Recording of UCS Romance lecture

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Lecture at UCS

Finally, the Golden Age of Romance stands alone in the comics’ culture and also in the canon of 20th Century popular literature. The extraordinary success, through 1949 to 1954, is a phenomenon yet to be explained.

     However, a few truths are irrefutable. In the main it was the simplicity of the feminine dilemmas and the easy identification with the everyday which made these stories so accessible. There was nothing fanciful or beyond belief. No one punched through concrete or leapt over skyscrapers. They were about predicaments which could happen to any woman at any time. Those stories evincing excess testosterone, though often well crafted, were secondary to the heart of the matter.

4th Talk: 30 November 2011: Blame It On Romance

A Series on the social history of comics

Wednesday 30^th November at
1.00-1.45pm in the Hochhauser Auditorium, Sackler Centre, V&A museum 

Blame it on Romance: What frightened Senator Joe McCarthy?

INTRODUCTION

Romance comic books, with over 30 million sold monthly, dominated the American market from 1949 to 1954. The brevity of Romance might be related to the 50s anti-communist McCarthy witch-hunts.

BACKGROUND

In the late 40s one man assumed unheard of power. Senator Joe McCarthy transformed uncertain patriotism into an almost tangible fear. He cultivated a power base for himself out of proportion to what he was, or what his abilities were.

      The impact of Romance was vast and uncontrollable. Words like tsunami and unstoppable proletarian spring to mind. In most cases there were no credits, It was as if it was a form of literature where it didn't matter who wrote or who drew what. It was an uprising and a rebellion and this is almost unique in the history of publishing.

©1943, Tarpe Mills, Miss Fury

©1942, Tarpe Mills, Miss Fury

© Ian Rakoff