Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored | Tagged: forbidden planet, katy keene

Bill Woggon Channels Forbidden Planet for Katy Keene #62, at Auction

The last issue of the original Katy Keene series features a cover inspired by the movie poster for the 1956 film Forbidden Planet.

The creation of Bill Woggon, Katy Keene debuted in Wilbur Comics #5, a title which was part of Archie/MLJ's mid-1940s effort to continue to distance itself from the fading popularity of superheroes during the later Golden Age.  Originally depicted as a war-era pin-up model whose primary fanbase was American soldiers, by the time the character got her own series in 1949, she had evolved into more of a fashion model and aspiring actress.  The fashion aspect of the character became the driving force of her stories, as the Katy Keene series became famous for its reader-submitted fashion concepts, and Woggon's stories essentially tried to put Katy through as many outfit changes as possible to show them off.  This basic idea remained true throughout the lifespan of the series, with one small twist at the end in 1961.  There's a copy of that very last issue of Katy Keene #62 (Archie, 1961) Condition: VG+ up for auction in the 2024 June 16-18 Sunday, Monday & Tuesday Comic Books Select Auction #122425.

It's generally believed that the 1961 end of the Katy Keene series was brought about by the rising popularity of superheroes again at this time, which had already caused Archie to reenter the superhero business as well. Although it seems that Archie did not report sales figures for the title in 1960 or 1961, the rest of the publisher's teen humor line seems to have faired reasonably well against the DC Comics titles of that era.  The Katy Keene title does seem to have become somewhat more plot-driven over its final couple of years, sometimes using fewer reader-submitted costume concepts for the lead feature of the issue but apparently expanding to include other reader-submitted ideas. A flying saucer design used in the lead feature of issue #61 was submitted by a reader from Ohio, for example.

These trends were taken further in the final three issues, which all have science fiction cover themes and lead stories to match. It seems likely that this was an editorial mandate at the publisher, as science fiction-themed covers became practically dominant across the entire Archie teen humor line over the next several months and remained quite prevalent at Archie for the next year.

Woggon's cover for Katy Keene #62 is an obvious homage to the iconic movie poster of the 1956 film Forbidden Planet. According to the title page, a reader from Portland, Oregon, suggested the cover concept.  Woggon built a story around the idea, having scientists at the film studio Colossal Studios, where Katy had become a star, build this version of the famous Robby the Robot.  The customary mayhem ensues when Robby runs amok on the studio lot.  It's an iconic ending to an enduring series that is considered important today for encouraging the creativity of its readers, and there's a copy of that very last issue of Katy Keene #62 (Archie, 1961) Condition: VG+ up for auction in the 2024 June 16-18 Sunday, Monday & Tuesday Comic Books Select Auction #122425.

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