Dr Joan Ormrod
UK Romance Comics: Fantasy and Pop Music in the Teenage Wasteland
Developing my work in surfing, I examine the ways pop music was promoted in UK romance comics of the 1950s. Drawing upon Dr Mel Gibson's work into women comics readers, I explore how fan practices were developed within the 1950s and 60s comics. In this era pop stars were promoted as fantasy figures who, through their encounters with ordinary girls could transform their lives. These fantasies were played out within the growing consumerism and promotional culture growing up around developing teenage markets.