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Post by codystarbuck on Feb 1, 2018 19:17:02 GMT -5
You could probably say that for a lot of books. Does Batman need five or six seperate books that are almost exactly the same except for minor variations? And yes, Batman sells because it's Batman, Richie Rich is a different story entirely It wasn't then, though. They had that many comics because Richie sold that many comics. Harvey trimmed down a lot of their material to make way for more Richie material. Their top two selling characters were Richie Rich and Sad Sack. That's what they gave readers. Meanwhile, Richie and Casper are appearing as spokesperson's for scouting and Casper for UNICEF (and scouting). Those books and characters had a huge profile, until about the mid-70s. Then it starts going downhill, as in-fighting in the Harvey family disrupts the company focus, newsstands are disappearing, and the Direct Market pops up and devotes itself almost exclusively to superheroes and material aimed at older audiences. The Direct market pretty much turned up their noses at Archie and Harvey (and Western and Charlton), freezing them out in favor of DC and Marvel and the independents who put out material in the vein of DC and Marvel, or as more mature versions. Even the Gladstone material was persona non-grata in a lot of shops I saw in the 80s and 90s, despite the Barks reprints and great material from Don Rosa. DC and Marvel would sacrifice their first born to have sales like Richie Rich had, even across that many titles. It was a mass audience. Once the mas market started dwindling, DC and Marvel abandoned it for the smaller, surer audience, while Archie and Harvey hung on. The in-fighting and poor management after the Harvey family sold out killed them; Archie was on life support, buoyed up by licensed comics, like TMNT and Sonic, before tapping into an Archie nostalgia market and shaking off some of their conservatism. |
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Post by tarkintino on Feb 1, 2018 19:26:10 GMT -5
Looking back to that period, its not that Harvey was in direct competition with DC & Marvel, since they were--as you point out--different markets, but it appeared it was more about shelf space at healthy (meaning comic-friendly) retailers such as bookstores, corner markets, liquor/convenience stores and chains such as 7-Eleven (I bought comics from all four), where I remember seeing plenty of Harvey titles. I'm wondering if the business assumption was that if an area, or its stores have a strong comic-buying culture, then they would find their readers, since everyone was not all about DC & Marvel. I don't think it's unreasonable to think that an eight or nine year old wouldn't be buying both Batman and Richie Rich as the whim hit them. There probably wasn't crossover between Casper and Master of Kung Fu, but Sad Sack and Spider-man, maybe. I certainly bought the odd Donald Duck comic along with JLA. I don't know--it just seems Richie Rich was so "kiddie" that it appealed to an age range that would have been turned off to superheroes--especially during the 70s, when so many superhero titles were playing it seriously. I remember some older kids buying various Archie titles at the same time as superhero books and even Warren, and that's likely due to being at an age where they were not too old for teenage comedy, but not too young for an interest in horror. It just seems there's no age bridge like that between Richie Rich readers and the subjects with "sharp edges". Seriously, why on earth make a hero of a character whose sole distinguishing feature is that he's a rich brat? What was the thinking behind that? And what was the reason for its popularity? I suppose the answers are obvious, but they bear thinking about, IMO - and maybe even talkng about. Think of the era of his creation: post war 1950s ('53 to be exact), where the idea of American prosperity was packaged and sold as the fruits of a hard-won war, and American destiny. A rich kid was not seen as the pampered brat, but the American idea of success--all pointing toward the dollar, instead of character (despite Richie Rich being a kind, giving character). Or take Little Orphan Annie; although created in 1924, her popularity took off like a rocket during the 1930s, as the Great Depression crushed most Americans, but the strip--with Daddy Warbucks being the symbol of American industry and affluence--was seen as something to aspire to. The culture of loving money, materialism and/or characters who were rich has deep roots in the U.S., and might explain how Richie Rich became popular. Wow...whoever you were talking to were sooooo misguided about the belief that its almost coming off like 40s The Three Stooges or Tom & Jerry-type interpretations of the afterlife. |
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Post by Reptisaurus! on Feb 1, 2018 22:02:31 GMT -5
Yeah, that's a good way of phrasing it.
Or even money=power and comic books were often power fantasies for children?
So, Informal Poll Time:
Did anyone here regularly buy Harvey comics (or did your parents buy them for you) and what age were you? Did you also buy superheroes/Archie/Warlord?
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Post by codystarbuck on Feb 1, 2018 22:33:25 GMT -5
I didn't regularly buy comics until the late 70s; I did not have a regular allowance for most of my childhood. Most of my comics were gifts or the few I wheedled out of my parents. I had a couple of Richie Rich's and a Casper digest (both gifts) and read a bunch of Harvey stuff from a neighbor.
I did read Archie, Gold Key, Charlton, DC and Marvel, when I got my hands on them. Every genre you could name. If it was a comic, I read it. Even a couple of romance comics that my next door neighbor's sister had. I was later given a stack of Treasure Chest, by my neighbor's brother, after he read them (picked them up in a garage sale, for pennies). By the time I was old enough to earn my own money, DC and Marvel were mostly superhero comics. I did buy the odd war comic, had a digest or two with Jonah Hex and bought some Gold Key/Whitman Flash Gordon. I also had some newspaper strip pocket books, like a Wizard of Id, a Dennis the Menace, some Peanuts and at least one Beetle Bailey. I would kill, or at least maim for some Alley Oop reprints.
I do believe I once got a Harvey bagged set, with Richie Rich, a Sad Sack and something else (I don't think it was Casper, maybe Little Dot or Little Lotta).
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Post by wildfire2099 on Feb 1, 2018 22:39:44 GMT -5
I don't think I've ever read a Richie Rich comic, but I definitely watched the Saturday Morning cartoon when I was a kid... at the same time I was watching Thundarr the Barbarian, so there's some overlap  |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Feb 1, 2018 23:59:49 GMT -5
Yeah, that's a good way of phrasing it. Or even money=power and comic books were often power fantasies for children? So, Informal Poll Time: Did anyone here regularly buy Harvey comics (or did your parents buy them for you) and what age were you? Did you also buy superheroes/Archie/Warlord? I don't think I ever bought a Richie Rich comic off a newsstand. That said, I read a whole passel of them picked up at garage sales (usually for a nickle apiece). Ditto Archies, though my older siblings bought Archie Comics. The only thing I bought in the late 70s/early 80s that wasn't super-heroes were the very odd issue of Uncle Scrooge or Donald Duck, the odd issue of Lone Ranger (almost a super-hero), Warlord and some Burroughs comics. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2018 7:31:52 GMT -5
Like cody said... If it was a comic book I would read it. My parents bought me Harvey, Archie, Charlton, some Gold Key. When I could decide it tilted toward Marvel & DC. I would only buy a Harvey or Archie comic if I couldn't find anything else to read. For ex: if we were on vacation & that was what was for sale at a convenience store. Or at a book sale.
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Post by Cei-U! on Feb 2, 2018 8:51:53 GMT -5
I've never owned a Richie Rich comic but my cousins had tons of them so I read theirs back in the day. I did have a few random Caspers and Spookys amidst my Marvels and DCs, as well as Archies, Gold Keys, Dells, Classics Illustrateds, and a solitary Charlton.
Cei-U!
I sumon the olden times!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2018 8:58:06 GMT -5
I remember reading Harvey Comics--although I didn't read much Richie Rich. I was more into Casper, Wendy, and Hot Stuff (I think that was his name, he was a devil type character). I remember seeing Harvey Comics on the spinner racks--and at stores like Super-X and Revco. It seems like they had more Archie, Golden Key, Whitman, and Harvey along with DC Digests. The local pharmacy that we used (and now out of business) always had Harvey, Spire, Archie comics and digests. I remember seeing the house ads in the Harvey Comics and wanting to know more about all of their characters.
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,218 
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Post by Confessor on Feb 2, 2018 9:28:58 GMT -5
I've never owned a Richie Rich comic but my cousins had tons of them so I read theirs back in the day. I did have a few random Caspers and Spookys amidst my Marvels and DCs, as well as Archies, Gold Keys, Dells, Classics Illustrateds, and a solitary Charlton. I never encountered Casper comics at all over here in the UK and, in fact, the very first time I ever heard of Casper was, weirdly, while reading the Ghostbusters novelization back in 1984; Casper the Friendly Ghost is the ghost depicted in the Ghostbuster's "Ghost prohibited" sign...  |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2018 9:33:28 GMT -5
Here's my take on Richie Rich titles ... Kurt sums up quite nicely and time that I got into Junior High ... Richie Rich was pretty much out of my life for good and that's was the end of it. I did watch occasional cartoons once in awhile for kicks.
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Post by MDG on Feb 2, 2018 10:17:07 GMT -5
I've never owned a Richie Rich comic but my cousins had tons of them so I read theirs back in the day. I did have a few random Caspers and Spookys amidst my Marvels and DCs, as well as Archies, Gold Keys, Dells, Classics Illustrateds, and a solitary Charlton. I never encountered Casper comics at all over here in the UK and, in fact, the very first time I ever heard of Casper was, weirdly, while reading the Ghostbusters novelization back in 1984; Casper the Friendly Ghost is the ghost depicted in the Ghostbuster's "Ghost prohibited" sign... It's actually one of the "Ghostly Trio," who were Casper's antagonists. The movie was sued over it. |
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Post by Cei-U! on Feb 2, 2018 10:19:50 GMT -5
I've never owned a Richie Rich comic but my cousins had tons of them so I read theirs back in the day. I did have a few random Caspers and Spookys amidst my Marvels and DCs, as well as Archies, Gold Keys, Dells, Classics Illustrateds, and a solitary Charlton. I never encountered Casper comics at all over here in the UK and, in fact, the very first time I ever heard of Casper was, weirdly, while reading the Ghostbusters novelization back in 1984; Casper the Friendly Ghost is the ghost depicted in the Ghostbuster's "Ghost prohibited" sign... That's not Casper. It's one of his "uncles," The Ghostly Trio, or so Harvey claimed when they tried to sue the filmmakers for trademark infringement. Cei-U! I summon the litigation! |
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Post by Cei-U! on Feb 2, 2018 10:20:46 GMT -5
MDG: Jinx!
Cei-U!
I summon the Coke I owe you!
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,218
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Post by Confessor on Feb 2, 2018 10:28:43 GMT -5
That's not Casper. It's one of his "uncles," The Ghostly Trio, or so Harvey claimed when they tried to sue the filmmakers for trademark infringement. Oh OK, that's interesting because author Larry Milne in the Ghostbusters novelization definitely says it's Casper the Friendly Ghost (I just checked). Maybe it was originally intended to be Casper in the film's shooting script (which the novel is undoubtedly based on), but they decided to change it to one of Casper's uncles in the end, for fear of getting sued...which ended up happening anyway! |
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