I began these themed posts by showcasing "Cute Couples", so lets close out the year by looking at the opposite end of the bell curve!
American Weekly February 1, 1953
Art by Arthur Sarnoff
This sweet comedic moment is slightly upset by the type on the bottom left telling us about an interior story called "I was a Delinquent Girl". Seeing that, I can't help but think this fatal figure skater is luring her victim out onto the thin ice were he'll break through and drown. Then the she-beast can use his corpse as substance for remainder of the winter months.
For those of you who don't share my warped sense of humor, enjoy this unmarked version of the illustration.
Sure he may be a lousy skater, but I suspect she doesn't mind taking the extra time to teach him a few tricks.
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American Weekly June 7, 1953
Art by Charlie Hawes
I suspect this guy is the kid from Norman Rockwell's "A Day in the Life of A Boy" now that he's grown up and is dealing with raging hormones. Maybe its just as well he doesn't get the chance to serenade the lady with his ukulele, the only tune he knows is the theme from "Arrested Development".
The love the way time and place are present in this cover. Events like setting up the date, and getting properly groomed just go by quickly without much pause. With so much white space involved our eye doesn't spend much time on them. I'm not sure what he's doing in the fifth panel though. Its looks like he's trying to hide the instrument, but then changes his mind when its time to ring the doorbell.
His disappointment can felt in this long panel at the bottom. Our eye travels the long distance of the frame to the get to the attractive bright light of moon on the far right and after several panels of light spontaneity, this final panel really hits home how long this date drags.
I'm trying to figure out were he went wrong. It can't be the awesome sweater he borrowed from Bill Cosby, and it can't be the bow tie because Bow Ties are cool. Maybe she just likes "reeling them in" and is playing hard to get.
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American Weekly June 26, 1953
Art by Bill Randall
Again, another example of interior story titles that don't match the cover. Clearly, this woman is out for number one and doesn't much care for helping anyone get ahead.
Perhaps Bill Randall has an affinity for bad dates, seeing as how he contributed to a book on the subject:
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American Weekly August 1956
Art by Charlie Dye
Remember guys, use condiments during your lunch date or else your wiener will end up black and crispy!
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American Weekly August 8, 1954
Art by Arthur Sarnoff
I'm less concerned about the impact of the ball on his head than on what might have been in his line of sight in order to produce that look of complete horror. I suspect he just had a "Crying Game" realization.
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American Weekly September 13, 1953
Art by ?
Hey wait! This is supposed to be about dud dates! They'll be none of that here! Oh Gross! Well at least her tongue is the better than the 3-D in the movie. Ewww.... Thats it! I'm out of here!
Posts
Those are great. Definately keep the commentary as you do more of these posts. Those dating posters are so incredibly detailed that I had to stop and study them up close. Thanks for keeping my attention for more than a second.
ReplyDeleteThat lady in the canoe looks like somebody's grandmother. He is not playing the music because he is trapped on the open water with Nana.
Yeah, doing the off color commentary is my favorite part of the posts. I still can't believe I didn't do any for the monster movies post.
ReplyDeleteGlad you were enticed enough to study the illustrations closer. My friend who generously donated them would be pleased. I have some more covers that I'm hoping to have photographed for even greater detail preservation. So stayed tuned.