Harvey Comics Classics Vol. 1: Casper the Friendly Ghost
By Various, Edited by Leslie Cabarga, Introduction by Jerry Beck
Review by Dennis Feeback
The Scoop: It's amazing how many comics fans who grew up admiring Spiderman, Batman, and Nick Fury still retain warm places in their hearts for Casper the Friendly Ghost. Now Dark Horse is delighted to participate in the revival of Casper, who remains among the most beloved of cartoon and comic book icons. Casper the Friendly Ghost made his first appearance as a star of Paramount's Famous Cartoons in 1947 and entered the comics in 1949. But after five issues, publisher St. John's gave up the title. That's when Harvey Comics stepped in, and where this book begins. Harvey breathed life into Casper, and from the very first issue, the cover designs, stories, and artwork-drawn by the same animators who worked on the cartoons-were a cut above.
Harvey Comics Classics Volume 1: Casper contains over 100 of Casper's very best stories, from the beginning of the Harvey series in 1952 through the classic years of the mid-1960s. The art is reproduced from crisp black-and-white printer's proofs and original artwork from the old Harvey archives, along with sixty four pages of color meticulously restored from the original comic books. The book includes a comprehensive introduction illustrated with historic memorabilia. This book retails for $19.99
The Package: This book at first glance seems a lot like the Marvel essential and DC Showcase books. However, this is a MUCH nicer package. It all starts with a nice nostalgic cover. When you pick the book up, you realize how heavy it is. This is due to the fantastic paper stock, it’s thick and has a nice gloss to it. The nice paper really makes the black and white line work pop! The color sections, while nice, seem out of place with how beautiful the rest of the book is. Still, it was a nice touch.
Final Thoughts: Reading this book really took me back. Even before I moved on to Marvel, Harvey comics were the first comics I read and enjoyed as a child. Casper, Hot Stuff and the crew are just as important as Daredevil, the Avengers, and Spider-Man to me as my most beloved characters. Hell, with time I think I appreciate the Harvey characters more as they haven’t been ruined over the years.
But all that aside, this book is quite simply a must have to anyone who grew up reading these wonderful books. From the awesome and enlightening introduction at the beginning to the great range of stories used. Not just Casper was represented as we got to see other beloved characters like Spooky, Wendy, and the Ghostly Trio.
With Christmas right around the corner, this book would make a fantastic gift for any young ones in your life you might want to introduce to comics!
Ok, now for the only gripe I could possibly find about this collection. It is truly unfortunate that pages were switched in a couple of places. This really hurt the flow of the 2 stories affected. Hopefully this will be addressed in future printings.
Final Rating: A, this would have been an A+ if not for the page lay out errors. HIGHLY recommended!
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