Richie Rich The Poor Little Rich Boy!

I don't know for certain which comics character had more different titles dedicated to them (Superman, Batman, Archie) but certainly Richie Rich from Harvey Comics must be high on that list somewhere. The Poor Little Rich Boy began his career as a back up feature in Little Dot #1 and slowly succeeded in the shadows of the back-ups until getting his first titled try-out in Harvey Hits. Soon he had his own title and later still millions and billions and zillions more. 

(Richie's First Cover Appearance)

How this Little Lord Fauntleroy wannabe captured the imagination is difficult to explain for me. He's such a wimpy looking fellow, but the fact he has access to unlimited wealth and the fantastic and fantasy lifestyle that allowed must be it. He's a rich guy who doesn't forget his friends, making him a nice guy despite his wealth. He loyal, brave and honest -- a true blue friend. He's one of the good guys and at one point had well over thirty different comics with his name somewhere in the title on sale in a single month according to one source. I can only personally validate eighteen. 

(Debut Richie Rich 1960)

Harvey Comics Classics Volume Two Richie Rich The Poor Little Rich Boy offers up nearly five hundred page of comics, a delightful bounty of Richie stories. It's just not the early stories which celebrated the ornate ways his money allowed him to live, but the later stuff which put Richie into more adventurous modes. Those are my favorites stories with Richie and his butler Cadbury as detectives or spies or even superheroes trying to save the city or the world from some dastardly villain. It's odd to realize how successful (to my eyes at least) that blend of light Harvey fantasy and some mild suspense worked. 

(Not in this collection of course -- my favorite Ernie Colon image.)

One thing to note is that one artist closely associated with Richie Rich was Ernie Colon and this volume offers up a small interview with the talented artist. He was "lost" in the vast ocean of Harvey for many years but really made his mark among fans such as myself with his work on Grim Ghost and Amethyst Princess of Gemworld in later years. 

Rip Off