The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 1302: Wendy - Witchworld #49, June 1973

I actually read a Richie Rich comic for today, and then realized that I'd read it way back in the second year of the project. Which is fine - I'm happy to keep exploring the Harvey-verse.

Having just finished a Harvey Horrors collection (watch for an upcoming review), I find myself wondering if some of the same strange people working for Harvey were responsible for the less-horrific fare as well. These stories are definitely aimed at children, but there's something just a little off about them.This comic is a perfect example. Wendy's story is actually the most "normal," in that it's about her trying to go to school. But then Casper visits a land where everyone is different kinds of glass, and then Spooky paints his had with solid gold.

I want to say that there is a naive sort of magical realism going on in the stories, and in this sort of shared universe. I may have to call it the big-headverse, as Wendy shares the same very odd character design as Richie and Casper. I'll have to see if that trend continues in the other titles.

More to come...

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 1301: Casper, The Friendly Ghost #207, December 1979

A wonderfully harmless little comic. Which, honestly, is all I've ever thought Harvey Comics were. But last weekend I picked up a reprint collection of some of their early 50s horror comics, and they're messed up. Wonderfully messed up. To me, Harvey has always been about Casper and Richie Rich titles, and little else. So to see that the company came from a fairly brutal place is very interesting.

Now, that said, there's always the old saw that goes around about Casper, in that he's the ghost of a child. Usually, that's a pretty terrifying prospect. In light of the Afterlife with Archie series, can it be long before we get a grim'n'gritty(tm) reboot?

I might actually read a bit more Casper tomorrow. There's certainly something to be said for a comic that amuses but does little else. Sometimes thinking is overrated.

More to come...