Patsy and Hedy is a comic book title featuring the character Patsy Walker originally published by Atlas Comics beginning in 1952 and later by Marvel Comics.
Publication history
[edit]Created by writer Stuart Little and artist Ruth Atkinson, Patsy Walker first appeared in Miss America Magazine #2 (cover-dated November 1944), published by Marvel precursor Timely Comics.[1][2] Redheaded Patsy Walker, her parents Stanley and Betty, her boyfriend Robert "Buzz" Baxter, and her raven-haired friendly rival Hedy Wolfe appeared from the 1940s through 1967 in issues of Miss America, Teen Comics, Girls' Life, and the namesake teen-humor series Patsy Walker,[3][4] as well as in the spin-offs Patsy and Hedy,[5] Patsy and Her Pals,[6] and the single-issue A Date with Patsy.[7]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4d/PatsyAndHedy72.jpg/220px-PatsyAndHedy72.jpg)
The first issue was published in with a cover date of February 1952, and was published by Atlas Comics until issue #76 (June 1961), while Marvel Comics continued the publication beginning with issue #77 (August 1961) with an Annual #1 in 1963.
As Timely segued into Atlas Comics, Marvel's 1950s predecessor, Al Hartley made his mark with a more than decade-long run on the Patsy Walker teen-girl titles. With writer-editor Stan Lee, Hartley chronicled the redheaded high schooler's lightly comic adventures in her namesake series (which ran through 1964) and in its spin-offs, Patsy and Hedy (which ran through 1967) and the single-issue A Date with Patsy (Sept. 1957).[9]
Among the earliest work of Roy Thomas for Marvel included two issues of the teen-romance title Patsy and Hedy #104–105 (Feb.–April 1966).
Patsy Walker lasted through issue #124 (Dec. 1965),[10] with Patsy and Hedy outlasting it to its own #110 (Feb. 1967).[11]
Writer Steve Englehart later introduced the concept of Walker as a superhero in the Beast feature in Amazing Adventures #13 (July 1972).[12] Englehart recalled that Walker's cameo in Fantastic Four Annual #3 had:
"struck my fan's eye by including her in the Marvel Universe. ... I thought it would be cool to bring her in as a real character, with things to do. Part of my 'training' as a Marvel writer was writing romance stories and Westerns, but Patsy [Walker] was defunct as a comic by the time I got there. ... Still, as a fan, I had collected everything Marvel, including Patsy Walker and Patsy and Hedy ... so I knew them as characters."[13]
The Annual was reprinted in the "Women of Marvel: Celebrating Seven Decades" collection in 2011, while several issues were reprinted in the "Marvel Months" series beginning in 2021.
References
[edit]- ^ "Miss America Magazine #v1#2". Grand Comics Database. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
- ^ "Why Patsy Walker is one of the most important characters in the Marvel Universe". Popverse. 2022-05-23. Retrieved 2022-10-29.
- ^ Brevoort, Tom; DeFalco, Tom; Manning, Matthew K.; Sanderson, Peter; Wiacek, Win (2017). Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History. DK Publishing. p. 31. ISBN 978-1465455505.
- ^ "Patsy Walker (Marvel, 1945 series)". Grand Comics Database. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
- ^ "Patsy and Hedy (Marvel, 1952 series)". Grand Comics Database. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
- ^ "Patsy and Her Pals (Marvel, 1953 series)". Grand Comics Database. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
- ^ "A Date With Patsy (Marvel, 1957 series)". Grand Comics Database. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
- ^ Stan Lee (w), Al Hartley (p), Al Hartley (i). Patsy and Hedy, no. 72 (Oct. 1960). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Al Hartley at the Grand Comics Database
- ^ Al Hartley (w), Al Hartley (p), Sol Brodsky (i). Patsy Walker, no. 124 (Dec. 1965). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Denny O'Neil (w), Al Hartley (p), Mike Esposito (i). Patsy and Hedy, no. 110 (Feb. 1967). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Steve Englehart (w), Tom Sutton (p), Frank Giacoia (i). "Evil Is All in Your Mind!" Amazing Adventures, vol. 2, no. 13 (July 1972). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Miller, Jonathan (May 2010). "Beware the Claws of Patsy Walker: The Hellcat Cometh". Back Issue!. No. #40. TwoMorrows Publishing.