Neely Tucker writes about Negro Romance, a 1950s American romance comic focused on Black characters, for the Library of Congress blog.

“It was startling and rare for its positive depiction of African Americans in the era, particularly in its portrayals of young black women as romantic heroines. But groundbreaking as it may have been, the magazine lasted just three issues in 1950 and then, with exception of one issue reprinted in 1954, almost completely disappeared from history.

So as Valentine’s Day approaches, we are delighted to report that the Library recently acquired issues of Negro Romance #2 and #3, thus completing the only known collection of all four issues. The comic is so rare – only two other libraries are known to have even a single copy – that Michelle Nolan, author of Love on the Racks: A History of American Romance Comics, estimated that ‘there are likely fewer than 50 copies extant of each issue’ in a recent phone interview.”