Tag Archives: Wendy the Good Little Witch

Harvey Comics vs. Disney

Introduction

What would happen if the heroes of the Harvey Comics universe meet their equivalents in the Disney universe?  That is the goal of this article.  Also, the Harvey Comic character deserves to meet the most famous equivalent character.

1) Archibald the Talking Wishing Well vs. Pinocchio

As I stated in Harvey Comics vs. DC article, I have a soft spot for objects with sentience and even wrote a book on the subject called Household Fables.  Archibald the Talking Wishing Well is a sentient magical object and deserves to fight another sentient magical object.  Hot Stuff’s trident is also sentient and capable of doing magic.

Disney is filled with objects that possess sentience.  The question is if they must masquerade i.e. hide true sentient and in many cases animate nature.  The following Disney films have sentient objects:  Aladdin (Magic Carpet), Beauty and the Beast (Lumière, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, The Wardrobe), Cars, Toy Story (Aliens, Baby Face, Barbie, Barrel of Monkeys, Big Baby, Bo Peep, Bookworm, Bullseye, Buttercup, Buzz Lightyear, Chatter Telephone, Chuckles, Chunk, Combat Carl, Cymbal-banging monkey, Dolly, Ducky, Etch, Evil Emperor Zurg, Hamm, Hand-in-the-Box, Hannah’s dolls, Hockey Puck, Jack-in-the-Box, Janie and Pterodactyl, Jessie, Jingle Joe, Ken, Legs, Lenny, Lots-O’-Huggin’ Bear, Mr. Mike, Mr. Potato Head, Mr. Pricklepants, Mr. Shark, Mr. Spell, Mrs. Potato Head, Peas-in-a-Pod, RC, Rex, Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots, Rockmobile, Rocky Gibraltar, Roller Bob, Roly Poly Clown, Sarge, Slinky Dog, Snake and Robot, Sparks, Stinky Pete the Prospector, Stretch, The Frog, Toddle Tots, Totoro, Tour Guide Barbie, Trixie, Troikas, Troll, Twitch, Utility Belt Buzz, Walking Car, Wheezy, and Woody), Fantasia (Mickey the Sorcerer’s Apprentice animates brooms), and The Sword in the Stone (Merlin’s furniture).

Still the all time classic story of an object coming to life not only in the Disney universe but in world literature has to be Pinocchio.  The book is a classic but how people visualize Pinocchio is totally from the Disney movie Pinocchio.

Pinocchio is desperately looking for magical allies throughout the multiverse to fight Geppetto, who had become evil.  Pinocchio visits Archibald the Talking Wishing Well for advise since Wishing Wells are kind of the gossip queens of their particular magical universe.  Listening to wishes all day long ends up being a lot of intel!  Archibald is very honest with Pinocchio and points out the inhabitants of the Harvey universe would make poor soldiers.  Later that night, Archibald wishes upon a star every night for humanity or death until he is delivered from his condition by the Haunted Tank years later.

2) Baby Huey vs. Donald Duck

I deal with the subject of anthropomorphic animals in more detail at:

http://foxhugh.com/2009/06/10/Disney-vs-marvel-funny-animals/

Disney is arguably the home of the most and greatest cartoon anthropomorphic animals.  However, the most famous duck of Duckburg and Disney is Donald Duck!  Donald Duck hasn’t had to deal with a baby for awhile but has extensive experience with children.  Donald has three nephews, Huey, Dewy and Louie, that he has had many adventures with them.  Baby Huey’s town Duckville borders Duckburg.  Baby Duck gets lost during a school field trip to Duckburg.  Donald Duck sees Baby Huey crying on a park bench and tries to comfort Baby Huey. Baby Huey gives Donald Duck a hug which knocks him out.  No one in Duckburg has this sort of strength and Donald gets Baby Huey a job as a body guard to Scrooge McDuck.

3) Casper vs. Blackbeard’s Ghost

Casper loves his new friend from the Marvel Universe, Homer the Ghost, but misses getting rides with his horse, Nightmare.  Casper is a novice at interdimensional travel which for a ghost involves changing the vibrational frequency of the ghost’s spectral body.  Casper ends up in the Disney universe not the DC Universe.  The Disney universe has many less ghosts than the Harvey universe.  Ghosts even have a town, Spooky Town, in the Harvey universe!  Casper is in a panic!  There are no ghosts in this new universe.  A bearded ghost comes towards Casper.

Blackbeard bellowed, drunkenly, “Avast ye matey!  I be Blackbeard.  I thought I had met all the ghosts in the great spectral vastness.”

“Sir, I think I am lost”, responded Casper.

“Hmmmm, I have been cursed to wander as an unquiet spirit until I perform a good deed and I think helping a lad like yourself would be a good deed indeed!”, responded Blackbeard.

Blackbeard actually knows less than Casper about how to use his ghostly powers.  Casper reflected that he had actually learned a lot from the Ghostly Trio.  Casper was polite and pretended to take Blackbeard’s advice but realized on his own was that if he reversed the vibrational process then he should return home and it worked.

4) Hot Stuff the Little Devil vs. Chernobog

Disney is the “G” rated part of the toon universe and not surprisingly stays away from the very touchy subject of devils and demons.  Chernobog is Disney’s most famous and arguably only demonic character.  Hot Stuff notices a disturbance in the very firmament of hell.  When he gets to near the disturbance, Hot Stuff finds himself thrown out of a volcano surrounded by other demons, ghosts and witches.  There is this eerie music playing in the background.  Hot Stuff is very scared.  The music stops and Chernobog returns all the beings he used like so much confetti, at a party, back to their respective realms.

5) Nightmare the Galloping Ghost (Casper’s horse) vs. Pegasus (horse of Hercules)

Horses are a constant part of the background of Disney cartoons but very few have names and include:  Achilles (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) Bullseye (Toy Story 2), Captain (One Hundred and One Dalmatians), Cyril Proudbottom (The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr.Toad) , Khan (Mulan), Maximus (Tangled), Pegasus (Hercules), Phillipe (Beauty and the Beast), Philip (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe), Samson (Sleeping Beauty) and Sprout (The Parent Trap, 1998).  While many of the horses listed are brave, especially Achilles and Khan, only one has the power of flight like Nightmare and that is Pegasus.

Nightmare is distressed.  There was yet another Phantom Zone disturbance, Nightmare wishes Superman would fix that problem once and for all, and she is flying around a cartoon universe that is familiar yet unfamiliar.  Her love, Comet, is nowhere to be found. Pegasus has been the only horse in the skies forever.  Pegasus sees Nightmare and says hello in horsey (neeigh).   The two play hide and seek in the clouds.  Nightmare is not as smart as Comet but smarter than Pegasus and soon becomes bored.  Pegasus does not even have rudimentary telepathy and zero language skills beyond a whinny.  When a rift to the DC universe opens, Nightmare is gone.

6) Richie Rich vs. Scrooge McDuck

Cai Shen, the Chinese God of Wealth, will give a silver version of his golden rod.  The golden rod turns iron into gold.  The silver rod turns iron into silver.  The silver rod will be given to a person of great wealth that is worthy.  Cai Shen visits Richie Rich in the Harvey universe in the guise of a beggar.  Richie Rich is the wealthiest being of the Harvey Universe and thus warrants a visit by Cai Shen.  Richie Rich showers the beggar with attention and food.  Cai Shen is impressed until he is taken to the mansion of Richie Rich.

“There is too much conspicuous consumption.  A tree fort made of money is an unworthy act”, reflects Cai Shen.  Cai Shen thanks Richie and quietly slips away.

Cai Shen then visits the Disney universe and attempts the same beggar ploy on Scrooge McDuck looks at the shoes of Cai Shen and realizes the shoes are incredibly expensive and at oods with the overall dress and appearance of the beggar.

“It’s the old eccentric millionaire pretending to be a beggar scam”, thinks Scrooge McDuck.  Scrooge McDuck has pretended to be a beggar himself once or twice over the years.  Scrooge McDuck plays the game perfectly.  Cai Shen is fed and feted and all displays of conspicuous consumption are wisely avoided.  Cai Shen transforms into his real form.  Scrooge McDuck immediately recognizes Cai Shen.  Scrooge McDuck is an avid collector of Chinese antiques.

“Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, this is the big time”, thinks Scrooge McDuck.

Cai Shen gives Scrooge McDuck the silver rod.  Within a week Scrooge McDuck has accidentally turned Donald Duck into silver while trying to extend the powers of the silver rod by combining them with the good luck power of his number one dime and has no idea how to undo the spell or how to contact Cai Shen.  Huey, Dewey and Louie find a Chinese spell book and read the counter spell, they go to a fine boarding school in Australia.  Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck’s nephews will have to go on a quest to find the ingredients for the counter spell.  This was the plan by Cai Shen to teach Scrooge McDuck humility from the beginning!

7) Sad Sack vs. Sarge, Commander of the Green Army Men

I have written about comic book war heroes before at:

http://foxhugh.com/2009/03/21/Disney-vs-marvel-war-heroes/

Disney is filled with mythic warriors like Hercules and Mulan but stays away from the drab, bloody, muddy, all too real, terrible wars of the Twentieth Century.  However, there is one commanding officer that would feel at home in the modern battle field and that is Sarge who has the honor of commanding the Green Army Men of Toy Story.  Sad Sack has escaped the endless jokes of Sgt. Fury in the Marvel universe and finds himself in the Toy Story universe.  Sad Sack feels at home for the first time in his life.  The endless drills of the Green Army Men against a none existent army are strangely soothing.  Sad Sack saw real war in the DC and Marvel universes and likes the fake war of the Disney part of the multiverse.  Sarge likes Sad Sack and soon promotes him to the rank of corporal.

8) Stumbo the Giant vs. Willie the Giant

What giants at Disney would be a good match for Stumbo?  Hercules, the movie, has quite a few titans who are large and of giant proportions but far more powerful than any giant.  Gustav the Giant is a Stumbo type giant but was a one-shot in a Disney short with Mickey as a tailor here, but Gustav was not very memorable mostly because the cartoon he was in was not very good. Mickey was the hero against a second giant in Willie the Giant in Mickey and the Beanstalk.  Willie made further appearances in Mickey’s Christmas Carol, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Disney Parks, and Once Upon a Time.  Stumbo buys some beans from a shady visitor to Tiny Town.  The beans sprout and Stumbo quickly climbs the bean stalk to the palace of Willie the Giant.

Willie is not just a giant but has any number of magical powers including flight, invisibility, and metamorphosis.  Stumbo is probably smarter than Willie but only marginally.  Willie is quite sure Stumbo is in his palace to steal his magic harp and deals with Stumbo decisively and brutally.  Stumbo’s limp body is thrown from the sky to the earth but Stumbo does not die since no one dies in this type of Disney cartoon or any Harvey cartoon.

9) Wendy the Good Little Witch vs. Witch (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs)

Witches in the Disney universe include: Circe (Hercules) , Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty), Martha Wentworth ( The Sword in the Stone), The Witch (Brave), White Witch (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe), Miss Eglantine Price, The Sanderson Sisters, and Witch Hazel.  However, when you think Disney witches the classic is the Queen turned witch in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.  Perhaps it’s the transformation from a great beauty to a terrible hag is what titillates our imagination.

The witch offers Wendy a poisoned apple.  Wendy would never eat an apple from a witch in her universe but in her universe witches have a green complexion.   Wendy figures the person in front of her is just and old lady.  Wendy eats the apple and dies.

Related Articles

Harvey Comics Chess Set Proposal

Harvey Comics vs. DC Comics

Harvey Comics vs. Marvel Comics

My other website at:

Fox Superpower List

More comic book articles on this blog at:

http://foxhugh.com/?s=comic

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WereVerse Universe Baby!

WereVerse Universe at Google Drive Link

Harvey Comics Chess Set Proposal

King – Casper the Friendly Ghost

Queen – Wendy the Good Little Witch

Bishop – Hot Stuff the Little Devil

Knight – Nightmare the Galloping Ghost

Rook – Richie Rich

Pawn – Spooky the Tuff Little Ghost

Other Chess Set Proposals:

Alice in Wonderland versus Wizard of Oz Chess Set Proposal

DC Superheroes versus DC Supervillains Chess Set Proposal

DC Superheroes versus Marvel Superheroes Chess Set Proposal

Greek Gods versus Norse Gods Chess Set Proposal

Revised Batman versus Superman Chess Set Proposal

Star Trek versus Star Wars Chess Set Proposal

Harvey Comics Related:

 

Harvey Comics vs. Marvel Comics

Harvey Comics vs. DC Comics

My other website at:

Fox Superpower List

More comic book articles on this blog at:

http://foxhugh.com/?s=comic

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WereVerse Universe Baby!

WereVerse Universe at Google Drive Link

Harvey Comics vs. DC Comics

Introduction

What would happen if the heroes of the Harvey Comics universe meet their equivalents in the DC universe?  That is the goal of this article.  The challenge is finding the Harvey Comic equivalent character in the very different DC universe.  Also, the Harvey Comic character deserves to meet the most famous equivalent character.  DC characters that had their own title are considered more important than characters that did not have their own title.  If more than one character type had their own title then the character that had more impact on the history of the DC universe is picked as the “adversary” for the Harvey character.

1) Archibald the Talking Wishing Well vs. Haunted Tank

Archibald the Talking Wishing Wellis a very, very minor character in the Harvey universe but I have a soft spot for sentient objects.  I even wrote a book on the subject called Household Fables.  Archibald the Talking Wishing Well is a supporting character in the Casper universe.  Hot Stuff’s trident is also sentient and capable of doing magic.  Unfortunately while the Casper universe is overrun with, one-shot, sentient objects this is really not something that is done in the DC universe.  However, there is the Haunted Tank which is a tank haunted by the ghost of Robert E. Lee and this is pretty much the foremost sentient object in the DC Universe and actually almost the only sentient object in the DC universe that is not a one-shot.

The Haunted Tank gets lost in a back story of Tales of the Unexpected, just before Lee’s fight with the other ghost Captain Fear, and finds himself in the Casper universe.  Archibald asks the Haunted Tank if he wants a wish.  Robert E. Lee wants his body back!  One can assume that Archibald can see and hear ghosts since Archibald communicates with Casper.  Archibald gives the transformation a try but just doesn’t have the juice for such a giant magical spell.  Lee starts to wheel himself back home but Archibald yells “stop”.

Archibald has been a sentient magical well for thousands of years and is sick of his existence.  Archibald gives and gives and sometimes doesn’t even get a thank you.  Archibald realizes that the Haunted Tank is the only being he has ever met in the Casper universe that has the guts to do what has to be down.  Archibald tells the Haunted Tank in piteous voice, “Please kill me!”  Lee understands the pain of the wishing well since he has been trapped in a similar manner.  Lee realizes that Archibald’s plight is far worse since it’s been his lot for thousands of years not just a little over a hundred.  At least the Haunted Tank has mobility and adventures.  Lee slowly lowers the turret of the Haunted Tank and blows the well to bits.

2) Baby Huey vs. Rubberduck

I have written about anthropomorphic animals before at:

http://foxhugh.com/2009/06/10/dc-vs-marvel-funny-animals/

The anthropomorphic animals of DC include Alley-Kat-Abra, American Eagle, Bulldog Drumhead , Captain Carrot , Captain Carrot and the Zoo Crew, Dodo and the Frog, Doodles Duck, Fastback, Flippity & Flop, J. Rufus Lion, Little Cheese, McSnurtle the Turtle, Nutsy Squirrel, Peter Panda, Peter Porkchops, Pig-Iron, Racoon Kids, Rubberduck, Tito and his Burrito , Three Mouseketeers, and Yankee Poodle

Baby Huey deserves to fight another anthropomorphic duck.  The foremost and actually only anthropomorphic duck of the DC universe is Rubberduck.  Rubberduck is a supporting character of a second tier title, Captain Carrot and the Amazing Zoo Crew.  Rubberduck was trying to visit Superman with his interdimensional vehicle but ended up in the Harvey universe instead.

Baby Huey thinks Rubberduck is so cute and tries to give him a big sloppy kiss.  Rubberduck mistakes this attempt at affection for an attack.  Baby Huey effectively has super strength and has been known to toss cars around.  Rubberduck can stretch his body like Mr. Fantastic or the Elongated Man.  Rubberduck wraps his body around Baby Huey and starts the big squeeze.  Baby Huey almost passes out but with one gigantic push of his arms manages to snap out of Rubberduck’s grip.  Baby Huey then whirls Rubberduck around and around by his legs and finally lets him go.  Rubberduck falls into a convenient lake unconscious.  Baby Huey jumps into the lake but remembers that he can’t swim.  Rubberduck drowns.  Baby Huey cries and cries until Papa Duck calms him down.

3) Casper vs. Spectre

DC doesn’t have that many ongoing ghost characters.  Ghosts in DC include: Dark Angel, Dead Boy Detectives, Deadman, Gentleman  Ghost, Haunted Tank, and the Spectre .  The Dead Boy Detectives, Deadman, Haunted Tank and the Spectre have all had their own title.  However, the Spectre has been around since the Golden Age and is generally considered the archetype of the ghostly superhero that abounded in the Golden Age.

Casper hears the meowing of the Phantom Zone Cats and follows the meowing to the Phantom Zone.  Casper is surrounded by evil Kryptonians that have been sentenced to the Phantom Zone.  The Kryptonians are mean and scary, far scarier than the Ghostly Trio, and Casper begins to cry.  The Spectre hears the crying of the ghost child and takes him by the hand and leads Casper back to his own universe.

4) Hot Stuff the Little Devil vs. Etrigan the Demon

The following is a list of demons in the DC universe:  Anton Arcane, Asmodel, Azazel (DC Comics), Belyllioth, Blaze and Satanus, Blue Devil, Chantinelle, Demons Three, Dreamslayer,Etrigan the Demon, First of the Fallen, Great Evil Beast, Heggra, Jeannette (comics), Lucifer (DC Comics), Mazikeen (comics), Mnemoth, Nebiros, Nekron, Neron, Onimar Synn, Raven (comics), Sabbac, Trigon (comics) and Yuga Khan.  Hot Stuff is technically a devil not a demon but these terms are interchangeable in the DC and Harvey universes unlike the Marvel and more especially the Dungeon and Dragon universe.  Hot Stuff should meet DC’s foremost demon since DC appears to avoid the appellation of devil, probably for religious reasons.

Only the Blue Devil, Etrigan the Demon and Lucifer had their own titles at one time or another.  The Blue Devil is an odd little second or even third tier character that is currently in comic book limbo.  Lucifer is one of the most powerful characters in the DC universe and could probably wipe out the entire Harvey universe without much trouble.  Poor Hot Stuff would be hopelessly over matched in a contest against Lucifer.  Therefore, Etrigan the Demon emerges as the champion of the DC universe.

Hot Stuff wanders away from Deviltown and encounters a section of hell he has never seen before.  Etrigan is considered one of the more powerful demons even in the much darker recesses of hell.  Etrigan is probably stronger than any demon in Deviltown.  Hot Stuff is a baby that wears asbestos diapers.  Hot Stuff takes one look at Etrigran and runs back to Deviltown.

5) Nightmare the Galloping Ghost (Casper’s horse) vs. Comet the Super-Horse

There are not a lot of important horses in the DC universe.  Bat Lash has a horse named DaisyVictory and Vanguard are flying horses used by the Shining Knight.  Comet the Super-Horse is Supergirl’s horse and the most famous DC horse and just about the only DC horse even hard core DC fans can name.  Comet was once a human but was turned into a horse and then a super-horse by Circe.  Circe is generally a bad witch but will do good deeds if a good looking blonde hunk is involved.  Comet has all the super powers of Superman and Supergirl but none of their weaknesses.  Comet is immune to Kryptonite and does not lose his powers under a red sun due to the magical rather than Kryptonian origin of his super powers.  A horse is stronger than a man and a super horse is stronger than Superman.  Superman alone can defeat Supergirl but Supergirl astride Comet can defeat Superman.  Super-Girl with Comet beating on Superman is more or less a story line in more than one Silver Age Superman family issue.  Krypto managed to survive the destruction of the Silver Age continuity by DC during the Crisis on Infinite Earthsbut Comet and all the other super pets  that included Streaky the Supercat and Beppo the Supermonkey did not so this adventure takes place in the Silver Age exclusively.  When is HeroClix going to create a Supergirl plus Comet miniature using their Brave and Bold combined hero system?

Casper has disappeared and Nightmare follows his astral trail to the Phantom Zone.  The Phantom Zone Cats telepathically tell that Casper was in the Phantom Zone but was led back home by the Spectre.  You can see the DC Earth easily from the Phantom Zone and Nightmare sees Comet.  Nightmare’s heart beats like her heart has never beat before.

Nightmare thinks, “That’s one fine stud!”

Nightmare descends from the Phantom Zone to the DC Earth and offers her haunches to Comet.  The two can communicate telepathically.  Comet once was a human but has been a horse for a very, very long time.  Normal horses are not as intelligent as Nightmare and break easily.  Nightmare’s fluffy mane is like nothing Comet has ever seen before.  Nightmare’s Disney style eyes give her an exotic look that Comet finds irresistible.

Nightmare and Comet begin a torrid love affair.  Will Nightmare ever return to Casper?  Will Casper care?  Will Supergirl become jealous of Nightmare?  Will Superman become jealous of Nightmare?  What will Lois Lane do?  What convoluted plan will Lex Luthor come up with in order to use Nightmare to destroy Superman?  How will the editors at DC transform Jimmy Olsen into a male version of Nightmare?  Will there be a Nightmare/Ace the Bat-Hound team up against a Comet/Krypto team up?  Stay tuned for another day in the lives of the Silver Age, Super Family.

6) Richie Rich vs. The Green Team: Boy Millionaires

The Green Team is a team of rich kid adventurers.  The entry fee for the club is a million dollars.  The Green Team hates Richie Rich!  They are millionaires while Richie Rich uses millions of dollars to make common place objects.  Richie Rich has slept on a sleeping bag of hundred dollar bills (Richie Rich Dollars and Cents #11).  Richie Rich exercises with a jumping rope made out of precious jewels (Richie Rich Dollars and Cents #23).  Richie Rich made a bridge of dollar bills (Richie Rich Dollars and Cents #30).  The list goes on and on.  The Green Team is in DC comic book limbo and in this state have metafictional awareness.  The Green Team is aware that they are a poor copy of Richie Rich.  They tried to bribe Animal Man (Animal Man #25) into getting them out of comic book limbo but failed.  If the Green Team ever escapes comic book limbo then Green Team plans to buy DC Comics and get Richie Rich to join their team as a butler that works for them!  Of course if they get out then their metafictional awareness will disappear.  The Green Team is aware of this and have tattooed directions on their bodies as to what to do in case they ever escape DC comic book limbo.  Where Harvey comic book characters go when their title and even their comic book company is gone is unknown.  Oh they end up on my blog!

7) Sad Sack vs. Sgt. Rock

I have written about comic book war heroes before at:

http://foxhugh.com/2009/03/21/dc-vs-marvel-war-heroes/

The DC heroes include Blackhawk, Boy Commandos, Captain Storm, Creature Commandos, Enemy Ace, G.I. Robot, Gunner & Sarge, Haunted Tank, Hunter’s Hellcats, Johnny Cloud, the Losers, Mademoiselle Marie, Red, White and Blue and Sgt. Rock of Easy Company. Sad Sack is sadly assigned to Easy Company and has Sgt. Rock has his NCO.  Sgt. Rock takes one look at Sad Sack and knows what he has to do.  Sad Sack is put on point and taken out by a German sniper shortly afterwards.  Even two days later, no one in Easy Company even remembers Sad Sack.

8) Stumbo the Giant vs. Colossal Boy

Stumbo is a giant and logically should fight the foremost giant of the DC universe which is Colossal Boy.  Colossal Boy wanders through a dimensional rift and finds himself in Tiny Town, the home of Stumbo.  Stumbo has once against accidentally destroyed a house in Tiny Town.  Colossal Boy surveys the destruction and decided Stumbo is some sort of evil giant that likes to destroy houses of those smaller for fun.  Colossal Boy grows to the size of Stumbo and loses some self control because at that size his intellectual capacity is diminished.  Diminished capacity or not, Colossal Boy has had extensive Legion martial arts training plus years of fighting experience.  Stumbo almost never fights enemies and mostly has accidents in Tiny Town.  Colossal Boy starts the fight with quick Karate chop to the jugular followed by a Judo throw.  Once down, Colossal Boy get Stumbo in a neck choke and chokes him out.  The small natives start throwing rocks at Colossal Boy and he is confused.  Fortunately, Braniac 5 has found Colossal Boy and uses an interdimensional transporter ray to bring Colossal Boy back to the DC universe.

9) Wendy the Good Little Witch vs. Zatanna

Wendy deserves to fight the foremost witch of the DC universe.  There are a ton of witch choices in the DC Universe including: Alley-Kat-Abra, Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld, Circe (comics) , Dark Angel (DC Comics), La Encantadora, Enchantress (DC Comics), Glorith, Jinx (DC Comics), The Mad Mod Witch, Madame Xanadu, Madame Zodiac, Manitou Dawn, Lyta Milton, Morgaine le Fey (DC Comics), Queen of Fables, Raven (comics), Satan Girl, Silver Sorceress,Tala (comics), Titania (DC Comics), Traci Thirteen, Warlock’s Daughter, White Witch (comics), Witchfire (DC Comics), Yellow Peri, Zatanna, and Zealot (Wildstorm).

Only Madame Xanadu and Zatanna have had their own series.  Zatanna has been an important member of the Justice League of America.  Zatanna even appeared in the Superboy TV show Smallville!  Zatanna is also famous for her costume and especially her fish net stockings.  Zatanna wins the DC witch wars.

Wendy accidentally creates an interdimensional portal that takes her to the DC universe.  Wendy is flying around Gotham City with her broom and literally runs into Zatanna.  Wendy is used to ugly adult witches with green skin warts and ugly purple robes.  Wendy can magically sense that Zatanna is a witch like she is but the sort of witch she wants to be when she grows up.

Wendy, “You are beautiful”.

Zatanna responds in a maternal voice, “You are pretty cute yourself kid but do you mind if I give you some fashion advice?”

Wendy, “Please, please, please!”

Zatanna uses her magic to give Wendy a makeover.

Wendy is overjoyed.  Zatanna helps Wendy get home and promises to visit her someday.  Casper meets the new Wendy and feels a strange sickly sweet nausea that disturbs him to his astral core.  Suddenly Casper doesn’t feel so friendly towards anyone that looks at Wendy.  Casper has been lonely ever since Nightmare disappeared but this new Wendy more than makes up for the disappearance of Nightmare.

More comic book articles on this blog at:

http://foxhugh.com/?s=comic

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DC vs. Marvel Kids

Casper and Fox

Casper and Fox

This is the eighth post in this series. DC versus Marvel superhero posts have been done to death on the internet and I wanted to do something different. This series looks at what happens when you pit the non superheroes of these two companies. This series also gives me an excuse to revisit some of the obscure comic book characters of my past. The dominance of the superhero genre in American comic books has meant that characters of other comic book genres have been ignored for decades and this series to some extent is an attempt to rectify this unfortunate state of affairs.

The first post looked at Westerns and Western heroes. http://foxhugh.com/2009/02/13/dc-vs-marvel-western-heroes/

The second post looked at war comics and war heroes. http://foxhugh.com/2009/03/21/dc-vs-marvel-war-heroes/

The third post looked at women’s comics and working women. http://foxhugh.com/2009/04/11/dc-vs-marvel-working-women

The fourth post looked at space operas and spacemen http://foxhugh.com/2009/04/20/dc-vs-marvel-spacemen/

The fifth post analyzed funny animals.
http://foxhugh.com/2009/06/10/dc-vs-marvel-funny-animals/

The sixth post looked at the teenagers of teenage humor comic books. http://foxhugh.com/2009/07/15/dc-vs-marvel-teenagers/

The seventh post looked at horror comics and horror hosts. http://foxhugh.com/2009/07/27/dc-vs-marvel-horror-hosts/

I am inventing a comic book genre name for this series. Women’s comics are defined as comic books that appeal to women. I would like to propose there is a genre of comic books that appeals to very young children as opposed to children in general and I would like to name this genre kids comic’s. The ultimate example of this genre would be the children’s Harvey Comics line that included such characters as Baby Huey, Casper, Hot Stuff, Little Audrey, Little Dot, Little Lotta, Spooky, Richie Rich and Wendy the Good Little Witch. Harvey Comics also published comics with superheroes but is best remembered for its kid’s comics. I see similarities between Harvey Comics and Archie Comics.

Faced with hopeless competition with DC and Marvel in the superhero arena, these two comic book companies found success in non superhero genres, an example of niche marketing in the comic book marketplace. Archie Comics has dominated teenage humor for decades, right up until the present and squashed attempts by DC and Marvel to make titles that compete in this genre. Harvey Comics was also able to survive in a similar manner with kids comic books. Interestingly, both Archie Comics and Harvey Comics tried superheroes but eventually gave up these titles probably because of competition from DC and Marvel. Both Archie Comics and Harvey Comics had to learn hard lessons about their core business which turned out to be genres other than the superhero one.

There is tremendous overlap between the funny animal genre, dealt with in the post about funny animals (http://foxhugh.com/2009/06/10/dc-vs-marvel-funny-animals/) and kid’s comics and many comics fit both genres. Still, characters such as Casper are obviously not funny animals. I would propose that funny animals are a subgenre of kid’s comics logically but the funny animal subgenre is so big it must be treated as a genre. In a similar manner, logically superheroes are a subgenre of science fiction but are such a dominant subgenre in terms of the comic book marketplace that superheroes are best dealt with as a separate genre. This post will only deal with kid comics that are not funny animals.

This genre is characterized by a simplified cartoon style, very G rated material, even by comic code approved standards, and very simple plots. The defining characteristic is that the comic book is aimed at a very young readership. I would say the comic books should be able to appeal to preschoolers and they should be able to handle the material without the aid of an adult. Older readers may like the simplicity of the comic books in the same way that even adults can appreciate a children’s book but the reverse is not true. A relatively G-rated comic book like Superman, especially a more recent Superman comic book, will not be appreciated by preschoolers unless their literacy is especially high.

DC kids include the Brat Finks, Stanley and his Monster, as well as, Sugar and Spike. Stanley and his Monster replaced the Fox and Crow in issue #109 but the retitled comic book only lasted until issue #112. Stanley is a six year old with a lisp that mistakes a monster for a dog and lets him secretly live with him. The monster is covered with pink hair, has enormous fangs and is gigantic, maybe nine feet? The parents never catch onto the existence of the monster. In the innocent comic book logic of that era, hiding a nine foot monster in a typical suburban house is considered totally possible. The comic book was printed in the sixties. In the nineties, DC decided to add some back story to the series and include Stanley and his Monster in some DC crossovers. I still prefer the more innocent less sophisticated Stanley and his Monster of the sixties.

Sugar and Spike was created by comic book legend Sheldon Mayer and is one of the best comic books lines ever! Somehow DC forgot to reprint this comic book in their current reprint Showcase series. This is extremely unfortunate and I urge DC to add Sugar and Spike to the Showcase reprint line. Sugar and Spike are two preschoolers that talk to each other in baby talk that adults can’t understand.

Sugar and Spike are constantly trying to figure out adult logic and the adult world and come up with outlandish explanations that nevertheless are totally logical. Mayer was able to capture kid’s logic in a way few cartoonists ever have. The closest any cartoonist has ever come is Calvin and Hobbes but I actually think Mayer does a better job and he is dealing with much younger children that are harder for adults to understand. Sugar is a blonde haired kid. Spike is a red haired kid. Other characters came and went in the strip such as Little Arthur, Uncle Charley and Bernie the Brain and even the secondary characters of this great strip were better than the primary characters of most cartoons. The strip lasted 98 issues, from the seventies into the nineties, and I am sure would have gone on even longer except for his death in 1992.

Marvel Kids, pre-Star imprint, is a much shorter list and I want to mention Homer the Happy Ghost who was brought to my attention by a reader of this post (see comments).  Homer the Happy Ghost was an obvious imitation of Casper that lasted 22 issues, between March, 1955- November 1958, which for a none superheroe is not bad!  Supporting characters included Melvin the Mixed-Up Ghost, Invisible Irwin, Dugan the Dead End Ghost, and Zelda the Zany Witch.  Homer was reprinted for five issues between from November 1969 to May 1970 and I vaguely remember seeing this version of the title.  Anway, thanks for the info Mark!

Marvel Kids include all the characters of their Star imprint that lasted from 1984-88. The characters of the Star imprint included Air Raiders, ALF, Animax, Bullwinkle and Rocky, Care Bears, Chuck Norris and his Karate Kommandos, Defenders of the Earth, The Flinstone Kids, Foofur, Fraggle Rock, The Get-Along Gang, Heathcliff, Heathcliffs Funhouse, Hugga Bunch, Inhumanoids, Madballs, Masters of the Universe, Masters of the Universe Motion Picture, Misty, Muppet Babies, The Muppets take Manhattan, Peter Porker The Spectacular Spider Ham, Planet Terry, Popples, Royal Roy, Silverhawks, Star Wars Digest, Star Wars Droids, Star Wars Ewoks, Strawberry Shortcake, ThunderCats, Top Dog, and Wally the Wizard. Marvel did publish a couple of Casper comic books in 1997.

Most of the Star comic books are not Marvel properties and will not be looked at given the topic of this post. Spider Ham, Planet Terry, Royal Roy, Top Dog and Wally the Wizard are the only true Marvel properties of the Star comic’s line. Spider Ham was already dealt with in the funny animals post so we are down to Planet Terry, Royal Roy, Top Dog and Wally the Wizard.

Planet Terry, Royal Roy and Top Dog were all written by Lennie Herman. Planet Terry was a space saga. Planet Terry was looking for his parents in space with his sidekicks a robot named Robota and a green-scaled muscular alien named Omnus. I swear that Planet Terry’s facial features are very similar to those of Casper. He flew around in a jet pack and many of his flying poses seem directly lifted from Casper comic books. Top Dog is a talking dog and therefore a funny animal and the subject of another post. Royal Roy is Marvels version of Richie Rich of Harvey Comics. Prince Roy lives in Cashelot (Camelot plus Cash) and only
lasted six issues. Wally the Wizard was an apprentice wizard to Marlin the Wizard, Merlin the Wizards older brother.  Wally the Wizard was created by Bob Bolling who had also created Little Archie.

Sugar and Spike team up with Stanley and his monster for a day at the sandbox and run into these two weird kids in weird costumes. One is dressed like a prince, one is dressed like a spaceman and one is dressed like a wizard. Sugar and Spike know all about Halloween and love that day and know darn well this day isn’t that day. They start laughing at the costumed kids and soon a fight ensues. Stanley’s Monster sits on the Marvel kids until they agree to behave. DC wins this round.

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Other DC vs. Marvel Posts

Big Monsters

Fourth Wall Heroes

Funny Animals

Horror Hosts

Kids

Robots

Sidekicks

Spacemen

Superpets

Teenagers

Transportation

War Heroes

Weapons

Western Heroes

Women in Refrigerators

Working Women

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