Advice on Collecting Romance Comic Books

[BB-Gun]

Anything by Feldstein is good...

[BB-Gun]

Frazetta did wonderful stories for Personal Love.

 

[BB-Gun]

Any Baker you can find but try to find stories by Ward too.

Even Ditko took a shot at romance...

[Dr. Love]

Romance is a finite defined universe, containing approx 5800-5900 issues, approx 38-42 publishers, and approx 344 titles. This universe has been defined by Michelle Nolan, Dan Stevenson, and Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. I say finite and also approximately because there is some wiggle room for personal taste - Michelle includes Dell's I Met a Handsome Cowboy and all the Nurse/ Doctor romance titles for instance - I do not. I include Cole's School Day Romances (duh!) but she does not. Like that.

 

Michelle Nolan is the undisputed expert, and as has been said, Love on the Racks is indispensable to both understand and appreciate this red-headed stepchild of a genre. Many's the time I've scrambled at a convention to get to a box of love books before her - pre internet/Ebay, that was the only avenue for books.

 

Why collect romance? To me, it’s the Holy Grail of collecting. Or like what the mystery of Atlantis is to historians – how could something that big disappear without a trace? Romance was HUGE, in its heyday dominating the market. Yet even today in a wired up world it is difficult finding books in mid grade and better. As Heritage stated on an auction listing, “high-grade romance is usually thought of as the biggest contradiction in terms since jumbo shrimp.”

 

Many collectors know that romance was created by Simon and Kirby. But probably very few know that they created the genre to take advantage of a remarkable 50/50 profit sharing deal they pitched to Crestwood/Prize Comics. S & K had a whole studio of artists working for them and many were adept at approximating Kirby's pencil style or Simon's inking. They figured, and rightly so, that it was a romance title, not a superhero, mystery, horror, or war title, that would line their pockets with cash.

 

Here’s a brief history for those who are interested.

 

In 1947, Jack Kirby and his partner, Joe Simon, already one of the most highly regarded production teams in the comics industry, introduced a totally new type of comic book in an effort to increase sales that were decreasing after the end of WWII. It was a book called My Date, an Archie-like book that focused on romance humor. It only lasted four issues, but it did well enough to convince Simon and Kirby to go ahead with the more serious Young Romance

 

The groundbreaking Young Romance #1 hit the stands in September. The first issue was an enormous success, and it immediately caused waves in the industry. Martin Goodman, the publisher of Timely Comics (which would become Marvel Comics in the early '60s), dismissed Young Romance as "virtual pornography," attacking its emphasis on adult characters and situations.

 

Copying their own formula, S & K added Young Love, and combined sales exceeded 2 million copies per month, for years. Scores of imitators sprang up immediately, and within a year there were 125 separate romance titles in play. Martin Goodman too must have had a change of heart; within three years, Timely was churning out no less than 13 romance titles itself. In 1952, over 300 original romance comic titles were published in America, accounting for more than 25 percent of the entire comics market. Despite the competition, though, Young Romance ruled the sales charts, thanks in no small part to its writers and artists. Some of the industry's best honed their skills on the book's stories, which were surprisingly mature, considering the era in which they thrived.

 

The romance books' popularity, as well as their role as a breeding ground for a new generation of comic artists, cannot be forgotten. Some have said that when the comic industry imploded in the early 1950s, romance books were just about the only ones standing alongside Superman and Batman to keep the industry afloat. If it weren't for their profitability, it's unlikely that comic companies would have stayed around long enough to create a second age of superheroes, our much beloved Silver Age.

 

Suggestions to cruise the Photo Journal or GCD are good ones. Partly too is what kind of $ are you looking to fund this new interest with, and what kind of grade do you like? If you're a 9.0 kind of guy/gal, it's gonna run you.

 

Once you narrow in on the titles you like, hit me up with a PM and I'll see if I can hook you up. This may be stating the obvious, but I didn't pick the corny handle Dr. Love for laughs. Romance is my thing - has been for 25 years.

 

 

[Dr. Love]

Oh yeh,

 

here are some resources

 

before Michelle Nolan published her book, there was an index floating around "All the Romance Comics Ever Published" from 1998, compiled by Dan Stevenson - it is very helpful, as Michelle's appendix lists alpha by publisher by title. Dan's list is alpha by title, and has important notes at the end. There was a final 11th revision in 2006 that I can't find on the web, but I could email to those interested.

 

http://www.matt-thorn.com/comicology/romance/stevenson.html

 

The Art of Romance, A New Genre from the Simon & Kirby site started by Harry Mendryk in 2006. A great read. At the bottom of this page are links to all Chapters 1-38 of this tale.

 

http://kirbymuseum.org/blogs/simonandkirby/archives/1134

 

 

[999ghosts]

I've also fallen in love with these. The artwork on some of them is amazing. Already added a couple to my collection, but as I am a newbie when it comes to these I will have a long way to go before I will be able to show of a nice collection.

[MB1952]

Romance is a finite defined universe, containing approx 5800-5900 issues, approx 38-42 publishers, and approx 344 titles. This universe has been defined by Michelle Nolan, Dan Stevenson, and Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. I say finite and also approximately because there is some wiggle room for personal taste - Michelle includes Dell's I Met a Handsome Cowboy and all the Nurse/ Doctor romance titles for instance - I do not. I include Cole's School Day Romances (duh!) but she does not. Like that.

 

Michelle Nolan is the undisputed expert, and as has been said, Love on the Racks is indispensable to both understand and appreciate this red-headed stepchild of a genre. Many's the time I've scrambled at a convention to get to a box of love books before her - pre internet/Ebay, that was the only avenue for books.

 

Why collect romance? To me, it’s the Holy Grail of collecting. Or like what the mystery of Atlantis is to historians – how could something that big disappear without a trace? Romance was HUGE, in its heyday dominating the market. Yet even today in a wired up world it is difficult finding books in mid grade and better. As Heritage stated on an auction listing, “high-grade romance is usually thought of as the biggest contradiction in terms since jumbo shrimp.”

 

Many collectors know that romance was created by Simon and Kirby. But probably very few know that they created the genre to take advantage of a remarkable 50/50 profit sharing deal they pitched to Crestwood/Prize Comics. S & K had a whole studio of artists working for them and many were adept at approximating Kirby's pencil style or Simon's inking. They figured, and rightly so, that it was a romance title, not a superhero, mystery, horror, or war title, that would line their pockets with cash.

 

Here’s a brief history for those who are interested.

 

In 1947, Jack Kirby and his partner, Joe Simon, already one of the most highly regarded production teams in the comics industry, introduced a totally new type of comic book in an effort to increase sales that were decreasing after the end of WWII. It was a book called My Date, an Archie-like book that focused on romance humor. It only lasted four issues, but it did well enough to convince Simon and Kirby to go ahead with the more serious Young Romance

 

The groundbreaking Young Romance #1 hit the stands in September. The first issue was an enormous success, and it immediately caused waves in the industry. Martin Goodman, the publisher of Timely Comics (which would become Marvel Comics in the early '60s), dismissed Young Romance as "virtual pornography," attacking its emphasis on adult characters and situations.

 

Copying their own formula, S & K added Young Love, and combined sales exceeded 2 million copies per month, for years. Scores of imitators sprang up immediately, and within a year there were 125 separate romance titles in play. Martin Goodman too must have had a change of heart; within three years, Timely was churning out no less than 13 romance titles itself. In 1952, over 300 original romance comic titles were published in America, accounting for more than 25 percent of the entire comics market. Despite the competition, though, Young Romance ruled the sales charts, thanks in no small part to its writers and artists. Some of the industry's best honed their skills on the book's stories, which were surprisingly mature, considering the era in which they thrived.

 

The romance books' popularity, as well as their role as a breeding ground for a new generation of comic artists, cannot be forgotten. Some have said that when the comic industry imploded in the early 1950s, romance books were just about the only ones standing alongside Superman and Batman to keep the industry afloat. If it weren't for their profitability, it's unlikely that comic companies would have stayed around long enough to create a second age of superheroes, our much beloved Silver Age.

 

Suggestions to cruise the Photo Journal or GCD are good ones. Partly too is what kind of $ are you looking to fund this new interest with, and what kind of grade do you like? If you're a 9.0 kind of guy/gal, it's gonna run you.

 

Once you narrow in on the titles you like, hit me up with a PM and I'll see if I can hook you up. This may be stating the obvious, but I didn't pick the corny handle Dr. Love for laughs. Romance is my thing - has been for 25 years.

 

 

really good info thanks.

[Sqeggs]

Romance is a finite defined universe, containing approx 5800-5900 issues, approx 38-42 publishers, and approx 344 titles. This universe has been defined by Michelle Nolan, Dan Stevenson, and Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. I say finite and also approximately because there is some wiggle room for personal taste - Michelle includes Dell's I Met a Handsome Cowboy and all the Nurse/ Doctor romance titles for instance - I do not. I include Cole's School Day Romances (duh!) but she does not. Like that.

 

Michelle Nolan is the undisputed expert, and as has been said, Love on the Racks is indispensable to both understand and appreciate this red-headed stepchild of a genre. Many's the time I've scrambled at a convention to get to a box of love books before her - pre internet/Ebay, that was the only avenue for books.

 

Why collect romance? To me, it’s the Holy Grail of collecting. Or like what the mystery of Atlantis is to historians – how could something that big disappear without a trace? Romance was HUGE, in its heyday dominating the market. Yet even today in a wired up world it is difficult finding books in mid grade and better. As Heritage stated on an auction listing, “high-grade romance is usually thought of as the biggest contradiction in terms since jumbo shrimp.”

 

Many collectors know that romance was created by Simon and Kirby. But probably very few know that they created the genre to take advantage of a remarkable 50/50 profit sharing deal they pitched to Crestwood/Prize Comics. S & K had a whole studio of artists working for them and many were adept at approximating Kirby's pencil style or Simon's inking. They figured, and rightly so, that it was a romance title, not a superhero, mystery, horror, or war title, that would line their pockets with cash.

 

Here’s a brief history for those who are interested.

 

In 1947, Jack Kirby and his partner, Joe Simon, already one of the most highly regarded production teams in the comics industry, introduced a totally new type of comic book in an effort to increase sales that were decreasing after the end of WWII. It was a book called My Date, an Archie-like book that focused on romance humor. It only lasted four issues, but it did well enough to convince Simon and Kirby to go ahead with the more serious Young Romance

 

The groundbreaking Young Romance #1 hit the stands in September. The first issue was an enormous success, and it immediately caused waves in the industry. Martin Goodman, the publisher of Timely Comics (which would become Marvel Comics in the early '60s), dismissed Young Romance as "virtual pornography," attacking its emphasis on adult characters and situations.

 

Copying their own formula, S & K added Young Love, and combined sales exceeded 2 million copies per month, for years. Scores of imitators sprang up immediately, and within a year there were 125 separate romance titles in play. Martin Goodman too must have had a change of heart; within three years, Timely was churning out no less than 13 romance titles itself. In 1952, over 300 original romance comic titles were published in America, accounting for more than 25 percent of the entire comics market. Despite the competition, though, Young Romance ruled the sales charts, thanks in no small part to its writers and artists. Some of the industry's best honed their skills on the book's stories, which were surprisingly mature, considering the era in which they thrived.

 

The romance books' popularity, as well as their role as a breeding ground for a new generation of comic artists, cannot be forgotten. Some have said that when the comic industry imploded in the early 1950s, romance books were just about the only ones standing alongside Superman and Batman to keep the industry afloat. If it weren't for their profitability, it's unlikely that comic companies would have stayed around long enough to create a second age of superheroes, our much beloved Silver Age.

 

Suggestions to cruise the Photo Journal or GCD are good ones. Partly too is what kind of $ are you looking to fund this new interest with, and what kind of grade do you like? If you're a 9.0 kind of guy/gal, it's gonna run you.

 

Once you narrow in on the titles you like, hit me up with a PM and I'll see if I can hook you up. This may be stating the obvious, but I didn't pick the corny handle Dr. Love for laughs. Romance is my thing - has been for 25 years.

 

 

really good info thanks.

 

+1

[Dr. Love]

BTW, in my haste to provide some historical context, I failed to acknowledge the great roundup, overview, and posts of my fellow romance admirers and enthusiasts. Fantastic job! Stroszek, welcome to the club!! No longer will you debate who is stronger, the Hulk or the Thing. Now you can chime in on Baker's hands and other important romance esoterica.

 

My musings on collecting romance.

 

I wish I had been able to really take advantage of the Great Fox Romance Rollout on Heritage in 2003 (60 or so slabs), and Moondog's Atlas romance extravaganza in 2005 (98% of the run, Gary?). Regret. If any of you have some of that goodness, I'm really interested. aka shameless trolling for more books.

 

I was able to take advantage of the Crippen romance rollout on Heritage in 2007 which nearly broke my wallet and my spirit, as it went on and on and on and I could never budget for it in any sane fashion as I never knew what was coming and when.

 

I was able to take advantage of the Crowley romance rollout when it hit the San Diego Con in 2004. I love those photo covers but I would say I'm in a minority. Fawcett had a vision and a plan and they stuck to it. The presentation is unique, simple, it doesn't involve movie stars but instead captures images that are both faintly laughable and endearing and evoke an era long past. Ace rivals those covers but focuses on closeup couple shots of a more amorous nature. They are very difficult to find.

 

I had to pass on Savannah. I just couldn't follow those prices where they were going, but I'm glad they got there.

 

I shudder to think of what the Church romance will go for when it finally gets released. There are hundreds and hundreds of books there in great grade, never slabbed, never changed hands. It will be out of my league. I can only hope to catch the stray morsel the deeper pockets leave behind. I'm a bit surprised it hasn't begun to surface yet.

 

Artwise, don't forget Colletta's contribution. You may hate him or love him for his work with Kirby at Marvel, but he was a force in the romance world long before that - pencils, not just ink. Baker loved him some women, and Vinnie C did too.

 

Last but not least in the Overlooked Category - Mike Sekowsky at DC. I believe he handled the lions share of Silver romance work, and his look is absolutely unique and immediately identifiable. The Savannah books solidified his place in romance history and proved the genre had legs and could command market share in auction terms.

 

The recent flooding of the Harvey romance into the market is a boon to new collectors and a blow to guys like me who bought years ago when it was presented as scarce and limited. Shoulda known better. Naive buyers and their money are soon parted.

 

The good news is between Sparkle's slabs and the Dentist's raw, romance is proving to be very attractive to new and established collectors alike. In fact, if you were to compare the year on year price increases of the Top 10 lists in Overstreet, you'd see romance surging ahead of other genres on a consistent basis. What financial advisers call an undervalued asset class.

 

Below is a scan of one of my favorite ones that got away, My Confession 7. Sigh. It's gotten away from me twice now, once on Heritage and once on Metro. Each time I hesitated because of the PQ and the Fox bleed through. Well, tan be damned, not the next time. If one of you own it and want to trade for some Baker or whatever just let me know.

 

I keep blowing air from year to year about posting romance covers. Maybe this time I'll get off my azz and do it. Matt and LB are well represented on the boards - the other books, not so much.

 

Andy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MrBedrock]

I keep blowing air from year to year about posting romance covers. Maybe this time I'll get off my azz and do it.

Get to it, slacker

[rjpb]

Yeah, now is a great time to pick up Harvey Romance in higher grade if you don't mind a little edge tanning. Elias did some great covers for the publisher, and file copies go cheap on ebay.

 

Never was a big romance collector, mostly picked up ones with reefer or anti-communist stories. But if I was to expand, DC put out some really nice covers, and ACG, while mostly pretty generic, put out some pretty crazy books now and then - most notably My Romantic Adventure 50, but others as well with oddball themes like alcoholism and baby selling - that either for multiples of guide or cheap depending on your luck.

 

While some Baker St.John books go for big money in any grade, and pretty much all are expensive in 6.0 and above, it seems like you can still pick up a fair number in 3.0-4.0 for a reasonable price.

[rjpb]

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can see why you dig this, Fox did plenty of great covers and many with a more provocative tone than this issue, but there is something about the simplicity of this cover that is mesmerizing.

[JvR11]

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can see why you dig this, Fox did plenty of great covers and many with a more provocative tone than this issue, but there is something about the simplicity of this cover that is mesmerizing.

 

I don't believe I've ever seen a copy that isn't "bleeding". So, what do you think is the going rate for one of these in mid-grade?

[stroszek]

Lovin' all the great info on this thread, and especially lovin' Dr. Love's rousing defense of this segment of the hobby. I'm sold. What I'm loving less is how difficult it seems to be to find much of anything for sale, but that's probably best for me since I need to hang back and decide what I want to collect. Something about collecting Romance just feels right. Like it would be a lot more fun and satisfying than chasing all the usual superhero runs. Not that I'm looking down on them, mind you. Just ready for a shift.

 

 

[Dr. Love]

I don't believe I've ever seen a copy that isn't "bleeding". So, what do you think is the going rate for one of these in mid-grade?

 

Joanna the Crippen 9.0 appears to have minimal transfer. It's dreamy. And I would say 5ish for fine books, give or take depending on defects and the eagerness of the buyer.

[JvR11]

I don't believe I've ever seen a copy that isn't "bleeding". So, what do you think is the going rate for one of these in mid-grade?

 

Joanna the Crippen 9.0 appears to have minimal transfer. It's dreamy. And I would say 5ish for fine books, give or take depending on defects and the eagerness of the buyer.

 

I have an extra one. I'll have to dig it out and list it on ebay. When I do, I'll link it here.

[Kill.Kill.Kill.-migration]

Is there a Golden Age Romance thread other than the Baker Romance thread?

 

 

Dr. Anthony King, Love Doctor #2, Toby

[Kill.Kill.Kill.-migration]

 

Girl's Love Stories #14, DC

 

[Sqeggs]

Is there a Golden Age Romance thread other than the Baker Romance thread?

 

 

Dr. Anthony King, Love Doctor #2, Toby

 

May as well use this thread.

 

Nice books. Keep postin' 'em! (thumbs u

[damonwad]

Nice books Kill. I haven't seen either of those before.