| Young Love | |
|---|---|
 Cover toYoung Love #1 (February 1949), art byJoe Simon &Jack Kirby. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Crestwood/Prize DC Comics |
| Schedule | Monthly/bi-Monthly |
| Publication date | (vol. 1): 1949–56 All for Love: 1957–59 (vol. 2)(Cr./Pr.): 1960–63 (vol. 2)(DC): 1963–77 |
| No. of issues | (vol. 1): 73(#1–73) All for Love: 17(#1–17) (vol. 2)(Cr./Pr.): 21(#18–38) (vol. 2)(DC): 88(#39–126) |
| Creative team | |
| Created by | Joe Simon & Jack Kirby |
| Written by | various, inc. (Joe Simon) |
| Artist(s) | various, inc. (Joe Simon,Jack Kirby,Mort Meskin,Leonard Starr,John Romita Sr.) |
Young Love is one of the earliestromance comics titles, and was published byCrestwood/Prize and later sold toDC Comics.
After the Sept./Oct. 1947 release of Crestwood/Prize's genre-launchingYoung Romance comic (arguably the first romance comic[1][2]) by the prolific team ofSimon &Kirby sold "millions of copies",[1] the company (and duo) swiftly prepared a separate spin-off title to capitalise on the success of this new genre. Launched amid imitators from (among others)Quality Comics,Fawcett Publications,Fox Features Syndicate andTimely Comics, Crestwood/Prize's companion titleYoung Love was released "less than a year and a half" after the debut ofYoung Romance, and it also sold well.[1][2]
Launched in February 1949,Young Love ran initially for 73 issues, until December 1956.[3] Four months later (Apr/May 1957), Prize launchedAll for Love, which ran for 17 issues until Feb/Mar 1959,[4] when it went on a year's hiatus, returning the following year and retitledYoung Love. This retitled series then ran for 21 issues between February 1960 and June 1963,[5] whereupon Crestwood/Prize sold this and other titles to DC Comics, who produced a further 88 issues between 1963 and 1977.[6]
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Criticised somewhat (as was the whole comics industry) during the mid-1950sSeduction of the Innocent-inspiredComic Book Hearings (part of the Senate Subcommittee hearings on the causes of juvenile delinquency), "love" or "romance" comics began to sell less well, and by 1963, Crestwood/Prize "got out of the comic book business", selling many of their titles (includingYoung Romance andYoung Love) toDC Comics.[2]
DC gained Crestwood/Prize's titles when Crestwood Publications stopped producing comics in 1963, and they continued publishing their romance comics as "part of a reasonably popular romance line aimed at young girls" for nearly 15 years.[2]
Taking over publication ofYoung Love after 17 issues ofAll for Love and 21 ofYoung Love vol. 2, DC continued the original numbering, launching the newly branded title with Sept.-Oct. 1963's issue #39. Issues #107 (Dec. 1973-Jan. 1974) to #114 (Feb.-March 1975) of the series were in the100 Page Super Spectacular format.[7] The revised series ran for almost 15 years, finally ceasing publication with July 1977's issue #126.[8]
Young Love won the 1969Alley Award for "Best Romance Title".
In 2012, #39–56 was reprinted inShowcase Presents Young Love Volume 1.
