Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: golden age, millie the model

The Debut of Millie Collins in Millie the Model Comics #1, at Auction

Likely the most famous Marvel character outside of its superhero universe, Millie the Model debuted in 1945, created by Ruth Atkinson.

Published Thu, 20 Apr 2023 11:27:09 -0500

by Mark Seifert

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Millie Collins, better known as Millie the Model, is likely Marvel's most famous character outside its superhero universe. Created by writer-artist Ruth Atkinson, Millie the Model Comics debuted with a Winter 1945 cover-dated issue and ran for an impressive 207 issues until its final release in December 1973. Atkinson wrote and drew several of the Millie stories of the debut issue which had a cover by Mike Sekowsky and Atkinson. An iconic character and one of the most important in Marvel's history, there's a Millie the Model #1 (Marvel, 1945) Condition: GD up for auction in the 2023 April 20 Timeless Good Girl Art Comics Featuring Dan DeCarlo Showcase Auction #40221 at Heritage Auctions.

The debut issue tells the story of how Millie Collins won a beauty pageant in the small town of Barberton, which led her to travel to New York City with her friend Marge to work for the Hanover Modeling Agency. Longtime romantic interest Flicker Holbrook (later renamed Clicker), an employee of Larry Hanover at the agency, is also introduced in this issue. After that debut issue, artists such as Ken Bald and Pete Riss provided the artwork for many of the early Millie stories, but the character's iconic look was developed by future Archie Comics artist Dan DeCarlo, who gave Millie her distinct visual identity in a ten year run on the title from issues #18–92 (June 1949 – September 1959). After that, artist Stan Goldberg took over as the title's regular artist for a run that continued into the mid-1960s.

The popularity of Millie the Model led to the creation of several spin-off titles, including A Date with Millie, Life with Millie, Mad About Millie, and Modeling with Millie. During the late Golden Age, the character eventually surpassed the popularity of Tessie the Typist to take over the covers of humor anthologies such as Joker Comics, Gay Comics, and Comedy Comics. In 1965, Millie made a quiet entry into the Marvel Universe with her appearance in Fantastic Four Annual #3. Millie's longtime rival model Chilli Storm got her own series at the dawn of the Bronze Age. The first appearance and origin of an iconic Marvel comic book character, there's a Millie the Model #1 (Marvel, 1945) Condition: GD up for auction in the 2023 April 20 Timeless Good Girl Art Comics Featuring Dan DeCarlo Showcase Auction #40221 at Heritage Auctions.