Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: Comic Media, don heck, Pete Morisi, Romance Comics

Pete Morisi's Boxing Love Story in All True Romance #11, at Auction

All True Romance #11 features some of Pete Morisi's best work for Comic Media, an unusual Don Heck story, and a mix of the romance and crime genres.

Best remembered for his creation of Peter Cannon, Thunderbolt at Charlton, the versatile and prolific Pete Morosi's career ranged from the 1940s through the 1980s and included virtually every comic book genre.  After serving in the U.S. Army from 1948-1950, Morosi worked for a wide range of publishers throughout the early 1950s, including Fox, Marvel and Lev Gleason.  His arrival at Comic Media in late 1952, along with friend Don Heck, coincides with that publisher moving on from Iger Studio material and establishing a more distinct identity.  Morisi's cover story Accused for All True Romance #11 stands out as among his best romance work at Comic Media.

In the story Accused, a young woman named Kathy had turned away from her childhood sweetheart Danny Condon, in favor of local gangster Lou Weller.  This eventually leads to a street confrontation between the two men, with Condon giving Weller his lumps.  That in turn leads to an opportunity for Condon to box professionally.  Eventually, Weller tries to induce Kathy to lead Danny into an ambush that would cause him to miss his next fight.  This would allow Weller to fix the fight for gambling purposes.

Don Heck's story Korean War Bride is another unusual and startling read from All True Romance #11. Shoshone Lee is a South Korean intelligence operative who saves the life of an American Army intelligence officer named Jack.  The two get married and move to New York City after the war.  There, she faces racism and much worse from one of Jack's supposed friends.

Comic Media was founded by former Harvey Comics circulation manager Allen Hardy in 1950. The company published over one hundred comic book issues 1950 to 1954 across 14 titles and is best remembered for its stand-out and notorious horror output, the brief but extreme war title War Fury, as well as the character Johnny Dynamite.

Overall, All True Romance #11 is an interesting mix of romance and crime, along with a stand-out cover feature by Morisi.  There's a copy of this issue up for auction in the 2024 February 29 – March 1 Golden Age Romance Featuring Fox Comics & Comic Art Showcase Auction #40258.

All True Romance #11 (Comic Media, 1953) CGC VG 4.0 Cream to off-white pages. "Bad girl" cover! Just the third copy we've ever seen, and this one presents very nicely for its grade. Expect some tough bidding competition on this book — we auctioned a FN/VF copy last year for more than $2,000! Overstreet 2023 VG 4.0 value = $28. CGC census 1/24: 3 in 4.0, 2 higher.

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