Miss Beverly Hills of Hollywood #1

History

The issue went on sale January 24, 1949, under the National Comics Publications imprint, edited by Whitney Ellsworth, and was published on a bi-monthly schedule. It arrived at precisely the moment DC was broadly leaning into Hollywood cross-promotion — the same month Superman was guest-starring alongside film actress Ann Blyth in the main Superman title. Art and cover duties are attributed to Bob Oksner across multiple retailer and collector sources, though the Grand Comics Database lists interior script credits as unverified; Oksner had joined DC around 1947 when editor Sheldon Mayer recruited him off the newspaper strip Miss Cairo Jones, and Miss Beverly Hills was among his earliest original humor assignments at the publisher.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First appearance of Beverly Hills (the fictional aspiring actress), her boyfriend Will Shire, and her little sister Janie — the core cast of the entire nine-issue run.
• Issue #1 features a comedic story in which Beverly's car breaks down on the set of a western being filmed by real-life Paramount star Alan Ladd, who ultimately offers to put in a good word for her at the studio.
• The issue also includes 'The Road to Stardom featuring Wanda Hendrix,' a short biographical comics feature spotlighting an actual Hollywood actress — a recurring non-fiction element of the series format.
• Art, inks, and cover for the issue are credited to Bob Oksner across multiple sources (MyComicShop, Joel's Comics listing); GCD lists interior script credits as unknown.
• The issue's editor was Whitney Ellsworth, as recorded by the Grand Comics Database from copyright registration data.
• Published by National Comics Publications, Inc. (DC's formal corporate name at the time), branded as 'A Superman DC Publication' per the indicia.
• The series ran for nine issues total, from March–April 1949 through August 1950, making #1 the launch of a short but complete Golden Age run.
• Miss Beverly Hills was one of several humor/lifestyle titles Bob Oksner worked on in this period, directly preceding his decade-plus run on licensed celebrity humor comics (Bob Hope, Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis) that made him a defining figure in DC's non-superhero line.