Sweethearts was a romance comic book

Romance comics

Romance comics is a comics genre depicting romantic love and its attendant complications such as jealousy, marriage, divorce, betrayal, and heartache. The term is generally associated with an American comic books genre published through the first three decades of the Cold War...

 series published by Fawcett Publications

Fawcett Publications

Fawcett Publications was an American publishing company founded in 1919 in Robbinsdale, Minnesota by Wilford Hamilton "Captain Billy" Fawcett . At the age of 16, Fawcett ran away from home to join the Army, and the Spanish-American War took him to the Philippines. Back in Minnesota, he became a...

 from October 1948

1948 in comics

-European :*Spirou et l'aventure by Jijé, Dupuis *Spirou et Fantasio by André Franquin, Dupuis -January:* Captain America Comics #65 - Timely Comics*Frankie and Lana issue #13 - Timely Comics...

 to 1953

1953 in comics

*Battle Brady #10 renamed from Men in Action - Marvel Comics*Bible Tales for Young Folk #1 - Marvel Comics*Bible Tales for Young People #3 renamed from Bible Tales for Young Folk - Marvel Comics*Buck Duck #1 - Marvel Comics...

, and continued by Charlton Comics

Charlton Comics

Charlton Comics was an American comic book publishing company that existed from 1946 to 1985, having begun under a different name in 1944. It was based in Derby, Connecticut...

 from 1954

1954 in comics

-Events and publications:* Publication of Seduction of the Innocent, by American psychiatrist Fredric Wertham. The book warned that comic books were a negative form of popular literature and a serious cause of juvenile delinquency...

 to 1973

1973 in comics

-Year overall:* Dell Comics, after 44 years in the comics business, ceases publication; a few of the company's former titles moving to Gold Key Comics....

. It was the first monthly romance comic book, and a great commercial success. Fawcett followed the title with other monthly romance titles including Life Story (1949

1949 in comics

-Events and publications:Publishers Star Publications, Toby Press, and Youthful make their debuts; conversely, Columbia Comics, Novelty Press, and Street & Smith Comics all fold.-January:* Captain America Comics #70 - Timely Comics...

), Cowboy Love (1949), and Romantic Secrets (1950

1950 in comics

-European publications:* Quatre aventures de Spirou et Fantasio by André Franquin, Dupuis * Eagle launched on April 14 of this year and ran until 1994.-U.S. publications:In 1950 the U.S. comics industry came to a turning point...

).

Because of postal regulations, the title debuted as Sweethearts #68, a numerical continuation of Fawcett's Captain Midnight

Captain Midnight

Captain Midnight is a U.S. adventure franchise first broadcast as a radio serial from 1938 to 1949. Sponsored by the Skelly Oil Company, the radio program was the creation of radio scripters Wilfred G. Moore and Robert M...

which ended with issue #67. The title was not heavily marketed in its infancy and did not appear in the Fawcett comics title list on the first pages of its Captain Marvel

Captain Marvel (DC Comics)

Captain Marvel is a fictional comic book superhero, originally published by Fawcett Comics and later by DC Comics. Created in 1939 by artist C. C. Beck and writer Bill Parker, the character first appeared in Whiz Comics #2...

and Whiz Comics

Whiz Comics

Whiz Comics was a monthly ongoing comic book anthology series, which was published by Fawcett Comics from February 1940 with issue #2 and stopping at issue #155 in June 1953, best known for introducing Captain Marvel. The first issue published of Whiz Comics was issue #2...

.

The book exhibited front cover photos of happy couples, or lovely girls, but never men alone. The back cover featured a large photo of a male movie star labelled in the first issue "My Romance of the Month", and, with the second issue, "Dream Beau of the Month". The first photo was Robert Mitchum

Robert Mitchum

Robert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer and is #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time...

 and the second Glenn Ford

Glenn Ford

Glenn Ford was a Canadian-born American actor from Hollywood's Golden Era with a career that spanned seven decades...

. While the front cover displayed a happy scene of young love, story titles listed beneath the cover photo hinted at drama and conflict: "Beauty was My Snare", "Betrayed by My Temper" and "I Led Him On" are just a few.

Many stories were drawn by Mary Marvel

Mary Marvel

Mary Marvel is a fictional character, a comic book superheroine, originally published by Fawcett Comics and now owned by DC Comics. Created by Otto Binder and Marc Swayze, she first appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #18 in...

artist Marc Swayze

Marc Swayze

Marc Swayze was an American comic book artist from 1941-53 for Fawcett Publications.He is best known for his work on Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family during the Golden Age of comic books for Fawcett Comics, and is the co-creator of Mary Marvel with writer Otto Binder...

, and were monotonously repetitive: erring female learns about life from the man she finally steadies or weds.

Charlton Comics

Charlton Comics

Charlton Comics was an American comic book publishing company that existed from 1946 to 1985, having begun under a different name in 1944. It was based in Derby, Connecticut...

acquired the rights to much of Fawcett's title, story, and character inventory in 1954 when Fawcett left comic book publication, and Charlton published Sweethearts until 1973.