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Wendy, the Good Little Witch |
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Wendy started life as a companion for Casper. She was not, however, Casper's first companion. Those honors go to Lu, a female ghost who made her first appearance in "To Boo or Not to Boo" a Famous Paramount animated cartoon. For some reason, Lu never really caught on, despite making a few appearances in the comics. Possibly because they were both ghosts, the scope of the Casper stories was severely limited. By having a witch who lived with her witch aunties, Thelma, Velma, and Zelma, the focus was broadened and an enchanted forest with a variety of characters and creatures was created. Also. the witches could play off Casper and the Ghostly Trio.
Wendy made her first appearance in "Casper, the Friendly Ghost" #20, May 1954, one month after the first appearance of Nightmare, a female ghost horse. Wendy's appearances in "Casper" helped her to gain popularity. Eventually, she became a mainstay in Casper's animated adventures as well. In Harvey Comics, this led to supporting features in "Spooky" and his spin-offs, starring issues of "Harvey Hits" and finally securing her own title in 1960. A spin-off, "Wendy Witch World", followed in 1961. Wendy was originally drawn by Steve Mufatti, then Warren Kremer, Marty Taras and Howard Post. Her title was published continuously until 1973, when her popularity and sales began to wain. The title was canceled, but was brought back the next year when Casper had success with a Cub Scout issue. This issue prompted "Wendy" to be revived, promoting a similar group for girls, the Bluebirds/Camp Fire Girls (this was many years before the organization turned co-ed). Wendy's Camp Fire issue reignited sales temporarily, but this success was short-lived, and the title was canceled in 1976, making a brief return from 1991-1994.
Wendy is currently in the direct-to-video film "Casper Meets Wendy" and will appear in her own animated series as well as "The Harveytoon Show", "The Harvey Magazine", and "Wendy, Back to Ghoul School".
Supporting feature in most books starring Casper and Spooky. Other appearances include:
First appearance: Casper, the Friendly Ghost #20, 5/54 |
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Fun Ideas Productions -- Multi-Media Print and Video Mark D. Arnold, Writer, Artist, Sales, Video Production |
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