May 30, 2010, new epier listings

I listed two items over Memorial Day weekend:

Barbie and the Rockers puzzle:
http://www.epier.com/product.asp?2003318

Arco Dance Club Barbie miniature NRFP
http://www.epier.com/BiddingForm_edit.asp?2003317

May 23, 2010, new epier listing

A set of items this week on epier:

Mego Action Jackson skis and poles plus a tagged shirt
http://www.epier.com/product.asp?2002029

Barbie Fashion Comics 1991

Barbie Fashion Comics were introduced two weeks after Barbie Comics. Barbie Fashions was much better written, but did not last as long.

Barbie Fashion 1, January 1991, White Wash. This is a funny one. Skipper borrows Barbie’s white sweater, and the sweater is tagged “Barbie!” The drawings are of Cool Tops Skipper and Courtney. It’s their first day of school. Skipper tries to keep Barbie’s white sweater clean all day. The story is very Betty-and-Veronica-like.

Barbie Fashion 5, May 1991, The Latest Fashion, by Barbara Slate. Skipper wears a goofy hat that covers her eyes to school. This Old Chair, by Barbara Slate. Barbie buys an antique wood chair and she and Skipper restore it.

Barbie 6, June 1991, Ability, by Trusiani. Skipper and her new classmate Angela, who is in a wheelchair, go on a treasure hunt. Angela will appear again and again throughout both Barbie Comics and Barbie Fashion. Be a Sport, by Trusiani. Skipper and Courtney skip school to spend the day with Barbie on a modeling shoot. Their day is, of course, much more difficult than being in school.

Barbie 7, July 1991. Another of Skipper’s friends is introduced. It’s TIFF! Remember her? And this time she's African-American! The cover shows Barbie holding a cake that says “Happy Birthday Skipper.” The issues always run two months early so it was published in May. Swap Till You Drop, by Trusiani. Skipper, Courtney and their friends clean out their closets and trade a lot of clothing. Birthday Blues, by Trusiani. Skipper thinks everyone is ignoring her on her birthday. The story is reminiscent of the Barbie surprise birthday party in the 1964 Wonder book “Barbie’s Adventures to Read Aloud” by Jean Bethell.

Barbie Fashion 8, August 1991, Enchanting Indians, by Trusiani. Another Skipper dream sequence. She fell, hit her head and got knocked out. For just a few seconds, she dreams she is living with the Pueblo Indians in Colorado 700 years ago.

Barbie Fashion 9, September 1991, If There’s a Will, There’s a Way, by Slate. Skipper breaks her right leg pole-vaulting and is stuck at home. She befriends a group of basketball players who are all in wheelchairs, and learns to play basketball while in a wheelchair.

Barbie Fashion 10, October 1991, What is Pop Art?, by Slate. Barbie and Skipper are at a museum with a pop art exhibit, & Skipper sets down her can of Coke. You can guess what happens. A docent leading a tour thinks the can is a piece of artwork.

Barbie Fashion 12, December 1991, Cave Girl Barbie, by Trina Robbins. Barbie has a Flintstones-like dream where she and Skipper live in the Stone Age.

Barbie Comics 1995

Barbie 49, January 1995, A Swift Kick, by Lisa Trusiani and Angelo DeCesare. A longer story, with both a plot and a subplot. Barbie is cooking Thanksgiving dinner at her house for the residents of a retirement home.

Barbie 50, February 1995, See You Later, Christmas Gator, by Trusiani and DeCesare. The writers need to take some lessons from Rankin-Bass. Two stories combined, one about Barbie and Skipper visiting friends in Okefenokee, Georgia, over Christmas. The other is about Santa Claus and his elf Charlie trying to get through a tropical storm to Okefenokee. Santa crashes his sleigh in the storm. Santa loads his bags onto the boat that Barbie and Ranger Taylor are in, but then they meet up with crocodiles in the swamp. You’ll have to read the comic book yourself to find out what happens but it's reminiscent of the worst animated Christmas specials out there.

Barbie 51, March 1995, Some Bunny to Love, by Trusiani and DeCesare. Barbie and Skipper find an injured rabbit and take it to the vet at the zoo.

Barbie 52, April 1995, is VERY impressive: well written, timely topics, and the first story is the saddest Skipper story ever created. Crush-ed, by Trusiani and DeCesare. Skipper’s journal with a passage about her crush on a boy named Morgan is read out loud in class. It was written 15 years ago, and it has a bittersweet ending. Such a topic today would have a devastating ending. Hope for Harmony, by Trusiani and DeCesare. Skipper discusses African-American history with a classmate named Andre, who wants to be a rapper.

Barbie 59, November 1995. Bright Idea by Trusiani and DeCesare. Skipper comes up with a way to make a baby’s stroller safer. Learning the Fair Way. Barbie and Skipper teach a young boy and his somewhat chauvinistic father that girls are good competitors.

Barbie 60, December 1995. Vote for Barbie, by Trusiani. First, Skipper dreams that Barbie is elected US President so they move to the White House. Then, Barbie and Skipper visit an old New England inn, and figure out which once First Lady stayed there. So ends Skipper’s adventures in the Marvel Barbie Comic book. She will appear briefly in issues 61 and 62 but the stories aren’t about her.

May 16, 2010, new epier listing

I placed one item for sale this morning in epier. As far as I know, it's the closet thing I've ever found to a Skipper video.

1993 Peppermint Rose VHS
http://www.epier.com/product.asp?2000934

Barbie comics 1994

Barbie 37, January 1994. Three-part story called Holiday in Thailand by Trusiani which is set in late November and features Barbie, Skipper and Courtney. Barbie is making a movie, which Skipper and Courtney come to watch. Skipper & Courtney are asked to make a commercial about American tourists. Another “nerdy Courtney” story, which is getting tiresome.

Barbie 40, April 1994, is a laugh-out-loud all-Skipper issue. The story is called Romance Forever, by Trina Robbins, and it’s quite surreal. Skipper's drama class gets a homework assignment to write a romantic play. (Her teacher is named Mr. Curtin. Get it?)  First Barbie suggests Romeo and Juliet. Skipper dreams she and Kevin are the couple, and they get bored because there are no cars or TV. Then Barbie suggests Gone with the Wind. Skipper dreams she is Scarlett, complete with blonde Nellie curls and an oversized hoop skirt. She nixes the idea of GWTW, because all of the hoop skirts won’t fit on the school stage. Lastly she reads The Once and Future King. In the last dream, Barbie and Ken are Guinevere and Arthur, and Skipper is, errr, Princess Skipper.  I don't remember Princess Skipper in any King Arthur stories! Also, Barbie and Ken get mad at her because of high bills she’s incurred from shopping.

Barbie 41, May 1994, Miranda’s Mystery, by Trina Robbins. Skipper helps a woman who is deaf find a job.

Barbie 42, June 1994, Cheer-Full Performance, by Trusiani. Skipper takes Barbie’s advice and eats a healthy lunch and rests before the talent show. Alas, Skipper’s friends do not, and she finds them sleeping on the dressing room floor. She must go onstage by herself.

Barbie 43, July 1994, features another of Skipper’s surreal dreams in A Turtle’s Tale, by Barbara Slate. It begins with Barbie and Ken fixing their boat. Skipper dozes off, and dreams it is 1492. Captain Barbie, First Mate Ken and--get this--Skipper Skipper(!) are sailing for the New World. They reach land, only to find that an alien spaceship has gotten there just before them. The aliens are pink!

Barbie 44, August 1994. Barbie and Skipper visit Niger and Zaire. In the first story, they get caught in a sandstorm in Niger.  In the second story, they learn about the habits of chimps.

Barbie 45, September 1994, Practice Makes Perfect, by Barbara Slate. One of the best stories of the series with Skipper and Courtney on a baseball team. The team is called, not surprisingly, the Pink Sox. The story starts out as yet another klutzy Courtney tale, but progresses beyond that.

Barbie 46, October 1994, Trailblazers, by Lisa Trusiani and Angelo deCesare. First, Barbie, Skipper, Courtney and Teresa go camping. Courtney’s still a nerd. Second, there’s a pioneer fair, and Courtney wins both the cornhusking and guess-the-cow's-weight contest. Skipper wins the raft race.

Barbie 47, November 1994, Doing the Write Thing, by Trusiani and DeCesare. Skipper befriends a new boy, Adam, and learns why he isn’t in school. In Sitting Pretty on Your Nose, Skipper and her classmates in a school fashion show all wear glasses on the runway.

Barbie 48, December 1994, The Fire That Never Went Out, by Trina Robbins. Barbie and Skipper visit an English castle. The story is reminiscent of the 1960s Barbie stories.

May 9, 2010, new epier listing

One small listing today:

1979 Sun Lovin' Malibu Barbie bikini and bag
http://www.epier.com/BiddingForm_edit.asp?2000041

1993 Skipper comic book stories

Barbie 27, March 1993, Dog Daze by Trina Robbins. Skipper’s Dalmatian Dotty is mistaken for a famous dog named Spot and is dognapped.

Barbie 28, April 1993, is unique. The first story is about Skipper, the second is about Ken! Funny Valentine, by Trusiani. Skipper and Barbie chase a clown who’s mistakenly gotten Skipper’s gown at a dry cleaners instead of his costume. Skipper’s dance dress is a red version of the 1985 Wedding Party bridesmaid’s dress.

Barbie 29, May 1993, Magic Moment by Trusiani. Barbie and Skipper are babysitting Donna and Jimmy, who want to be magicians. This is a long and surprisingly intense story for a child’s comic book, as Barbie and Skipper are in real danger. Spooky Spookers, also by Trusiani, features Kevin! He’s a practical joker who falls asleep during a school bus trip to a Western town.

Barbie 30, June 1993, Country Roads, by Trusiani. Barbie, Ken and Skipper meet Brandi, a girl Skipper's age who works on a farm and is a “cowgirl.” Part 2, Ride ‘em Cowgirls, also by Trusiani. Brandi tries to convince another farmer to hire her but she gets hired by a veterinarian instead.

There have been more and more all-Skipper issues, including Barbie 31, July 1993. In Journalistic Flair, by Trusiani, Skipper and Angela are sent to report on a baseball game while Kevin and Jim must cover a fashion show. In Take It Easy, by Trusiani, both Barbie and Skipper have bad days--Skipper at school, Barbie at work. I didn’t know Barbie could have a bad day.

Barbie 35, November 1993, New Kid on the Block, by Trusiani. Skipper befriends new girl Katie. Skipper helps Katie's mom plan Katie's birthday party. Girl’s Best Friend, by Trusiani. Skipper, Courtney and Angela get dogs from the pound and take them to obedience class. Angela names her poodle Pierre (unoriginal, if you ask me!). Skipper's mutt is Corky and Courtney’s dog (which must be part mastiff) is Tiny.

Barbie 36, December 1993, Halloween Hooligan, by Trusiani. Skipper is sleepwalking and rearranging items in the house.

1992 Barbie comics with Skipper

1992

Barbie 14, February 1992, has two Skipper stories. The first is It's Challenging, by Slate and Trusiani. Skipper and Courtney bet against two boys that they are better athletes than the males. Oh, and Courtney gets a trumpet. In The Human Chain, by Slate and Trusiani, Ken, Barbie and Skipper lay down across a semi-frozen pond to rescue a dog trapped on thin ice.

Barbie 19, July 1992, Missed Manners by Lisa Trusiani. Courtney tries to impress Ray, an exchange student from Thailand, at an ice cream shop.

Barbie 20, August 1992, is an ALL-SKIPPER issue! In The Soccer Game, you get the perspectives of both Tigers player Skipper and Angels player Angelina. You never to learn who wins the game. Back to orange again. Skipper’s soccer uniform is orange. So am I to assume that Central Junior High School's teams are named Tigers? In Where Does the Sun Go?, Skipper is babysitting Molly, and uses yellow and blue balls to explain the sun's rotation. In The Special Athletics, Barbie and Skipper go to watch races in which physically challenged youngsters compete.

Barbie 23, November 1992, is another all-Skipper issue. I guess the writers were making up for the issues that didn't include her. Back to School Scramble, by Lisa Trusiani. Aunt Rose gives Skipper some new school outfits, but Skipper doesn't like them. Shy Guy, by Lisa Trusiani. Courtney wants to go to the school pep rally with Randy but she gets a bad cold. Meanwhile Skipper goes with Kevin. Lobster Tale by Trusiani is one of the cleverest stories in the series. Skipper and Barbie learn the secret of a huge lobster haunting the coast.

how I document my collection

Someone asked me on another website how I've documented my collection, so I am reposting it here.

I am very, very anal-retentive when it comes to my dolls. After about three years of collecting both vintage items (pre-1979) and the newer items I was buying (this would have been by the late 80s) and (gasp!) taking them out of the box, I knew I had to start documenting them. I am very, very glad that I did.
For the outfits, I put each separate one, plus its accessories, in clear plastic Ziploc bags, and then wrote which doll it was for, the stock number and/or name, and the year on it. For my dolls, each one has a little hand tag on her wrist. You can buy these at an office supply store.
Also, I had some recipe card file boxes and I used index cards to write the name of the doll or outfit on it, and if I still had it, I attached my receipt. My goal is to someday transfer the information on the index cards to a computer disc, but that may have to wait until if and when I retire. Right now all the cards are alphabetized in the recipe card file. (I've never used the boxes for recipes--I'm not much of a cook.)
Oh, and whenever I bought a doll, I photographed her and put the photo and her name in an album. (Again, I started doing this in the 1980s.)
I may well be the only person on the planet who has done this. People ask me all the time how is that I know so much about the 70s, 80s and 90s playline dolls and outfits, and it's mainly because of the documentation that I started in the 80s.

Mary