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Bibliography Information:
Material Type: Book
Collection: Non-circulating
Call Number: US REFER DAN2003
Title: Romance Without Tears: 50's Love Comics With a Twist!
Remainder of title:
Personal name: Dutch, Dana (writer) and Benson, John (editor) and Renee, Lily (illustrator) and Baker, Matt (illustrator) and King, Warren (illustrator) and Miller, Chuck (illustrator) and Rosen, Hy (illustrator)
Statement of responsibility, etc.:
Show in OPAC: yes

Bibliography Copy Information:

Barcode # Description Status Status Dt Due Back
015471 checked in 2022-08-09 18:32:26

Additional Bibliographic Information:
Topical term or geographic name as entry element: Reference
International Standard Book Number: 9781560975588
Name of publisher, distributor, etc.: Fantagraphics Books
Date of publication, distribution, etc.: 2003
Other physical details: softcover, paperback
Summary, etc. note: A first-time collection of the best romance comics of the 1950s. Four genres dominated American comic books in the 1940s and '50s: superheroes, funny animals, horror, and... romance. This revisionist collection of romance comics stories from the '50s challenges the cliche of the "tear-stained face" that later dominated the genre and became widely known and vilified as a tiresome icon of moral uplift. These bright, naturalistic tales (originally published by Archer St. John and written by unrecognized comics master Dana Dutch) are about high school girls who may be inexperienced but definitely have minds of their own: they choose their guys, not the other way around, and they use their heads in dealing with life's difficulties rather than waiting to be saved by some cardboard Romeo. They make all kinds of mistakes, learn from them, and hardly ever suffer. What kind of mistakes? Well, there's going out with a prude or a conceited jerk, of course. But also, improbably enough: Allowing themselves to be picked-up by strangers in a neighboring town; leading guys on with heavy petting; making nervous boyfriends check into a room as man and wife, as a gag after the car breaks down; lying to the folks and going on a "thrill" weekend in the big city; eloping with a couple of rough guys they met at a riverfront cafe and finding out after the marriage was consummated that it was all a sham... Well, okay, in that last case they did suffer, but it was a rare exception. Many of these stories are illustrated by Matt Baker, who achieved fame for his work on Phantom Lady and other sexy female characters in the '40s and '50s. His work for St. John is less known yet the most sophisticated and mature of his career. Baker was a superb illustrator and a first-rate draftsman with a slick, urbane approach to contemporary material. In addition to the stories themselves, the book includes also 16 pages of Baker's luscious full-color covers. Romance Without Tears is edited by comics historian John Benson, who also contributes an introductory essay.
Expansion of summary note: 1950s, romance comics, 1950s romance comics, 1950s teenagers, historical comics, nuclear family, gender politics, gender roles, gender studies, women characters, women protagonists, courtship, sexuality, USA, United States, America, American, girlhood, classic comics, dating, Dana Dutch, feminism, romance, sexism, chauvinism, patriarchy, revisionist anthology, subversive comics
Source of acquisition: Rotem Diamant
Method of acquisition: Donation
Date of acquisition: November, 2018
: ../pictures/Romance Without Tears- 50s Love Comics With a Twist edited by Dana Dutch and John Benson.jpg
: 70



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