Love Romances #30

A poolside scene dripping with mid-1953 tension sets the stage for this Atlas romance anthology — in the foreground, a dark-haired woman in red glances back with a look caught between hurt and alarm, while behind her a man in a Hawaiian shirt walks alongside a blonde woman in a copper swimsuit, seemingly oblivious. Al Hartley's cover art captures that particular ache of romantic uncertainty beautifully, promising stories drawn, as the tagline insists, from "true life." With Jay Scott Pike illustrating the interior and the lead story titled "The Truth Can Hurt," this is a ten-cent slice of heartfelt drama that earns every penny.