Katy Keene
Encyclopedia
Katy Keene, a character created by Bill Woggon
, has appeared in several comic book
series published by Archie Comics
since 1945. She is a model/actress/singer known as America's Queen of Pin-Ups and Fashions.
Her comics were interactive in that readers were encouraged to submit original drawings of outfits and accessories for her and her friends to wear, as well as designs for automobiles, homes, interiors, rocket ships, trailers and boats. These designs were used in the comics with credit given to published submissions. Many issues featured paper doll
s of Katy in various costumes.
#5 in the summer of 1945, and appeared in subsequent issues of Wilbur and various anthology comic series in the 1940s including Archie
, Jughead
, Betty and Veronica and Ginger, eventually receiving her own title in 1949 which ran for 12 years. Specials such as Katy Keene Pin Up Parade and Katy Keene Fashion Book Magazine, Annuals and specials including Katy Keene Spectacular (1956), "Glamour" (1957) and Charm (1958) , continued through the 1950s, but the character was not seen for about 20 years after the early 1960s.
In the book From Girls to Grrrlz: A History of Women's Comics from Teens to Zines by Trina Robbins Katy Keene is called a Bettie Page
look-alike. "... but the resemblance ended there. Katy Keene was no bimbo and she had a good job (she was a movie star.)"
's art was instrumental in the revival, as his work was featured in the magazine along with other artists' and fans' work. Several "Katy-Kons" (conventions) were held in Santa Barbara, California
, and then later in conjunction with the San Diego Comic-Con celebrating Woggon and Katy.
Archie Comics decided to revive the character themselves in 1983
, giving the character her own title by using reprint art of Woggon's as well as new art by Don Sherwood, Vince Colletta
, Hy Eisman
and Dan DeCarlo
.
After seeing Lucas's art in the Katy Keene Fan Magazine and receiving letters from fans encouraging them to do so, Archie contacted Lucas, asking him to do the art for the revived Katy Keene Fan Club, which included pens, lapel buttons, membership cards, notepads, T-shirts, and sweatshirts. Not long afterward, Archie brought Lucas on as regular Katy artist. During the 1980s, '90s and 2000s, Lucas carried on the Katy tradition with his comics, his annual Katy Keene Christmas Cards and Paper Dolls and paper doll
books from Hobby House Press.
In the early 1990s, Katy once again went into retirement, except for a 1994 appearance in The Punisher Meets Archie
.
issue. She then appeared in Archie & Friends Comics #101–#110. These ten stories were then compiled in a trade paperback, Katy Keene Model Behavior, in 2008.
or a young teen
and received the name Melissa, but was still almost always called "Sis". In the short-lived 2000s series, her given name was Mackenzie. No explanation for the name change was given, although it may be due to the 1980s name's obscurity. Regardless, her real name is almost never mentioned and to both readers and characters, she is always called "Sis".
Originally, the 1950s Katy was 21 years old and Sis was about seven years old. In subsequent series, Katy is roughly the same age, but Sis was reimagined as being around 15 and has been so ever since. By this point, Katy had already been discovered in college. After going to work as an aspiring Broadway star, she became very successful in her modeling and acting career, so she became her sister's legal guardian.
Katy has had many recurring boyfriends over the years, the most famous of which are the redheaded and muscular boxer K.O. Kelly and his rich blond rival Randy Van Ronson. They were not often seen regularly in the 1980s when Katy dated the Latino airline pilot and talented dancer Ramon Ramirez and the Arnold Schwarzenegger
parody Arnold Horsenlegger. However, K.O. and Randy became her main love interests again in the 2000s.
Katy's rival in her career and love life is the wealthy and snobby blonde Gloria Grandbilt and her best friend is the superstitious redhead Lucki Lorelei. Both Gloria and Lucki are also successful models, with the level-headed brunette Katy rounding out the trio.
Bill Woggon
William Woggon was an American cartoonist who created the comic book Katy Keene.Woggon was born the fourth of six children in Toledo, Ohio, and he grew up there. Fascinated by an art correspondence course that his older brother Elmer Woggon was taking, he became interested in drawing...
, has appeared in several comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series published by Archie Comics
Archie Comics
Archie Comics is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the Village of Mamaroneck, Town of Mamaroneck, New York, known for its many series featuring the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle and Jughead Jones. The characters were created by...
since 1945. She is a model/actress/singer known as America's Queen of Pin-Ups and Fashions.
Her comics were interactive in that readers were encouraged to submit original drawings of outfits and accessories for her and her friends to wear, as well as designs for automobiles, homes, interiors, rocket ships, trailers and boats. These designs were used in the comics with credit given to published submissions. Many issues featured paper doll
Paper doll
Paper dolls are figures cut out of paper, with separate clothes that are usually held onto the dolls by folding tabs. They have been inexpensive children's toys for almost two hundred years. Today, many artists are turning paper dolls into an art form....
s of Katy in various costumes.
Publication history
Katy Keene was introduced in Wilbur ComicsWilbur (comics)
Wilbur Comics was a comic book published from 1944 to 1965. The comic featured the fictional character Wilbur Wilkin, a contemporary of Archie. Wilbur Wilkin actually made his first appearance in Zip Comics #18, three months before Archie's first appearance. Wilbur also made appearances in several...
#5 in the summer of 1945, and appeared in subsequent issues of Wilbur and various anthology comic series in the 1940s including Archie
Archie Andrews (comics)
Archie Andrews, created in 1941 by Vic Bloom and Bob Montana, is a fictional character in an American comic book series published by Archie Comics, as well as the long-running Archie Andrews radio series, a syndicated comic strip, The Archie Show, and Archie's Weird Mysteries.-Character and...
, Jughead
Jughead Jones
Jughead Jones is a fictional character in Archie Comics who first appeared in the comic in December 1941. He is the son of Forsythe II; although in one of the early Archie newspaper comic strips, he himself is identified as Forsythe Van Jones II...
, Betty and Veronica and Ginger, eventually receiving her own title in 1949 which ran for 12 years. Specials such as Katy Keene Pin Up Parade and Katy Keene Fashion Book Magazine, Annuals and specials including Katy Keene Spectacular (1956), "Glamour" (1957) and Charm (1958) , continued through the 1950s, but the character was not seen for about 20 years after the early 1960s.
In the book From Girls to Grrrlz: A History of Women's Comics from Teens to Zines by Trina Robbins Katy Keene is called a Bettie Page
Bettie Page
Bettie Mae Page was an American model who became famous in the 1950s for her fetish modeling and pin-up photos. She has often been called the "Queen of Pinups"...
look-alike. "... but the resemblance ended there. Katy Keene was no bimbo and she had a good job (she was a movie star.)"
1980s revival
In 1979, with Archie's permission, Katy fan Craig Leavitt published the Katy Keene Fan Magazine, which ran 18 issues until 1983. Having been a lifelong fan of the character, John S. LucasJohn S. Lucas (comics)
John Sterling Lucas is an American graphic artist, cartoonist, and designer best known for his artwork on the Archie Comics' Character Katy Keene. Lucas became a professional cartoonist after emerging from the world of fandom.- Biography :...
's art was instrumental in the revival, as his work was featured in the magazine along with other artists' and fans' work. Several "Katy-Kons" (conventions) were held in Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
, and then later in conjunction with the San Diego Comic-Con celebrating Woggon and Katy.
Archie Comics decided to revive the character themselves in 1983
1983 in comics
-Events and publications:* Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird found Northampton, Massachusetts-based Mirage Studios.* Chicago-based First Comics makes a strong entree into the publishing field, putting out four ongoing titles, American Flagg!, E-Man, Jon Sable Freelance, and Warp!; featuring the talents...
, giving the character her own title by using reprint art of Woggon's as well as new art by Don Sherwood, Vince Colletta
Vince Colletta
Vincent Joseph Colletta was an American comic book artist and art director best known as one of industry legend Jack Kirby's frequent inkers during the 1950s-1960s period called the Silver Age of comic books...
, Hy Eisman
Hy Eisman
Hy Eisman is an American cartoonist who wrote and drew the Sunday strips The Katzenjammer Kids and Popeye. In December 2008, Eisman was the first to introduce the character of Bluto to the Popeye Sunday page...
and Dan DeCarlo
Dan DeCarlo
Daniel S. DeCarlo was an American cartoonist best known as the artist who developed the look of Archie Comics in the late 1950s and early 1960s, modernizing the characters to their contemporary appearance and establishing the publisher's house style...
.
After seeing Lucas's art in the Katy Keene Fan Magazine and receiving letters from fans encouraging them to do so, Archie contacted Lucas, asking him to do the art for the revived Katy Keene Fan Club, which included pens, lapel buttons, membership cards, notepads, T-shirts, and sweatshirts. Not long afterward, Archie brought Lucas on as regular Katy artist. During the 1980s, '90s and 2000s, Lucas carried on the Katy tradition with his comics, his annual Katy Keene Christmas Cards and Paper Dolls and paper doll
Paper doll
Paper dolls are figures cut out of paper, with separate clothes that are usually held onto the dolls by folding tabs. They have been inexpensive children's toys for almost two hundred years. Today, many artists are turning paper dolls into an art form....
books from Hobby House Press.
In the early 1990s, Katy once again went into retirement, except for a 1994 appearance in The Punisher Meets Archie
The Punisher Meets Archie
Archie Meets the Punisher, or The Punisher Meets Archie, was a one-shot comic book intercompany crossover published under two separate covers by Marvel Comics and Archie Comics, but with the same interior content. It featured the unlikely meeting of Marvel's murderous vigilante, the Punisher, and...
.
2005 reintroduction
Archie re-reintroduced Katy, now a high school student and aspiring model, in its 2005 Free Comic Book DayFree Comic Book Day
Free Comic Book Day is an annual promotional effort by the North American comic book industry to help bring new readers into independent comic book stores. Retailer Joe Field of in Concord, CA brainstormed the event in his "Big Picture" column in the August 2001 issue of Comics & Games Retailer...
issue. She then appeared in Archie & Friends Comics #101–#110. These ten stories were then compiled in a trade paperback, Katy Keene Model Behavior, in 2008.
Supporting cast
Katy has a redheaded, bespectacled younger sister. In the original Woggon 1950s series, Katy's sister was a mischievous child around seven years old and known only as "Sis, the Candy Kid". In the 1980s, she was drawn as a tweenTween (demographic)
A tween is a North American neologism that describes a person who is between the ages of 9 and 12 years old . The term is often described in popular media as referring to a pre-adolescent who is at the "in-between" stage in their development when they are considered "too old for toys, too young...
or a young teen
Adolescence
Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...
and received the name Melissa, but was still almost always called "Sis". In the short-lived 2000s series, her given name was Mackenzie. No explanation for the name change was given, although it may be due to the 1980s name's obscurity. Regardless, her real name is almost never mentioned and to both readers and characters, she is always called "Sis".
Originally, the 1950s Katy was 21 years old and Sis was about seven years old. In subsequent series, Katy is roughly the same age, but Sis was reimagined as being around 15 and has been so ever since. By this point, Katy had already been discovered in college. After going to work as an aspiring Broadway star, she became very successful in her modeling and acting career, so she became her sister's legal guardian.
Katy has had many recurring boyfriends over the years, the most famous of which are the redheaded and muscular boxer K.O. Kelly and his rich blond rival Randy Van Ronson. They were not often seen regularly in the 1980s when Katy dated the Latino airline pilot and talented dancer Ramon Ramirez and the Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
parody Arnold Horsenlegger. However, K.O. and Randy became her main love interests again in the 2000s.
Katy's rival in her career and love life is the wealthy and snobby blonde Gloria Grandbilt and her best friend is the superstitious redhead Lucki Lorelei. Both Gloria and Lucki are also successful models, with the level-headed brunette Katy rounding out the trio.