Patsy and Hedy

Patsy and Hedy is a comic book title featuring the character Patsy Walker originally published by Atlas [Comics (1950s)|Atlas Comics] beginning in 1952 and later by Marvel Comics.

Publication history

Created by writer Stuart Little and artist Ruth Atkinson, Patsy Walker first appeared in Miss America Magazine #2, published by Marvel precursor Timely Comics. 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, as well as in the spin-offs Patsy and Hedy, Patsy and Her Pals, and the single-issue A Date with Patsy.
Image:PatsyAndHedy72.jpg|thumb|The humor-comic version of Patsy in Patsy and Hedy #72, a spinoff of the flagship title Patsy Walker. Cover art by Al Hartley.
The first issue was published in with a cover date of February 1952, and was published by Atlas Comics until issue #76, while Marvel Comics continued the publication beginning with issue #77 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 and in its spin-offs, Patsy and Hedy and the single-issue A Date with Patsy.
Among the earliest work of Roy Thomas for Marvel included two issues of the teen-romance title Patsy and Hedy #104–105.
Patsy Walker lasted through issue #124, with Patsy and Hedy outlasting it to its own #110.
Writer Steve Englehart later introduced the concept of Walker as a superhero in the Beast feature in Amazing Adventures #13. Englehart recalled that Walker's cameo in Fantastic Four Annual #3 had:
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.