CASTLE WAITING 87
school-age girl; and Richie Rich,
the poor little rich boy. Casper had
a relatively simple backstory, as the
ghost of a child. Th is origin, which
could have upset younger read-
ers, disappeared relatively quickly
from the comics. Th e comic book
stories generally followed a similar
pattern. Casper was a lonely ghost
who wished to befriend living
humans, usually children. After
their initial fright, Casper would
usually win over the human char-
acters, often by saving them from
some danger. Th e appeal of the
series combined a child’s love of
the supernatural with the feelings
of being an outcast and misun-
derstood, feelings which are over-
come through friendship, a very
appealing trope for grade school-
age readers. Th e character was
adapted into theatrical animated
cartoons by the Fleischer Studio in
the 1940s. Although the studio had done one of the fi nest comic book character adapta-
tions in history, the Superman cartoons, the Casper cartoons were relatively inoff ensive
programmers, appealing, and forgettable. As the fi eld of comic books for children con-
tracted in the 1970s, the Harvey Company ceased publishing comics except for a small
line of reprints for the collectors’ market. Eventually, rights to the character of Casper
were sold to a Hollywood intellectual property holding company, paving the way for the
big-budget (but largely forgettable) fi lm of 1995.
Christopher Couch
CASTLE WAITING. Linda Medley’s Castle Waiting not only presents an ongoing saga
steeped in reworked folklore but also off ers insight into its publishing history from the
creator’s perspective. Published by Medley’s own Olio Press with the help of a Xeric
Grant, Castle Waiting fi rst appeared as a graphic novel (subtitled Th e Curse of Brambly
Hedge) that quickly sold out its fi rst printing in 1996 and was revised and reprinted
in 1999. Th e second edition includes additional material aimed at younger readers as
well as letterer Todd Klein’s suggestions on children’s books collected from the seven
individual issues of a Castle Waiting series published by Olio in 1997 and 1998. Medley
credits Mike Mignola with encouraging her not only to self-publish but to do so with a
Casper the Friendly Ghost with his magic hat. Harvey
Famous Cartoons/Paramount Pictures/Photofest
