Hollywood Confessions #1

(October 1949)

Love Came Second (Table of Contents: 1)

comic story / 11 pages (report information)

Script

Joe Kubert

Pencils

Joe Kubert

Inks

Joe Kubert

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

My name is Rita Stewart...

Genre

romance

Characters

Rita Stewart; Sam Bishop; N.G. Stellar

Synopsis

Orphan Rita wants to become an actress for “fame and money.” After freezing during an amateur contest, she thinks boyfriend Sam is mocking her. Working as a carhop, Rita pretends to faint and gets a screen test but the producer says he doesn’t believe she really wants to be an actress. Sam finds Rita and says “being a wife is a career in itself!” Sam and Rita will wed.

Reprints

• in Diary Secrets (St. John, 1952 series) #20 (September 1953) [with one page cut and panels extended at top and bottom to change page shape]
• in The 3-D Zone (3-D Zone, 1986 series) #7
• in The Art of Joe Kubert (Fantagraphics, 2011 series) (2011)

Indexer Notes

Story credit by John Benson in the St. John Romance Comics Checklist.

Too Ugly to Love! (Table of Contents: 2)

comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Robert Bernstein

Pencils

John Giunta

Inks

Joe Kubert

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Kindness, warmth, and understanding...

Genre

romance

Characters

Jon Koslo; C.B. Mille; Percy Westover; Vivian; Sue; Gina Kenny; Dr. Kerr; Mr. Flemming

Synopsis

Jon has been mocked for his unattractive face since childhood. He becomes an engineer but is “discovered” by a film producer and is hired as a screen villain. Actress Gina is kind to him, and when Jon is badly burned saving others in a studio fire, she visits him in the hospital. Plastic surgery makes him handsome, and Gina is rewarded for her devotion.

Reprints

• in Diary Secrets (St. John, 1952 series) #20 (September 1953) [with panels extended at top and bottom to change page shape]

Indexer Notes

Credits by John Benson in the St. John Romance Comics Checklist.

Some of the character names are parodies of actual people in the film industry: C.B. Mille (Cecil B. DeMille), Percy Westover (Perc Westmore), Mr. Flemming (Victor Fleming).

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 3) (Expand) /

promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

My Heart Was Blind to Love (Table of Contents: 4)

text story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

Dana Dutch

Letters

typeset

First Line of Dialogue or Text

I suppose some girls envied me.

Genre

romance

Characters

Peggy; Herb Fletcher; Mae Wilson

I Loved and Lost! (Table of Contents: 5)

comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Robert Bernstein

Pencils

Hy Rosen (signed as Hy); Joe Kubert (signed as Joe)

Inks

Hy Rosen (signed as Hy); Joe Kubert (signed as Joe)

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

I played a game with the one man I really cared for!

Genre

romance

Characters

Jed Burnley; Janet Morgan; Mr. Gregor; Tex; Ludwig Maher; Mr. Lane; Gene Tyrone; Lucille Dexter

Synopsis

Jed is frustrated because his fiancée Janet insists on becoming a movie star before she’ll marry him. When Janet gets a big role and has to spend time with costar Gene, Jed breaks up with her. Janet finally becomes a star but at her moment of triumph discovers Jed—-whom she still loves—-is going to marry someone else.

Reprints

• in Fascinating Love (Magazine Management, 1950 ? series) (1950)
• in Pictorial Romances (St. John, 1950 series) #11 (January 1952)
• in Illustrated Romance Library (Magazine Management, 1957 ? series) #64 ([1958] ?)

Indexer Notes

"Ludwig Maher" of "G.M.G." studios is a reference to Louis B. Mayer, head of MGM studios (although Maher is not drawn as a caricature of Mayer).
In one panel, there is a caricature of Robert Mitchum although he isn't named.
"Gene Tyrone" looks like a combination of Clark Gable and Errol Flynn, but with red hair.