Comic Book Cats, number 94: First Love Illustrated #3, drawn by Tom Gill, published by Harvey Comics in June 1949.“Superstition Made Me Afraid To Love” is the tale of Jinx, a young lady who is insanely superstitious. Oy vey, what were her parents thinking, naming her Jinx? That’s basically asking for trouble!
Jinx meets a handsome young man named Red, who of course has red hair, and is immediately smitten, but her subsequent encounters with a black cat, a dropped comb, and spilled salt leave her terrified. And when fortuneteller Madame Fortuna warns her that the color red is a sign of danger, Jinx soon finds herself sobbing “Oh, Red. If only you had dark hair.” Yes, really. Just look at the expression on that cat’s face in the title splash. He’s probably thinking to himself, “Lady, you are absolutely certifiable!”
Jinx, Red, Madame Fortuna… damn, all the names in this are story are as subtle as a rock to the head. I’m surprised that Jinx’s roommate and best friend Gay doesn’t turn out to be a lesbian.
Tom Gill was a prolific comic book artist whose career spanned three decades, from the mid-1940s thru the mid-1970s. He drew a great many Westerns, including an 11 year run on The Lone Ranger for Dell Comics. Gill passed away in October 2005 at the age of 92.
This is another comic available on the excellent Comic Book Plus website:
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