This week, all four issues of the late forties Hillman title My Date were uploaded to the Comic Book Museum. My Date was the firt of th enew magaznes created for Hillman by the lgendary team of Simon and Kirby. It was filled with 'teen' gag strips, a sub-sub-sub gere om American culture tat was very popular around that time, with radio and movie series. Around that same tim, Archie emerged as well and become on to be the market leader in the genre. But around that time, every company had it's own.
Simon and Kirby's version destinguisehd itsefl by being even more romance centered than the others. In that repspect it was a clear precursor to their later breakthrough comic book series Young Romance (which revolutionized the industry and lead to a whole decade of romance comics).
Of course, not everything in the book was by Simon and Kirby. They never worked like that, alway spreading their talent over several projects. I don't think they already had a studio back then, but in any way this is also the first tme they worked with Mort Meskin. I know he was considered to have done a cover for a later number), but here he is with a full ten page story in what I consider to be his best style. Similar to but maybe a bit less finished than the work he was about to do with Jerry Robinson. Not only is it a very well drawn romance story (in may ways better that the one he would turn out later for Young Romance and Young Love, etc), it also has a couple of extras: several interesting transformation panels and a very impressive bad dream/halicination panel.
1 comment:
Great find! This story has beautiful, breathtaking art!
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