[Collection of Clipped Katy Keene Comic Book Art]
![[Collection of Clipped Katy Keene Comic Book Art]](https://d3525k1ryd2155.cloudfront.net/h/506/118/1716118506.0.x.jpg)
- SIGNED
- N.P. , 1960
N.P., 1960. Very good. One commercial scrapbook, brown cloth over boards, measuring 12½” x 11¼”, and over 100 loose leaves with a total of 274 pages and 434 pieces of comic book clippings pasted down and 15 pieces of original art laid in. Generally very good or better.
This is a monumental collection of clipped strips, scenes and characters from the popular Katy Keene comic, complete with several pieces of original fan art.
The character of Katy Keene was created by Bill Woggon for Wilbur Comics #5 (part of the Archie Comics series) in 1945. Marketed as “America's Queen of Pin-Ups and Fashions,” Katy was a fashion designer, model and actress, driven by career ambitions and not, like other female characters, solely by romance. Readers were encouraged to submit their own designs for Katy's outfits; Woggon would draw them in and give full credit to the fan, printing their name, age, hometown, and sometimes a bio or photo as well. After several appearances in Archie books, Katy got her own title in 1949, with various spinoffs until 1961. She was revived by a fan in 1979, and officially by Archie Comics from 1983 to 1994. Katy Keene was given life again in 2020 as part of the New Riverdale comics line – this time on a television show. The series focused on Katy's female friendships (over romance, once again) as well as issues of gender in the workplace. A TIME magazine review noted it was “Less about finding Prince Charming than it is about making your artistic dreams come true.”
These albums are stuffed with comic clippings, ranging from one- to two-inch characters or outfits to full-page scenes, and a few portions of comic books intact. We see “Katy Keene in Sea to Outer Space” with “rocket fashions, etc.” by 15-year-old Bonnie Turner of Buffalo, New York, as well as on the set of “Katy's Dream Movie” and “a true story at Woggon Wheels Ranch.” Other characters appear, like cowboy “Curly Cassidy,” Katy's beaus “K.O.” and “Randy,” her little Sis,” best friend “Lucki Lorelei” and professional rival “Gloria.” Designs for her clothes and cars were devised by her fans, as were storylines and poems; Marilyn, 13, of Illinois wrote: “Katy is the Queen of Beauty / K.O. and Randy thinks she's a cutie . . . Lucki Red and Gloria, the / Rest in a Row / But Katy, wonderful, is the Star of this Show!” One reader sent ideas for her own wedding dress, seen modeled by her idol. Other clippings reveal “Katy's Mad Hatter Jokes,” “Honeymoon Homes,” fairy tale stories and “Fashions of the Ages.” Woggon printed “Dance Pin-Ups for your album and pin-up collection” as well as “Katy's Pin-Up Board” featuring photographic head shots of 38 young fans. Over a dozen pieces of our compiler's original art and sketches are laid in.
A fantastic collection of comic book clips, with a focus on fashion, ambition and the welcomed creativity of readers.
This is a monumental collection of clipped strips, scenes and characters from the popular Katy Keene comic, complete with several pieces of original fan art.
The character of Katy Keene was created by Bill Woggon for Wilbur Comics #5 (part of the Archie Comics series) in 1945. Marketed as “America's Queen of Pin-Ups and Fashions,” Katy was a fashion designer, model and actress, driven by career ambitions and not, like other female characters, solely by romance. Readers were encouraged to submit their own designs for Katy's outfits; Woggon would draw them in and give full credit to the fan, printing their name, age, hometown, and sometimes a bio or photo as well. After several appearances in Archie books, Katy got her own title in 1949, with various spinoffs until 1961. She was revived by a fan in 1979, and officially by Archie Comics from 1983 to 1994. Katy Keene was given life again in 2020 as part of the New Riverdale comics line – this time on a television show. The series focused on Katy's female friendships (over romance, once again) as well as issues of gender in the workplace. A TIME magazine review noted it was “Less about finding Prince Charming than it is about making your artistic dreams come true.”
These albums are stuffed with comic clippings, ranging from one- to two-inch characters or outfits to full-page scenes, and a few portions of comic books intact. We see “Katy Keene in Sea to Outer Space” with “rocket fashions, etc.” by 15-year-old Bonnie Turner of Buffalo, New York, as well as on the set of “Katy's Dream Movie” and “a true story at Woggon Wheels Ranch.” Other characters appear, like cowboy “Curly Cassidy,” Katy's beaus “K.O.” and “Randy,” her little Sis,” best friend “Lucki Lorelei” and professional rival “Gloria.” Designs for her clothes and cars were devised by her fans, as were storylines and poems; Marilyn, 13, of Illinois wrote: “Katy is the Queen of Beauty / K.O. and Randy thinks she's a cutie . . . Lucki Red and Gloria, the / Rest in a Row / But Katy, wonderful, is the Star of this Show!” One reader sent ideas for her own wedding dress, seen modeled by her idol. Other clippings reveal “Katy's Mad Hatter Jokes,” “Honeymoon Homes,” fairy tale stories and “Fashions of the Ages.” Woggon printed “Dance Pin-Ups for your album and pin-up collection” as well as “Katy's Pin-Up Board” featuring photographic head shots of 38 young fans. Over a dozen pieces of our compiler's original art and sketches are laid in.
A fantastic collection of comic book clips, with a focus on fashion, ambition and the welcomed creativity of readers.