The Odyssey of Casper!

Today, Casper enters the world of Homer's The Odyssey (and who said comics weren't educational?). This post comes via a request from Big Blog pal, Martin, who in previous comments recalled a specific Casper story where the friendly ghost meets Ulysses. Well, I just had to find the story and share it with everyone. Another pal, Debbie, did the legwork and tracked the story down. Please visit both Martin and Debbie's respective blogs by clicking their names above!

This classic tale comes from The Friendly Ghost, Casper No. 9, May 1959; with artwork by Warren Kremer.

Friendly Ghost, Casper in "The Golden Touch"

Warren Kremer, the artist of this story and cover, set the house style for the glorious Harvey Comics of the 1950s and 1960s. No artist ever made Harvey's Enchanted Forest appear as lush as did Mr. Kremer. The man could draw anything with a simple, fluid ease as is evident in this Harvey-style, retelling of the story of greedy King Midas. Cover and story are from The Friendly Ghost, Casper No. 24, August 1960.

For you older kids in my age bracket, which ABC station did you watch the Sunday Harvey cartoons on? Me, growing up in a suburb outside Detroit, I watched them on good, old channel 7 - WXYZ!

Casper via Kremer

No one drew Casper like Warren Kremer (Heck, no one could draw like Warren Kremer). As a kid, I used to stare at his splash panels, getting lost in the beautiful details (still do). He was also a great cover artist (as seen here), the equal of Carl Barks in that department.

I really love this story about a sorcerer's wishing stone, which weaves a lesson into the fun so purely and simply - like only Harvey could do. This comes from The Friendly Ghost, Casper No. 68, April 1964.

Warren Kremer's Giant Footprints

In his many years at Harvey Comics, Warren Kremer drew every character the company offered, defined the house style, and did virtually every cover (including this one). Among a rich catalog of work, however, Stumbo the Giant - the gargantuan, gentle protector of Tinytown - is his masterpiece.

I can stare at Kremer’s pages of Stumbo until time begins to slip; the way birds fly around his knees, or the way he fans himself with an uprooted tree – giant hands alongside tiny, perfect people half a finger long. With Warren Kremer, every panel is like looking at the facets of a jewel.

Fellow Harvey artist, Ernie Colón, had this to say about Kremer in a Comic Book Artist interview from June 2002: “The guy was like an architect. His drawings were so careful, so beautiful . . . The best example that I can give is when he was given the assignment for Stumbo the Giant; he just worked wonders with that strip. Such an astonishing achievement. Astonishing because here again you have an eight-panel page with a giant so big he’s using a mountain to relax on. . . . He (Kremer) is a complete master of comic book art."