Posted By Dan Greenfield on Oct 8, 2024 | 6 comments

A g-g-g-g-ghost!

By KIRK HASTINGS

13th Dimension has published virtually nothing about Harvey Comics’ Casper the Friendly Ghost and his pals, but with Halloween season here, now is the time to correct that!

Warren Kremer produced just about all of Harvey’s kids’ comic-book covers between the late 1940s and 1982, when the company ceased publication. Beginning in 1952, he started drawing for Harvey’s ghost characters (starting with Casper). Editor Sid Jacobson wanted covers to have a more graphic, professional look than other comics of the time, and Kremer’s beautiful, well-designed artwork filled that bill perfectly. He created the artistic standard for Casper and his other “ghost” friends.

So, here are the TOP 13 HARVEY COMICS GHOST COVERS – RANKED. All were most likely drawn, inked, and colored by Kremer:

—

13. Wendy Witch World #7 (Dec. 1963). This was one of many Halloween-themed Harvey ghost covers over the years; they were always popular with fans.

—

12. Wendy, The Good Little Witch #44 (October, 1967). It’s claimed that Kremer not only drew, inked, and colored almost all of the Harvey Comics covers of the 1960s and 1970s, but that he often came up with the ideas for his covers as well. This cover of Wendy, the Good Little Witch has a very classic, fairy-tale style to it – and a great deal of timeless charm as well.

—

11. Tuff Ghosts Starring Spooky #5 (March, 1963). This is another classic Kremer cover and it creates a pleasantly warm glow in your heart. His ability to pick just the right colors to set off his cover drawings is very much in play here.

—

10. The Friendly Ghost, Casper #78 (February, 1965). This cover has a wintry, December/Christmasy charm to it. As usual, Kremer’s linework and composition is spot on (as well as the coloring, which especially pops against the black background).

—

9. Tuff Ghosts Starring Spooky #27 (March, 1967). This cover is reminiscent of EC’s horror comics from the 1950s. (And don’t you just love the expression on Spooky’s face?)

—

8. Casper’s Ghostland #16 (January, 1963). This is another Halloween-themed cover, with plenty of bright orange Jack-O-Lanterns (always a favorite subject for a ghost cover!) and a well-designed Scarecrow character.

—

7. Spooky #91 (April, 1966). This is a pretty creepy cover, with those monster trees surrounding Spooky. These eerie denizens of the woods bring to mind the equally creepy trees that made up the Haunted Forest in the original 1939 Wizard of Oz film. Again, the dark blue/green/purple color scheme greatly adds to the cover’s feeling of foreboding.

—

6. Casper’s Ghostland #8 (January, 1961). Still another Halloween-themed cover, based on a very clever artistic device: the various characters repainting the moon to look like a gigantic Jack-O-Lantern.

—

5. Casper’s Ghostland #35 (April, 1967). This is another eerie-looking cover that harks back to the horror comics of the 1950s. What IS that strange, wispy spirit-thing emanating from the chimney of that spooky haunted house?

—

4. Casper’s Ghostland #26 (July, 1965). The main character on this cover is obviously meant to be a direct take-off of Boris Karloff’s classic 1931 Frankenstein monster — but with the added mystery of not showing his face. What horrible visage are we not permitted to see?

—

3. Spooky Spooktown #20 (May, 1967). Possibly the weirdest cover ever used on a Harvey ghost comic. That guy in the doorway is so creepy looking! And hanging Spooky and the Ghostly Trio up in his closet on hangers? WEIRD!

—

2. Casper the Friendly Ghost #18 (March, 1954). This is a very early cover from the first series of the Casper comic, preceding the so-called Silver Age version that debuted in 1952. Everything about it (the composition, the colors, the linework, the atmosphere) is just about perfect!

—

1. Spooky Spooktown #3 (December, 1961). To this day, this is my personal favorite Harvey ghost comic cover. Again using the ever-popular Halloween theme, it’s funny how Spooky is managing here to scare even the Ghostly Trio! (Plus, the lead story inside – “Hallowe’en Land” — is one of my very favorite Spooky stories.)

—

MORE

— The TOP 13 Halloween Candies – RANKED. Click here.

— The Goofy Giddiness of Disney’s CHILLING, THRILLING HAUNTED HOUSE Record. Click here.

—

For more great Harvey ghost art, covers, and history, check out Kirk’s Facebook page, The Enchanted Forest (Spooky, Casper, Wendy, Nightmare, The Ghostly Trio).