Number 1749: Life of the party

Jack Davis (!!!) is a clown. He goes to parties and does obnoxious things to get people to laugh. But the girl he is trying to impress, Joyce, isn’t impressed at all. In one of the rare love comics told from a man’s point of view, Jack learns his lesson and to win Joyce, he has to tone down the comedy.

Ah, bull-loney. There is nothing wrong with a lampshade on the head. I wear mine at all parties. I also take along my squirting lapel flower, my hand buzzer and my personal favorite, a Whoopie Cushion. However, after reading this story, I wondered if that is the reason I haven’t been invited to a party in over 40 years. Just in case it isn’t, if anyone ever invites me again, my gear is ready.

Artist and writer unknown. “The Life Of the Party” is from Darling Love #2 (1950).

I went to YouTube after being told in “Platter Patter” that “You’re Breaking My Heart” by Vic Damone “promotes romance with a capital ‘R’!” Bring it on, Vic! I’ll bet Vic was popular at parties.

Number 1323: Love is a crime

Can a girl from a slum with no prospects for the future find a better life? Can a girl without a father, who knows nothing of men, find happiness with a man who brings her along on a jewelry store robbery? Can a girl meet a hunky parole officer and find true love? Can I stop asking stupid questions?

This is day three of Pappy’s Crime Wave week. For more information visit the past two postings.

Poor Dotty. She is stuck in town in summer. As she so vividly narrates, “. . . the damp tongue of August licked the slum in which I lived!” So she takes up with Nicky, the local bad boy, and he leads her into trouble. Sometimes love comics like this, from Darling Love #1 (1949), could also be crime comics. Simon and Kirby were especially good at stories like this. “I Was Branded Bad” isn’t S&K. but it’s not bad, either. It just looks a bit generic to me. The artist is unidentified, but the publisher is actually Archie Comics, with a bit of distance between itself and the teenage books.

Because it’s a love comic, you know things will turn out well for Dotty, and she will find true love. There’s something for you to love, also. On the last page there’s a recipe for fudge!