And here’s the original First Kiss comic book art as published back in the 1960s–with considerably more polite dialog:
Below is the original 1960s romance art with a more appropriate, but perhaps less interesting bit of dialog:
The interesting thing about the original art below is not what’s happening, but what isn’t. The story is about a woman who meets a guy and likes him until she finds out that:
A) He’s a drug-dealing, philandering crime lord.
B) He’s an ink-slinging, low-paid cartoonist.
C) He’s a truck driver.
D) He smokes.
E) He’s a communist spy, but he votes Republican.
Pick one. Then see the answer below the comic.
The answer? C. He’s a truck driver. (She’d hoped he was a doctor or lawyer.)
What gets me—besides the snobbery—is that she sees him smoking here and it absolutely isn’t a problem. These days it would really turn off a lot of potential lovers. But back in the 1960s—it was better to be a three-pack-a-day doctor than be a healthy truck driver.
By the way, eventually she decides to overlook his profession. And guess what? Everything is going to be okay because he’s going to college nights. So he must have some ambition after all!
