Richie Rich #2
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeRichie Rich #2 (Harvey, January 1961) is one of the earliest issues of what became Harvey Comics' flagship title and the foundation of the most prolific single-character comic franchise in American publishing history. The series it represents — launched just months earlier in 1960 — grew directly out of Richie's seven-year run as a backup feature, and issue #2 helped establish the anthology format (Richie Rich headlining alongside Little Dot and Little Lotta backup stories) that Harvey would sustain across more than fifty separate Richie Rich titles over the following two decades. By cementing the tone, cast, and story grammar of the series in its infancy, this issue is a structural cornerstone of the Silver Age humor-comic genre aimed at children, at a time when Harvey was consciously differentiating itself from superhero and horror publishers. The franchise that issue #2 helped build became, by the mid-1970s, what historian Mark Arnold identified as 'the most successful feature in American comic books.'
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Richie Rich debuted as a backup strip in Little Dot #1 (cover-dated September 1953), created by Alfred Harvey with artists Warren Kremer and, in some early installments, Steve Muffatti. Despite not receiving his own title until 1960, the character's reader popularity justified launching the self-titled series, with Sid Jacobson serving as editor and writer Lennie Herman scripting stories from the earliest issues. Warren Kremer — who had joined Harvey as a freelancer in 1948 and became its art editor — handled both the cover and interior pencils for Richie Rich #2, a role he sustained across thousands of Harvey covers over a 35-year tenure that made him the defining visual voice of the character. The issue's on-sale date is documented in Library of Congress Copyright Office records as January 10, 1961, placing it among the very first handful of issues produced before the series had demonstrated any longevity.
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- Second issue of the Richie Rich self-titled series (Harvey, 1960), which debuted in 1960 and ultimately ran 254 issues through 1991 before a second volume added 28 more issues.
- Cover art and interior pencils by Warren Kremer, the primary illustrator of the Richie Rich character across his entire Harvey career; additional interior art by Sid Couchey.
- Written by Lennie Herman; edited by Sid Jacobson — the same writer-editor team credited on the earliest Richie Rich stories.
- Interior stories confirmed by the Grand Comics Database include: a one-pager in which Richie makes a kite out of money; 'The Golden Touch,' a five-page story in which Richie dreams of having the Midas touch (featuring Reggie Van Dough and Gloria Glad); 'Sleepytime Boy,' in which Richie and classmates work in his father's new office building; plus backup stories featuring Little Lotta and Little Dot.
- The issue includes a Casper the Friendly Ghost public service announcement ('School Bus Safety'), reflecting Harvey's cross-promotional use of its stable of characters.
- Multiple stories from this issue were reprinted in Harvey Collectors Comics #1 (September 1975), part of a 16-issue reprint series Harvey launched to showcase its earliest material; at least one story ('The Golden Touch') was also reprinted in Richie Rich Success Stories #32 (June 1970).
- The character Richie Rich first appeared in Little Dot #1 (September 1953) — created by Alfred Harvey with Warren Kremer and/or Steve Muffatti — and had spent seven years as a backup feature before earning his own title, making early issues of the solo series the direct payoff of that long buildup.
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