I want to talk about a milestone from back when Marvel (like a lot of publishers) kind of shrugged their shoulders over anniversary issues as a “no big deal” thing: Millie the Model 100, from 1960. To understand things better, you have to look at both Marvel and the industry during the Silver Age.
First, publishers saw comics as perishable goods—like milk, or lettuce! They were more interested in making sure they survived as a publisher. The 1950s were horrible for publishers, and it’s practically a miracle that Marvel survived at all. In 1957, Marvel’s distributor went under, forcing the company to turn to DC as a publisher to stay in business. Marvel’s output was about 90%– considering the new deal meant Marvel was limited to around eight titles a month.
Millie the Model 100 came out about a year before Fantastic Four. A quick snapshot (thanks to Mike’s Amazing World!) shows there were three teen romance titles AND a Western that month. What newer fans don’t always realize is that before the age of heroes, titles like Millie and westerns—were Marvel’s bread and butter. Too often, I think these comics and creators get overlooked when talking about Marvel in the Silver Age.
Back to that 100th issue of Millie, it was Marvel’s longest-running title, starting back in 1945. And, with a name change in 1966 to Millie the Model Comics, it would go on until 1973. Millie wasn’t some quiet corner of the line—up through 1960, she was Marvel’s undisputed headliner. After the superhero crowd thinned out during the Golden Age, Millie the Model kept the lights on, proving the company could dominate in humor, fashion, and teen‑culture storytelling long before the capes came roaring back.
Again, this was a time when anniversaries didn’t matter all that much. But, cover tosses out a tiny hype blurb (“In this great collector’s item issue…” / “In answer to all your requests!”), The “special feature” was simply an origin vignette that showed how Millie first crossed paths with her frenemy, Chili Storm.
While the 100th issue can be found in some collections—that isn’t the case with most titles like Millie. You also get to see something that isn’t always fairly represented: Marvel doesn’t do a stellar job of archiving comics like Millie.
The art (and probably the colors, too!) is what some fans call the “Other Stan”—Stan Goldberg. I could talk about his multi-decade career for quite a few columns! Goldberg’s style was unique among artists, and he would later spend years at Marvel. But, outside of drawing titles, like Millie, he was the main colorist during the Silver Age. Many fans don’t know that, because the “colorist” credit didn’t appear until the 1970s. All those fantastically colored covers of the Fantastic Four. That was Goldberg!
With all the outsourcing Marvel is doing these days for hard-to-find comics, I hope someone in the future will collect more of the teen titles and those western comics. They are part of Marvel’s legacy, too! Something more fans need to know about when looking at how Marvel became what it is today.
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