Sorry about not posting yesterday folks, but as you may remember, I’ve got a broken foot and spent some time on my back propping up. Also, I got some really good news about a project that I hope to be able to talk more about soon. But, I needed to devote some energy to that and so that’s why we’ve got this special Saturday Edition of Family Comics Friday.
Gone are the days of Casper the Friendly Ghost, Wendy the Good Little Witch, and Hot Stuff. Their publishing rights disappeared when the comics company, Harvey Comics, closed up shop in 1994. But, the spirit of those comics lives on. In the past few years, Dark Horse Comics has been reprinted some of the tales from the Harvey kid’s line. Every once and a while, a character like Richie Rich pops up in a new series by an independent published. And I guarantee you that in every comic convention in America (except for ComiCon in San Diego) you can find tons of Harvey Comics in bargain bins for a $1 or less.
Despite all of this, that is no way means that new kid-friendly comics starring ghosts, vampires, and other spooky characters aren’t available on the market right now.
In this 2012 Halloween Comicsfest Exclusive (BTW next Saturday is this year’s Comicsfest at your local comics shop, so check it out!) we get a short story about a young ghost named Johnny Boo and his pet ghost, Squiggle. Here, Johnny Boo tries to hide all of the ice cream from trick-r-treaters but ends up in a little bit of a mess. Then we meet Harold, a long-necked vampire with 2 bats for friends. The bats don’t quite get things right and when Harold forgets to decorate for Halloween, the bats do the unthinkable and gross out a bloodsucker.
Johnny Boo has at least 6 volumes of comics on the market. A new volume is due out this month. As for Harold, this is the first on only story I can find about him. It’s possible that he stars in the Johnny Boo series in his own mini-feature. The Johnny Boo series is published by top Shelf Productions and run for $9.95 a pop. Johnny has also been featured in Top Shelf’s annual Free Comic Book Day release for at least the past 4 years. Those issues can be found online for a couple a bucks each.
One other thing, the Johnny Boo books are published like a typical comic book is with 2 staples. These volumes are released like a digest with a solid paste paper spine. So, if you go to the kids section of your local comics shop, be sure to look on the collection shelf and not the new release section. Better yet, ask your friendly neighborhood comic book clerk for help finding them.
Johnny Boo is for ages 5-10.
Worth Consuming
Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.
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