Here’s a mid-century gem from Harvey Comics: It’s issue #26 of Hi-School Romance, publication date March 1954. One of the common tropes I’ve noticed from these romance comics is that the kid with the bow tie always seems to be choice #2 for the heartbroken girl. Well, not Eddie Fisher, but the other kids.

This cover, with art by Julius La Rosa, comes from the “Rage of Night” story. The others stories are just as delightfully named — “Trapped by Desire,” “Tempted!” and “I Lied to My Love.” So scandalous! So steamy!

I think I like the idea of reading Golden Age superhero comics more than actually doing it. Compared to today’s comic books, the stories and artwork often don’t measure up. But man, I could look at the covers all day. So in the spirit of the season, here’s a few Golden Age comic book covers with a Halloween theme. The Superman one is technically Silver Age, but I think it has the same lighthearted spirit as the other three so I included it.

If straight-ahead horror comics from the Golden Age are more your thing, I’ve got a gallery of them too.

Whiz Comics #36 (Fawcett, 1942)

Adventure Comics #294 (DC, 1962)

Flash Comics #78 (DC, 1946)

Black Cat #14 (Harvey, 1948)

Comic Cavalcade #12 (DC, 1945)

I couldn’t resist including this last one from Batman, even though it is firmly entrenched in the Silver Age and is of a much more serious tone. But how can you go wrong with a vintage Neal Adams cover?

Batman #237 (DC, 1971)