Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: Dan DeCarlo, stan lee

Dan DeCarlo and Stan Lee's 1950s Series My Girl Pearl, Up for Auction

Created by Dan DeCarlo and Stan Lee, was My Girl Pearl's Mrs. Lumpkin the mother of Fantastic Four mailman Willie Lumpkin?

After a successful 46-issue stretch that saw the comic book series outlast every other part of the radio/tv/movie franchise, Marvel's licensed comic book title My Friend Irma ended its run on the newsstands in October 1954.  Stan Lee and Dan DeCarlo immediately continued My Friend Irma's theme of the misadventures of a beautiful but ditzy blonde and her sensible brunette roommate with a new title, My Girl Pearl.  Pearl Dimly worked as a secretary for advertising exec Mr. Wortle, whose son Junior repeatedly professed his undying love for her — much to the annoyance of the company receptionist Daphne.  Sadly for Junior, Pearl preferred the company of cab driver Flash Grogan.  Pearl lived in an apartment building owned by Mrs. Lumpkin, with her roommate Nan Smith.  From this basic set-up, My Girl Pearl continued the steady stream of silly gags and situation comedy that had carried My Friend Irma for five years.

But it was largely Dan DeCarlo's lively, cartoony line and the pretty charm with which he drew the lead character Pearl that made the series work.  DeCarlo had been a mainstay on similar humor titles at Marvel/Atlas for around six years at this point, most notably on Millie the Model.  Of course, the artist would become legendary for the style that came to define the look of Archie Comics by the end of the 1950s.

Unfortunately, My Girl Pearl would not enjoy the same success that My Friend Irma had achieved.  The series debuted during an uncertain time in the comic book business, as issue #1 hit newsstands in the first month that the Comics Code seal appeared on Marvel covers.  There were early signs that the series might be in trouble as the cast of characters was changed after the first few issues.  The title was also published sporadically, with issues #1-4 cover-dated 1955, issues 5 and 6 cover-dated 1957, and issues #7-11 cover-dated 1960-1961.  During that final era, the series became a teen humor title, with the characters recast as high schoolers, as Stan Goldberg took over most of the artwork.  And unfortunately, the most important question that the series posed was left unanswered:  was Mrs. Lumpkin the mother of infamous mailman Willie Lumpkin?  Lee and DeCarlo would collaborate on the Willie Lumpkin newspaper strip 1959-1961, and the character would be integrated into the Marvel Universe as the Fantastic Four's mailman, even making it into the 2005 Fantastic Four film, played by Lee.

My Girl Pearl #5 seems to be the toughest issue of the run, with zero copies of the issue in the census. Still, you can get that one and several other issues of the series in the 2023 April 20 Timeless Good Girl Art Comics Featuring Dan DeCarlo Showcase Auction #40221 at Heritage Auctions.

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