Casper’s Classic Christmas #1: A Family Comic Friday Extra!

With the 2019 Holiday season kicking off today, we’ve got another holiday special to review! Let’s take a look at Casper’s Classic Christmas in this Family Comic Friday Extra!

Casper’s Classic Christmas #1
Editor, Production and Design by Mike Wolfer
Published by American Mythology Productions
Retail: $3.99

Fans of Casper the Friendly Ghost and his friends will enjoy an early Christmas present with this special from American Mythology Productions!

Casper stars in a trio of holiday stories. In all three, the Friendly Ghost saves Christmas by assisting Santa with his annual toy delivery. While the stories have similar plots, each adventure has a twist that keeps Casper’s frequent rescue of Christmas fresh and fun!

The other stories star Hot Stuff, the L’il Devil and Spooky, Casper’s scampish ghost buddy. While those stories are also a delight, unfortunately, none of them are Christmas themed!
I love holiday comics. It’s something that I collect with such fervor, that they are some of the only books that I will pay full price in order to add to my collection. So it’s a bit of a pet peeve of mine when a holiday special isn’t chock full of holiday stories!

I would have been okay if the other 3 stories were of non-’spooky’ Harvey Comics characters like Richie Rich or L’il Dot. I even would have been okay with Jackie Jokers and I really can’t stand that guy! A Thanksgiving story would’ve been acceptable. As would have a New Year’s yarn! I just ask that my holiday comic purchases in some way be 100% festive!

Don’t get me wrong, I am grateful to American Mythology Productions for putting out this one-shot. I love how the publisher has been releasing holiday specials that reprint stories from before I was born. It’s a chance to find comics I otherwise couldn’t find in a dollar bin nor afford. My wallet is forever grateful!

I also really enjoyed the covers! The regular cover that has Santa’s toys escape from the sight of Casper was very retro and perfectly Casper! And that variant cover was a beautiful bit of Christmas eye-candy! On both covers was a gold and red ribbon and brilliant golden bow! They were ideal touches for the Christmas-themed logos!

Casper’s Classic Christmas does help to get comic book lovers in the Christmas spirit. I just which that this special was comprised entirely of holiday themed stories. Still, if you are a fan of those classic Harvey Comics from ages 1-92, you will love this special from your friends as American Mythology!

Casper’s Classic Christmas #1 debuted in print and other digital formats on November 27th, 2019.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Casper's Haunted Halloween #1 (Family Comic Friday)

Not all spooks are bad! Like our friend Casper! Family Comic Friday celebrates Halloween with a fun-filled special starring the friendly ghost!

Casper’s Haunted Halloween #1
Published by American Mythology
Retail: $3.99

Casper’s brothers, the Ghostly Trio, are tired of the little ghost being so gosh-darned friendly. So they enroll him in ghost school, hoping Casper will become a scary spook! After a very rough first day, things go from bad to worse when the neighboring kingdom of goblins invade the school and kidnap Casper and his classmates.

The goblins are fierce and mean. They force the captive ghosts to work in their factories and harvest their crops! What good can a kind-hearted specter do against such meanies? The answer might surprise you!

This Halloween special from American Mythology also contains several shorts starring some of Casper’s ghostly friends. Spike, the mischievous freckled-faced ghost and Casper’s phantom horse, Nightmare have adventures. But where’s Hot Stuff, the l’il Devil or Wendy, the Good Little Witch? It doesn’t seem like a Casper Halloween without either of them!

Along with the Casper story, everything in this comic is all classic stuff from the golden age of Harvey Comics. However, that’s about I can tell you about these tales. They are obviously all reprints from the 1960s or 70s. Yet American Mythology doesn’t provide any credits as to the writers, artists or which comics these episodes original appeared in.

It was common practice back in the day to not include the writing and artist credits in comic books. The editors of this comic might not even know who created these comics. I can forgive that oversight. But why didn’t anybody put the content info from which stories were reprinted? Clearly whomever is in charge of procuring Harvey Comics’ extensive library should have the knowledge of that!

I didn’t mind that this holiday special was full of reprints. I would however, had liked for at least one or two stories to have actually been set during Halloween. That along with appearances from those missing characters and some missing filler information would have made this a perfect all-ages comic. But that’s okay. This is still pretty close and a fun read for anyone eagerly awaiting another All Hallow’s Eve.

Casper's Haunted Halloween debuted in print on October 2nd, 2019.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

America's Best TV Comics #1

A comic book grail. This one had been on my wish list for a very long time. And while I am very excited to own it (as well as to have gotten a very good deal), I was a tiny bit disappointed about some of the content. 

Both the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man stories are abridged reprints. Okay, sure. I was foolish to think that the Marvel stories would have been new material. But the editing was a little sloppy. You'd go from one scene to another and yet there were be some really bad plot holes. So the editing wasn't very good. But the stories themselves were classics!

The other stories were of shows that also were to air on Saturday morning cartoons on ABC in the fall of 1967. I know that the Casper story was probably a reprint. But I'm not sure if the stories involving King Kong, George of the Jungle and Journey to the Center of the Earth were or not. I'm assuming the the latter was a comic book reprint of sorts as in one scene the heroes are going around and corner and in the next panel, they are surfing down a lava flow astride giant leaves. 

Okay- reprint or not; that story was a real stinker!

My favorite thing about this comic was all of the vintage ads for classic TV shows such as The Flying Nun, the live action Batman series and Custer! They made a TV show about George Custer? The biggest loser in Army history? Really??? Yikers.

This was a time capsule in a comic book. A true cool find. Maybe not 100% how I envisioned it all these years. But I don't feel like my money was wasted on this either!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Casper's Ghostland #1/100 (Family Comic Friday)

Casper the Friendly Ghost and his friends Spooky, Hot Stuff, and Wendy, The Good Little Witch are back in Casper’s Ghostland #1/100. How can a comic book have 2 numbers, you ask? It’s a question we look to answer in this week’s Family Comic Friday.

Casper’s Ghostland #1/100

Written by Mike Wolfer, Pat Shand
Art by Eric Shanower
Publisher by American Mythology.

American Mythology has issued a new Casper’s Ghostland special just in time for Halloween. The comic features two all-new stories. In the first, Casper goes to visit his buddy Hot Stuff, the Little Devil. On his way, The Friendly Ghost meets a number of forest creatures who have some rather salty ways of talking. Thankfully, Hot Stuff has learned his lesson about cursing. So just who is behind this wave of foul language? Then in the second adventure, Casper plays relationship therapist to his buddy Spooky who has just broken up with his girlfriend Poirl. 

I really thought that the first tale, ‘From Bad to Curse’, was delightful. Seeing cute little forest animals curse was worth a chuckle or two. Don’t worry parents! The cuss words were replaced with symbols. But this yarn would make for an interesting episode in your home if read out loud during a child’s storytime.

‘Blow Off Some Steam’, the second story in this book, wasn’t as enjoyable. I’ve never really been a fan of Spooky. He’s rather gauche and annoying as he loves to play obnoxious haunts on folks. But Spooky actually has some great moments in a couple of the shorts reprinted from Casper’s Ghostland’s of long ago. 

From  1958-1979, Casper’s Ghostland ran for 98 issues under the publication of Harvey Comics. In the 90s, a 99th issue was published as a one-shot special. About a year or two ago, American Mythology obtained the rights to the entire Harvey Comics library. Thus, this first issue of Casper’s Ghostland is also the 100th issue. 

The numbering of comic books can be a tricky thing for even the most experienced of collectors. For newbies to the hobby, it can be downright confusing. Generally when a series ends, that's it for the numbering. Then a second volume is debuted sometime down the road and the numbers start again at #1. But that's not always the case.

Take Marvel's Fantastic Four. On at least two occasions, the publisher reverted the numbering of the titles back to that of the original numbering of volume one that started all the way back in 1963. Now going into volume 4, Fantastic Four’s numbering has rolled back to number #1--- for now.  

Currently DC has done this tactic as well in order to officially issue anniversary books of Action Comics and Detective Comics. These big deal issues usually means big money. Yet, it’s not always the big numbered issue that win over collectors. Releasing a fan-favorite title renumbered at #1 is another selling point that can result in huge sales,

To reinvigorate a title, publishers will cancel a title and reboot it with a new first issue. Marvel has been really guilty of this, running series for a very short time before cancelling it and quickly turning around with another same-titled issue with a few short weeks. I think Deadpool is currently at volume 9 thanks to this practice.

DC Comics is no better when it comes to similar practices. In fact, I would say that they are worse. For example, their series based on Cartoon Network's original Teen Titans cartoon was published as Teen Titans Go! When the Network rebooted the series into a more sillier format, producers titled the show Teen Titans Go! Those who were devoted to the original Teen Titans toon often tend to hate the new, goofier show. Thus fans trying to find copies of the original series sometimes will accidentally buy the new show’s back issues because of the same title snafu.

 In cases like this, it's okay to ask a vendor if you can remove the desired issue from the protective plastic in order to determine if this is the issue you are looking for. But make sure to ask first! When it comes to purchasing online, you’ll have to do your research!!! There's tons of wiki sites that can help with your comic book search and avoid buying the right numbered issue from the wrong volume.

Hopefully, this little tutorial on numbering comics will help the younger reader in your life start their comic book collection. Remember that while there’s a trick in finding the issue’s to fill your collection, there’s no wrong way in order to catalog them. Some fans group their collections by the main character while others go ABC. As long as the collector can find their books when they want them, that really all that counts.

As for Casper’s Ghostland #1/100, I enjoyed it. Upon researching this title, I discovered that at least 2 issues of the original Harvey Comics run were Christmas issues. So, I’ll be on the hunt for them. 

This special release is great for reader’s of all-ages. It’s got ghosts, devils and witches; but done in the classic Harvey style, they’re family friendly. I only wish that this book had been released a little closer to Halloween, especially since Casper’s Ghostland #1/100 was meant to act as a holiday special.

Casper’s Ghostland was released in the print medium on September 5th, 2018. Issues can still be found at a local comic shop near you. Or you can order direct from the publisher at this link here.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

This review was concurrently published on Outrightgeekery.com.

CASPER THE FRIENDLY GHOST'S DENTAL HEALTH ACTIVITY BOOK

   I hated going to the dentist when I was a kid. Not much has changed as an adult, but I really hated it as a kid. I had a ton of cavities and when I had to have a filling, I always had this thing wedged into the jaw of my mouth, called a raincoat. Having it inserted hurt like hell and I still think to this day it's been a leading contributor to my TMJ.

    But one of the things I really enjoyed about the dentist was getting the free prize at the end of the visit. You always got 3 things: a new toothbrush, a sticker, and a comic book of your choice! For an avid collector like myself, it was the ultimate score and probably the only reason I didn't hide or run away when it was time to visit the dentist. Amongst the comic heroes I could choose from were Donald Duck, Casper, Richie Rich, and the Archie Gang. After picking one of those beauties, it was fun times in the car ride home.

    Sadly, those days are over. All I ever get from visiting my dentist now is that little goodie bag with a toothbrush, some floss, and a tube of toothpaste. True, I am extremely vigilant with my dental hygiene these days. I pride myself in staying away from those darn cavities. But I would gladly give up the free toothpaste to get a comic book for all my dental troubles.

  A few months ago, I found this activity comic at a thrift store. Sure, it has zero value, some of the pages have been colored and filled in, and the cover has a grease penciled price of 10 cents on it. But this is one of the comic books I remember getting as a kid.

  I particularly remember this book for a couple of reasons. Every year a couple of dentist assistants would come to my school and do a little presentation on how to floss and brush your teeth. ( I still remember the song "wiggle giggle, wiggle giggle...1-2-3" as a way to remember how to clean each tooth.) This book was one of the items they would pass out after the lecture. Casper's Activity Book was also an incentive at my dentist that if you choose it, you could pick 2 bonus comics instead of just one. 3 books for a visit that normally would net me just one book? Yes, please. Needless to say, I racked up a bunch of these activity books.

   Drawn in stark black and white, it stars Casper the Friendly Ghost, his ghoulish brothers, and some other guests. Filled with your standard activities: connect the dots, word scramble, mazes, pages to color, and matching, one activity that was always included and I just despised, were the jumbled pictures. With that you either had to copy by hand or cut out and glue. Mine never came out right and cut up a comic book? Are you crazy?

    This little booklet was a fun little trip down memory lane. Too bad you don't see many dentists giving away free comics anymore and if they do, well I just happened to pick one who didn't. It's too bad that those type of freebies don't occur to adults. Like I said earlier, I'd gladly choose an activity book like this in order to get two more instead of that stupid toothpaste goodie bag.

  Worth Consuming

  Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

 

Johnny Boo & Harold in Tricky Treaters (Family Comics Friday)

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.