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romance

  • Front cover of the 2025 Vintage Romance Comics Calendar by Asgard Press Add to cart Quick View

    2025 Vintage Romance Comics Calendar

    $24.95 Add to cart

    16-month hanging calendar of frame-ready vintage romance comic book covers + commentary

    Fall in love all over again each month with this collection of classic romance comic book covers from the Golden Age of comic publishing.

  • Image of Vintage Romance Comics gift wrap, featuring romance comic book covers Add to cart Quick View

    Vintage Romance Comics 20″x28″ Gift Wrap Sheet

    $12.00

    As low as $3 per sheet with volume discounts

    Add to cart

    As low as $3 per sheet with volume discounts! Get more details.

    Fall in love all over again with this unique sheet of vintage romance comics cover art gift wrap! This large 20×28 inch sheet includes dozens of images of vintage romance comic art from the early to mid- 20th century, perfect for the comic lover in your life.

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Interior image from the 2025 Vintage Romance Comics Calendar by Asgard Press

Teen-Age Romances #25; Cover Art: Matt Baker; St. John Publications, September 1952.

Teen-Age Romances explored a variety of themes that resonated with young women in the early 1950s. Focusing on first love, social anxieties, balancing love with other aspects of life, and ultimately, finding happiness, these comics provided relatable narratives and a sense of escapism for their audience. Teen-Age Romances offered readers a slightly more realistic and nuanced portrayal of young love than other comics of the time, acknowledging the complexities teenagers grappled with. The creative team behind Teen-Age Romances was editor Marion McDermott, writer Dana Dutch, and artist Matt Baker. McDermott (1923-1999), another rare female comics editor, was hired by publisher Archer St. John to run his new romance line in 1949. She encouraged the artists and writers of her comics to tailor their work to suit a female audience. Dutch (1912-1957) created storylines designed to showcase stronger, more independent women than were portrayed in other romance comics, likely due to the influence of his female editor. The stand-out contributor at St. John, however, was Matt Baker (1921-1959). Renowned for the “good girl” aesthetic he brought to his renderings of comic heroine Phantom Lady, Baker had a natural talent for drawing beautiful women. A pioneering African American artist in the comics industry, Baker was renowned for artwork featuring elegant and expressive characters, with a particular focus on glamorous women. His use of clean lines, detailed backgrounds, and emotive facial expressions brought a unique sophistication to his panels, and his ability to convey deep emotion and romantic tension through his illustrations set him apart, making his work highly influential in the genre and beloved by readers. Baker’s commitment to the romance genre saw him push himself to add more realism and depth to his work, producing some of the most sublime illustrations in any comic genre. Sadly, Baker passed away suddenly at the age of 37, but his legacy lives on in the many comic artists he inspired.

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