Best of True Love in the Emergency Room YOUNG ROMANCE "Full Hands - Empty Heart!" Conclusion

We Have Already Seen...

Art by Bob Oksner and Frank Giacoia

...Nurse Phyllis Carter and Doctor Allan Tate bond over working together in the ER, and a romance develops between the medical professionals.
But it's a romance with a complication the medical professionals never thought they'd have to deal with...

Wait!

The Doctor she's working with has just been murdered in fromt of her!
Even if she wasn't romantically involved with him...they can't let her sit down and rest?

She's clearly in shock!
I wouldn't want her near patients in her present condition!
Plus, wouldn't the police want to talk to her as a witness to the murder?
Speaking of that...has anybody restrained Johnny?
Written by Robert Kanigher, penciled by John Rosenberger and inked by Vince Colletta, this cover-featured story from DC's Young Romance #194 (1973) tries to jam a legitimate moral into the last few panels instead of giving it an extra page to play out in a more coherent manner.
Editor/writer Robert Kanigher was the most vocal proponent of racial equality in the DC editorial "Old Guard" of the 1950s-70s, scripting numerous anti-racist stories as well as introducing several Black characters into the DC Comics universe including...

...Nubia, the second ongoing character to bear the Wonder Woman title, as well as scripting this somewhat infamous Lois Lane story...

Though he meant well, Kanigher was rather heavy-handed, sometimes sacrificing plot logic (like the ending of "Full Hands, Empty Heart") to make a moral point.
Note: On some pages Phyllis (and other Black characters') skin is gray/purple and on some it's brown.
That's because on the pages showing her as gray, the color separators used the wrong combination of yellow, red (magenta) and blue (cyan) screens.
When the story was reprinted in Simon & Schuster's Heart Throbs: Best of DC Romance Comics (1979) trade paperback, the only editorial change was to correct the Black characters' skin tones.

All the other coloring remained the same.

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Best of True Love in the Emergency Room YOUNG ROMANCE "Full Hands - Empty Heart!" Part 1

Since it's both Black History Month and almost Valentines Day...

..we thought we'd re-present a two-parter featuring a Black medical professional in a romantic relationship!

Note: On some pages Phyllis' skin is gray and on some it's brown.

That's because on the pages showing her as gray, the color separators used the wrong combination of yellow, red (magenta) and blue (cyan) screens.

To find out what happens next...

Be Here Next Week

for the heart-rending conclusion as well as some background about the writer of the tale!

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(Which reprints this story)
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Best of Medical Comics & Stories DR PAT: The First Female Doctor to Have Her Own Comic Series!

Debuting in DC's Sensation Comics #94 (1949)...

...Dr Pat was a radical concept for the era, an independent female doctor equal to any male MD, and not obsessed with romance!

In fact, romance was usually the last thing on her mind!

She was too busy battling crime...

...Commies...

...even rampaging robots!

And when she did get involved in romantic situations, it was usually to assist someone else!

Created as part of the rebooting of Wonder Woman's original home, Sensation Comics into an all-female series book!
She lasted longer than any of the other secondary features including Romance: Inc, Headline Heroines, Astra: Girl of the Future, and Beautiful, But Not Dumb!, 
When Sensation Comics was rebooted again, this time with an entirely-new line-up in #107 (1952), Dr Pat and Wonder Woman both lost their strips...though Princess Diana continued in her own book!
Except for a couple of reprints in the back of Superman's Girl Friend: Lois Lane, almost the entire comics world forgot all about Dr Pat!
But we didn't!
In fact, she was our very first post, and our first ongoing series!
So, when you have a moment, check her her out!

She's a bit of comics history who doesn't deserve to be forgotten!

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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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)!