More Cute Girlie Stuff: Katy Keene Paper Doll Reprise

The most popular Out of This World blog post for a long time time was actually about paper dolls in comics. I made a one-off post about this topic as a 'thank you' to a fellow blogger who was very kind enough to allow me to use her scan of a newspaper comic strip for a project I was working on. Since then, paper doll fans have been among my most frequent visitors. So I thought it was about time I followed up on that success with some more paper dolls. In today's post I'm using other people's scans that have been passed on to me, and they are all from various Katy Keene issues from the original series and annuals. In the next post I'll be featuring some Millie the Model and Patsy Walker paper dolls from my own collection.

Katy Keene was published by Archie Comics. Katy Keene is something of a phenomenon. Bill Woggon has that 'good girl' look just right, with Katy sort of somewhere between Fritzi Ritz and Torchy. So here's a selection of material from some classic Katy Keene comics - wedding dresses, some covers, a cool beatnik story, and of course, lots of paper dolls! Enjoy!

First here's the story from the beatnik issue:

 

 

Next, some examples of those word and picture narratives that were frequently included in Katy Keene comics. This first one is again from Katy Keene 50:

and this one is from Katy Keene Annual 3:

and this from Katy Keene 45:

Now some paper dolls. From Katy Keene 62:

and this one from Katy Keene 50:

Here's a bunch from Katy Keene Annual 3:

and Katy Keene Annual 4:

Some really old ones, from Katy Keene 16:

and finally (for the paper dolls in this post), I don't know if these aprons are supposed to be paper dolls but I'll put them here anyway, from Katy Keene 45:

Katy Keene (the character) is a model and movie star, pretty much like Millie the Model and other 'model' characters in girls' comics from the Golden and Silver Age. Katy Keene comics have tons of fashion features and reader participation in providing ideas and designs. As an example, here's some Katy Keene wedding dresses, from Katy Keene Annual 3:

from Katy Keene 16:

and Katy Keene Annual 4:

Well that's pretty much it for this one. I found that an interesting jaunt through some of Bill Woggon's Katy Keene artwork, and I hope you all enjoyed it too. Paper dolls seem to have quite an incredible following, so I hope some of those fans stumble across this post. Paper dolls are an interesting piece of culture, and it heartens me to know that there are people dedicated to preserving and perpetuating them for future generations to appreciate and enjoy. Until next time, hopefully you'll think these paper dolls are Out of This World!

 

I <3 Katy Keene!?

Really Cute Girlie Stuff: Elizabeth Berube

I rediscovered Elizabeth Berube's beautiful work for DC back in 2005 when I was going through my collection for material to post on my old 'Romance Comic Reading Room'. Over the last couple of years I've noticed Jacque Nodell write a few posts on Sequential Crush featuring Elizabeth Berube and her work, so for my post today I just wanted to bring all of that together for those who might be interested in this wonderful artwork and the person behind it. When I look at Elizabeth Berube's work I see a kind of Alphonse Mucha, Art Nouveau influence that fits with the time Ms Berube was working on this material, as that style was enjoying a revival of popularity in the late 60s/early 70s scene. Noteworthy is the inclusion of minority characters in some of these pieces. So here's those pages I scanned back in 2005 from some DC romance books, image-edited to hopefully get them looking at their best, plus links to all of Jacque's posts, including her interview with the lovely lady herself:

First here's the existing Sequential Crush posts that feature Elizabeth Berube:

Artist Spotlight: Elizabeth Berube

Sequential Elizabeth Story

Fashion Files: Beauty on a Budget – Woollies

Special Announcement: Appearance by ElizabethBerube

Winter Forecast Horoscope

Fashion Files: Legs by Liz Berube

Interview with Elizabeth Berube

Now here's some samples of the different kinds of features Elizabeth drew for DC romance comics, beginning with a contents page from Falling in Love 142:

Next here's a selection of horoscope pages, starting with the Fashion Horoscope from Girls' Love Stories 147:

 

Pisces from Young Love 79:

Cancer from Young Love 121:

Leo from Young Love 121

And some horoscope double page spreads, first from Young Love 121:

and from Young Love 123:

Beauty on a Budget was a fairly regular feature in late 60s/early 70s DC romance books. First example from Girls' Love Stories 151:

Next from Girls' Love Stories 175:

And Girls' Romances 152:

Plus Young Love 119:

Not to mention Young Love 121:

Finally some examples of less frequent or one-off features drawn by Elizabeth Berube. From Young Love 121, a request to readers to send in their fashion designs:

A 'how to' page giving ideas for making decorations, in Young Love 120:

And a similarly themed 'Hip Hints' page from Girls' Romances 151:

And last of all (for this post), a charming 'Dating IQ' questionnaire from Girls' Love Stories 158:

That's all for now, but revisiting these pages has inspired me to search for more, so don't be surprised to find more of the beautiful Elizabeth Berube's beautiful work on Out of This World. Next up - stay tuned for more cute girlie stuff - some more comic book paper dolls!