Hey Katy Perry, comic book character KATY KEENE just called, she wants her look back. Katy Keene, who was also known as "America's Queen of Pin-Ups and Fashions," made her first appearance in
Wilbur Comics #5, a comic book that was published by Archie Comics. The same publisher that produced comics with Riverdale's most popular citizens: Archie, Jughead, Betty and Veronica. In 1949, Katy Keene received he own title, which ran for 12 years. At times she was a singer, a model and even a movie star. What made her comic unique, was that fans were encouraged to submit designs for clothes and various other props that characters would wear or use. The character didn't appear in a comic for 20 years, but she did have an 80's revival.
Even though Katy Keene has been in retirement for the past few decades, outside of a few short stints, she seems to have one very influential fan... Katy Perry. Over the past few years, people started to notice some striking similarities between Katy Perry and Katy Keene, but it only started to gain some real traction in the past few weeks. This was first brought to my attention by a recent
Buzzfeed article. You can check out lots of images below and compare for yourself.
On a personal note, it certainly seems that Katy Perry's fashion sense is
inspired by Katy Keene, but none of her outfits are perfect copycats. It would be nice if she would acknowledge the comic for inspiring her outrageous looks, but she doesn't have anything to apologize for. By the way, look at the image to the right. Notice that the guy on the cover sitting with Katy Keene's sister is named Perry. I bring this up because Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson is Katy Perry's real name but she changed it because Goldie Hawn's daughter, Kate Hudson, already had dibs on it. Maybe that's where the pop singer came up with her new last name?
Additional credits to
Joshwatchintv, Atrl.net, Fotpforums.com, and
HitFix.