Secret Romance #19

Charlton's Secret Romance #19 brings readers a compelling "Dear Ellen" scenario, with a worried blonde woman clutching letters in the foreground while a mustachioed man and a shadowy couple loom behind her — her troubled expression perfectly capturing the caption's suspicion that someone named Rafe may be behind it all. Sal Gentile's cover art draws you right into Marie's dilemma: her job writing an advice column has taken a very personal turn. Joe Gill's writing promises the kind of emotionally charged storytelling that made Charlton romance comics a genuine pleasure in 1972, and the promise of a free Bobby Sherman pin-up inside is a fun period bonus.