Liberated Lovers: A Murray Comics one-shot

Liberated Lovers is a one-shot romance comic published by Murray Publishers c.June 1982:

The cover is from Charlton's Love and Romance #21, March 1975:

The contents:

Call Me Ms., previously published in Love and Romance #21, March 1975
A Goddess Can Fall in Love, previously published in Hollywood Romances #58, April 1971
Fickle Heart, previously published in Romantic Story #85, November 1966
Just for Kicks, previously published in Teen-Age Love #74, January 1971
He'll Have to Do, previously published in Sweethearts #111, July 1970
The Game of Love, previously published in My Only Love #5, March 1976
He Turns Me On!, previously published in Just Married #101, July 1974
The Roll Calls For Kisses!, previously published in Sweethearts #136, October 1973
Stolen Love, previously published in Romantic Story #79, October 1965
Hurry Toward Love, previously published in Teen-Age Love #74, January 1971
Greener Grass, previously published in Career Girl Romances #64, August 1971
Freedom to Live, previously published in Teen-Age Love #92, April 1973
I'll Be Alone..., previously published in Secrets of Young Brides #5, March 1976 All of these stories previously appeared in Charlton comics from the 1960's-1970's. Some also appeared in other Murray comics. Murray's romance one-shots in this period appeared under the Murray Romance Library imprint. Oddly, this one is under the regular black Murray Comics logo which, for a time after March 1982, superseded the red Murray Comics logo. Indeed this issue contains two in-house advertisements for romance comics, one of which includes the Murray Romance Library logo, and the other - for Our Love Story - doesn't. The typeface for the masthead is one often used by Murray in this period, for example on Cowboy Adventures and Renegade Raiders, and is slanted to the left - evidently it was, y'know, liberated...

Our Love Story: The Murray Romance Library edition

 

Murray Publishers' Our Love Story is a one-shot issue published c.July 1982. It comprises stories mostly originating in Charlton comics in the 1960's-70's:

Everything But The Groom!, originally published in Love Diary #91, January 1975
Never Sell Your Dream, originally published in Sweethearts #126, July 1972
Find-A-Man, originally published in I Love You #121, December 1976
Boy Meets Girl, originally published in Sweethearts #89, October 1966
Untouchable Lips, originally published in Secret Romance #8, August 1970
The Walk, originally published in Young Romance #198, March-April 1974
No Man For Me, originally published in Teen Confessions #90, August 1975
The Hermit of Turtle Island, originally published in Three Nurses #23, March 1964
Stolen Kisses, originally published in For Lovers Only #84, April 1976
Made For Each Other, originally published in Sweethearts #99, August 1968
Two Loves Had I..., originally published in Romantic Story #81, February-March 1966
Go Seek Love, originally published in For Lovers Only #71, May 1973
Southern Exposure, Sweethearts #80, January 1965
Sagittarius in Search of Aries, Teen Confessions #65, December 1970 I believe the attributions above to be accurate, however I have not crosschecked each story with scans, so if there are errors, please advise. Our Love Story was advertised as an imminent release in another Murray romance one-shot: Our Love Story was published under the Murray Romance Library imprint, but note that the preproduction cover in the advertisement does not bear the Murray Romance Library logo. Indeed the  Murray Comics logo on the top right hand corner of the advertisement is also generic, which is odd because other inhouse ads for romance comics in this period displayed the Murray Romance Library logo rather prominently. This issue has no connection to the Marvel Comics series, however Yaffa did produce a single Our Love Story issue based on the Marvel series. And, if my dating is accurate, the Yaffa edition preceded the Murray issue by no more than a month. Surely a coincidence - and yet, the Murray advertisement was clearly rushed to the press...

Batman [#1]: The Murray edition

Murray Comics' Batman [#1] was published 10 September 1982:

This is a famous cover, originally appearing on DC Comics' Batman #194:

The story contents:

Night of the Savage, originally published in Detective Comics #498, January 1981

[Allies in the Shadows], originally published in Detective Comics #499, February 1981

Secret of the Sphinx Sinister!, originally published in Detective Comics #508, November 1981

Monster, My Sweet!, originally published in Batman 344, February 1982

A Caper a Day Keeps the Batman at Bay!, originally published in Batman #312, June 1979

All of the stories in this issue have been modified to some extent. 

Night of the Savage and Allies in the Shadows are presented as a single 33-page story. The 'next issue' blurb is removed from the end of Night of the Savage, as is the splash page - and hence title page - of Allies in the Shadows.

This is  a scan of the original splash page to Secret of the Sphinx Sinister!:

The art is extended in the Murray edition:

The 'next issue blurb is omitted.

The art is also extended - and elements removed - on the splash page to Monster, My Sweet!. Here's a scan of the original page:

Compare to the version in the Murray edition:

The modification to this page is benign compared to the crude modifications on the last panel of this story. Here's a scan of the final page from Batman #344:

The Murray edition not only removes the 'next issue' blurb but extends the art on the last panel thus:

Heh. [This version of the story was recycled 12 months later in Federal Comics' Batman #6 and indeed suffered even more extensive modifications in that iteration.]

The original splash page to A Caper a Day Keeps the Batman at Bay!:

And the modified Murray version with art extended top and bottom:

This version omits the 'next issue' blurb.

It's curious that a prominent vintage 1960's cover was used for this 1980's issue. It's related to the contents inasmuch as there is a Blockbuster story in the magazine, but it is not the 1967 story. 

When this issue appeared on the stands in September 1982 it slotted in amongst a number of one-shot unnumbered Murray Comics editions of DC material. However it also inaugurated a new and final ongoing Batman series which would transition through the Federal Comics era until its demise in 1986. The Superman series of the time similarly started with two unnumbered issues.

The date ascribed is courtesy of a newsagent's pencilled information on the rear cover.

Dating Murray comics: The Hubba Bubba Gumfighter Comes to Town advertisements

Dating Murray comics can be difficult, especially issues in the early-1980's - the era of the one-shot 100-page editions. These are more difficult to date than numbered issues in ongoing series for obvious reasons, such as benchmark dates being established within a series. 

As per my dating schema courtesy of the dates in the Tarzan series, I have a firm sense of the broad outline of the dates based on the cover price. The next step is to drill down further via other sources of information such as the advertisements.

One such ad is The Hubba Bubba Gumfighter Comes to Town advertisement. Murray issues carried two versions of this ad:

The Hubba Bubba Gumfighter Comes to Town [1] [New strawberry flavour] c.May 1981

The Hubba Bubba Gumfighter Comes to Town [2] [Four great flavours] c.August-November 1982

One of these ads is for a special or premium product, the other is generic. 

I originally assumed the generic ad came first, but this is not the case. 

It also makes sense that the ad for the premium product would appear for a relatively short period.

One-shot issues with Hubba [1] include Space Adventures, Superman and Sgt. Rock, Action Album and Bumper Western Album [77].

One-shot issues with Hubba [2] include Pow-Wow Smith, Masked Manhunter, War Stories, Texas Rangers in Action, All Star Heroes, Dr. Fate, Nemesis, Zatanna, and The Phantom Zone. Most of these are $0.99 cover priced issues - the $0.95 cover-priced issues can be deemed published August 1982.

Zatanna: The Murray edition

Murray Comics' Zatanna one-shot issue was published 15 September 1982:

The cover originally appeared on DC Comics' The Brave and the Bold #169, December 1980.

The contents:

Angel of Mercy, Angel of Death!, originally published in The Brave and the Bold #169, December 1980

The Night It Rained Magic!, originally published in DC Comics Presents #18, February 1980

The Song the Shrieker Sang, originally published in World's Finest Comics #274, December 1981

[Soul Shriek!], originally published in World's Finest Comics #275, January 1982

Zatanna [Untitled], originally published in World's Finest Comics #276, February 1982

[Doppelganger], originally published in World's Finest Comics #277, March 1982

Dog Day Afternoon, originally published in World's Finest Comics #278, April 1982

The Key Crisis of the One-Man Justice League!, originally published in Justice League of America #191, June 1981

The Song the Shrieker Sang and Soul Shriek! are presented as a single story. The splash page to Soul Shriek! is omitted, as is the 'next issue' blurb at the end of Shrieker Sang.

Similarly the two stories from World's Finest Comics #'s 276-277 are presented as a single story with only a proxy eponymous story title, the splash page to Doppelganger also omitted.

Dog Day Afternoon is modified differently. Here's scans of the first two pages of the story as per World's Finest Comics #278:

And here's the modified title page in the Murray edition:

The date designated above is based on a copy I spotted with a price sticker on the cover with 15/9 written on it. By my reckoning the $0.95 cover price Murray issues ended August 1982, so Zatanna would be among the earliest of the $0.99 issues.