Casper The Old Ghost
Sixty years ago next year, the remnants of the Fleischer Studio teamed up with the folks at St. John Comics (Tor, Three Stooges, and the original 3-D comics) to create Casper The Friendly Ghost #1. It lasted five issues. Paramount, owners of the Fleischer operation, took the license over to Harvey Comics and a legend floated off the ground.
While children’s comics have been largely ignored in the American marketplace for the past decade or two, Casper stayed alive in movies and on DVD. His present owner, Classics Media, has big plans for the ghost’s 60th.
They’ve got a major Halloween push coming this fall, including clothing and music and games and toys and greeting cards and tattoos.
They’ve also got a new teevee show which already has been sold in 60 markets, including France, Britain, and Japan.
As for comics, well, Dark Horse recently released a nifty reprint anthology, mostly in black-and-white but still a great value.
Not bad for a small child who’s been dead for 60 years.
