Richie Rich, an impossibly wealthy 12-year old boy in a Little Lord Fauntleroy suit, was a mainstay of Harvey Comics from his first introduction in 1953 until the company folded in 1982.
You may be familiar with the 1994 movie version, starring Macaulay Culkin and his brother Rory, above, as Richie Rich, and Michael Maccarone, aka Maccadeath, as his pal Omar (Freckles in the comics)
The reviews were awful.
Originally the comics were exclusively humorous -- Richie wants to jump rope, but can't find one, so he uses a huge pearl necklace. I never cared much for them, preferring the science-fiction and mystery-style stories of Casper's Ghostland
But by the 1970s, Richie was augmenting the humorous stories with serious Hardy Boys-style mysteries, paranormal, espionage, and adventure stories. They were more interesting, if you could overlook the Little Lord Fauntleroy suit that he continued to wear.
By the end of his run, Richie was starring in over fifty monthly or bimonthly titles, far more than all of the other Harvey characters put together.
So many thousands of stories required a huge supporting cast, so Richie quickly received a girlfriend, , some boy pals from the wrong side of the tracks, a mischievous cousin, a gold-digger with a crush on him -- or his money -- and crossovers from the other naturalistic Harvey comics, Little Dot, Little Lotta, and Little Audrey (I don't know why all the girls were "little"). He paired with Casper the Friendly Ghost, although he always explained their adventures together as dreams. He even got a boyfriend.
48 issues of Richie Rich and Jackie Jokers appeared between 1973 and 1982, with humorous and adventure stories pairing Richie with a 12-year old stand-up comedian. It soon became apparent that they liked each other. A lot Holding hands during the crisis, hugging when the crisis was averted, stammering "If anything were to happen to you....".
Left: nuclear war in a kids' comic.
Coincidentally or not, during this same time period, Richie begins to beef up. Previously the shirtless and swimsuit shots depicted a nondescript cartoon body. Now he had biceps, pecs, and abs, to draw the interest of the preteen gay boys who were reading about his romance with Jackie Jokers.
In one story, Jackie makes his romantic intentions very clear: "If you weren't always wearing that silly red bowtie, I'd marry you." He'll take the tie off for the honeymoon, dude.
Coincidentally or not, during this same time period, Richie begins to beef up. Previously the shirtless and swimsuit shots depicted a nondescript cartoon body. Now he had biceps, pecs, and abs, to draw the interest of the preteen gay boys who were reading about his romance with Jackie Jokers.
The cover art contrasted his buff bod with horrible puns. It must have been difficult to make up 50 money-based puns every month.
Some dicks after the break