Tales From My Spinner Rack! Episode 35, titled “Secret Hearts: DC Romance Comics by John Romita,” tells the story of the time—from 1957 to 1965—when one of Marvel’s greatest artists did some of his finest work in the world of romance comics at another company, work that is virtually unknown to most comic fans today. John Romita, most famous for his 30-year career at Marvel Comics and his signature character, the Amazing Spider-Man, worked at DC on what was known for a time as the “National Romance Group,” a roster of seven romance titles, some of which were published for more than 30 years, and marketed primarily to young women.
Romita went to DC in the late 1950s after being let go after Stan Lee was forced to burn off the considerable amount of inventory stories he had amassed for his various titles. Publisher Martin Goodman—whose comics company was nameless at the time—discovered the stacks of stories stashed away in a closet and ordered Stan to stop giving out new assignments. Romita went over to DC and drew love stories for the next eight years, returning to Marvel in 1965.
Romita quickly established himself as the main cover artist on all seven titles, turning out 165 covers over an eight-year period, plus illustrating interior stories. This video shows more than 65 of those covers, alongside some additional story art. A lot of these comics are hard to come by these days; it’s unknown if their intended audience—young women—collected and saved them like their male counterparts at the time. They’re rarely found at comic conventions and in shops.
You can see the genesis of some of Romita’s most famous beautiful comic book women—like Mary Jane Watson and Gwen Stacy—in these comics. This all-new, graphics-filled episode offers a look at some amazing art by one of comics’ master artists, in a genre all but forgotten today.
You can watch Episode 35 right here, right now, or click on the video below and see it in all its full-screen glory on the Official Tales From My Spinner Rack Channel on YouTube! Please subscribe on YouTube, where you’ll get my latest episodes a day earlier than here on my blog! And while you’re there, check out all of our other numbered episodes of Tales From My Spinner Rack, collected in the “Complete” playlist, which includes are two live streams.
Tales From My Spinner Rack! Episode 35: “Secret Hearts: DC Romance Comics by John Romita
Click here for more than 30 Tales From My Spinner Rack! posts featuring nostalgic essays loaded with art and info about the comics, characters, and creators I loved growing up in the 1960s and ‘70s!
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