Sweethearts #80

A masquerade sets the romantic mood on this October 1949 issue of Sweethearts, where a smiling young woman in a black costume holds a decorative mask while a cheerful young man dressed as a harlequin leans in beside her. The photo cover captures that giddy, flirtatious energy of a costume party perfectly, teasing the featured story "Heartbreak's Memory" — in which a taunting spectre of lost love returns from the past — alongside additional tales "My Cabin by the Sea" and "Stubborn!" All of that romance, drama, and heartache for just a dime made Sweethearts one of the great guilty pleasures of postwar comics.