Ace Magazines Painted Romance Comic Covers, up for Auction

Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: Ace Magazines, Romance Comics

Remembered by historical past as a superhero and Pre-Code Horror writer in comics, Ace Magazines additionally had a succesful romance comics line.

We not too long ago mentioned the covers of little-known artist Alice Kirkpatrick for the Ace Magazines comedian ebook romance line, however sadly, most artists on this line have remained unidentified. This is unlucky, as a result of though the writer is greatest remembered at the moment for its superhero titles like Super-Mystery Comics and Lightning Comics, plus its Pre-Code Horror titles comparable to The Beyond and Web of Mystery. But Ace Magazines leaned laborious into the romance development starting in 1949, and titles Real Love and Glamorous Romances are the writer’s two longest-lived comedian ebook titles, with the remainder of its comedian ebook romance line not far behind. There are a number of points from the Ace Magazines comedian ebook romance lineup up for public sale within the 2023 October 26 – 27 Romance Comics Featuring L. B. Cole Showcase Auction #40224 at Heritage Auctions.

Ace Magazines Painted Covers, 1950-1951.

Beyond its comics and pulps, Ace turned greatest identified advert most succesful as a paperback writer, with the legendary style imprint Ace Books. In her ebook Love on the Racks : A History of American Romance Comics, historian Michelle Nolan, explains Ace’s distinctive all-in method in direction of romance when the development introduced within the late Nineteen Forties: “Ace Magazines, owned by A. A. Wyn, was the only dual publisher in 1949 to discontinue most of its pulps in favor of publishing more comics, primarily romance titles. It was no coincidence that Ace also continued several pulp romance titles until the mid-1950s, when it kissed off those in favor of focusing on its increasingly profitable line of paperbacks. In contrast, when Street & Smith discontinued comic books in 1949, the venerable firm’s pulps also got the boot.”

Nolan additional explains Ace’s change to painted romance covers after a time: “After beginning its love line with lackluster line-drawn covers, Ace distinguished itself by appealing to the fashion sense of young girls with pulp-style painted covers of gorgeous female faces, complete with wonderful makeup and imaginative hats or ribbons. Many, if not most, of these covers were either pulp magazine holdovers, unused inventory or reprints, because Ace pulp covers of the 1940s looked just like the comics were to look by 1950. At any rate, these were among the most striking covers on the stands—truly fine works of commercial art.”

Often missed by romance collectors, there are a number of problems with that includes Ace’s painted romance covers up for public sale within the 2023 October 26 – 27 Romance Comics Featuring L. B. Cole Showcase Auction #40224 at Heritage Auctions.

All Love #32 (Ace, 1950) Condition: FN+. Painted airbrush cowl. Overstreet 2023 FN 6.0 worth = $36; VF 8.0 worth = $69.

Love Experiences #1 Davis Crippen (“D” Copy) Pedigree (Ace, 1949) CGC FN 6.0 Cream to off-white pages. Painted cowl. Overstreet 2023 FN 6.0 worth = $108. CGC census 10/23: 1 in 6.0, 5 greater.

Love Experiences #9 (Ace, 1951) Condition: FN+. Photo cowl. Overstreet 2023 FN 6.0 worth = $45; VF 8.0 worth = $86.

Glamorous Romances #54 (Ace, 1951) Condition: FN. Photo cowl. Lin Streeter artwork. Overstreet 2023 FN 6.0 worth = $42.

Love at First Sight #3 (Ace, 1950) Condition: FN+. Painted cowl. Overstreet 2023 FN 6.0 worth = $51; VF 8.0 worth = $98.

Glamorous Romances #56 (Ace, 1951) Condition: FN+. Painted cowl. There is a few chipping on the again cowl. Overstreet 2023 FN 6.0 worth = $42; VF 8.0 worth = $82.