{{Short description|Two comic book series published by Marvel Comics and its forerunners}} {{redirect|Girl comics||Girl (comics)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox comic book title <!--Wikipedia:WikiProject Comics--> |image = Girl comics1 1 cover.jpg |imagesize = <!-- default 250 --> |caption = Photographic cover of ''Girl Comics'' #1 (Oct. 1949). <!-- don't swap with the more recent one as there is precedent for this, discuss it on the talk page if you feel strongly about this --> |schedule = '''(1949)'''<br />Bi-monthly<br />'''(2010)'''<br />Monthly |format = '''(1949)'''<br />Ongoing series<br />'''(2010)'''<br />Limited series |limited = Y |ongoing = Y |genre = '''(1949)'''<br />Romance comics<br />'''(2010)'''<br />Superhero comics |publisher = '''(1949)'''<br />Timely Comics<br />'''Girl Confessions'''<br />Atlas Comics<br />'''(2010)'''<br />Marvel Comics |date = '''(1949)'''<br />October 1949 – August 1954<br />'''(2010)'''<br />May 2010 — September 2010 |startmo = |startyr = |endmo = |endyr = |issues = '''(1949)'''<br />35<br />'''(2010)'''<br />3 |main_char_team = |writers = |artists = |pencillers = |inkers = |letterers = |colorists = |editors = '''(1949)'''<br />Stan Lee<br />'''(2010)'''<br />Sana Amanat<br />Rachel Pinnelas<br />Lauren Sankovitch<br />Jeanine Schaefer |creative_team_month = |creative_team_year = |creators = |TPB = |ISBN = |TPB# = |ISBN# = |subcat = Marvel Comics |altcat = |sort = Girl Comics |addpubcat# = |nonUS = }} '''''Girl Comics''''' is the name of two comic-book series published by Marvel Comics and its forerunners, Timely Comics and Atlas Comics. The first, debuting in 1949, ran 35 issues, changing its title to '''''Girl Confessions''''' with issue #13 (March 1952). The second was a three-issue limited series published in 2010.
==Publication history== ===First series (1949–1954)=== The initial Marvel Comics publication entitled ''Girl Comics'' was an ongoing romance comics/girls'-adventure series edited by Stan Lee that ran 12 issues (October 1949 - January 1952), first by Marvel's 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and shortly afterward by the company's 1950s iteration, Atlas Comics. It was renamed ''Girl Confessions'' with issue #13 (March 1952) and ran a total 35 issues, through cover-date August 1954.
Artist contributors to this series included John Buscema and Al Hartley in issue #1,<ref name=gcd1949>{{gcdb series|id=639|title=''Girl Comics'' (Marvel, Atlas <nowiki>[</nowiki>Cornell Publishing Corp.<nowiki>]</nowiki> imprint, 1949 series)}}</ref> Bob Brown<ref name=atlas1949>[https://www.atlastales.com/sT/95 ''Girl Comics'' October 1949 to January 1952] at AtlasTales.com</ref> and Bill Everett in #3,<ref>[https://www.atlastales.com/sI/953 ''Girl Comics'' #3] at AtlasTales.com</ref> Russ Heath in #5,<ref name=atlas1949 /> Ann Brewster, Mike Esposito, and Dick Rockwell in #8,<ref name=gcd1949 /><ref name=atlas1949 /> and Bernard Krigstein in #12.<ref name=atlas1949 /> Contributors to multiple issues of ''Girl Confessions'' included Hartley, Jay Scott Pike, Morris Weiss, and Golden Age Batman artist Jerry Robinson.<ref>{{gcdb series|id=895|title=''Girl Confessions''}}</ref><ref>[https://www.atlastales.com/sT/96 ''Girl Confessions''] at AtlasTales.com</ref>
===''Girl Comics''=== The first four issues of ''Girl Comics'' were written as typical romance comics,<ref name=Nolan08>{{cite book |title=Love on the Racks: A History of American Romance Comics |author=Michelle Nolan |year=2008 |publisher=MarFarlane |page=67 |isbn=9781476604909 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ndJ7BwAAQBAJ&q=%22girl+confessions%22+comics&pg=PA227 |access-date=30 April 2015}}</ref> valuing plot over character development.<ref name=Pustz12>{{cite book |title=Comic Books and American Cultural History: An Anthology |author=Matthew Pustz |year=2012 |publisher=Bloomberg Publishing USA |page=96 |isbn=9781441197573 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tP2oAwAAQBAJ&q=%22girl+confessions%22+comics&pg=PA98 |access-date=30 April 2015}}</ref> Most narratives were recycled, not changing drastically between issues.<ref name=Pustz12/> Issues #5 through #12, however, adopted a new subtitle, ''Mystery, Adventure, Suspense!'' and featured plot-lines similar to those in Nancy Drew novels.<ref name=Nolan08/>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" ! width=25%| Issue ! width=25%| Title ! width=25%| Publication date |- || 1 || ''I Couldn't Escape From Love'' || October 1949 |- || 2 || ''Blind Date'' || January 1950 |- || 3 || ''Liz Taylor'' || April 1950 |- || 4 || ''Borrowed Love'' || June 1950 |- || 5 || ''The Man Who Followed'', ''The Haunted Terror'', ''The Death Plunge'' || October 1950 |- || 6-9 || ''Mystery, Adventure, Suspense!'' || January/March/May/July 1951 |- || 10 || ''The Deadly Double-Cross'' || September 1951 |- || 11 || ''Love Stories'' || November 1951 |- || 12 || ''BK, The Dark Hallway'' || January 1952 |}
===''Girl Confessions''=== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" ! width=25%| Issue ! width=25%| Title ! width=25%| Publication date |- ||13 || ''Bride with a Broken Heart'' || March 1952<ref name=Nolan08/> |- || 14 || ''Love or Infatuation?'' || May 1952 |- || 15 || Untitled || June 1952 |- || 16 || ''I'll Never Forget You!'' || July 1952 |- || 17 || ''The Soldier's Wife!'' || August 1952 |- || 18 || ''We Both Loved Jerry!'' || September 1952 |- || 19 || ''Wallflower'' || October 1952 |- || 20 || ''His Last Goodbye'' || November 1952 |- || 21 || ''Unwanted'' || December 1952 |- || 22 || Untitled || January 1953 |- || 23 || ''The Man Who Kissed Me'' || February 1953 |- || 24 || ''The Way You Kiss'', ''Martha's Man'', ''The Lonely Night'', ''Love Note'' || March 1953 |- || 25 || ''Back Into His Arms'' || April 1953 |- || 26 || ''The Man I Must Marry'' || June 1953 |- || 27 || ''Grounds for Marriage'' || August 1953 |- || 28 || ''Love Me or Leave Me'' || September 1953 |- || 29 || ''The Truth About Thelma Johnson'' || October 1953 |- || 30 || ''Tall, Dark and Hands Off'' || January 1954 |- || 31 || ''When the Real Thing Comes Along'' || February 1954 |- || 32 || ''Schoolgirl Crush'' || March 1954 |- || 33 || ''A Boy and a Girl'' || April 1954 |- || 34 || ''Affair of the Heart'' || June 1954 |- || 35 || ''Going Steady'' || August 1954 |}
===Second series (2010)=== [[Image:Girl comics2 1 cover.jpg|left|thumb|upright|''Girl Comics'' vol. 2, #1 (May 2010). Cover art by Amanda Conner.]] The second ''Girl Comics'' was a three-issue limited series released as a part of Marvel's year-long ''Marvel Women'' project.<ref name=Hudson10>{{cite news|title=The Lady Editors of Marvel Talk 'Girl Comics' [Girl Week] |author=Laura Hudson |url=http://comicsalliance.com/girl-comics-marvel-interview/ |work=Comics Alliance |date=1 March 2010 |access-date=30 April 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928060926/http://comicsalliance.com/girl-comics-marvel-interview/ |archive-date=28 September 2015}}</ref> ''Girl Comics'' was entirely written, colored, illustrated and lettered by female authors and artists.<ref name=Hudson10/> Sister titles published during this period under the ''Marvel Women'' project,<ref>[http://www.comics.org/brand/583/ Women of Marvel (brand)] at the Grand Comics Database</ref> included the limited series and one-shots ''Heralds'', ''Black Widow'', ''Namora'', ''Lady Deadpool'', and ''Her-oes''.<ref name=PW /> It ran three issues cover-dated May to September 2010.<ref name=gcd44869>{{gcdb series|id=44869|title=''Girl Comics'' (Marvel, 2010 series)}}</ref> The collection was originally conceived as a celebration of both the 30th anniversary of She-Hulk and the National Women's History Project.<ref name=Hudson10/>
Jeanine Schaefer, one of the editors, said of the initiative's timing: "Because 2010 is the 30th anniversary of the first appearance of She-Hulk, we got together to brainstorm some ideas for a celebration of women at Marvel Comics, much like we did for the 70th anniversary...."<ref name=cbr24918>{{cite web |first=Dave |last=Richards |url=http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=24918 |title=Jeanine Schaefer on "Girl Comics" |publisher=Comic Book Resources |date=February 19, 2010 |access-date=May 1, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110616231123/http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=24918 |archive-date = June 16, 2011 | url-status=dead}}</ref> She said the publisher felt the potentially controversial word "girl" in the title could be reclaimed: "It was one of the first titles we thought of (the actual first one, I think), because it pulled double-duty: Not only was it the name of an old Marvel romance title, it has a word in it that we could take back".<ref name=cbr24918 />
The 2010 series contains contributions from Devin K. Grayson, Louise Simonson, Amanda Conner, Jill Thompson, Trina Robbins, and Molly Crabapple, among others.<ref name="PW">{{cite web |first=Heidi |last=MacDonald |author-link=Heidi MacDonald |series=The Beat |url=http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2009/12/15/exclusive-marvel-announces-girl-comics/ |title=Exclusive: Marvel announces Girl Comics |work=Publishers Weekly |date=December 15, 2009 |access-date=April 30, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20100430133853/http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2009/12/15/exclusive-marvel-announces-girl-comics/ |archive-date=April 30, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Brian |last=Truitt |url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/comics/2010-03-01-girlcomics01_marvel_st_N.htm |title='Girl Comics' shines spotlight on female creators |work=USA Today |date=March 1, 2010 |access-date=May 12, 2010 |archive-date=October 26, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111026005639/http://www.usatoday.com/life/comics/2010-03-01-girlcomics01_marvel_st_N.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> The 52-page first issue included stories of the male characters Nightcrawler, the Punisher, and Spider-Man in addition to stories of the superheroines She-Hulk, Venus, and Jean Grey.<ref name=gcd2010>{{gcdb series|id=44869|title=''Girl Comics'' (Marvel, 2010 Series)}}</ref> In addition, a two-page text article spotlighted Marvel Comics' Silver Age secretary and later independent comics publisher Flo Steinberg<ref name=gcd2010 />
Illustrator and cartoonist Stephanie Buscema, who penciled and inked the eight-page story featuring Venus, is a granddaughter of the major comics artist John Buscema,<ref>[http://www.stephaniebuscema.com The Art of Stephanie Buscema] (official site). [https://web.archive.org/web/20080502054853/http://www.stephaniebuscema.com/ WebCite archive]</ref> whose work appeared in the first issue of the 1949 series.
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{comicbookdb|type=title|id=25581|title=''Girl Comics'' (1949)}} *[https://www.atlastales.com/title/95 ''Girl Comics'' (1949)] at Atlas Tales *{{comicbookdb|type=title|id=25582|title=''Girl Confessions''}} *[https://www.atlastales.com/title/96 ''Girl Confessions''] at Atlas Tales *{{comicbookdb|type=title|id=27146|title=''Girl Comics'' (2010)}} <!-- Reviews for a reception section --> *Zawisza, Doug. [https://web.archive.org/web/20100305095333/http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=user_review&id=1955 Review: ''Girl Comics'' #1], ''Comic Book Resources'', March 3, 2010 *McDonald, Amanda, and Jeff Marsick, [https://web.archive.org/web/20100311172129/http://www.newsarama.com/comics/Best-Shots-Reviews-100308.html "Best Shots Comic Reviews"], ''Girl Comics'' #1 (two reviews), ''Newsarama'', March 8, 2010
Category:Comics magazines published in the United States Category:1949 comics debuts Category:1952 comics endings Category:2010 comics debuts Category:Atlas Comics titles Category:Romance comics Category:Superhero comics Category:Timely Comics titles Category:Magazines established in 1949 Category:Magazines disestablished in 1952 Category:Magazines established in 2010 Category:Magazines disestablished in 2010