Casper the Friendly Ghost turns 60 this year and Ardden Entertainment (the people behind the recent Flash Gordon series) are dusting off the ghost and his pals. I don’t think purists with fond memories will like this, but I could be wrong. The covers look different and not what you’d expect from Casper, and J.M DeMatteis and Todd Dezago are veterans in the comics biz, so it could very well be a great all-ages series that brings kids, and perhaps some adults, into comics. Press release below.
CASPER AND THE SPECTRALS Features All-New Graphics and Storylines for Casper the Friendly Ghost®, Wendy the Good Little Witch™, and Hot Stuff™
First Issue in Series Debuts Halloween 2009 timed with the 60th Anniversary of Casper’s debut in comic books
Ardden Entertainment, an exciting new force in the comic book industry, announced today the creation and launch of a spellbinding new comic book series based on well-known characters Casper the Friendly Ghost®, Wendy the Good Little Witch™, and Hot Stuff™. CASPER AND THE SPECTRALS will debut in the fall of 2009, timed with the Friendly Ghost’s 60th Anniversary as the title character in his own comics.
CASPER AND THE SPECTRALS is based on a concept by veteran comic book creator and writer J.M. DeMatteis and Ardden co-founder Brendan Deneen, and will be written by Todd Dezago and illustrated by Pedro Delgado. The series will introduce updated graphic designs, brand-new new themes and storylines for each character. Dezago has worked for Marvel, DC Comics, Image, and Dark Horse Comics for more than fifteen years on such titles as Spider-Man, X-Factor, Batman, Impulse, and the Justice League of America. He is best known for his quintessential run on Sensational Spider-Man with the late Mike Wieringo, and for his series, The Perhapanauts. A comics penciler and graphic designer, Delgado’s portfolio includes the Flash Gordon 75th Anniversary anthology book (The Secret History of Mongo), character designs for Funrise ToyCorp., several animated TV productions, and the redesign of DeviantART and L.A. Kings mascots.
Ardden Entertainment is the publisher of the critically-acclaimed monthly FLASH GORDON comic book series. The company, whose business model is to produce contemporized versions of classic licenses and exciting new creator-owned titles, was formed in 2007 by former Miramax/Dimension Films executive Deneen and former Markosia EiC, Richard Emms. Joining Deneen and Emms is DeMatteis, who works as Ardden’s Editor-in-Chief.
“Ardden Entertainment is extremely excited to be working with Classic Media on CASPER AND THE SPECTRALS,” said Emms. “Todd and Pedro have done an excellent job bringing the world’s most famous ghost into the 21st Century and we hope that this is the first of many adventures for us with Casper, Wendy and Hot Stuff.”
In this exciting new comic book, Casper and friends fight a fearsome threat from the past! There is a city within New York City known as Spooky Town, but most humans are unable to see it. Within this city live the Spectrals, the ghosts, goblins, demons and witches of the world…including Casper, Wendy and Hot Stuff! When an ancient entity known only as the Volbragg threatens both New York and Spooky Town, Casper and his friends are forced to band together and defeat an unimaginable evil!
August 19, 2009
Categories: New To Comics?, News . Tags: Ardden Entertainment, Casper . Author: Kris Bather . Comments: Leave a comment
Ardden Entertainment made a good impression with their new Flash Gordon series and look set to use the same contemporary approach to another classic character – Casper. I know when the cover of the first issue was released a while back a few jaded fanboys rolled their eyes with this apparently desperate attempt to make the loveable ghost “down with the kids,” but really there are so few all-ages series on the shelves today, especially those in which parents, (or even grandparents in this case as Casper is turning 60!) can enjoy with their children. Newsarama seemed to enjoy the first issue and it is written by Ardden’s Brendan Deneen as well as great Spider-Man writers J.M DeMatteis and Todd Dezago, so is worth a look. Details below. The first issue is available this week.
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