Posted in: Comics, Comics, Vintage Paper | Tagged: Romance Comics

The Long-Running Romance of DC Comics' Secret Hearts, up for Auction

Long-running DC Comics romance series Secret Hearts is one of the best-remembered romance titles in DC history, but it was almost a footnote.

The DC Comics romance series Secret Hearts would become one of the publisher's most successful and well-known romance titles, lasting 153 issues 1949-1971.  But surprisingly, the series might just as easily have become another forgotten moment of 1950s romance comic book history.  The title was canceled with issue #6 at the height of the romance comic book glut in 1950 but made a return with Secret Hearts #7 (now considered a tough issue) a year and a half later to continue its 22-year run.  Over the course of those 22 years, nearly 70 creators contributed to the title, with virtually none of them working on the title for more than a few issues.  Surprisingly, Mike Sekowsky, a DC Comics romance regular, has the top honors for a penciler contributing to the most issues, with 13 credits on the title.   Other notable contributors include John Romita Sr., Jay Scott Pike, Carmine Infantino, Alex Toth, Dick Giordano, Len Wein, Gerry Conway, and Gil Kane among others.

As Michelle Nolan said about the title in her book Love on the Racks: A History of American Romance Comics: "National's romance line was remarkably stable and thus must have sold consistently well. Beginning in 1952—when Secret Hearts resumed with # 7 (Dec. 1951-Jan. 1952) after a hiatus of one and one-half years—the company produced Girls' Love Stories, Girls' Romances and Secret Hearts on a bi-monthly basis through late 1957, when those three titles along with Fa/ling in Love began to appear eight times per year. National started publishing Falling in Love in 1955. The company picked up a fifth romance title, Heart Throbs, with # 47 (April-May 1957) after Quality Comics left the business in 1956."

An important and long-running title in American romance comic book history, there are several issues of Secret Hearts up for auction in the 2023 October 26 – 27 Romance Comics Featuring L. B. Cole Showcase Auction #40224 at Heritage Auctions.

Secret Hearts #7 (DC, 1952) CGC VG/FN 5.0 Cream to off-white pages. Pre-Code romance. Overstreet lists this issue as "rare". Overstreet 2023 VG 4.0 value = $100; FN 6.0 value = $150. CGC census 10/23: 2 in 5.0, 3 higher.

Secret Hearts #23 (DC, 1954) Condition: FN. Mort Drucker art. Overstreet 2023 FN 6.0 value = $48.

Secret Hearts #48 (DC, 1958) CGC VF 8.0 Off-white to white pages. Mike Sekowsky, Bernard Sachs, and Vince Colletta art. Overstreet 2023 VF 8.0 value = $42. CGC census 10/23: 2 in 8.0, none higher.

Secret Hearts #50 (DC, 1958) Condition: FN+. Sy Barry and Arthur Peddy art. Overstreet 2023 FN 6.0 value = $18; VF 8.0 value = $42.

#59 (DC, 1959) Condition: VG+. Sy Barry partial grey tone cover and art. This copy has a subscription crease. Overstreet 2023 VG 4.0 value = $12.

#58 (DC, 1959) Condition: FN. Werner Roth and Mike Sekowsky art. Overstreet 2023 FN 6.0 value = $18.

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