British Girls' Romance Comics: Valentine 1st February 1969

While on a recent trip to the UK, I visited Dave's Comics (http://www.davescomics.co.uk/) in the Lanes area of Brighton. The store is in a great, bohemian shopping area in downtown Brighton, with cafes, restaurants, and all kinds of vendors.

The thing that impressed me most about Dave's was the wide selection of back issues available at reasonable, realistic prices, aimed at encouraging rather than putting off the enthusiast. On top of that, the staff were very friendly and helpful. The store is on two floors:

There were a number of comics I would have liked to have bought, but I had to keep the bulk and weight of my luggage down, so I just opted for one comic that would be very hard to find back here in the USA.

There was a copy of Valentine hanging up on a wall display just as we entered the store, and that caught my eye. The condition wasn't so great, but I think it was well worth the £3 that I paid for it. Valentine is notable for featuring artwork by Spanish artists of the Selecciones Illustradas agency, and for stories based on the titles of popular songs. The one that I bought at Dave's was from 1969, so towards the end of Valentine's run. See what you think:

This first story looks like it was drawn by Enrique or Jorge Badia Romero, with lots of wild hair, bushy eyelashes, and very moody. Those large panels on pages two and four look like they might have been finished with a watercolor wash.

Following the opening story, the comic goes into a text-heavy section with short news articles about various stars, a two-page text story with some nice illustrations, more news and articles, and a couple of ads:

The next story again looks like the Badia Romero brothers. I'd hazard a guess that this is Jorge. Quite a treat:

The rest of the comic continues with more of the same mixture, articles focused on pop stars, interspersed with comics and some ads. But while we've seen the best of the artwork, the rest is still not too shabby:

A sign that times were changing...?

Fashion, of course...

An interesting story about a female delinquent...

The horoscope...

...and the problem page!

 

With a very interesting sequential art adaptation of a reader's problem and Stevie's response...

 
And for old Diana Rigg fans...

For those of you interested in these Spanish artists of the 1950s and later, you will do no better than buying David Roach's book, Masters of Spanish Comic Book Art.

That's all for now, folks! Happy New Year!

British Girls' Romance Comics: Valentine 21st December 1963

The British weekly girls' comic, Valentine, published by Fleetway from January 19th, 1957 to November 9th, 1974, appears to have been something of a forerunner to the subsequently highly successful Jackie. The first story in this December 21, 1963 issue of Valentine kicks off on the front page of the comic, and like the rest inside, is short and based on a song title. There's a few interesting components to this story - a hint of Islamophobia, and the girl also escapes a potential life of domestic abuse (her boyfriend Brian exhibits some of the signs - he's certainly controlling, unwarrantedly jealous, and blaming) for a future with a nice guy (a copper!).

While most of the stories are self-contained, this next one is an installment in an on-going serial. All I can say about this one is, Tom, with a love like that, you know you should be glad! But I've got a feeling you're going to lose that girl!

The whole comic is very pop icon focused:

From what I've seen of the digest-size British romance comics, the art in some of these Valentine stories, like "For You, For Me", seems to be drawn by some of the same artists. But the moodier panels in this story are even reminscent of Gene Colan's romance work for DC. It's interesting to note the universal romance story device of having the girl going over her situation while lying awake in bed. Some very nice art in this story about the importance of compatibility in a relationship.

Some of the familiar romance comic elements here - horoscopes, an ad for a remedy for pimples, and a jewelry ad. There's also promotion of some of Fleetway's digest-size romance titles for older readers.

Again another romance comic standard - the fashion feature. This time it's in the form of a sequential strip, however. I like the text at the end where the prices and sources of the clothes and other fashion items illustrated in the story are provided.

The centerfold of these Valentine comics is a poster of one of the heart throb musicians of the time. Here it's Billy J. Kramer of Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, a performer from Liverpool also managed by Beatles manager Brian Epstein and who achieved stardom singing Lennon/McCartney compositions.

This next 2-pager is also a serial feature, and has an unusual format. Lot's of suspect goings on!

The letters page and more ads:

The art in "What About Me?" is reminiscent of Italian or Spanish artists' work, and sure enough, it's signed Julio Vivas Garcia:

More pop stuff:

Next is a moral tale, "Dear Stevie", that seems to be a regular feature. Like some golden age American romance comics, it turns the problem page into a sequential art story.

This last three page story finishes on the back cover, and, while a little inconsistent in quality, contains some very nice panels, like the one in which Jean says, "I do know I love him but how can I marry someone who cares so little for the future?", while sitting in a fortune teller's tent:

All this for just a tanner! And that about wraps it up. I think it's time for me to scarper!