Did Casper Give Us Hot Stuff? The Little Devil’s Fiery Mystery

In the 1956 Casper cartoon “Fright From Wrong,” the Ghostly Trio feeds Casper mean pills, turning the friendly little ghost into a red, horned devil. Now, here’s where things get suspicious. Just one year later, Harvey Comics introduced Hot Stuff the Little Devil. Did somebody at Harvey see Casper’s devilish makeover and think there was a comic book hiding in that transformation? There’s no confirmed evidence of a connection, but the timing makes you wonder. Harvey already had a friendly ghost on its hands. Perhaps it was time to give the devil his own comic book. Naturally, they gave him a diaper.

Hot Stuff made his comic book debut in October 1957, armed with a fiery temper, flame-producing abilities and a trusty trident. He wasn’t exactly the sort of terrifying demon you’d expect to find lurking in the underworld. He was a mischievous little fellow designed for children, which raises an interesting question about Harvey’s marketing strategy. Casper was the ghost you could take home to meet your parents. Hot Stuff was the little devil who might set the curtains on fire before dessert.

Of course, you cannot talk about Hot Stuff without discussing his diaper. Here’s my completely fictional theory: that thing must have been made of asbestos. I’m kidding, of course, but think about it. Ordinary cotton wouldn’t stand a chance against a toddler who could produce flames whenever his temper flared. Hot Stuff needed industrial-strength underwear, and asbestos seemed like the perfect material for my imaginary explanation. This is comic book nonsense, not an actual costume detail or a fire-safety recommendation. Still, you have to admire a character whose wardrobe raises questions that would stump even the most experienced building inspector.

I remember the basics of Hot Stuff, although I can’t pretend to have every detail of his adventures memorized. His world included devils, witches and other supernatural characters, making Spooky Town sound like the sort of neighbourhood where nobody calls the fire department because the local toddler is already responsible for half the emergencies.

And this is where I think Harvey might have missed an opportunity. Maybe the missing ingredient was Hellboy. Created by Mike Mignola, Hellboy arrived in comics in 1993 with demonic parentage, a complicated destiny and enough supernatural baggage to fill several volumes. Hot Stuff had the horns and the firepower, but nobody seemed interested in giving him that kind of epic mythology. He was essentially a potential underworld heavyweight who got the pitchfork without the dramatic backstory. Hellboy got a stone fist. Hot Stuff got a diaper.

Imagine Hot Stuff as the heir to Devil Land, expected to take over the family business while trying not to burn down the palace. Hellboy wrestled with his demonic destiny and the fate of the world. Hot Stuff would have to wrestle with his temper, his relatives and the possibility of another wardrobe malfunction. Both had infernal problems, but one clearly needed a better tailor.

Perhaps Harvey had the beginnings of a supernatural epic hiding beneath those little red horns. They just never took the idea quite that far. Mike Mignola gave Hellboy a mythology that could sustain an entire universe, while Harvey gave Hot Stuff a pitchfork and what I can only assume was the most fireproof diaper in comic book history.

Maybe that was enough. After all, Casper could turn into a devil for a cartoon, but Hot Stuff made a career out of being one. And if his underwear really could survive all that fire, perhaps he was the toughest little devil in comics after all.