Harvey Comics Classics Volume 1: Casper (Harvey Comic Classics) (v. 1) [Paperback]

Leslie Cabarga (Author), Jerry Beck (Author)

Book Description

Series: Harvey Comic Classics | Publication Date: July 31, 2007

It's amazing how many comics fans who grew up admiring Spider-Man, Batman and Nick Fury still retain warm places in our 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.

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse (July 31, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593077815
• ISBN-13: 978-1593077815
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #469,691 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superior Casper Volume from Beck and Cabarga!, August 1, 2007

By 

Mark Arnold "movie/tv, comic book and animati... (Saratoga, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Harvey Comics Classics Volume 1: Casper (Harvey Comic Classics) (v. 1) (Paperback)

If you've seen my review of Sid Jacobson's book Ultimate Casper, this book is even better. In fact, if I could give it six stars, I would. This is the best treatment of a Harvey character that I have seen. This time the book presents Casper in a truly historical perspective, giving a brief history and also reprinting stories from not only the Harvey days, but the prior St. John days, including Casper's first appearance in comic books.

Some may quibble about the black and white artwork, but Leslie Cabarga explains it well in his editor's notes that the original artwork and silver prints were used for this high quality production. Jerry Beck informed me that this volume should be compared to the likes of the "Marvel Essentials" or "DC Showcase" series than the "Marvel Masterpieces" or "DC Archives". In fact this book has much better paper and reproduction than the black and white Marvel and DC volumes and it is a miracle that this was even produced.

I am looking forward to future volumes of this series. Richie Rich is next and Hot Stuff is scheduled to be third. If proven successful, Dark Horse should continue to re-present every major and minor Harvey character over the next few years and the possibility of a new comic book line may develop.

For those looking to investigate the history of Harvey in greater detail, I'd recommend The Best of The Harveyville Fun Times!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not enough "mature" Casper stories!, August 7, 2007

By 

Paulybrooklyn - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Harvey Comics Classics Volume 1: Casper (Harvey Comic Classics) (v. 1) (Paperback)

The book is beautifully put together but the earliest stories, when Casper was a bland comic version of a tedious animated series, are over-represented. Harvey comics were a lot more interesting in the sixties and early seventies, when their characters became more idiosynchratic and storylines were engagingly offbeat. Casper developed into an almost neurotically earnest do-gooder, often hilariously mishandling situations because of his pollyana-ish view of humanity. The book doesn't go past the early sixties, unfortunately--this is fine if it's just the first of a series, but it is by no means representative of Casper's best. Some of his later stories--such as one in which he becomes the pawn of a Latin American dictator, and another involving alien robots who abduct his friends and transform them into consumer credit junkies--rank with the best in the history of comics. Additionally, a considerable portion of this volume was devoted to Spooky, another great Harvey character who had several monthly titles of his own and certainly deserves a separate book!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 12 hours of reading pleasure, December 21, 2007

By 

Robertson Thomas (Hapcheon, Gyeongnam, South Korea) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Harvey Comics Classics Volume 1: Casper (Harvey Comic Classics) (v. 1) (Paperback)

I don't know why cartoon comic strips went out of style. I am glad that there is someone else who has not forgotten them. Richie Rich was one of my favorite comic strips, and still would be if Harvey Comics were still in business.

It is interesting to see how the comic strip developed. Casper's spooky roommates vary between two and four, and finally settle on three. The book also contains Nightmare's first appearance.

In a couple of ways, the comic strip was not as socially acceptable as it is now. A couple of times, Casper felt rejected because everyone was afraid of him, and therefore tried to commit suicide. (As the author of the introduction comments, this shows that ghosts are not already dead in this finctional context.) The book also contains Wendy the Good Witch's first appearance. In the earlier episodes, Casper's relationship with Wendy was not as Platonic as it was in later episodes.

Just one disappointments: Most of the stories are printed in black-and-white. The book might be much more expensive otherwise.

Thank you, Dark Horse Books!