Young Love (comic)

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Creative team
Young Love
Cover to Young Love #1 (Feb, 1949) Art by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby
Publisher	Crestwood/Prize DC Comics
Schedule	Monthly/Bi-Monthly
Publication date	(vol. 1): 1947 - 1956 All for Love: 1957 - 1959 (vol. 2) (Cr./Pr.): 1960 - 1963 (vol. 2) (DC): 1963 - 1977
Number of issues	(vol. 1): 73 All for Love: 17 (vol. 2) (Crestwood/Prize): 21 (vol. 2) (DC): 88
Writer(s)	various, inc. (Joe Simon)
Artist(s)	various, inc. (Joe Simon, Jack Kirby, Mort Meskin, Leonard Starr, John Romita Sr.)
Creator(s)	Joe Simon & Jack Kirby

Young Love was one of the earliest Romance comics titles, published by Crestwood/Prize, and later sold to DC Comics.

1 History
2 Publication history
- 2.1 Declining sales
- 2.2 DC Comics
3 Awards
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

After the Sept/Oct 1947 release of Crestwood/Prize's genre-launching Young Romance comic, (arguably the first romance comic^[1]^[2]), by the prolific team of Simon & Kirby sold "millions of copies"^[1], the company (and duo) swiftly prepared a separate, spin-off title to capitalise on the success of this new genre. Launched amid imitators from (among others) Quality Comics, Fawcett Publications, Fox Features Syndicate and Timely Comics, Crestwood/Prize's companion title Young Love was released "less than a year and a half" after the debut of Young Romance, and also sold well.^[2]^[1]

[edit] Publication history

Launched in February 1949, Young Love ran initially for 73 issues, until December 1956.^[3] Four months later (Apr/May 1957), Prize launched All for Love, which ran for 17 issues until Feb/Mar 1959^[4], when it went on a year's hiatus, returning the following year and retitled Young Love. This retitled series then ran for 21 issues between February 1960 and June 1963^[5], whereupon Crestwood/Prize sold this - and other - titles to DC Comics, who produced a further 88 issues between 1963 and 1977.^[6]

[edit] Declining sales

DC's Young Love #39
Art by ?John Romita Sr.?

Criticised somewhat (as was the whole comics industry) during the mid-1950s Seduction of the Innocent-inspired Comic Book Hearings (part of the Senate Subcommittee hearings on the causes of juvenile delinquency), "love" or "romance" comics began to sell less well, and by 1963, Crestwood/Prize "got out of the comic book business," selling many of their titles (including Young Romance and Young Love) to DC Comics.^[2]

[edit] DC Comics

DC gained Crestwood/Prize's titles in 1963 and continued publishing their romance comics as "part of a reasonably popular romance line aimed at young girls" for nearly 15 years.^[2]

Taking over publication of Young Love after 17 issues of All for Love and 21 of Young Love (Vol. 2), DC continued the original numbering, launching the newly-branded title with Sep/Oct 1963's issue #39. The revised (primarily-)girls' series ran for almost 15 years, finally ceasing publication with July 1977's issue #126.^[7]