Hot Stuff’s role in the Harvey World is somewhat unique, as he doesn’t really crossover into the other characters’ neighborhoods too often. I can only recall maybe two times he teamed up with Spooky and once with Casper. Generally, the diminutive demon remains in his own world, a forest filled with ogres, gnomes, fairies and other devils. The supporting feature for virtually all of the Hot Stuff titles has always been Warren Kremer’s masterful “Stumbo, the Giant.” Strangely enough, though they have appeared in issues together as early as Hot Stuff #3, there has never been a Hot Stuff/Stumbo team-up story. Howard Post and Warren Kremer were the principle artists behind the Hot Stuff stories, though the character’s creation has been attributed to Alfred Harvey. Post’s wild and inventive humor was the mainstay of the title for many years. Kremer drew his share of the headliner’s tales, but the artist’s main contribution was to illustrate all of the “Stumbo” back-ups over the years. Warren also drew the majority of the Hot Stuff covers. As usual for Harvey titles during the ’50s and ’60s, the crimson-colored kid had his share of spin-offs. Hot Stuff Sizzlers first appeared in 1960, then Devil Kids Starring Hot Stuff began in ’62. Finally, Hot Stuff Creepy Caves made its debut in ’74. There was also a proposed Hot Stuff Hottest Devil title, circa ’72, but it never came out. The devil kid has retained a relatively low profile over the years, compared to other Harvey characters. This may be primarily due to the fact that he has never appeared in an animated film, nor appeared on a great deal of merchandise. An animated series was attempted in the ’60s and again in the ’70s, but the character’s devilish looks may have unfortunately kept Hot Stuff off the airwaves. A sort of cult mystique does surround the character, as he is appreciated in the drug, rave and biker cultures, perhaps due to a mistaken satanic inference, and Hot Stuff’s image continues to be applied on human skin in tattoo parlors the world over, in places far creepier than his enchanted forest home. There have been some excellent Hot Stuff stories. One such tale, entitled, “Fire When Ready,” concerns everyone using and abusing Hot Stuff’s heat and light powers for their own selfish purposes, but the result is a spectacular display of his typically short temper. STUMBO: Despite his size, Stumbo the Giant is one of the most overlooked Harvey World characters to sport his own title. Created as a supporting feature for Hot Stuff in 1957, surprisingly little is known as to Stumbo’s origins, excepting that he came from Giantland and now busies himself looking after Tinytown. He regularly converses with local citizens such as the mustachioed Officer O’Floodle, the village constable. Most of the giant’s adventures concern his earnest attempts to improve Tinytown by relocating the entire municipality or by altering the weather. Unfortunately for Stumbo, his well-intended deeds usually backfire and he struggles to return things exactly as they were. Occasionally, the good-natured goliath is at odds with villainous Dr. Cesspool, who is constantly trying to rid Tinytown of Stumbo so that he can rule over the area, but his nefarious plans always fail, as our hero saves the day. Strangely, Harvey has not exploited Stumbo, even though he is a thoroughly enjoyable character, created by Larz Bourne and Warren Kremer. Stories are in the same vein as Baby Huey. Ironically, issues bearing his name command a higher price than average for other Harvey World characters in The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide. It would be nice to see the character in an animated cartoon, or Kremer’s superbly rendered stories collected in a large volume or just receiving a measure of exposure he so richly deserves, though Stumbo did appear in print recently in Casper and Friends and The June 2002
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Harvey Magazine. SPOOKY: “The Tuff Little Ghost” has an interesting status within the Harvey World. He closely resembles Casper, barring the large black nose, freckles and derby, but his ability to scare the beejeezus out of folks rival those of the Ghostly Trio, all combining to make an interesting character. Spooky has teamed-up with Casper as well as the Ghostly Trio, and on at least one occasion, Hot Stuff. Stories for Spooky usually fall in predictable categories. For instance, the wise-guy spectre frequently encounters “lands” where all the inhabitants are objects that come to life, such as bells or clocks. This same storyline occurred frequently for Hot Stuff as well, so it should be no surprise to learn that both characters were primarily drawn by Howard Post, though Warren Kremer most always drew the covers. Another recurring storyline involved the effort of Spooky’s friend, Poil (or Pearl, if you prefer not to think with a Brooklyn accent) to get Spooky to stop his constant scaring. The weisenhiemer endlessly dreamed up sneaky ways to frighten people but tried, usually in vain, not to get caught. Dom Sileo mainly drew these efforts, although Post did draw a
Left inset: During the dark days of 1957, a number of top-notch artists—let go by EC Comics, Atlas, and others—found a brief respite in the Harvey Thriller line helmed by Joe Simon, the first incarnation—equally shortlived—of that imprint. Perhaps the best title was Race for the Moon, seen here in an unused cover by Jack Kirby, with interiors featuring exquisite work by Kirby and Al Williamson (the latter who inked the former which produced some killer stuff!). Below: We believe these are Bob Powell’s unused variations of a cover for Alarming Tales #6, though Overstreet credits John Severin as cover artist, who certainly inked the job.
©2002 Harvey Entertainment, Inc.
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