Young Love PRIVATE DIARY OF MARY ROBIN, R.N. "Don't Let It Stop!"

Welcome back to the amorous adventures of our favorite neurotic nurse...

...but be warned, there's a shocking ending to this tale!

WTF???

A happy ending?

What could it mean?

This torrid tale from DC's Young Love #52 (1965) by writer Robert Kanigher and artist John Romita Sr was (despite the blurb at the end) the final Mary Robin story!
In addition, artist John Romita Sr left DC and moved to Marvel, where he immediately jumped head-first into Silver Age superhero sagas!
Within a year he was the artist on Daredevil, then Spider-Man!
By 1970, he was the Art Director of the entire company, while still penciling and/or inking numerous covers and occasional stories, until his retirement.

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Showcase Presents

Young Love

...which reprints the complete first part of the comic's run from 39 to 56, including the entire Private Diary of Mary Robin R.N. strip (not in color, as we're doing, but in black-and-white)!

Young Love PRIVATE DIARY OF MARY ROBIN, R.N. "All Men are Children!"

As of this issue (DC's Young Love #51 [1965]), Mary Robin loses the cover and two-part feature status!

Wonder if the publisher was unhappy about the story's title...

Despite the title, it appears women (especially Mary Robin) are as much "children" as men!

Be back next month as a major change hits the strip!

Please Support Medical Comics and Stories

Visit Amazon and Order...

Showcase Presents

Young Love

...which reprints the complete first part of the comic's run from 39 to 56, including the entire Private Diary of Mary Robin R.N. strip (not in color, as we're doing, but in black-and-white)!

Young Love PRIVATE DIARY OF MARY ROBIN, R.N. "Love I Never Held!" Conclusion

We Have Already Seen...

...RN Mary Robin is torn between romance and her duty as a nurse, believing that the two are incompatible and she would have to decide between one of the other!

This story by writer Robert Kanigher and artist John Romita Sr from DC's Young Love #50 (1965) references her first day at County General...which we saw in DC's Young Love #39 (1963) by the same creative team!

So why is it that the "flashback" doesn't match the tale shown in the earlier issue?
Different doctor (whom we never saw before) and different situation!
The only thing I can think of is that the book's first editor, Larry Nadle, who began the series, was replaced by Jack Miller as of #44 and Miller either didn't keep Nadle's files and story notes, or didn't believe the audience would remember (or care) about the previous chapters.

Please Support Medical Comics and Stories

Visit Amazon and Order...

Showcase Presents

Young Love

...which reprints the complete first part of the comic's run from 39 to 56, including the entire Private Diary of Mary Robin R.N. strip (not in color, as we're doing, but in black-and-white)!

Young Love PRIVATE DIARY OF MARY ROBIN, R.N. "Love I Never Held!" Part 1

I've always found it odd that, in pop culture until the 1970s...

...men could both have a career and be married, but married women were expected to become full-time homemakers, giving up their careers!

Actually, it'll continue...
Tomorrow!

Please Support Medical Comics and Stories

Visit Amazon and Order...

Showcase Presents

Young Love

...which reprints the complete first part of the comic's run from 39 to 56, including the entire Private Diary of Mary Robin R.N. strip (not in color, as we're doing, but in black-and-white)!

Young Love PRIVATE DIARY OF MARY ROBIN, R.N. "Someone--Hear My Heart!" Conclusion

We Have Already Seen...

While her on/off romance with Dr Ames enters another "off" period, Nurse Mary Robin is assigned a new patient, actor Val Stevens, star of the Young Doctor TV series.
The thespian steals a kiss from the RN...but he has an ulterior motive in doing so...

It's ironic that the characters in a comic book series that seems to revel in medical inaccuracies are so concerned bout medical accuracy on the set of a TV series in their "reality"!

Trivia: we mentioned yesterday that the splash page (and the cover) of this tale offered a clue as to what was going on!

• 1) "Dr Val" is a totally-new character who never appeared before.
• 2) The dialogue was overwrought even for this series!
• 3) The coloring showed what was supposed to be a black-and-white video image!

Until 1965, most American TV series/shows were broadcast in black-and-white...though some series, like Adventures of Superman, filmed their later seasons in color.
Read about the transition HERE.
In 1964 (when this story was published in DC's Young Love #49), all the daytime soap operas were recorded on videotape and broadcast in b/w.
So the splash and cover show the Young Nurse TV series characters as they were recorded and transmitted!

Note: As of this posting, we're decreasing frequency to bi-weekly for the foreseeable future.
Though this is the only ongoing blog about medical-related comic books and comic strips in existence, it isn't drawing the audience our other RetroBlogs pull.
There will still be periods (like October for our annual Halloween Hospital Horrors blogathon) when we'll return to weekly posting.
We're watching the hit count, and, if numbers tick up, we'll happily return to weekly status.
Please recommend to your like-minded friends/family/fellow lurkers that they have a look at this blog.
We thank you and we believe they'd thank you as well!

Please Support Medical Comics and Stories

Visit Amazon and Order...

Showcase Presents

Young Love

...which reprints the complete first part of the comic's run from 39 to 56, including the entire Private Diary of Mary Robin R.N. strip (not in color, as we're doing, but in black-and-white)!

Young Love PRIVATE DIARY OF MARY ROBIN, R.N. "Someone--Hear My Heart!" Part 1

Yes, this ongoing series about a nurse is a comic book version of a soap opera!

(Not that we've ever denied it!)

And it's about to go "meta" in a way you'll never see coming!

Do you know where this plotline is headed?

The splash panel holds the clues, both in the dialogue and the coloring!

Remember, this story was published in 1964!

To Be Concluded...

TOMORROW!

Please Support Medical Comics and Stories

Visit Amazon and Order...

Showcase Presents

Young Love

...which reprints the complete first part of the comic's run from 39 to 56, including the entire Private Diary of Mary Robin R.N. strip (not in color, as we're doing, but in black-and-white)!