Katy Keene is a character created by
Bill Woggon
William Woggon (January 1, 1911 – March 2, 2003) 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 ...
that has appeared in several
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
series published by
Archie Comics
Archie Comic Publications, Inc., is an American comic book publisher headquartered in Pelham, New York.[Pin-Up
A pin-up model (known as a pin-up girl for a female and less commonly male pin-up for a male) is a model whose mass-produced pictures see widespread appeal as part of popular culture. Pin-up models were variously glamour models, fashion models ...]
s and Fashions". 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 Mae Page (April 22, 1923 – December 11, 2008) was an American model who gained notoriety in the 1950s for her pin-up photos. look-alike. "... but the resemblance ended there.
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 dolls are figures cut out of paper or thin card, with separate clothes, also made of paper, that are usually held onto the dolls by paper folding tabs. They may be a figure of a person, animal or inanimate object. Paper dolls have been ine ...
s of Katy in various costumes.
Publication history
Katy Keene was introduced in ''
Wilbur 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 ...
'' #5 in the summer of 1945, and appeared in subsequent issues of ''Wilbur'' and various anthology comic series in the 1940s including ''
Archie
Archie is a masculine given name, a diminutive of Archibald. It may refer to:
People Given name or nickname
*Archie Alexander (1888–1958), African-American mathematician, engineer and governor of the US Virgin Islands
* Archie Blake (mathemati ...
'', ''
Jughead'', ''
Betty and Veronica'' and ''Ginger'', eventually receiving her own title in 1949. ''Katy Keene Comics'' ran for sixty-two issues, briefly cover titled ''Adventures of Katy Keene'' (#50–53) and simply ''Katy Keene'' (#54–62), until July 1961. It was accompanied by fifteen issues of ''Katy Keene Pin Up Parade'' (1955–1961) and thirteen issues (#1–2, 13–23) of ''Katy Keene Fashion Book Magazine'' (1955–1959), along with annuals and specials such as ''Katy Keene Spectacular'' (1956), ''Katy Keene Glamour'' (1957), ''Katy Keene Charm'' (1958), and ''Archie Giant Series Magazine''—cover titled ''Archie Giant Series Presents Katy Keene Holiday Fun''—#7 (1960) and #12 (1961).
1980s revival
In Winter 1979–1980 Katy fan Craig Leavitt began publishing—with Archie Comics' permission—a
fanzine
A fanzine (blend of '' fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleasure of others who share ...
which was initially titled ''Katy'', then became ''Katy – The Newsletter'' for issues #2–7, before finally becoming ''Katy Keene Magazine'', and which ran for 19 issues until 1985. Having been a lifelong fan of the character,
John S. Lucas'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 ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning " Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West ...
, and then later in conjunction with the
San Diego Comic-Con
San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is ...
celebrating Woggon and Katy.
Archie Comics decided to revive the character themselves in
1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...
, giving the character her own title by using reprint art of Woggon's as well as new art by
Don Sherwood Don Sherwood may refer to:
* Don Sherwood (politician) (born 1941), American politician
* Don Sherwood (DJ) (1925–1983), American radio personality
* Don Sherwood (cartoonist) (1930–2010), American cartoonist and illustrator
{{hndis, Sherwo ...
,
Vince Colletta,
Hy Eisman
Hy Eisman (born March 27, 1927) is an American cartoonist.
Comic Strips
He entered the comic strip field in 1950 and worked on several strips, including ''Kerry Drake'', ''Little Iodine'' and ''Bunny''. In comic books he was the last artist d ...
and
Dan DeCarlo
Daniel S. DeCarlo (December 12, 1919 – December 18, 2001) was an American cartoonist best known for having developed the look of Archie Comics in the late 1950s and early 1960s, modernizing the characters to their contemporary appearance and es ...
. It ran as ''Katy Keen Special'' from September 1983 to October 1984 (#1–6), and then simply as ''Katy Keene'' from December 1984 to January 1990 (#7–33). The first issue was released under the
Red Circle Comics imprint, after which the covers carried an "Archie Romance Series" imprint.
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 '80s, '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 dolls are figures cut out of paper or thin card, with separate clothes, also made of paper, that are usually held onto the dolls by paper folding tabs. They may be a figure of a person, animal or inanimate object. Paper dolls have been ine ...
books from Hobby House Press.
In the early 1990s, Katy once again went into retirement, except for a 1994 appearance in ''
Archie Meets the Punisher
''Archie Meets the Punisher'' or ''The Punisher Meets Archie'' is a one-shot (comics), one-shot comic book and intercompany crossover written by Batton Lash with art by Stan Goldberg, John Buscema, and Tom Palmer (comics), Tom Palmer. It was pub ...
''.
2005 reintroduction
Archie re-reintroduced Katy, now a high school student and aspiring model, in its 2005
Free Comic Book Day
Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) is an annual promotional effort by the North American comic book industry to attract new readers to independent comic book stores. It usually takes place on the first Saturday of May and is often cross-promoted wit ...
issue. She then appeared in ''Archie & Friends Comics'' #101–110, the stories from which were compiled in the trade paperback, ''Katy Keene: Model Behavior'' (2008).
New Riverdale
Katy Keene was re-reintroduced again in 2020 as part of the
New Riverdale line of comics. She first appeared in ''Archie & Katy Keene'', a four issue mini-series covering #710–713 within the ''Archie'' title. Keene, again a high school student, is an
Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
celebrity who moves to the city of Riverdale along with her teenaged younger sister, Sissy Keene.
Also in 2020, Keene was featured in ''Archie Comics 80th Anniversary Presents'' #8, which reprints stories from the original series.
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
tween 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 obscurity of the 1980s name. Regardless, her real name is almost never mentioned and to both readers and characters, she is always called "Sis". When Katy and her sister were re-introduced in 2020, her sister's name was revealed to actually be "Sis Keene", short for "Sissy Keene", instead of "Sis" just being a nickname like it previously was.
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 Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...
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 levelheaded brunette Katy rounding out the trio.
Reception
The character was ranked 57th in ''
Comics Buyer's Guide
''Comics Buyer's Guide'' (''CBG''; ), established in 1971, was the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry. It awarded its annual Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards from 1983 to circa 2010. The publ ...
's'' "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list. In 2014, comparisons were made between pop star
Katy Perry
Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her campy style, she has been referred to ...
and Katy Keene, but Perry denied basing any of her image or costumes on the character and expressed surprise at the apparent similarities.
Television adaptation
In August 2018,
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (born 1973) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and comic book writer best known for his work for Marvel Comics and for the television series '' Glee'', '' Big Love'', '' Riverdale'', '' Chilling Adventures of Sabrina' ...
,
Chief Creative Officer
A chief creative officer (CCO) is the highest ranking position of the creative team within a company. Depending on the type of company, this position may be responsible for the overall look and feel of marketing, media, and branding associated wit ...
of Archie Comics and creator of
The CW
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
television series ''
Riverdale'' revealed that a
spin-off
Spin-off may refer to:
*Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work
*Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity
* Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gov ...
of the series was in the works at the network. He said that the potential spin-off would be "very different from ''Riverdale''" and that it would be produced "in
he 2018–19development cycle."
On January 23, 2019, The CW issued an official pilot order for the potential series, titled ''Katy Keene'', that will reportedly follow "the lives and loves of four iconic Archie Comics characters — including fashion legend-to-be Katy Keene — as they chase their twenty-something dreams in New York City. This musical dramedy chronicles the origins and struggles of four aspiring artists trying to make it on Broadway, on the runway and in the recording studio."
Further reading
* ''The Spectacular Sisterhood of Superwomen: Awesome Female Characters from Comic Book History'' by Hope Nicholson, Quirk Books (2017)
References
External links
*
Archie Universe* Katy Keene, Archie Series Number
Katy Keeneat
Don Markstein's Toonopedia
Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...
Archivedfrom the original on November 17, 2015.
"Katy Keene, an American Diva,"Scoop (November 29, 2003)
"We're Keene on Katy,"Scoop
* Foley, Maureen
"Humble Man vs. the Diva: The Story of Cartoonist Bill Woggon,"Cherry Meltdown
* Foley, Maureen
Cherry Meltdown
* Robbins, Trina. (1999) ''From Girls to Grrrlz: A History of Women's Comics from Teens to Zines.'' San Francisco: Chronicle Book
* Spurgeon, Tom. "Obituary: Bill Woggon 1911-2003," ''The Comics Journal'' #252 (May 2003)
* Rolling Stone. "Katy Perry: I Didn't Base My Life on an Archie Comics Character
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Archie Comics titles
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1945 comics debuts
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Humor comics
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