Secret Hearts #59

The emotional pull of mid-century romance comics is on full display in Secret Hearts #59, cover-penciled by Sy Barry and inked by Bernard Sachs. The cover tells its story wordlessly and powerfully: a red-haired woman in a magenta dress presses against a rock, tears streaming down her face, while in the background a man turns his attention toward a smiling rival woman — the cover copy promising a tale of fear, longing, and a love always under threat in "All Love's Magic!" At just a dime, this 1959 National Romance Group entry captures the aching vulnerability that made DC's romance line resonate so deeply with its readers.