Small House of Everything

Small House of Everything

Saturday, June 10, 2017

NEGRO ROMANCE #1 (JUNE 1950)

Fawcett comics tried to break into a niche market with this title in 1950.  Following World War II, African-Americans were becoming a more significant force in the American marketplace.  This appears to be an attempt to capitalize on that.  Did it work?  Well, it lasted for only three issues.  The blacks portrayed are all very light-skinned and the stories are interchangeable with those featuring white characters.  And although other Fawcett comic books were advertised in this title,  Negro Romance does not appear to have been advertised in any other Fawcett title.  Subtle racism made good marketing sense in 1950.

In 1955, Charlton Comics took over the title, beginning with issue #4, which was basically a reprint of issue #2 from Fawcett.  With issue #5 Charlton to Romantic Secrets, abandoning the racial theme.

Negro Romance was created, edited and written by Roy Ald, who was European-American.  Alvin Hollingsworth, the first African-American artist hired by Fawcett, did the artwork.

Enjoy this curio from the past.

http://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=68553


For those interested, here's a transcript from an episode of the PBS series History Detectives, in which they delve into the history of this title:

http://www-tc.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/static/media/transcripts/2011-07-12/904_negroromance.pdf

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