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Katy Keene

Katy Keene is a character created by Bill Woggon that has appeared in several comic book series published by Archie Comics since 1945. She is a model/actress/singer marketed by the publisher as "America's Queen of Pin-Ups 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 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 dolls of Katy in various costumes.

Katy Keene was introduced in Wilbur Comics #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. 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).

In Winter 1979–1980 Katy fan Craig Leavitt began publishing—with Archie Comics' permission—a fanzine 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, and then later in conjunction with 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. 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 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 re-reintroduced Katy, now a high school student and aspiring model, in its 2005 Free Comic Book Day 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).

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