What are the rarest romance comics? 35 35

[Robot Man]

On 5/4/2024 at 8:13 AM, Dr. Love said:

Romance was a blockbuster endeavor from 1950 to 1952, at one point capturing approximately 25% of the market in the post war shakeup, and involved all publishers (except Dell).  Certain artists specialized in the genre, especially as it represented a smaller footprint into the mid and late 50's - Baker, Colletta, and Romita come to mind. Others had a notable presence - Bald, Whitney, Anderson, Kirkpatrick, Kirby, Buscema, Hartley and the like.  

Then there were some artists who dabbled in romance, a side hustle as it were from their more known work.  These artists might have less than 10 romance covers, if that many.  Heath, Everett, Schomburg, Infantino, Pike, Ward.  And Bernard Baily.

Baily is particularly interesting for a number of reasons.  In my mind an accomplished artist, while identifiable in style, has a certain versatility that allows them to express their hand in different settings, different genres.  Most, even the greats like The King, could not.  But Baily could.  

 

That is impressive.  But a more complete transformation to something more mainstream, for a whole different market altogether - that is kinda awesome.  And not just transforming as an artist.  Baily was one of a small group who stretched entrepreneurially as well, for those were very few.  In 1943 he founded Baily Publishing.  In 1953 Baily produced this wholesome gem of a digest for his own company, For Girls Only - The Magazine for Girls of All Ages.  While at the same time, turning out Weird Mysteries and so much more for the ultimate fly-by-night publisher and creator of some of the most extreme horror comics of that time, Stanley Morse.  Wow!  

 

       

 

Bailey really ran the gamut genre wise. Personally, I prefer his horror and More Fun work. Yes, I am a sicko. But his romance stuff is also pretty unique. You just know who did it at a glance.

[Ricksneatstuff]

Thanks for the history @Dr. Love 

I didn’t know about Bailey Publishing. 

[Ricksneatstuff]

A couple Kirkpatrick covers just in from Sarasota

 

 

[Darwination]

On 5/2/2024 at 11:02 PM, sfcityduck said:

That Alice Kirkpatrick cover is awesome! Her portrayal of beautiful women is top notch, and her dark lines are in the Caniff/Sickles tradition that some of the best art of that period (Toth etc.) followed.  I picked up one of her covers a few months ago at one at the Berkeley Comic Shows that HouseofComics puts on. I was so blown away by the cover, I just paid the $40 ask and didn't even crack it out it to inspect it:

I thought it was so cool, I went looking for other Alice Kirkpatrick covers. As I perused GCD, I began to sense a pattern. In most of her covers, like yours and mine, there's a bit of distance between the woman and the man. In your case, the arm between her and the man's face. In mine, the sort of distant open eyed look, closed mouth and the turning of her head away from the man. In a lot of covers she did, it just seemed that the lips were never going to meet and there was often that distance or turning away or the man seemingly restraining the woman:

Then I went and read Alice Kirkpatrick's bio. It suddenly all made sense. No wonder she knew how to draw such beautiful women ... but distanced them from the men.

Her covers are told from a Lesbian perspective. Now I think they are worth much more than I paid.

Alice Kirkpatrick's bio: https://womenincomics.fandom.com/wiki/Alice_Kirkpatrick

Kirkpatrick was born in September 1912 to bookkeeper John Maurice and Helen (Borton) Kirkpatrick in Huntsville, Alabama. She was their first and only child after 12 years of marriage. She graduated from Huntsville High School in June 1930, then may have attended college. In 1934, her live-in maternal grandmother, Carrie Borton, died at 79, and in July 1935, her father died at 68.

She moved to New York City in 1936 and by 1937, she had started working for Ace Magazines as a pulp artist illustrating stories in the romance magazine, Love Fiction Monthly. She signed her work simply "Kirk." In 1938, she moved in with Jacqueline Franc, a model and Broadway actress, across the street from the Museum of Modern Art (opened 1939).

Her first known comics work appeared in the January 1948 issue of Quality's Police Comics, likely published in November or December 1947. For Quality Comics, she did action features like 'Betty Bates', 'Hack O'Hara', 'Manhunter', 'Sally O'Neil' and 'Steve Wood'.

In October 1948, her mother died at the age of 71.

Her first identifiable romance comics work was the cover of Ace Magazine's Real Love #25, cover dated April 1949; in addition to further covers for Ace romance comics, her first identifiable interior romance work appeared in Quality's Heart Throbs #2, cover dated October 1949. From 1951 to 1955, she expanded to other publishers and drew romance comics for such publishers as Ziff-Davis (Cinderella Love, Romantic Marriage), Timely/Atlas (Girl Confessions, Love Romance, Lovers, My Own Romance), and Toby Press (Great Lover Romances). In 1955, she returned briefly to action comics, contributing covers to the first four issues of Navy Patrol, published by Stanley Morse.

Also in 1951, Franc moved out of their apartment, and a legal secretary named Muriel Birckhead moved in with Kirkpatrick.

By 1956, she had moved on from comics to dust jacket illustrations, which she evidently continued to do successfully until her retirement in 1977 at the age of 65. She had started spending her winters in Naples, Florida in the 1960s and moved there permanently upon her retirement. Though she moved around New York City several times in the 1950s and '60s, it is not clear when she and Muriel Birckhead parted ways, though it seems unlikely Birckhead moved to Florida, as she passed away in Teaneck, New Jersey in February 1984. Jacqueline Franc died in Allentown, Pennsylvania in July 1985. Kirkpatrick herself passed away in Florida in July 1997 at the age of 84. Neither Kirkpatrick nor either of her former roommates ever married or had children.

 

 

Great stuff, Duck.  I'd recently been talking about the Ace artists hoping to get an elusive ID on one of the painters with a lady friend who studies love pulps, and this subject of Kirkpatrick's orientation came up. Kirkpatrick did a lot of work on the interior illustrations in the love pulps.   David Saunders alludes to the sexual orientation angle a little more obtusely than in the womenincomics entry in his wiki entry on Kirkpatrick here which has some extra information:

https://www.pulpartists.com/Kirkpatrick.html

She was *highly* regarded by her male peers in comics for her brushwork.

[jimjum12]

On 5/3/2024 at 12:02 AM, sfcityduck said:

That Alice Kirkpatrick cover is awesome! Her portrayal of beautiful women is top notch, and her dark lines are in the Caniff/Sickles tradition that some of the best art of that period (Toth etc.) followed.  I picked up one of her covers a few months ago at one at the Berkeley Comic Shows that HouseofComics puts on. I was so blown away by the cover, I just paid the $40 ask and didn't even crack it out it to inspect it:

I thought it was so cool, I went looking for other Alice Kirkpatrick covers. As I perused GCD, I began to sense a pattern. In most of her covers, like yours and mine, there's a bit of distance between the woman and the man. In your case, the arm between her and the man's face. In mine, the sort of distant open eyed look, closed mouth and the turning of her head away from the man. In a lot of covers she did, it just seemed that the lips were never going to meet and there was often that distance or turning away or the man seemingly restraining the woman:

Then I went and read Alice Kirkpatrick's bio. It suddenly all made sense. No wonder she knew how to draw such beautiful women ... but distanced them from the men.

Her covers are told from a Lesbian perspective. Now I think they are worth much more than I paid.

Alice Kirkpatrick's bio: https://womenincomics.fandom.com/wiki/Alice_Kirkpatrick

Kirkpatrick was born in September 1912 to bookkeeper John Maurice and Helen (Borton) Kirkpatrick in Huntsville, Alabama. She was their first and only child after 12 years of marriage. She graduated from Huntsville High School in June 1930, then may have attended college. In 1934, her live-in maternal grandmother, Carrie Borton, died at 79, and in July 1935, her father died at 68.

She moved to New York City in 1936 and by 1937, she had started working for Ace Magazines as a pulp artist illustrating stories in the romance magazine, Love Fiction Monthly. She signed her work simply "Kirk." In 1938, she moved in with Jacqueline Franc, a model and Broadway actress, across the street from the Museum of Modern Art (opened 1939).

Her first known comics work appeared in the January 1948 issue of Quality's Police Comics, likely published in November or December 1947. For Quality Comics, she did action features like 'Betty Bates', 'Hack O'Hara', 'Manhunter', 'Sally O'Neil' and 'Steve Wood'.

In October 1948, her mother died at the age of 71.

Her first identifiable romance comics work was the cover of Ace Magazine's Real Love #25, cover dated April 1949; in addition to further covers for Ace romance comics, her first identifiable interior romance work appeared in Quality's Heart Throbs #2, cover dated October 1949. From 1951 to 1955, she expanded to other publishers and drew romance comics for such publishers as Ziff-Davis (Cinderella Love, Romantic Marriage), Timely/Atlas (Girl Confessions, Love Romance, Lovers, My Own Romance), and Toby Press (Great Lover Romances). In 1955, she returned briefly to action comics, contributing covers to the first four issues of Navy Patrol, published by Stanley Morse.

Also in 1951, Franc moved out of their apartment, and a legal secretary named Muriel Birckhead moved in with Kirkpatrick.

By 1956, she had moved on from comics to dust jacket illustrations, which she evidently continued to do successfully until her retirement in 1977 at the age of 65. She had started spending her winters in Naples, Florida in the 1960s and moved there permanently upon her retirement. Though she moved around New York City several times in the 1950s and '60s, it is not clear when she and Muriel Birckhead parted ways, though it seems unlikely Birckhead moved to Florida, as she passed away in Teaneck, New Jersey in February 1984. Jacqueline Franc died in Allentown, Pennsylvania in July 1985. Kirkpatrick herself passed away in Florida in July 1997 at the age of 84. Neither Kirkpatrick nor either of her former roommates ever married or had children.

 

 

You may already know, but she also did a ton of interior stories for several titles. Both credited and uncredited. If you like Kirkpatrick, then you're in for a treat if you like pleasant surprises. Her work will pop up where you least expect it. GOD BLESS ...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[Darwination]

On 5/4/2024 at 10:13 AM, Dr. Love said:

Romance was a blockbuster endeavor from 1950 to 1952, at one point capturing approximately 25% of the market in the post war shakeup, and involved all publishers (except Dell).  Certain artists specialized in the genre, especially as it represented a smaller footprint into the mid and late 50's - Baker, Colletta, and Romita come to mind. Others had a notable presence - Bald, Whitney, Anderson, Kirkpatrick, Kirby, Buscema, Pike, Hartley and the like.  

Then there were some artists who dabbled in romance, a side hustle as it were from their more known work.  These artists might have less than 10 romance covers, if that many.  Heath, Everett, Schomburg, Infantino, Ward.  And Bernard Baily.

Baily is particularly interesting for a number of reasons.  In my mind an accomplished artist, while identifiable in style, has a certain versatility that allows them to express their hand in different settings, different genres.  Many, could not - at least not have it look like the same hand slightly modified for context, the hero from a cape to a cowboy hat let's say.  But Baily could.  

 

That is impressive.  But a more complete transformation to something more mainstream, for a whole different market altogether - that is kinda awesome.  And not just transforming as an artist.  Baily was one of a small group who stretched entrepreneurially as well, for those were very few.  In 1943 he founded Baily Publishing.  In 1953 Baily produced this wholesome gem of a digest for his own company, For Girls Only - The Magazine for Girls of All Ages.  While at the same time, turning out Weird Mysteries and so much more for the ultimate fly-by-night publisher and creator of some of the most extreme horror comics of that time, Stanley Morse.  Wow!  

 

       

 

Most excellent, Doc.

The Bernard Baily Shop doesn't seem to be well known, but a recent APA article from David Saunders says Baily's shop included pulpsters John Giunta and Sam Cooper as well as comics artists like Frank Frazetta and Nina Albright.

I really like his Stories from the Opera, not exactly your usual comics fare - a couple of scans which have popped up over the last year at the digital museums.

hotlinked filenames to the scans, thanks to Michael Gilbert for this one - Illustrated Stories of the Operas - Carmen (1943.Baily Publishing Co.) (c2c) (MTGilbert)

thanks to cap12xx for the scan  Illustrated Stories of the Operas - Faust (1943.Baily Publishing Co.) (c2c) (cap12xx)

As for his romance covers, I'm crazy for a couple of them including the one you've shown.  How weird is that dude's leer, though?

 

Edited May 4 by Darwination

[adamstrange]

On 5/4/2024 at 11:13 AM, Dr. Love said:

Romance was a blockbuster endeavor from 1950 to 1952, at one point capturing approximately 25% of the market in the post war shakeup, and involved all publishers (except Dell).  Certain artists specialized in the genre, especially as it represented a smaller footprint into the mid and late 50's - Baker, Colletta, and Romita come to mind. Others had a notable presence - Bald, Whitney, Anderson, Kirkpatrick, Kirby, Buscema, Pike, Hartley and the like.  

Then there were some artists who dabbled in romance, a side hustle as it were from their more known work.  These artists might have less than 10 romance covers, if that many.  Heath, Everett, Schomburg, Infantino, Ward.  And Bernard Baily.

Baily is particularly interesting for a number of reasons.  In my mind an accomplished artist, while identifiable in style, has a certain versatility that allows them to express their hand in different settings, different genres.  Many, could not - at least not have it look like the same hand slightly modified for context, the hero from a cape to a cowboy hat let's say.  But Baily could.  

 

That is impressive.  But a more complete transformation to something more mainstream, for a whole different market altogether - that is kinda awesome.  And not just transforming as an artist.  Baily was one of a small group who stretched entrepreneurially as well, for those were very few.  In 1943 he founded Baily Publishing.  In 1953 Baily produced this wholesome gem of a digest for his own company, For Girls Only - The Magazine for Girls of All Ages.  While at the same time, turning out Weird Mysteries and so much more for the ultimate fly-by-night publisher and creator of some of the most extreme horror comics of that time, Stanley Morse.  Wow!  

 

       

 

Great background on Bailey.

I am a big of fan of both his Golden Age and Atomic Age art.  He gets my vote for preeminent horror cover artist, even over those dudes from EC.

His romance art is a bit of a mixed bag for me, as I think his line drawn covers are inked in a style that is perfect for PCH but "harsh" for romance.

What I was completely unaware of prior to your post, was his work on these magazines for kids.  Eschewing inked outlines and simplifying his style to allow for the color design to carry more weight made his work initially unrecognizable.  I wish he would have developed more material in this style as it  would have worked wonderfully for romance, teen, humor, and funny animal genres.

[sfcityduck]

On 5/4/2024 at 10:29 AM, adamstrange said:

I wish he would have developed more material in this style as it  would have worked wonderfully for romance, teen, humor, and funny animal genres.

Didn't he work for Cracked in the 60s?  Don't know what it looked like but you might want to check it out.

Edited May 4 by sfcityduck

[Dr. Love]

On 5/4/2024 at 10:29 AM, adamstrange said:

Great background on Bailey.

I am a big of fan of both his Golden Age and Atomic Age art.  He gets my vote for preeminent horror cover artist, even over those dudes from EC.

His romance art is a bit of a mixed bag for me, as I think his line drawn covers are inked in a style that is perfect for PCH but "harsh" for romance.

What I was completely unaware of prior to your post, was his work on these magazines for kids.  Eschewing inked outlines and simplifying his style to allow for the color design to carry more weight made his work initially unrecognizable.  I wish he would have developed more material in this style as it  would have worked wonderfully for romance, teen, humor, and funny animal genres.

What I mean about his versatility - same time frame as the horror, same StanMor, but a whole different vibe.  Daring Love has been a minor grail forever, due to it containing Ditko's first published work, but I think Baily's cover has a classic appeal that transcends the Ditko accreditation.  imho of course!

 

 

[sfcityduck]

On 5/4/2024 at 10:29 AM, adamstrange said:

I wish he would have developed more material in this style as it  would have worked wonderfully for romance, teen, humor, and funny animal genres.

Here's a page of Bailey art from his time on Cracked (late 50s early 60s):

 

Edited May 4 by sfcityduck

[Ryan.]

On 5/4/2024 at 3:05 PM, Dr. Love said:

think Baily's cover has a classic appeal that transcends the Ditko accreditation.  imho of course!

I too have always thought that would be a coveted book, with or without the Ditko connection. 

[adamstrange]

On 5/4/2024 at 2:52 PM, sfcityduck said:

Didn't he work for Cracked in the 60s?

There are no comics after 1959.

[sfcityduck]

On 5/4/2024 at 7:58 PM, adamstrange said:

There are no comics after 1959.

At least you got into the DC Silver Age. Luckily, however, Baily worked on Cracked 3, 4, & 5 in 1958! Examples:

[BuscemasAvengers]

Silver age date, but finding these Love Romances in high grade is tough!

[plady69]

On 5/4/2024 at 3:05 PM, Dr. Love said:

What I mean about his versatility - same time frame as the horror, same StanMor, but a whole different vibe.  Daring Love has been a minor grail forever, due to it containing Ditko's first published work, but I think Baily's cover has a classic appeal that transcends the Ditko accreditation.  imho of course!

 

 

I always thought the “Daring” part was rolling around in the hayloft.  That stuff itches like crazy! 😬

[Darwination]

I got a kick out of this eBay auction.  I was going to point it out earlier, but I wanted to wait until it ended just in case any people were watching and would resent any competition.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/335370406188

The funny part is the description.  I guess eBay's AI has figured out that this is the way to get eyes on a comic and drive prices?  And people really trust AI to write their auction descriptions?

Girl Confessions #21 (1953 Atlas Comics) 2.5 Good girl Baker Cole Romance Love

Girl Confessions #21 is a comic book from Atlas Comics published in 1953. It belongs to the Golden Age era of US Comics and the Girl Comics series. The issue number is 21 and it features a romance love story by Baker Cole. The genre is Good Girl.

Actual artists in the issue include Jay Scott Pike, Mike Sekowsky, and Morris Weiss. Cover by Al Hartley.

Baker Cole does not appear in the issue.

 

[MBFan]

On 5/4/2024 at 2:05 PM, Dr. Love said:

 

 

 

Mom told me to stay away from girls wearing TWO ankle monitors. 

[Yorick]

On 5/5/2024 at 8:04 PM, Darwination said:

Girl Confessions #21

I threw a bid at it.  Not the winner.  Hartley did some really nice covers.

[Darwination]

I like it, too, but I skipped it because of some of the roughness.  Wouldn't have been surprised to see it hit $100 even in that shape, but I have a hard time predicting Atlas results.

The bot description was pretty funny - all the AI needs to add is "Pre-code"

[Ryan.]

I found a fun Atlas stack today.