Richie Rich (comics)

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Richie Rich
Richie Rich Vol 1 1.jpg
The cover of Richie Rich No. 1 (Nov. 1960).
Publication information
Publisher Harvey Comics
First appearance Little Dot #1 (Sept. 1953)
Created by Alfred Harvey
Warren Kremer
In-story information
Full name Richard Rich Jr.
Team affiliations Rich Industries

Richard "Richie" Rich, Jr. (often stylized as Ri¢hie Ri¢h)[1][2][3] is a fictional character in the Harvey Comics universe. He debuted in Little Dot #1, cover-dated September 1953, and was created by Alfred Harvey and Warren Kremer. Dubbed "the poor little rich boy," Richie is the only child of fantastically wealthy parents and is the world's richest kid.

During Harvey Comics' heydey (1950–1982), Richie was the publisher's most popular character, eventually starring in over fifty separate titles, including such long-running comics as Richie Rich, Richie Rich Millions, Richie Rich Dollars and Cents, and Richie Rich Success Stories.

Beginning in 2011 Ape Entertainment began publishing a new licensed Richie Rich comic book series, taking the character in a very different, action-oriented, direction.[4]

Publication history[edit | edit source]

Cover of Richie Rich No. 254 (Jan. 1991), the final issue of the flagship series.

Although created in 1953, Richie didn't have his own title until 1960. Once he did, however, he quickly became Harvey's most popular character,[5] eventually starring in over fifty separate titles. The flagship, Richie Rich, ran 254 issues from 1960-1991 (with a hiatus from 1982–1986), followed by a second volume which ran an additional 28 issues from 1991–1994. Other long-running titles were Richie Rich Millions (113 issues from 1961–1982), Richie Rich Dollars and Cents (109 issues from 1963–1982), and Richie Rich Success Stories (105 issues from 1964–1982). (Harvey ceased publishing in 1982, but started up again in 1986 under new ownership;[6] this hiatus resulted in the cancellation of many titles.) Richie (along with many of the Harvey characters) have been published only sporadically since 1994.

Writers for the Richie Rich comic books and syndicated comic strip included Sid Jacobson, Lennie Herman, Stan Kay, and Ralph Newman. Richie Rich's most famous illustrator is Warren Kremer. Other illustrators included Ernie Colón, Sid Couchey, Dom Sileo, Ben Brown, Steve Muffatti, and Joe Dennett.

Character[edit | edit source]

Despite any negative stereotypes associated with his incredible wealth, Richie Rich is portrayed as kind and charitable. (In fact, his moniker is "the poor little rich boy.") He lives in an expensive mansion and owns at least two of everything money can buy. Richie appears to be around seven to ten years old and wears a waistcoat, a white shirt with an Eton collar (which is obscured by a giant red bow tie), and blue shorts. He occasionally attends school in his hometown of Richville.

Ape Entertainment[edit | edit source]

For the Ape Entertainment comic book series debuting in 2011, the character was updated by emphasizing his altruistic side: "A mix of James Bond and Indiana Jones with the bank account of Donald Trump, Richie Rich is an altruistic adventurer who travels the world helping the less fortunate!"[7] The new Richie was joined by updated versions of his robot maid Irona and his butler Cadbury.[4]

Supporting characters[edit | edit source]

Rich family[edit | edit source]

  • Mr. Richard Rich Sr. - Richie's father; an industrialist (first appearance Little Dot #3)
  • Mrs. Regina Rich - Richie's mother (first appearance Little Dot #1)
  • Aunt Noovo Rich (a pun on the French term nouveau riche) - Richie's wealthy but very eccentric aunt who is crazy about posting signs; has a tendency to show off her wealth. She is Mr Rich's sister.
  • Aunt Plenty - Richie's aunt who wanted to give away her money, but no one would take it.
  • Aunt Mintley
  • Aunt Cleo — animal lover
  • Uncle Worry - Richie's uncle, former coach of a professional football team known for its long losing streak
  • Dollar - Rich family dog, a "Dollarmatian" (like a Dalmatian, but with dollar signs instead of spots)

Van Dough family[edit | edit source]

  • Reginald "Reggie" Van Dough Jr. - Richie's mean cousin, known for playing constant pranks on everyone, most notably Richie and his family, which causes his father to punish him. Treats his servants shabbily (often by calling them "peasant," which causes them to call him "monster", but they swiftly correct themselves and call him Master). (first appearance Little Dot #2)
  • Reginald Van Dough Sr. - Reggie's father, often angered with Reggie's non-stop pranks, and often punishes him for them.
  • Vanessa Van Dough - Reggie's mother; not as quick to punish Reggie for his pranks, but she doesn't tolerate Reggie's unabashed cruelty either. It is never clearly determined if Vanessa is related to Richie's mother or his father.
  • Penny Van Dough - Reggie's baby sister, she talks only in "baby talk." The curl on her head is shaped like a dollar sign.

Richie's friends[edit | edit source]

  • Gloria Glad - Richie's redhead girlfriend, notorious for her regular refusal of the many luxurious gifts Richie offers
  • Mayda Munny - Richie's snobby wannabe-girlfriend, who never wins his attentions. Immensely jealous of Gloria, and often angry when her plans to snare Richie's attention backfire on her. Like Reggie, Mayda is snobbish and addresses those beneath her as "peasant".
  • Freckles Friendly and Pee-Wee Friendly - Richie's poor but most-prized friends (first appearance Little Dot #2)

Rich employees[edit | edit source]

Villains[edit | edit source]

  • The Onion - A recurring villain with horrible onion-powered breath capable of knocking victims unconscious with a trademark "hashoo!"
  • Doctor Blemish - A recurring villain, an evil genius scientist and arch-nemesis of Prof. Keenbean
  • Dr. N-R-Gee - A recurring villain with the distinguishing feature of a huge red light bulb for a head, caused when scientist Phil Lament (a pun referring to a light bulb's "filament") suffered an electrical accident in his lab
  • The Condor - A billionaire mastermind with his own terrorist army, and the Rich Family's worst enemy, whose only desire is to take over Mr. Rich's empire.

In other media[edit | edit source]

Animated TV series[edit | edit source]

Movies[edit | edit source]

Popular culture[edit | edit source]

Titles published[edit | edit source]

Published by Harvey Comics unless otherwise noted

  • Richie Rich
    • vol. 1 (Nov. 1960 - Jan. 1991) — 254 issues
    • vol. 2 (Mar. 1991 - Nov. 1994) — 28 issues
  • Richie Rich Adventure Digest
  • Richie Rich and... (Oct. 1987 - May 1990) — 11 issues; each issue had a different guest star whose name became a part of the title for that issue only
  • Richie Rich and Billy Bellhops
  • Richie Rich and Cadbury (Oct. 1977 - Jan. 1991) — 29 issues
  • Richie Rich and Casper (Aug. 1974 - Sept. 1982) — 45 issues
  • Richie Rich and Casper in 3-D
  • Richie Rich and Dollar (Sept. 1977 - Aug. 1982) — 24 issues
  • Richie Rich and Little Dot
  • Richie Rich and Gloria (Sept. 1977 - Sept. 1982) — 25 issues
  • Richie Rich and His Girlfriends (Apr. 1979 - Dec. 1982) — 16 issues
  • Richie Rich and Jackie Jokers (Nov. 1973 - Dec. 1982) - 48 issues
  • Richie Rich and New Kids on the Block
  • Richie Rich and Professor Keenbean
  • Richie Rich and Reggie
  • Richie Rich and Timmy Time
  • Richie Rich Bank Book (Oct. 1972 - Sept. 1982) — 59 issues
  • Richie Rich Best of the Years Digest
  • Richie Rich Big Book
  • Richie Rich Big Bucks
  • Richie Rich Billions (Oct. 1974 - Oct. 1982) — 48 issues
  • Richie Rich Cash (Sept. 1974 - Aug. 1982) — 47 issues
  • Richie Rich Cash Money
  • Richie Rich, Casper, and Wendy
  • Richie Rich Diamonds (Aug. 1972 - Aug. 1982) — 59 issues
  • Richie Rich Digest (Oct. 1986 - Oct. 1994) — 42 issues
  • Richie Rich Digest Stories (Oct. 1977 - Oct. 1982) — 17 issues
  • Richie Rich Digest Winners (Dec. 1977 - Sept. 1982) — 16 issues
  • Richie Rich Dollars and Cents (Aug. 1963 - Aug. 1982) — 109 issues
  • Richie Rich Fortunes (Sept. 1971 - July 1982) — 63 issues
  • Richie Rich Gems (Sept. 1974 - Sept. 1982) — 43 issues
  • Richie Rich Giant Size
  • Richie Rich Gold and Silver (Sept. 1975 - Oct. 1982) — 42 issues
  • Richie Rich Gold Nuggets Digest
  • Richie Rich Holiday Digest
  • Richie Rich Inventions (Oct. 1977 - Oct. 1982) — 26 issues
  • Richie Rich Jackpots (Oct. 1972 - Aug. 1982) — 58 issues)
  • Richie Rich Million Dollar Digest
  • Richie Rich Millions (Sept. 1961 - Oct. 1982) — 113 issues
  • Richie Rich Money World (Sept. 1972 - Sept. 1982) — 59 issues
  • Richie Rich Money World Digest
  • Richie Rich Movie Adaptation
  • Richie Rich Profits (Oct. 1974 - Sept. 1982) — 47 issues
  • Richie Rich Relics
  • Richie Rich Riches (July 1972 - Aug. 1982) — 59 issues
  • Richie Rich Success Stories (Nov. 1964 - Sept. 1982) — 105 issues
  • Richie Rich Summer Bonanza
  • Richie Rich Treasure Chest Digest
  • Richie Rich Vacation Digest
  • Richie Rich Vacation Digest Magazine
  • Richie Rich Vacation Digest '93 Magazine
  • Richie Rich Vaults of Mystery (Nov. 1974 - Sept. 1982) — 47 issues
  • Richie Rich Zillionz (Oct. 1976 - Sept. 1982) — 33 issues
  • SupeRichie

See also[edit | edit source]

Notes[edit | edit source]

  1. "Richie Rich (Harvey comic book). Page 1". ComicVine.com. Retrieved November 27, 2011. 
  2. "The Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show, Vol. One". Amazon.com. Retrieved November 27, 2011. 
  3. "Richie Rich Feature Film DVD (1994)". Amazon.com. Retrieved November 27, 2011. 
  4. 4.0 4.1 "'Richie Rich' Comics Return," ICv2 (Oct. 9, 2010).
  5. Markstein, Don. "Richie Rich, the Poor Little Rich Boy," Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Accessed May 14, 2011.
  6. "From the Ashes: Charlton and Harvey to Resume Publishing This Spring," The Comics Journal #97 (April 1985), pp. 15-16.
  7. Solicitation language from Richie Rich Digest Vol. 3: Just Desserts & Other Stories, published by Ape Entertainment. Accessed Dec. 11, 2011.

References[edit | edit source]

External links[edit | edit source]