Saturday, May 20, 2023

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

...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.

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...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)!

Friday, May 19, 2023

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...
...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)!

Friday, May 5, 2023

M.D. "Emergency"

How do medical personnel do their job when they can't see what they're doing?
(Cover by Johnny Craig)
That's the basis of this cover-featured tale from EC's M.D. #5 (1956)!
XXXXXXXXXXX
Illustrated by Graham Ingels and likely written by editor Al Feldstein,
It's scary to consider how much of our medical care is dependent upon a consistent power source.
But, that's why almost every medical facility is equipped with an emergency generator!
Note I said almost every medical facility, because there are those, especially in rural areas who still don't have one!
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The First Newsstand Comic Dedicated to the Medical Profession!

Friday, April 21, 2023

TRUMP "Tranquilizers"

Ironically, from a 1950s magazine called Trump...

...(not named after a stress-inducing a-hole) comes this feature by artist Al Jaffee and (likely) writer Harvey Kurtzman about the "benefits" of stress-relieving drugs!

Note the Alfred E Neuman-esque figure at the end of the piece!
"What, me worry?', indeed!
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Saturday, April 8, 2023

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...
...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)!

OMNI "Interpersonal" Part 1

When Last We Left the Doctor Whose Mind Fuctions Faster than Light ... ...ya gotta love a srip that does your job for you! Note in panel 3 t...