| Young Romance | |
|---|---|
 Young Romance #1 (Sept. 1947), art byJoe Simon &Jack Kirby. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Crestwood/Prize DC Comics |
| Schedule | Monthly/Bimonthly |
| Publication date | (vol. 1): 1947–1963 (vol. 2)(DC): 1963–1975 |
| No. of issues | (vol. 1): 124(#1–124) (vol. 2)(DC): 84(#125–208) |
| Creative team | |
| Created by | Joe Simon & Jack Kirby |
| Written by | various, includingJoe Simon |
| Artist(s) | various, including Joe Simon,Jack Kirby,Jerry Robinson,Mort Meskin,Bruno Premiani,Bill Draut,Ann Brewster,John Prentice andLeonard Starr |
Young Romance is a romanticcomic book series created byJoe Simon andJack Kirby for theCrestwood PublicationsimprintPrize Comics[1][2] in1947. Generally considered the firstromance comic,[3][4] the series ran for 124 consecutive issues under Prize imprint, and a further 84 (issues #125-208) published byDC Comics after Crestwood stopped producing comics.
In his introduction toEclipse Comics'1988 collection of some of the earliestSimon &Kirbyromance comics,Richard Howell writes that "romance has always been a major component in entertainment, be it novels, plays, or movies, but for over ten years after the first appearance of comic books, romance only had a token presence in their four-color pages".[5] This changed in1947 with the return fromwar of one of comics' earliest and best-known creative partnerships, that of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, who had already createdCaptain America, theBoy Commandos and theNewsboy Legion.[5]
Working forHillman Periodicals, the two created a "teen-humor comic book calledMy Date", cover-dated March 1947, which contained within its pages "ground-breaking" stories concerned with "comparatively faithful depictions of teenage life, centering especially on romantic experiences and aspirations".[5] Arguably itself the first "romance comic", positive reaction toMy Date allowed Simon to negotiate a deal with Crestwood publishersTeddy Epstein and Paul Blyer (or "Bleier") "before the four-issue run ofMy Date had run more than half its course",[5] and to receive an unheard of 50% share of profits in return for producing their follow-up for that company.[3]
Launched with a September1947 cover date, thePrize Comics titleYoung Romance signaled its distinction from traditional superhero and genre comics with a cover banner stating the series was "designed for the more adult readers of comics". Told from afirst-person perspective, underlining its claim to be recounting "true" stories, the title was an instant success, "bec[oming] Jack and Joe's biggest hit in years" and selling "millions of copies",[6] and a staggering 92% of its print run.[5] Crestwood increased the print run by the third issue to triple the initial numbers, and well as upgrade the title from bimonthly to monthly through issues #13-72 (Sept. 1949 - Aug. 1954).[5][6][7]
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Within a year and a half, Simon & Kirby were launching companion titles for Crestwood to capitalize on the success of this new genre. The first issue ofYoung Love (Feb. 1949) also sold well with "indistinguishable"[5] content from its parent-title.[3][4] Further spin-off titlesYoung Brides (married couples' stories) andIn Love ("book-length" stories) also followed from Crestwood/Prize, and were produced by the Simon & Kirby stable of artists and writers.[5] Other companies, includingQuality Comics,Fawcett Publications,Fox Features Syndicate, andTimely Comics, capitalized on the romance boom.[3][4] Despite the glut of titles, the Simon and Kirby romance titles "continued to sell five million" a month, allowing the pair "to earn more than enough to buy their own homes".[3]
The slew of imitators caused Crestwood to adopt the "Prize Group" seal on the covers of the Simon & Kirby produced titles as "the easiest means for readers to tell the S&K-produced love comics from the legions of imitators".[5]
"For the first five years", Simon and Kirby produced "at least one story (usually a lengthy lead feature) per issue", but the increased output of the Crestwood/Prize romance titles meant that in many cases they merely oversaw production.[5] They remained "involved with every story", despite not writing or drawing them all, and "maintained a high standard of quality" by employing artists including "Jerry Robinson,Mort Meskin,Bruno Premiani,Bill Draut,Ann Brewster,John Prentice, andLeonard Starr" to work on the title(s).[5] Many of the other artists' output, according to Howell "show the distinctive S&K layout style, and it was not uncommon for a newer artist's work to show signs of S&K retouching".[5]
Lettering duties were initially handled almost entirely by Howard Fergeson, while Bill Draut occasionally lettered his own work. After the death of Fergeson,Ben Oda took on "the same herculean task".[5]
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As with most contemporary romance comics, and thepulps before them, the covers ofYoung Romance (and all the Simon & Kirby romance output) varied between photographic covers(see above) and regular artwork (typically produced by Simon & Kirby themselves). The photographic covers often depicted film starlets;Young Love Vol. 1, issue #4 for example, featured a cover picture of "thenMGM starletJoy Lansing", which was then reused as the cover forEclipse Comics' 1988"Real Love" collection, which reprinted in black and white a number of the Simon & Kirby romance stories, including early work by Leonard Starr, who went on to create thenewspaper strip featureMary Perkins, On Stage.[5]
Launched in September1947,Young Romance ran for 124 issues, until June1967.[7] Initially bimonthly, strong sales and demand inspired an increased production schedule, and from issue #13 (Sept. 1949) the title became monthly. Continuing to be released monthly for the next five years, the title reverted to bimonthly with status issue #73 (Oct. 1954), and continuing on this schedule for 17 years, missing only one month (August 1963) – when the title switched publishers from Crestwood/Prize toDC Comics, alongside sister publicationYoung Love.[7] With issue #172 (Aug. 1971), the title returned to monthly release for 20 issues, and between issue #192 (March 1973) and the final issue, #208 (Dec. 1975), the title was again bimonthly.[7]
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Following Crestwood/Prize'sYoung Romance #124 (June 1963), the Arleigh Publishing division ofNational Periodical Publications, commonly known asDC Comics, obtained the Crestwood/Prize romance titlesYoung Love andYoung Romance in 1963, upon Crestwood Publications "leav[ing] the comic book business".[8]Larry Nadle succeeded Phyllis Reed as editor.[8] Premiering withYoung Romance #125 (Aug. 1963), the pair of titles became "part of a reasonably popular romance line aimed at young girls" for a further 12 years.[4] By DC's 15th issue ofYoung Romance, the published circulation statement listed sales of 204,613; this gradually dwindled throughout the early 1970s to a published circulation figure of 119,583 by issue #196 (Nov. 1973).[7] Creators who worked on the DC incarnation included writerSteve Englehart.[7] Issues #197 (Jan.-Feb. 1974) to #204 (March–April 1975) of the series were in the100 Page Super Spectacular format.[9] The series ran through 1975's issue #208 (Nov.-Dec. 1975).[10][11]In 2013, DC also published aValentine's Day specialYoung Romance: The New 52 Valentine's Day Special #1.[12]
Some Simon & Kirby romance-comics stories, predominantly fromYoung Romance were reprinted in 1988 byEclipse Books under the titleReal Love (edited, and with an introduction by Richard Howell).
Kirby biographerGreg Theakston has also reprinted some Simon & Kirby romance comics and pages in a number of books on Jack Kirby, while John Morrow'sTwoMorrows Publishing has also featured occasional artwork from romance titles in issues ofThe Jack Kirby Collector.
In2000, as part of itsMillennium Edition reprints of key DC comics,DC Comics reprinted the first issue ofYoung Romance, even though it (as well as the first issue ofMAD magazine) was not originally published by DC.[13]
Fantagraphics Books releasedYoung Romance: The Best of Simon & Kirby's Romance Comics in 2012, andYoung Romance 2: The Early Simon & Kirby Romance Comics in 2014.
