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What are the rarest romance comics?
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6,421 posts in this topic

And to close out the Quality tour, a little illustrated cover as a palate cleanser.

 

Next up: Got a problem in the romance department? Get yourself to Mr. Anthony's Love Clinic.

 

LoveLetters47f_zps35222674.jpg

 

 

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And to close out the Quality tour, a little illustrated cover as a palate cleanser.

 

Next up: Got a problem in the romance department? Get yourself to Mr. Anthony's Love Clinic.

 

LoveLetters47f_zps35222674.jpg

 

Pretty pink cover. Interesting scenario.
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Of course, Ace had many winners too. Beautiful tone on this one - the image, the coloring. Home run.

GlamorousRomances67fc100_zps69f36bf8.jpg

 

You know, in the Glamorous Romance run, I've always preferred the run of "portrait" covers in the issue numbers from late 40's and in the 50's part of the run. Ace had the same going in Real Love. It's essentially using the playbook of the pulp in the early to late '40's.

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You know, another time for the Mr. Anthony's. I'm all tuckered out. I'll leave you with some of those Fawcetts. Thank you Mr. Crowley.

 

and thank you for visiting with me this evening, my friends! :hi:

 

RomanticSecrets10fc100_zps932a506f.jpg

 

SweetheartDiary06fc100_zps3c680a8b.jpg

 

LoveMystery02fc100_zpse5d25136.jpg

 

TrueConfidences03fc100_zpsaee4a35e.jpg

 

RomanticSecrets06fc100_zpsf3c08d68.jpg

 

 

 

You know, I just can't hold back this question any longer: Where the fluck did you get all these amazingly high grade rare romance comics???

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You know, another time for the Mr. Anthony's. I'm all tuckered out. I'll leave you with some of those Fawcetts. Thank you Mr. Crowley.

 

and thank you for visiting with me this evening, my friends! :hi:

 

RomanticSecrets10fc100_zps932a506f.jpg

 

SweetheartDiary06fc100_zps3c680a8b.jpg

 

LoveMystery02fc100_zpse5d25136.jpg

 

TrueConfidences03fc100_zpsaee4a35e.jpg

 

RomanticSecrets06fc100_zpsf3c08d68.jpg

 

 

 

You know, I just can't hold back this question any longer: Where the fluck did you get all these amazingly high grade rare romance comics???

Some great Fawcett there, nice grades too! That 'True Confidences' cover has always been a fave of mine. BTW, if that 'Love Mystery' was on either eBay or HA Sunday auction I believe fairly recently, YOU outbid me good Dr. lol so it comes full circle! Great show yesterday/ early this morning!
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OK this is the one I was referring to earlier. I've been studying this cover for weeks, and by now I'm 67% certain this is Norma Jeane Mortenson, before her transformation. What say you, Men of the Book?

ThrillingRomances22fc100_zpsac6e4991.jpg

When was the comic released (EDIT: It was 1953 and MM was already very famous, but the photo could have been taken earlier)? What year did she have her

?
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You know, I just can't hold back this question any longer: Where the fluck did you get all these amazingly high grade rare romance comics???

Morning, Duke. You had me at fluck!

 

I've told this in bits and pieces, so I'll take this as an opportunity to lay it out. As to the where and when, you all know the drill, eh - bit by bit over a quarter century. A dealer here, a dealer there. Mailing want lists, chasing down print ads in the trade publications. Old school style. Harley had the biggest holding in the early 90's, and I pretty much bought him out of mid grade and above. I scoured boxes at cons, side by side with Michelle Nolan; we were often the only two. Fought it out a book at a time on Ebay with much of the same crew who contribute to the boards today. Except that scoundrel, tommyfoxwood. Back then we could communicate with other bidders, and I formed friendships which continue. There just weren't that many romance collectors - still aren't. Somewhat at the bottom of the comic collecting hierarchy, now boosted by the popularity of Baker and Cole, we are slowly seeing values appreciate at a respectable rate and are finally getting some respect.

 

No private collections to help, and pedigrees were are sparce. Crippen was a windfall, though it was a torturous HA rollout. Other pedigrees (Oakland, Circle 8, Bethlehem, New Hampshire, etc) had a small romance component. I was one of the first to get a Geppi Harvey warehouse run, and I thought I would be the last. Boy was that off! Ace file copies were non-existant, and now they're like rain falling from the sky. When the Savannah DC collection hit HA, though, I just couldn't compete. $200-$300 or so per book blew me away. I didn't have the 50K necessary to corner them, and I was pretty dispirited as I watched these amazing books just slip away.

 

My biggest purchasing decision came when the Crowley collection surfaced at San Diego. I had the opportunity to take all the Crowley Fawcett romance off the table, and I went for it. For some the $ involved would be considered, while not pocket change, not a tremendous amount either. For me it was a game changer, a life changer. I sweated bullets then, and I still do over that choice. I paid an extreme premium for the right to secure the whole Fawcett romance line, in its slabbed entirety. In my mind, I was either going to be the Hero, or the Goat.

 

And so every time a collector, with good sense and good taste like our friend Scrooge, wonders aloud is there anything of value in the Fawcett line?, I get to revisit my decision. And don't get me wrong - it aint just Scrooge, for he is not alone by any means. Universally, in the world of comics as it stands today in terms of desirability, you'd have to rank romance at the bottom, photocovers at the bottom in the romance world (well, there's Bronze Charlton, but that's a different conversation), and Fawcetts at the bottom in the photocover variety.

 

But I saved them from being split into an atomized mess of individual slabs, and at the end of the day, that has meaning to me. At least now they exist, intact, as a particular body of work. And will remain that way. Fawcett was all photocover, all the time, and only at the very end with Marilyn and Elizabeth did they go for the industry staple, the movie star cover. Their viewpoint was unique and identifiable, although for many it is uniquely boring and identifiably meh. Not for me, though. I sing their praises, along with a few other taste-challenged souls!

 

So to round up this Romance Retrospective - it is an exciting time, no better time to be a romance collector. Wonderful file copies are available to all. With prices picking up, love books are being submitted at an ever increasing rate. We're seeing great mid grade and in some cases high grade copies come to market at affordable prices (compared to silver superhero, PCH, sci fi, etc). New pedigrees are few, but they're showing up. DTA is still sitting on a bunch of Southern State, and the Sixth Street collection is beginning to show up again. Metropolis cornered the genre and has a wide and deep inventory, while My Comic Shop and yes Richie Muchin bring a lot to the table as well. And then there's the 800 pound gorilla who may or may not make an appearance over the next decade - the Mile High romance books. Hundreds and hundreds of them. Do they deserve the grades Chuck gave them? Hopefully we'll find out.

 

And of course, there will be postings along the way for you romance collectors and romance lurkers - "we few, we happy few, we band of brothers"! :headbang:

 

Dr. Love

 

 

 

 

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Dr.Love, that's the kind of post that makes this forum so great. :applause:

 

I'm a romance "lurker" but am starting to pick up a few here and there. The enthusiasm and shared knowledge of the regular posters in the romance threads is much appreciated.

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Wait -- what are the other two? I know about Teen-Age Diary... What's the other one?

Sweethearts 119

 

 

I think I remember seeing this and thinking -there is something to those photo covers.

Indeed. Some go Cuckoo for CoCo Puffs, Me-hee for Yoo-hoo, Girls Gone Wild crazy for this cover. But it's not for everyone.

 

 

BTW, if that 'Love Mystery' was on either eBay or HA Sunday auction I believe fairly recently, YOU outbid me good Dr.

Wasn't me, Sagii. Got the set at the San Diego Con in 2004. But don't worry. Give me a little time, and I'll outsnipe you on something else, I figger.

 

 

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