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Matt Baker Covers Quality Comics' Love Secrets #40, Up for Auction

Matt Baker's handful of covers for the Quality Comics romance line came at an important turning point in his career.

Published Fri, 27 Jan 2023 07:52:09 -0600

Last updated Sat, 11 Feb 2023 10:07:36 -0600

Legendary artist Matt Baker edged into contributing to the Quality Comics romance line at a pivotal moment in his career. Most of his comic book output had been for publisher St. John Publications 1949-1955, but his assignments for St. John took an abrupt dip in early 1954. It's likely that in the wake of the 1954 Senate Subcommittee hearings that covered the comic book industry, St. John decided to proceed with caution. The publisher appears to have drastically curtailed interior story assignments as the hearings commenced in April 1954, and Matt Baker's last new interior art for St. John comics appeared in June 1954 cover-dated issues. Within five months, Baker seems to have tested the market with other publishers. His work on Dell's Lassie came during this period, as did his initial covers for Quality's Romance line. Baker's covers for Quality are an often overlooked part of his later career, but there's a Love Secrets #40 (Quality, 1954) CGC Apparent VG+ 5.5 Slight (C-1) Off-white to white pages featuring a Matt Baker cover up for auction in the 2023 January 29-30 Sunday & Monday Comic Books Select Auction #122305 at Heritage Auctions.

Love Secrets #40 (Quality, 1954) cover by Matt Baker.

Baker's cover for Love Secrets #40 is based on the interior story "I Hated Men." In the story, a woman named Marsha comes to be wary of dating because of the games she sees her two brothers often playing. She finally falls for a man named Hal, who seems sincere, but one day overhears him discussing wedding plans with another woman. Distraught, Marsha breaks up with Hal, convinced that her original "man-hating" instincts were correct. Spoiler alert: Hal was discussing plans for his sister's wedding with her, and after a dramatic wedding-crashing realization, he and Marsha get back together.

Baker never did more than a handful of covers for Quality. A glance at the GCD data for the Quality Romance line indicates that similar to St. John earlier that year, Quality would begin shifting towards interior reprints with new covers around the time that Baker tested the waters with the company. Quality Comics would sell most of its IP to DC Comics and cease operations by the end of 1956. Baker's covers for Quality are far less known than his work for St. John, and are deserving of more attention. There's a Love Secrets #40 (Quality, 1954) CGC Apparent VG+ 5.5 Slight (C-1) Off-white to white pages featuring a Matt Baker cover up for auction in the 2023 January 29-30 Sunday & Monday Comic Books Select Auction #122305 at Heritage Auctions. If you've never bid at Heritage Auctions before, you can get further information, you can check out their FAQ on the bidding process and related matters.