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Wally Wood's Early Comic Book Work in Fox Romance, Up for Auction

Wally Wood became a comic book legend for work on EC Comics, Daredevil and more, but his early Fox romance work is overlooked.

Published Wed, 28 Feb 2024 11:17:07 -0600

by Mark Seifert

Last updated Thu, 29 Feb 2024 05:58:54 -0600

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Article Summary

Explore Wally Wood's start in Fox romance comics before EC Comics fame.
Discover his progression from a letterer to inker to artist at Fox.
Wood's first signed work and cover art revealed in Fox's romance titles.
Examine the controversial and collectible nature of Fox romance stories.

Legendary comic book creator Wally Wood is known for a wide variety of work including EC Comics material, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents and Marvel's Daredevil, but his got his first assignments in the comic book field with Victor Fox's romance comic book line. He told Comics Buyers Guide in 1981, "The first professional job was lettering for Fox romance comics in 1948. This lasted about a year. I also started doing backgrounds, then inking. Most of it was the romance stuff. For complete pages, it was $5 a page … Twice a week, I would ink ten pages in one day".

My Secret Life #23, My Confession #8 (Fox Feature Syndicate, 1949)

GCD credits Wood with contributing to 79 issues at Fox, beginning with Women Outlaws #4. My Confession #8 appears to be his first signed (in a sense — hidden in a theater marquee on page 3) work, and My Secret Life #23 is his first known cover in comic books. According to the Overstreet Price Guide, My Love Secret #25 may include a "Possible caricature of Wally Wood on cover."

According to Michelle Nolan in Love on the Racks: A History of American Romance Comics, "Fox stories tended to portray human nature in a poor light. The authors picked on members of both sexes. Many of the stories were downbeat; others were upbeat, but with lots of bad behavior along the way. It's safe to say that few, if any, Fox stories could have come close to passing the Comics Code Authority in 1955."

There is certainly plenty of "bad behavior" on the Fox romance covers, which is of course one of the reasons they are sought after by collectors today. But there are some historically important gems in there as well, such as Wally Wood's early work. There are a number of issues featuring Wood's Fox romance artwork up for auction in the 2024 February 29 – March 1 Golden Age Romance Featuring Fox Comics & Comic Art Showcase Auction #40258.