderson (cf "Cult of Killers", Wanted #52)

 

I'm not sure I agree. You can see some similarities with the CL cover above. I looked at the Anderson story thanks for the reference. I don't really know much about him but looking at the story he has kind of a cross hatch look to his shading which I don't see in this particular story line. I'll have to look and see if I can see any other stories outside of Atlas that have this type of "dreamy" appearance.

 

I understand your doubts, and I wouldnt stake my life on it either! (You know far more about baker romance than I do.)

 

As Scrooge said, the face and hair of the woman lower left is very like Harry's work. I agree that the "Cult of Killers" story has very heavy cross-hatching. The way I read it, and I'm only speculating here, is that Anderson fitted his inks to suit Baker's romantic style. Anderson did do some work for Atlas - there are a few horror stories I've seen.

 

He is arguably the most underrated artist of the era. (He is Jim Vadeboncoeur's favourite comic book artist)

 

 

 

 

This story is my favorite romance story outside of the St. John's because of the attention to detail. If Anderson did indeed ink this, I wish he would have been able to do many more with Baker. I'll have to look up some more about Anderson. He looks like he was also a great illustrator too. I wonder why he wouldn't have just done his own pencils too? You can see that Anderson cared about what he was doing and not just cranking out the panels.

 

 

He appears to have been a dedicated christian who painted religious paintings for minimum wage. Speaking as an artist myself, its clear to me that he had mastery of technique, the rendering of surfaces, anatomy and composition. As a painter he depicts an etherial. light-filled earthly paradise.

 

His use of pencil and/or inks shows a darker sensibility however. No less masterful - but almost as though he moonlighted as a (sinful?) journeyman comic book artist (maybe to pay the bills allowing him the time to paint the religious pictures). But there is usually a darkness to his comic work, therefore well suited to Atlas horror and Wanted. Perhaps it didnt occur to his editors that he might adapt his style to romance tales? He only seems to have inked a couple of romance stories for Atlas.

 

His powerful and stylistically distinctive use of inks is arguably a match for Baker - and he would surely have respected Baker's sensibility and understood his technique. I believe he would have sought to "fit" Baker's style, but was simply too strong an artist to subsume his own personalty completely.

 

I'm sure it's clear to all baker lovers, that even when inked by a mediocre artist, Baker's style is too distinctive to disguise - but conversely, and with apologies for stating the obvious - it does make it difficult to be sure how much of "baker art" includes the work of lesser artists. Especially if the "lesser" artist is a Harry Anderson!

 

I was thinking another reason this might be Baker inking this is because of the level of details that flow through to the completed piece...kind of like he envisioned the end product even while penciling. The consistency of details that intertwine with the overall concept of the piece...i.e. different shades of color ...flows so smoothly. I think it might have been a bit difficult for a different inker to know that certain colors would represent certain shadowing effects.

 

Here's page 2 for your viewing enjoyment...

lr45.jpg

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am not a Baker collector but I've been keeping an eye out for this one for a while as it is one of, if not my favorite Baker Romance cover. I don't need high-grade. Glad to see the interiors are nice as well :)

 

 

Nice pick up Scrooge. I just got this issue a few months ago and also think it's a great one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
42 42