Millie the Model

The series ran 207 issues (cover-dated Winter 1945 to Dec. 1973),^[2] a 28-year span that included one of the first Marvel Comics annuals (in 1962),^[3] and spin-offs including A Date with Millie,^[4] Life with Millie,^[5] Mad About Millie^[6] and Modeling with Millie.^[7] At first a funny career-gal book about New York City model Millie Collins, it very quickly changed into a wider, more slapstick comedy, although for a time becoming a romantic adventure series with all the same characters (#113–153, March 1963 – Aug. 1967) before returning to humor.^[2] Both the trademarked cover title and the copyrighted title as per its postal indicia are Millie the Model Comics through issue #94; the cover title then becomes simply Millie the Model, although the copyrighted title did not change to match until issue #144.^[2]

The character was created by writer-artist Ruth Atkinson, one of the pioneering women cartoonists in comic books.^[8] Following this first issue, subsequent early stories were drawn mostly by Timely staffer Mike Sekowsky.^[2]

Millie the Model #151 (July 1967), during the humor series' four-year romance-comic iteration; cover art by Ogden Whitney.

The character's essential look, however, was the work of future Archie Comics's Dan DeCarlo, who would later create Josie and the Pussycats and other Archie icons. DeCarlo's 10-year run on the series, from #18–93 (June 1949 – Nov. 1959), was succeeded by the team of writer Stan Lee and artist Stan Goldberg, a.k.a. "Stan G.", the main Atlas/Marvel colorist at the time. Goldberg mimicked the house style DeCarlo set, and later went on to work with him at Archie, as did occasional Millie artist Henry Scarpelli. Al Hartley and Ogden Whitney provided an occasional cover.^[2]

The occasional backup feature included a four-page "Powerhouse Pepper" story by cartoonist Basil Wolverton in #9, and work by humorist Harvey Kurtzman in #8, 10–11, 13–14, & 16. Lee and Goldberg had Marvel artist and major industry figure Jack Kirby guest-star in a story in #107 (March 1962), though the image itself did not look like Kirby.^[2]

Millie became part of the Marvel Universe with Fantastic Four Annual #3 (1965), which chronicled the wedding of Reed Richards and Susan Storm. Fellow humor-comic stars Patsy Walker and Hedy Wolfe, among the sidewalk crowd outside, talk about wanting to catch a glimpse of celebrity Millie, whom they've heard is on the guest list. Alex Ross depicted her at the ceremony when he revisited the wedding in the 1990s miniseries Marvels.

She reappeared in the 1980s as an older character running her own modeling agency and minding her niece, the titular star of writer-artist Trina Robbins' Misty (Dec. 1985 – May 1986), from Marvel's children's-oriented Star Comics imprint.^[9] Millie has also appeared in the superhero comics The Defenders #65 (Nov. 1978); Dazzler #34 (Oct. 1985); The Sensational She-Hulk #60 (Feb. 1994); and in the kitschy flashback series The Age of the Sentry #3 (Jan. 2009).

Millie starred alongside Patsy Walker and Mary Jane Watson in a 23-page story "Un-enchanted Evening", by writer Paul Tobin and artist Colleen Coover, in King-Size Spider-Man Summer Special #1 (Oct. 2008). Millie stars in the four-issue miniseries Models, Inc. (Oct. 2009 – Jan. 2010).

Discover more about Publication history related topics

Romance comics

Romance comics

Romance comics is a comics genre depicting strong and close romantic love and its attendant complications such as jealousy, marriage, divorce, betrayal, and heartache. The term is generally associated with an American comic books genre published through the first three decades of the Cold War (1947–1977). Romance comics of the period typically featured dramatic scripts about the love lives of older high school teens and young adults, with accompanying artwork depicting an urban or rural America contemporaneous with publication.

Mike Sekowsky

Mike Sekowsky

Michael Sekowsky was an American comics artist known as the penciler for DC Comics' Justice League of America during most of the 1960s, and as the regular writer and artist on Wonder Woman during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Ogden Whitney

Ogden Whitney

John Ogden Whitney was an American comic-book artist and sometime writer active from the 1930s–1940s Golden Age of comics through the 1960s Silver Age. He is best known as co-creator of the aviator hero Skyman and of the superpowered novelty character Herbie Popnecker and his alter ego, the satiric superhero the Fat Fury. Whitney as well had long runs on characters as diverse as the Western masked crime-fighter the Two-Gun Kid, and the career-girl character Millie the Model.

Archie Comics

Archie Comics

Archie Comic Publications, Inc., is an American comic book publisher headquartered in Pelham, New York. The company's many titles feature the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle, Sabrina Spellman, Josie and the Pussycats and Katy Keene. The company is also known for its long-running Sonic the Hedgehog comic series, which it published from 1992 until 2016.

Dan DeCarlo

Dan DeCarlo

Daniel S. DeCarlo was an American cartoonist best known for having developed the look of Archie Comics in the late 1950s and early 1960s, modernizing the characters to their contemporary appearance and establishing the publisher's house style up until his death. As well, he is the generally recognized co-creator of the characters Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Josie and the Pussycats, and Cheryl Blossom.

Henry Scarpelli

Henry Scarpelli

Henry Scarpelli was an American comic book artist. His work won him recognition from the industry, including the Shazam Award for Best Inker in 1970, for his work on Date With Debbi, Leave It to Binky, and other DC comics, including the series based on the Margie television sit-com. He is also noted for his work for Archie Comics, including drawing the daily Archie comic strip for most of the 1990s and 2000s.

Al Hartley

Al Hartley

Henry Allan Hartley known professionally as Al Hartley, was an American comic book writer-artist known for his work on Archie Comics, Atlas Comics, and many Christian comics. He received an Inkpot Award at the 1980 San Diego Comic-Con.

Powerhouse Pepper

Powerhouse Pepper

Powerhouse Pepper is a character in American humor comic books published in the 1940s by Timely Comics, a predecessor of Marvel Comics. Created by writer-artist Basil Wolverton, the character was a dim-witted but big-hearted boxer with superhuman strength, who appeared in slapstick adventures. His titular feature debuted in the humor anthology Joker Comics #1 and would appear in many anthology titles in the 1940s. His final appearance came in Spring 1948.

Basil Wolverton

Basil Wolverton

Basil Wolverton was an American cartoonist and illustrator known for his intricately detailed grotesques of bizarre or misshapen people. Wolverton was described as "Producer of Preposterous Pictures of Peculiar People who Prowl this Perplexing Planet." His many publishers included Marvel Comics and Mad magazine.

Harvey Kurtzman

Harvey Kurtzman

Harvey Kurtzman was an American cartoonist and editor. His best-known work includes writing and editing the parodic comic book Mad from 1952 until 1956, and writing the Little Annie Fanny strips in Playboy from 1962 until 1988. His work is noted for its satire and parody of popular culture, social critique, and attention to detail. Kurtzman's working method has been likened to that of an auteur, and he expected those who illustrated his stories to follow his layouts strictly.

Jack Kirby

Jack Kirby

Jack Kirby was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew up in New York City and learned to draw cartoon figures by tracing characters from comic strips and editorial cartoons. He entered the nascent comics industry in the 1930s, drawing various comics features under different pen names, including Jack Curtiss, before ultimately settling on Jack Kirby. In 1940, he and writer-editor Joe Simon created the highly successful superhero character Captain America for Timely Comics, predecessor of Marvel Comics. During the 1940s, Kirby regularly teamed with Simon, creating numerous characters for that company and for National Comics Publications, later to become DC Comics.

Marvel Universe

Marvel Universe

The Marvel Universe is a fictional shared universe where the stories in most American comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Comics take place. Super-teams such as the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and many Marvel superheroes live in this universe, including characters such as Spider-Man, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk, Ant-Man, the Wasp, Wolverine, Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Daredevil, and Captain Marvel, Blade, Black Widow, Hawkeye, among numerous others. It also contains well-known supervillains such as Doctor Doom, Magneto, Ultron, Thanos, Loki, The Green Goblin, Kang the Conqueror, Red Skull, The Kingpin, Doctor Octopus, Carnage, Apocalypse, Dormammu, Mysterio, Electro, and the Vulture. It also contains antiheroes such as Venom, Namor, Deadpool, Silver Sable, Ghost Rider, The Punisher, and Black Cat.

Aspiring model Millie Collins of Sleepy Gap, Kansas, moves to New York. She meets photographer Clicker (originally Flicker) Holbrook who arranges an introduction at the Hanover Modelling Agency. She is hired as a model by the agency. At the start of the series her best friend was regular character Toni Turner; later on Toni became a recurring character, and her role as best friend and confidant was Daisy, the agency's wardrobe assistant. She becomes romantically involved with Clicker Holbrook. At one point, she shares an apartment on the East Side of Manhattan with Toni Turner. Near the end of the series, Millie and Daisy shared an apartment.

Throughout the series, redheaded model Chili Storm was Millie's friendly nemesis (Millie: "Sorry I'm late! I just got back from the salon!" Chili: "Too bad they didn't have time to take you!" Millie [ringing phone drawn in foreground]: "Oh, there's the phone". Chili: "Wow! I'll bet you can also identify doorbells and auto horns!"). When Millie wasn't around, however, Chili would sometimes speak up for her colleague. Chili starred in her own 1969–1973 spin-off series.^[10][11]

In addition to regular appearances by Millie, Chili, Clicker and Daisy, there were occasional appearances by Howard Hanover, Toni Turner, Marvin, Agnes Ames (in charge of Wardrobe at the modeling agency) and a colleague who helped with agency sets and maintenance, Chili's wealthy boyfriend Reginald Goldmine, and Miss Scrubbley. Very late in the series, Mr. Hanover had a daffy platinum-blonde assistant, Dolly. Millie's parents are Nancy and Henry Collins. She has one younger brother, Henry Collins Jr.

Discover more about Fictional character biography related topics

Toni Turner

Toni Turner

Toni Turner, President of Trendstar Trading Group, LLC, is a technical analyst as well as an educator and speaker in the financial arena. She is the author of the books: A Beginner’s Guide to Day Trading Online, 2nd Ed., A Beginner’s Guide to Short-term Trading, 2nd Ed., Short-Term Trading in the New Stock Market, and Invest to Win: Earn & Keep Profits in Bull and Bear Markets with the Gains Master Approach, co-authored with Gordon Scott, CMT. Her books have been translated into five languages.

East Side (Manhattan)

East Side (Manhattan)

East Side of Manhattan refers to the side of Manhattan which abuts the East River and faces Brooklyn and Queens. Fifth Avenue, Central Park from 59th to 110th Streets, and Broadway below 8th Street separate it from the West Side.

Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state of New York. Located near the southern tip of New York State, Manhattan is based in the Eastern Time Zone and constitutes both the geographical and demographic center of the Northeast megalopolis and the urban core of the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass. Over 58 million people live within 250 miles of Manhattan, which serves as New York City’s economic and administrative center, cultural identifier, and the city’s historical birthplace. Residents of the outer boroughs of New York City often refer to Manhattan as "the city". Manhattan has been described as the cultural, financial, media, and entertainment capital of the world, and hosts the United Nations headquarters. Manhattan also serves as the headquarters of the global art market, with numerous art galleries and auction houses collectively hosting half of the world’s art auctions.

Millie Collins has no superpowers. She is a talented model, actress, and businesswoman.^[12] Across the Millie the Model comic book series, Millie's beauty allows her to attract everyone's attention.

Critical reception

Jenna Anderson of Comicbook.com included Millie Collins in their "10 Marvel Studios Special Presentations We Still Want to See" list,^[13] while writing, "Beyond the narrative repercussions of telling the story of the MCU's Millie Collins, introducing her could further expand what the franchise is capable of. After years of complicated, male-gaze-friendly depictions of female heroines, Phase 4 of the MCU is gradually beginning to get more feminine. Not only is it putting more female characters in the spotlight, but it is giving them distinct approaches to their day-to-day life that go beyond half-hearted quips and inexplicably-perfect hairstyles — something that a modern take on characters like Millie and Chili could take that even further."^[14] Megan Nicole O'Brien of CBR.com ranked Millie Collins 6th in their "Marvel: 10 Best Golden Age Heroines" list.^[12] Comics Buyer's Guide ranked Millie Collins 90th in their "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list.^[15]

Volumes

Millie the Model - 1945

In 1968, the Millie the Model comic book series won an Alley Award for "Best Romance Comic" at the New York Comic Art Convention.^[16]

Jonathan Bagamery of CBR.com ranked the Millie the Model comic book series 1st in their "10 Best Romance Comics From Marvel Comics" list: "Despite what her rivals might think, the true reigning queen of romance at Marvel is Millie the Model. Ruth Atkinson, co-creator of Patsy Walker, designed Millie for Timely Comics in 1945. For nearly 30 years, Millie's long-running search for romance crossed multiple genres. The popular title spawned several spin-offs, including Life with Millie and Modeling with Millie. Iconic Archie artist Dan DeCarlo had an influential ten-year run on Millie the Model, and the series also featured art from Al Hartley and Stan Goldberg. When Millie ended in December 1973, her finale signaled the end of Marvel's romance boom. Millie and other beloved characters from the Golden Age occasionally make memorable appearances in Marvel's superhero titles. But the House of Ideas has never repeated its early success with tales of true love".^[17]

• A Date with Millie #1–7 (Oct. 1956 – Aug. 1957)
• A Date with Millie vol. 2, #1–7 (Oct. 1959 – Oct. 1960), continues as
  • Life With Millie #8–20 (Dec. 1960 – Dec. 1962), continues as
  • Modelling with Millie #21–54 (Feb. 1963 – June 1967)
• Mad about Millie #1–17 (April 1969 – Dec. 1970)
  • Mad about Millie Annual #1 (1971)
• Chili, Millie's Rival #1–26 (May 1969 – Dec. 1973)
  • Chili, Millie's Rival Special #1 (1971)
• Millie the Model Annual #1–10 (1962–1971), continues as
  • Queen-Size Millie the Model #11-12 (1974–1975)

15 Love

In 2003, Marvel's then-president, Bill Jemas, told the press there were plans to reimagine Millie as a 15-year-old tennis player for a comic-book series called 15 Love, to be targeted at teenaged girls. The possibility of a Millie movie was also mentioned at that time.^[18] 15 Love was eventually published in 2011. Written by Andi Watson, it featured Millie Collins' niece, Millie 'Mill' Collins, the lowest-ranking student at the Wayde Tennis Academy, who is about to lose her scholarship and must convince her aunt and others not to give up on her. It ran for three issues, with each as a double-sized 56-page story.^[19]

• A 1986 Off-Broadway musical, Dial "M" For Model by John Epperson, inspired by Millie but not a direct adaptation, was staged at LaMaMa E.T.C. It featured the female impersonator Lypsinka as Mannequin St. Claire, a character based on Chili.^[20]