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| Most of the lurid St John romance covers aren't matched by the stories inside, but this one sure is. All the stories are sordid even by pre-Code standards. "Masquerade Marriage" takes the cake. Two 16-year-old "good girls" marry bad boys on a drunken whim and the morning after discover the marriages were fakes. We see the couples in bed together and the heroine even agonizes about the poor quality of her wedding night. Not the comic mama would have wanted you to read, despite the moralistic conclusions. |
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| Additional Information |
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| Publication | June 1954 | Price: 0.10 USD | Pages: 1 | Frequency: bimonthly |
| Notes | The cover art is based on the interior story "Fool's Paradise." |
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| Credits | Pencils: Matt Baker | Inks: Matt Baker? |
| Content | Genre: Romance | Characters: Sonya; David Fenton; Swede Murvy |
| Notes | The cover art is based on the interior story "Fool's Paradise." |
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| Comic Story | Fool's Paradise (9 pages) |
| Synopsis | Sonya’s parents, before they die, arrange to have Swede smuggle their daughter into the USA. Swede intends to use Sonya as bait for a blackmail scheme. He takes compromising photos of Sonya and David. Because she’s fallen in love with David, Sonya steals the photos and turns herself in. David takes Sonya to Canada and marries her. Someday she’ll be able to return to the USA legally as his wife. |
| Credits | Pencils: Matt Baker | Inks: Matt Baker? |
| Content | Genre: Romance | Characters: Swede Murvy; Sonya; Louis Ravoletti; Mrs. Ravoletti; David Fenton |
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| Comic Story | Tell-Tale Love (5 pages) |
| Synopsis | Ann loves Clark although he’s 15 years older than her. When Clark announces his engagement to Phyllis, Ann schemes to break it up by spreading rumors. Clark finds out and Ann apologizes. She knows she has “a lot of growing up to do before I was worthy of a love like” Phyllis and Clark’s. |
| Credits | Pencils: Matt Baker? | Letters: John Duffy |
| Content | Genre: Romance | Characters: Ann Johnson; Mr. Johnson; Mrs. Johnson; Clark Adams; Tom Hancock; Phyllis Walters |
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| Comic Story | Masquerade Marriage (9 pages) |
| Synopsis | 16-year-old Pat and Jetta hang out near waterfront taverns and pick up two factory worker boyfriends, Bob and Harry. Pat won’t go all the way with Bob unless he marries her, so he suggests they elope. Both couples get married and spend the night in a motel. Pat: “It wasn’t anything like wedding nights I’ve read about...Bob...was rough...almost brutal!” The girls discover the marriages were fake. They’re picked up by the police. Bob and Harry get 10 months in jail. Pat and Jetta have to live with their reputations: “None of the nice fellows ever ask us for a date now.” |
| Credits | Script: Dana Dutch | Pencils: Matt Baker | Inks: Matt Baker? | Letters: John Duffy |
| Content | Genre: Romance | Characters: Pat Cooper; Jetta Lenter; Bob; Harry; Mr. Cooper; Mr. Lenter; Mrs. Cooper |
| Notes | Dana Dutch credited by John Benson in Romance Without Tears (Fantagraphics Books, 2003 series) #[nn] |
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| Featuring | Correspondence Club |
| Credits | Letters: typeset |
| Notes | "For Our Readers and Servicemen" |
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| Comic Story | The Price of Sinful Dates (7 pages) |
| Synopsis | Doris takes up with bandleader Ricky, leaving her decent boyfriend Mike behind. When Ricky has to flee due to criminal charges against him, he takes Doris with him across state lines. Doris escapes but is arrested. Her sister Gloria and Mike testify that Doris was an innocent dupe, and the charges are dropped. Mike isn’t happy, but he eventually takes Doris back. |
| Credits | Script: Dana Dutch | Pencils: Matt Baker? | Letters: John Duffy |
| Content | Genre: Romance | Characters: Doris; Gloria; Mike; Ricky Vinton; Mabel; Catfish |
| Notes | Dana Dutch credited by John Benson in Confessions, Romances, Secrets, and Temptations (Fantagraphics, 2007 series) #[nn]
On the second page of this story, there is an oblique reference to Ricky and a friend smoking marijuana. His friend says "Give me a couple of drags on that," but Ricky warns him they have "an audience" (Doris). |
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Creative Commons Attribution License.
More details about this comic may be available in their page here |
