Bill Woggon

Bill Woggon was an American cartoonist born on January 1, 1911, in Toledo, Ohio, the fourth of six children. He passed away on March 2, 2003. He is best remembered as the creator of Katy Keene, the fashion-forward comic book character who became a beloved fixture in American comics.

Woggon's introduction to drawing came indirectly through his older brother Elmer, whose art correspondence course sparked Bill's own enthusiasm for the craft. By the age of sixteen he had already turned that interest into employment, working as a commercial artist for a department store before moving on to the Toledo Blade, the same newspaper where Elmer worked.

His professional comics career proved remarkably versatile. Over the course of his active years he contributed as artist, inker, letterer, and writer across more than 160 issues, with his work appearing in titles such as Katy Keene Comics, Katy Keene Fashion Book Magazine, Katy Keene Pin-up Parade, Pep Comics, Suzie Comics, and Laugh Comics. Katy Keene herself stood apart from other comic characters of the era largely because readers were invited to submit fashion designs that Woggon would incorporate into the strip, creating an unusually interactive relationship between creator and audience. That participatory quality gave the title a devoted following and secured Woggon's place as a distinctive voice in mid-twentieth-century American comics.