{"id":30436,"date":"2026-06-26T10:15:06","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T14:15:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/the-may-1996-romantic-times-covers-are-glorious\/"},"modified":"2026-06-26T10:15:06","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T14:15:06","slug":"the-may-1996-romantic-times-covers-are-glorious","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/the-may-1996-romantic-times-covers-are-glorious\/","title":{"rendered":"The May 1996 Romantic Times Covers are Glorious"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n<\/p>\n

There are so many visual aids for the May 1996 Ads & Features episode of RT Rewind<\/strong> that I had to make a special post just for the glorious art.<\/p>\n

Got some snacks? A nice drink?<\/p>\n

And if you\u2019re in Europe, an ice water bathtub? (I\u2019m thinking of y\u2019all. I hope the heat breaks soon.)<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s go back to May 1996!<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The cover of the magazine is truly one of the greatest we\u2019ve looked at. She\u2019s got ALL her clothes on, John De Salvo\u2019s nipple is in Grave Danger, and her gun is extremely large.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The cover of\u00a0Lady Deception<\/em>,\u00a0and she is gonna shoot John De Salvo. She is determined.<\/p>\n

Here are some other Bobbi Smith covers that are equally glorious.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The Lady\u2019s Hand<\/em> by Bobbi Smith: she also has all her clothing on and all the cards in her hand (yeah, girl) while he\u2019s got\u2026a brocade vest, a fluffy shirt open BUT STILL TUCKED IN.<\/p>\n

The heroine is a riverboat card shark:<\/p>\n

UNLUCKY AT CARDS\u2026Cool-headed and ravishingly beautiful, Brandy O\u2019Neill knew how to hold her own with the river boat gamblers on the Pride of New Orleans. But she met her match in Rafe Morgan when she bet everything she had on three queens and discovered that the wealthy plantation owner had a far-from-gentlemanly notion of how she should make good on her wagers.<\/em><\/p>\n

LUCKY IN LOVE\u2026Disillusioned with romance, Rafe wanted a child of his own to care for, without the complications of a woman to break his heart. Now a full house had given him just the opportunity he was looking for\u2014he would force the lovely cardsharp to marry him and give him a child before he\u2019d set her free. But a firecracker-hot wedding night and a glimpse into Brandy\u2019s tender heart soon made Rafe realize he\u2019d been luckier than he ever imagined when he won\u2026THE LADY\u2019S HAND.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

And, of course,\u00a0Heaven<\/em> by Bobbi Smith, with Hot Oates.<\/p>\n

HOT OATES AND FIRE!<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

This is the inside cover of the magazine: Cindy Guyer Romance Dolls!<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The dolls look pretty tall \u2013 Amanda says this one is giving American Girl doll:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

And you can buy some on eBay<\/a>! This one below is $30<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Creepy dolls! That is a new RT development and we are very pleased.<\/p>\n

There are a few covers that were advertised in the magazine in black and white, but even in that format it was something.<\/p>\n

So I went to find them in COLOR.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Amanda thinks that dude looks dead. I don\u2019t think she\u2019s wrong.<\/p>\n

And check out that Crystal Gayle hair!<\/p>\n

Recently we met The Mackenzies: Cleve\u00a0<\/em>by Ana Leigh, and my apologies for the blurry image. There are not many images of this cover.<\/p>\n

Look at that shiny, smarmy man. Just smarming all over her. Though again, I dig it when the women have all their clothing on, but on a romance cover, the guy is ALWAYS allergic to shirts.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Well, this month, we\u2019re meeting Luke.<\/p>\n

Look at this Lisa Frank-attacked-the-bi-pride-flag color scheme right here!<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

He\u2019s so orange. And also smarmy.<\/p>\n

But this is the new cover. I\u2019m sorry to report it\u2019s kind of a downgrade.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

I say this in the episode, the problem with photographs for pictures like these is that the rendering of what we like to call O Face in art, in digital illustration and oil paintings, looks okay. Or maybe I\u2019m used to it but O Face on an old skool cover might look weird but it doesn\u2019t look\u2026like this.<\/p>\n

In a photograph, O Face looks\u2026drunk? Sleepy? Slack jawed and tired? Hopped on quaaludes?<\/p>\n

That facial expression doesn\u2019t look good in photographs. It\u2019s one way in which you can\u2019t replicate the original style. In a photo, it just looks like an awkward moment.<\/p>\n

Neither of these covers are great and all of these men have a smarm index of 79%, but I\u2019d choose the old one every time.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

This is yet another cover that was meh in black and white but in color is kind of startling. Flag background aside, there\u2019s a whole ass war going on behind them, but she\u2019s got that 80s hair I wished I\u2019d had when I was younger.<\/p>\n

Also look at that stubby ponytail and that big puffy shirt. Do you think there\u2019s just one puffy shirt and the cover models loan it to each other? Giant sleeves, voluminous body, and the buttons are pristine because they HAVE to wear it unbuttoned but NEVER TUCKED IN.<\/p>\n

\u2018Tis the law.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

This book is set in\u2026<\/p>\n

wait, you should guess.<\/p>\n

Go on, guess.<\/p>\n

80s? Maybe the 70s?<\/p>\n

Nope. This is set in Arizona territory in 1863.<\/p>\n

Look at those tearaway athletic pants! And the very slender waist! And the pec shelf!<\/p>\n

BUT WHERE ARE HER LEGS. WHERE ARE THEY. Where. WHERE.<\/p>\n

Speaking of legs, I genuinely wasn\u2019t sure if this dude is bare assed in the grass.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

This is also a time travel with a doctor who goes back in time to a Confederate hospital. Yikes on a moped.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

To quote Amanda, if he\u2019s coming up behind you like that, what you\u2019re feeling is NOT a pea.<\/p>\n

I think he\u2019s trying to convince her to go to the nether regions, if you know what I mean, and I am sure that you do.<\/p>\n

But this is the\u00a0pi\u00e8ce de r\u00e9sistance: <\/em>this is the centerfold of the magazine.<\/p>\n

A full color image of THE STEPBACK of\u00a0Bride of Fortune<\/em> by Shirl Henke.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll start with the horse, who looks annoyed.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

AND LOOK AT THIS.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

LOOK AT THIS. LOOK AT IT.<\/p>\n