Hallow-Reading: Casper's Haunted Halloween

Before discovering the joys of superhero comic books as a teen, I enjoyed gorging on "funny books." As a ten year old with few pennies to spend on the fancy comic books displayed in the corner store spinner rack, my "collection" consisted of the discounted discards my brother and I would buy at the local used bookstore. Despite lacking covers (which were removed, I presume, so that they could be sold at a discount), we would buy as many as we could during each trip. The bulk of these starred Harvey Comics regulars such as Casper the Friendly Ghost, Richie Rich, and our favorite at the time (most likely because our grandfather was a proud World War 2 veteran), Sad Sack.

Though rife for an update (given that the original premise is slightly dated), new Sad Sack material has not been published for decades. Recently, though, others in the Harvey stable, most notably Casper and his spooky friends have found new, and reprinted, life in a line of titles from American Mythology Comics. All-ages titles such as Casper's Ghostland, Casper's Spooksville, and Casper the Friendly Ghost's Capers regularly find there way to my weekly pull list with good reason: they're entertaining as heck and a little well produced nostalgia goes a long way. They are also among the first books I read upon arriving home.

This past week saw Casper's Haunted Halloween arrive right on time for the holiday. Consisting of six stories from the Harvey Vault, Casper's Haunted Halloween also features fan-favorites the Ghostly Trio, Nightmare the Galloping Ghost, and "the tuff little ghost," Spooky. This holiday one-shot demonstrates the timeless nature of Casper's antics which are published monthly in the American Mythology titles. In the first of a three-part story, "Spook School", Casper is one again being pressured by the Ghostly Trio to become a "nasty ghost". The erstwhile friendly ghost agrees to attend because "education never hurt anyone!" After happily failing the first day of classes with a "minus zero," returns the following day rather than be "clobbered by the Ghostly Trio." Ultimately he and Gary Ghost, a star pupil in Spook School are abducted and taken to Goblandia in the second chapter, "Ghosts in Goblandia." Following a series of misadventures during which the kidnapped ghosts are forced into labor by the goblins, Casper [SPOILER ALERT] he saves the day, and the mean ghosts that belittle his good natured ways, through the power of friendship.

Yes, the story is simple, and, yes, the pages (on high quality paper) are clearly reproductions of classic comics, but the visuals and message remain timely. Ultimately, Casper's earnest efforts to help both those who steal he and his classmates away, and those same classmates who ridicule him, win the day and all but the most hardened and cynical readers. I enjoyed Casper's Haunted Halloween quite a bit and am thankful to American Mythology for producing such high quality reproductions and new content (though not in this particular title) monthly for new and old seasoned readers alike.