BARBIE "See You Later, Christmas Gator" Part 2: Special Delivery & Part 3: The Present

When Last We Left the World's Most Famous Fashion Doll...and Santa Claus...

 ...on Christmas Eve, Santa Claus runs into trouble when he's forced down over Florida by a tropical storm!

Luckily, Barbie is nearby...

Normally, we'd run Part 3 next week, but the chapters are so short, we're going to present it now...

Written by Angelo DeCesare, penciled by Mario Capaldi, and inked by John Lucas, this never-reprinted tale from Marvel's Barbie #50 (1995) was typical of the kool flights of fancy the series specialized in.

Barbie, and its' sister title Barbie Fashion, were two secret success stories for Marvel in the 1990s.

Because they weren't superhero titles, the hardcore (mostly male) fans never even noticed them, but the two books ran an impressive 63 and 53 issues respectively at a time when many titles lasted 12 issues...or less!

Next Week:

We're Not Sure Which Yultide Tale We'll Present!

But We Do Guarantee...

You'll Cry Your Eyes Out If You Miss It!

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Great Treasury of Christmas Comic Book Stories

BARBIE "See You Later, Christmas Gator" Part 1: the Journey Begins

Ah, a world where Santa Claus is real...

...that's my kind of place!

Written by Angelo DeCesare, penciled by Mario Capaldi, and inked by John Lucas, this never-reprinted tale from Marvel's Barbie #50 (1995) was typical of the kool flights of fancy the series specialized in.

Barbie, and its' sister title Barbie Fashion, were two secret success stories for Marvel in the 1990s.

Because they weren't superhero titles, hardcore, mostly male, fans never even noticed them, but the two books ran an impressive 63 and 53 issues respectively at a time when many titles lasted 12 issues or less!

Next Week:

The Poignant Conclusion to this Yuletide Tale!

You'll Cry Your Eyes Out If You Miss It!

And now a word from our sponsor...

Support True Love Comics Tales!

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Great Treasury of Christmas Comic Book Stories

She's NOT Barbie! She's BUNNY!

 Harvey's female teen character, Bunny, was a doll...literally!

1n 1966, a toy company wanted to launch a line of Barbie-type dolls, with the added kick of a comic book tie-in to boost public awareness!
Much like the way the 1980s GI Joe comic series was co-conceived by Hasbro and Marvel, Harvey's writers and artists worked with the toy company's staff on character development and storylines for the comic and toys.
Like most Harvey characters, Bunny had an ongoing obsession--in this case with teen fads and trends...clothing, dances, hairstyles, etc!
Presumably, this was to encourage doll buyers to pick up the newest clothing and accessories the manufacturer could produce after seeing them in the comic!
The proposed Bunny line also had what would have been the first African-American fashion doll character, her best friend Marcy, beating out Barbie's "Colored" Francie by a year!
Marcy was a major part of the comic series, including performing in an all-Black band called SOULar System which had it's own backup strip!
However, before a single doll could roll out of the factory, the toy company collapsed!
The Harvey family, deciding not to let the already-written and drawn pages go to waste, decided to publish the comic anyway.
It sold well enough to keep going for twenty 68-page issues from 1966 to 1971 and produce a one-shot spin-off, Harvey Pop Hits: Rock Happening, featuring the various musical groups introduced in the series!

Here's Bunny's never-reprinted "origin" tale from Harvey's Bunny #1 (1966).

Written by Warren Harvey (yes, one of the Harvey family who owned Harvey Comics), illustrated by Hy Eisman.

We previously ran a later Bunny story HERE, which, with its' thinly-masked drug references, was obviously not one of the original batch of pages done to tie-in with the proposed doll!

Next Month

We're going to spend August Having

FUN!

FUN!

FUN!

But not quite the way you think!

Be Here Next Week to Find Out!

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Archie's Rivals in Teen Comics

1940s-1970s

An Illustrated History

BARBIE & KEN "Wedding"

For girls of the late 1950s thru early 1970s, Barbie and Ken dolls were fashion icons...

...so it was inevitable that there would be a comic book about their adventures.

 But, as it turns out, Barbie and Ken were secretly married the entire time!

It's true!

Here's the story from Dell Comics' Barbie & Ken #1 (1962)...

Surprised?

To be fair, the never-reprinted tale, illustrated by Norman Nodel, details the little girls in the Barbie Fan Club telling their own alleged experiences with Barbie and Ken...which are no doubt fantasies since they cover Barbie being a nurse, a ballerina, and a stewardess, as well as getting married!
Except...who is the kid going off with Patty?
As you might have guessed, Mattel had play sets (clothing and props) showing Barbie doing all those things!
BTW, note that Nodel deliberately kept both Barbie and Ken "on model", looking very much like the actual dolls...except they could bend their arms and legs (which the dolls couldn't do until the late 1960s)!

Next Week:

Another Never-Reprinted Story About Barbie!

You'll Cry Your Eyes Out If You Miss It!

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Barbie and Ruth

The Story of the World's Most Famous Doll and the Woman Who Created Her