Comments on: The Return of Casper the Friendly Ghost!

By: Luis Dantas

Luis Dantas — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 10:14:46 +0000

Wendy’s clothes are ok. The anorexic look, the heavy eye make-up and the silly gestures, not so much.

Hot Stuff, the way I see him, is supposed to have horns, red skin and other devil-like body attributes in sharp contrast to his actual attitude, which is inquisitive but benign and even conciliatory. The body language of this “updated” version is all wrong.

His clothes, on the other hand, are wrong because they are not original enough; the bad boy style is all too commonplace these days, and this outfit therefore looks pretentious despite Stuff being an actual devil. A cleaner look without the chain and spikes would be a marked improvement – for one thing, it would emphasize his body as opposed to his silly clothing, which is how it should be.

By: Scott Harris

Scott Harris — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 21:32:05 +0000

I certainly wish these guys all the best with this, lord knows the comic world could use more stuff for kids.

Having said that, I’ve always loathed Casper and all these Harvey characters, so… yeah. Just hate these characters. Whatever they come up with has to be an improvement.

By: The Mad Monkey

The Mad Monkey — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 19:14:59 +0000

Anyone remember the trouble Marvel got in over the one issue of Crazy Magazine and the infamous “Casper The Dead Baby” story?

By: Dan Bailey

Dan Bailey — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:59:46 +0000

I sorta like the new characterizations, too. Infinitely more, at least, than I do the new-style versions of Archie, Betty, Veronica et al.

I read a lot of Harvey titles as a kid in the late ’60s, but somehow I’m doubting we’ll be getting Bunny Ball, Queen of the In-Crowd! back. *sigh*

By: Lynxara

Lynxara — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:48:39 +0000

I doubt Little Audrey or Sad Sack would be able to qualify as “Spectrals.” Separate relaunches would make more sense.

By: Mary Warner

Mary Warner — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:30:57 +0000

I don’t like the new look, either. And I really don’t think kids would mind the old styles. It always seems to me that adults work far too hard to appear hip to kids. I know when I was a kid I was far less bothered by old-fashionedness than I was by forced hipness.
I’m wondering what a DeMatteis ‘concept’ for these characters would be like. He can be very twisted, and funny at the same time.

Will we be seeing any Little Audrey? Or Sad Sack?

By: Tijmen

Tijmen — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:22:00 +0000

Hear, hear.

By: HammerHeart

HammerHeart — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:08:50 +0000

“Bad boys”? The only “bad boy” in these pics is Hot Stuff, and it’s actually a natural extension of the character… miles better than a li’l devil in diapers, anyway. Any kid in the world will definitely prefer this “punk chic” version over the old diapered version. If the publisher has any hope of getting modern kids’ attention, updating the characters’ looks is an obligatory first step, and that was done competently here.

Wendy also looks great; a little gothy, but that makes sense for her too.

And I honestly don’t see what in these images “Goes against the very concept of the characters”. Wendy’s wardrobe was updated to something today’s kids can relate to, and Hot Stuff’s wardrobe was updated to something that today’s kids wouldn’t actively loathe. Remember, these are for KIDS, not for nostalgic parents longing to recapture their childhoods.

By: Lynxara

Lynxara — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 14:52:49 +0000

The old designs would probably bore the snot out of modern kids. The new designs look pretty much like the other cartoons they’re watching. I don’t see the problem.

By: Luis Dantas

Luis Dantas — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 10:00:23 +0000

Good to see them back.

I must second the complaints about the poor choice of visuals for Wendy and Hot Stuff, though. Goes quite against the very concept of the characters. Why even release “bad boy” takes on such characters anyway?

By: Leeatard

Leeatard — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 07:59:17 +0000

Wow, I actually really enjoy the new “Hot Topicesque” art. And I grew up with random issues of Casper and Wendy. I think I may actually pick up an issue or two for old-time’s sake.

By: Kirayoshi

Kirayoshi — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 06:53:01 +0000

Actually she thinks she’s Spider-Man.

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 02:45:50 +0000

Poor Wendy. One of her hands must apparently be locked in the “Devil Horns” position at all times.

By: Alan Coil

Alan Coil — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 01:25:01 +0000

Yes, it had already been announced.

Hate the art. The appeal of these characters was that they were not evil looking, as they are now. Somebody completely missed that clue.

By: Cully C

Cully C — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 00:50:49 +0000

I see Hot Stuff finally grew out of diapers.

By: Sijo

Sijo — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 00:30:48 +0000

Part of me is laughing, the other is cringing.

Must EVERY old kids character be reworked to be “cool” today? And if so, must they look like rappers/gangstas/street punks?

Of course, maybe I’m being an old fart. For all I know this will be good and kids will like it. Hey, I cringed at Kingdom Hearts at first, too.

Funny how the only one who hasn’t changed much is Casper, the main character…

By: Bill Reed

Bill Reed — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:18:28 +0000

DeMatteis *and* DeZago? *And* Hot Stuff? Sold.

By: joecab

joecab — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:10:49 +0000

I still hate the style, but at least they reworked Casper. The original was worse: http://www.cartoonbrew.com/wp-content/uploads/casperspectrals.jpg

By: Brian Cronin

Brian Cronin — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:54:24 +0000

Very cool, Ted!

By: Ted Chmura III

Ted Chmura III — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:51:23 +0000

We’ve just become partners with Classic Media to provide Live Appearances of Casper at Malls, Fairs, Festivals, Zoos, Trade Shows, etc. We’ll be offering a Live Stage Show too. This should be fun !!