Dell Comics (1962-1963)

Color comic book page. On a full-page panel, Blonde ponytail Barbie swings by her knees from a trapeze high above a circus ring. Far below, a man in top hat and tails, brandishing a whip, announces her. The scene is peppered with colorful dots of different sizes, possibly balloons but more likely abstractions. — Barbie and Ken #3, May-July 1963. via Three Palms Vintage on eBay.

From May of 1962 to August of ’63, Dell Comics released a 5-issue run of “Barbie and Ken” comic books. Contemporaneous with the Random House chapter books, the comics introduce a different vision of Barbie. Whereas the chapter books’ protagonist was a high school student, the comics’ Barbie is an adult with numerous careers: flight attendant, newspaper reporter, nurse, dental assistant, nightclub singer, circus performer, ballerina, meteorologist, and more. (Ken, meanwhile, is television producer, nightclub-owning songwriter/pianist, dentist, surgeon…)

3 color comic book panels. Barbie assumes various poses in front of a vague map of the US, sometimes with TV cameras in frame. Word bubbles indicate that Barbie is the TV station's new weather girl. In one panel, Barbie points at a large blue arrow on the map and says, "This arrow shows that a lot of cold air is going to be here tonight." She wears a dress that looks like Movie Date but in green with darker stripes.

Where the chapter books show her learning from her mistakes, sometimes prone to doubt and insecurity, in the comics she is assured, unerring and impossibly talented–though she accepts compliments very graciously.

Color comic book panel titled "Barbie's Theatre Group." Blonde bubble cut Barbie sits in the foreground wearing a pak polka-dot sheath in red, directing a community theatre group, She tells the actors on stage to "try that scene again, and this time put a little more zip into it." On stage, the actors respond: "Anything you say, Barbie." "Gosh, Barbie, I wish you'd come up here and show me how to do it properly."

Black-and-white comic book panel shows dark-hair bubble cut Barbie with "an exhibition of her work in a big art gallery." Facing what appears to be a sculpture of a dead tree, a man says "It's one of the best things I've ever seen, Barbie. I'd like to buy it!!" Barbie responds, "That's wonderful, Mr. Reed! You make me very proud!"

Everywhere she goes she is praised, and nothing can function without her. When she covers the fashion beat for a local newspaper, assistant Midge comes by to have her check some illustrations–but Barbie also drew the illustrations. And aren’t they lovely?

Two color comic book panels. Dark-haired Midge in Movie Date, dark-haired bubble cut Barbie in a red version of Sorority Meeting, and a Barbie Fan Club member, Gretchen, look at fashion sketches in an office setting. In the first panel Midge says "Barbie, I wanted you to see these illustrations for the new fashion advertisement..." and is introduced as Barbie's assistant/ In the second panel, Midge says, "Barbie drew these illustrations. Aren't they lovely? She's really as good a fashion artist as anyone around." Barbie demurs, but the Fan insists the sketches are "terrific." The sketches appear to be Career Girl and a full-skirted evening gown with wrap or wide collar a la Sophisticated Lady.

Later, when she goes to report on a fashion show, the designer asks Barbie to model for her.

Brunette bubble cut Barbie wears Senior Prom on a low stage with curtain backdrop and nearby full-length mirror, all resembling Barbie's Fashion Shop. In the foreground Midge, still in Movie Date, takes photographs. Barbie says she hopes she's worthy of the gown. The fashion designer character, Madame Carla, says, "It is Magnifique! Exactly as I pictured it! Barbie, you are a living angel! I do with you would come and model for me all the time!" The fan club member says, "Isn't she gorgeous, Midge? A pure dream!" and Midge agrees with about five exclamation points.

Despite all her poise and accomplishments, she relies on strange children to choose her furniture.

Color comic book panel. Brunette bubble cut Barbie in Sheath Sensation (hat included) sits with a fan club member on a couch in a showroom. Barbie says, "This is a terrific couch, Margie! It's so soft and comfortable! It will go beautifully in my new living room!" Margie responds, "I thought you'd like it, I just hope it isn't too expensive!"

Color comic book panel. Yet another fan club member, Nancy, gestures to a desk, saying, "How do you like this desk, folks? I think it's even nicer than the other one! And I happen to know you can buy it very reasonably!" Blonde bubble cut Barbie in Let's Dance and Ken both agree enthusiastically.

The children are all members of the Barbie Fan Club; each episode is set within a framing device of club members describing the time that they met Barbie. The best explanation for her reliance on the tastes of children, as well as her abundance of careers, is that the stories are all made up. In the first issue one of the children even admits her story was a dream; but does that admission strengthen or undermine the conclusion that the rest are fabrications, too?

Anyway, let’s talk illustrations, which are in a standard midcentury comic style. Outside of the fashion booklets, the comics are probably unmatched in density of character renderings–even the coloring books did not need multiple Barbies per page. Perhaps it’s a consequence of the need for mass illustrations that their quality varies so much. At times Barbie looks lovely, as the text insists.

Two color comic book panels. The first shows Barbie doing her weather report on a black-and-white TV screen. The caption says, "She looks just as lovely on TV as she does in person!" In the second panel, Blonde bubble cut Barbie, back in green Movie Date, greets her fan, Mavis, after the broadcast. In both frames the drawings of Barbie look pretty, her facial features symmettic.

At other times her features are mismatched.

Three color comic book panels depict how fan club member Lynn met Barbie (blonde ponytail in After Five) and Ken in England. Two close-up views of Barbie both misplace her face relative to her head. In the first her face is angled down more than her head, leaving a large area of forehead below the bands and compressing her mouth toward her chin. In the second her head is tilted up and to the side but her face is angled more toward the viewer. The plot-related note below the image refers to a panel in which Ken says, "We're travelling with Barbie's Aunt Sue."

(A note on the story and Barbie’s virtue: as Ken is quick to clarify, the unwedded couple don’t just go gallivanting about Europe together; Barbie’s aunt, though absent from the action, chaperones them. In the episode where Barbie buys furniture for her new home it’s revealed that Barbie’s mother lives there with her. Dell’s Barbie is unquestionably a “nice” girl.)

Sometimes the illustration quality even varies from frame to frame, as in these excerpts from “The Barbie Fashion Show,” a local TV broadcast:

Four narrow color panels showing Barbie in Solo in the Spotlight, After Five, and Garden Party, and alternating from a pleasant and symmetric appearance to one image where her lops are overdrawn and a dark mark gives her eye a sort of evil look, leading to an overall Joker-ish quality; and another where she has two very different eyes and stands before a red curtain wearing After Five and saying, "This hat is a Mr. Bob creation."

Making that face, before that curtain, while referencing Mr. Bob… it’s all a little too Twin Peaks!

You may have noticed by now that the panels are also chock full of legit Mattel-designed Barbie fashions. We’ve glimpsed Senior Prom, Solo in the Spotlight, Sheath Sensation, After Five, Movie Date, and more. Since the whole series rolled out over approximately one year, there are a lot of fashion repeats: we were happy to see our namesake fashion, Silken Flame, worn by Barbie, Midge, and an unknown model at Madame Carla’s salon.

Color color comic book panel at Madame Carla's salon. Models parade by in Silken Flame (in its original hues), Theatre Date (blue dress with white bolero), and Fashion Queen swimsuit and headscarf (in black and white stripes). The Silken Flame model's head is obscured by word bubbles.

Midge dons Silken Flame to praise Barbie’s largely-unsung glory.

Black-and-white comic book panel. Brunette bubble cut Barbie in a pak knit sheath says, "You'll be a knockout in that dress, Midge." Midge, in Silken Flame before a 3-pane mirror, says, "If I look half as pretty as you, Barbie, then I'll be satisfied!" The backdrop of the scene consists of floor-to-ceiling draperies and black-and-white tiled floor.

Barbie is at her most human getting weak-kneed over piles of money in a Monte Carlo casino, wearing Silken Flame in a de Stijl-influenced color scheme.

Color comic book panel. Caption indicates that the characters are visiting a casino at Monte Carlo. Blonde ponytail Barbie wears a Silken Flame version with black bodice, wide blue belt, and full red skirt. With a faroff expression on her face she says, "Look at all that money." Lynn's mother says, "By the end of the evening, there will be some new millionaires and some new poor people in this room. Ken responds, "But I won't be one of them. The say 'lucky in love, unlucky at gambling.' I'm satisfied just the way things are."

Ken’s satisfied. Is Barbie?

In issue #2 Barbie spends much of the first episode wearing a red-colored Cotton Casual version; then in the second episode she puts on her “new party dress,” which is Cotton Casual in blue!

Color comic book panel. Blonde ponytail Barbie wears a strapless, full-skirted dress of narrow horizontal red and black stripes, and leans into a phone booth. Caption reads, "Then Barbie called Peggy... and Ken called Tommy. If only they would both accept the invitations!"

Color comic book panel. Caption reads, "Ken went home and came back, wearing his new suit... and Barbie put on her new party dress. Now everything was ready for the guests to arrive..." Barbie stands at the front door of a suburban-looking home, wearing the same dress but in blue and black. Block letters say DING DONG over the door and Barbie's speech bubble reads, "And not a moment too soon."

Despite our focus on hand-drawn illustration in this blog, our favorite images from this series are actually the doll photography used for the covers:

Color comic book covers feature posed and photographed Barbie and Ken. L: Blonde bubblecut Barbie in Sweater Girl carries a red hatbox, while Ken carries the American Airlines travel bag, before a row of solid colored pictures reading Spain, Italy, France, and England in green, yellow, pink, and blue, with figures or architecture sketched for each nation. C: dark blonde or reddish Barbie in Tennis, Anyone? and Ken in his tennis duds stand on either side of a net, both facing forward with Barbie leaning back against the net and Ken. Ken holds two rackets and looks slightly down toward Barbie. R: Barbie in the dress from Sophisticated Lady and Ken in tuxedo stand at a microphone with a red curtain behind. Each cover is titled "Barbie and Ken." — Dell Barbie and Ken issues 2, 4 and 5 covers via eBay.

Worth framing. But that’s probably enough on the vintage comics, given that there were only five issues and the art style was pretty consistent throughout. Before we go, I hope you’ll appreciate Barbie’s midcentury couch, coffee table and “cheese” dip:

Three color comic book panels show blonde ponytail Barbie (in Friday Night date but with horizontal stripes), Ken, and fan club member Donna preparing for a party. The sofa is a massive blue, curved, wraparound style, while the table is a glass, amoeba-shaped top on 3 wooden legs with boomerang contours. In the last panel, Lynn says, "Is that the cheese dip you're making now, Barbie?" Barbie's speech bubble says, "Yes, but strangely enough, I don't use cheese. I use sour cream, and just add some of this dried onion soup mix... then just stir." The image is mostly of Barbie's hands pouring dried soup mix into a bowl with sour cream, and a bit of the back of the fan's head.

Where to next? This post is about vintage Barbie illustrations. Our most popular post in the category is on Mattel fashion booklets. The most recent post in the category is on miscellaneous crafts and hobbies. Other popular posts on this site include the Many Abodes of Barbie series (currently covering 1962-1970) and our Chronicle of Barbie shoes, 1959-67. Or just head up to the Table of Contents to see more options.

Dell Comics (1962-1963)

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