Hot Stuff the Little Devil is a
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
character created by
Warren Kremer who first appeared in ''Hot Stuff'' #1 (October 1957), published by
Harvey Comics
Harvey Comics (also known as Harvey World Famous Comics, Harvey Publications, Harvey Comics Entertainment, Harvey Hits, Harvey Illustrated Humor, and Harvey Picture Magazines) was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by A ...
. Imbued with a mischievous personality and able to produce fire, Hot Stuff appears as a red child devil who wears a diaper (said to be made of
asbestos) and carries a magical sentient pitchfork (referred to as his "trusty trident"), which is a character in its own right. Much to the consternation of his
demonic brethren, Hot Stuff sometimes performs good deeds to irritate them.
Publication history
Created and first drawn by
Warren Kremer, Hot Stuff has appeared in at least eight comic book titles including:
*''Hot Stuff Sizzlers'' (1960)
*''Devil Kids Starring Hot Stuff'' (1962)
*''Hot Stuff Creepy Caves'' (1974)
[
as well as multiple back-up stories between the periods 1957-1982 and 1986-1991, along with sporadic appearances in other publications during the 1990s and 2000s. The most recent appearance of Hot Stuff was in 2009 with Casper the Friendly Ghost and Wendy the Good Little Witch, when a three-issue comic book miniseries was published by Arden Entertainment called '' Casper and the Spectrals''.
Warren Kremer and Howard Post were the artists who helped define the look of Hot Stuff, drawing many comic book covers and stories over the years. ]Ernie Colón
Ernesto Colón SierraColón in English translation of Via (July 13, 1931 – August 8, 2019) was a stateside Puerto Rican comics artist, known for his wide-ranging career illustrating children's, superhero, and horror comics, as well as main ...
was another major comics artist who drew Hot Stuff.
While Harvey Comics flagship characters Casper the Friendly Ghost
Casper the Friendly Ghost is the protagonist of the Famous Studios theatrical animated cartoon series of the same name. He is a pleasant, personable and translucent ghost, but often criticized by his three wicked uncles, the Ghostly Trio.
The ...
, Spooky and Wendy the Good Little Witch often crossed over into each other's stories, Hot Stuff rarely appeared with them. Instead, the little devil would be featured with characters like Stumbo the Giant (created by Warren Kremer and Larz Bourne, and appeared in back-up stories in Hot Stuff comics in 1957), Katnip the cat, Herman the mouse and good fairy Princess Charma. While they often tended to annoy or anger Hot Stuff, their appearances served to further develop Hot Stuff's character.
Comic book series
* ''Hot Stuff the Little Devil''
* ''Devil Kids Starring Hot Stuff''
* ''Hot Stuff Creepy Caves''
* ''Hot Stuff Sizzlers''
* ''Hot Stuff Digest ''
* ''Harvey Wiseguys''
* ''Astro Comics''
* ''Casper And...''
* ''Hot Stuff the Little Devil, Vol. 2''
* ''Casper and his Friends Magazine'' (Marvel Comics)
* '' Casper and the Spectrals''
* ''Hot Stuff the Little Devil Halloween Special'' (Dark House Comics)
* ''Harvey Comics Treasury'' (Dark House comics)
* ''Harvey Hits'' (Joe Books)
* ''Casper the Friendly Ghost'' (American Mythology Productions)
Legacy and influence
Hot Stuff the Little Devil is the unofficial emblem for the 108th Field Battery-Royal Australian Artillery and the 407 Long Range Patrol Squadron
407 Long Range Patrol Squadron (abbreviated 407 LRP Sqn, formerly 407 Maritime Patrol Squadron) is a long range and maritime patrol squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force. It is located at 19 Wing Comox, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, ...
of the Canadian Forces
}
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Forc ...
. He is the mascot for Dysart High School
Dysart High School is a high school in El Mirage, Arizona under the jurisdiction of the Dysart Unified School District
Dysart Schools is a school district in Maricopa County, Arizona. It has 24,000 pre-kindergarten through 12th grade students in ...
located in El Mirage, Arizona, Eagle Valley High School in Gypsum, Colorado, and Lindhurst High School in Olivehurst, California, and a blue version of Hot Stuff is the logo for Fort Morgan Middle School in Fort Morgan, Colorado. He was the mascot of Joey Harrison's Surf Club in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, and was also the inspiration for the logo of the Chicago street gang Satan Disciples. Additionally, he is the mascot for the Austin
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
-based restauran
Torchy's Tacos
The Old Jail Museum in Crawfordsville, Indiana
Crawfordsville is a city in Montgomery County in west central Indiana, United States, west by northwest of Indianapolis. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,306. The city is the county seat of Montgomery County, the only cha ...
has an image of Hot Stuff on a cell wall as drawn by one of the inmates.
Hot Stuff makes a cameo in a 2014 episode of ''The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
'' titled "Treehouse of Horror XXV
"Treehouse of Horror XXV" is the fourth episode of the twenty-sixth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'', the 25th episode in the ''Treehouse of Horror'' series of Halloween specials, and the 556th episode overall. I ...
", in which he was put in "Super Hell" for how "lame" his comics are.
Hot Stuff made an official appearance in a 2020 episode of ''Harvey Girls Forever!
''Harvey Girls Forever!'' (originally titled ''Harvey Street Kids'' in its first season, then retroactively retitled) is an American animated comedy television series produced by Brendan Hay and Aliki Theofilopoulos for DreamWorks Animation Televi ...
'', based on Harvey Comics characters, as a hot sauce
Hot sauce is a type of condiment, seasoning, or salsa made from chili peppers and other ingredients. Many commercial varieties of mass-produced hot sauce exist.
History
Humans have used chili peppers and other hot spices for thousands of years ...
mascot.
Film
As of 2014, DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios and simply known as DreamWorks) is an American animation studio that produces animated films and television programs and is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, a division ...
was developing a live-action/CGI film based on the character with Lizzie and Wendy Molyneux set to write it. It would be the second attempt for a DreamWorks Animation film to use live-action and computer-animation.Classic Media
Classic Media, LLC, doing business as DreamWorks Classics, is an American entertainment company owned by DreamWorks Animation, which is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures and a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was founded as Classic Media ...
library; the first was '' Mr. Peabody & Sherman''.
References
External links
Hot Stuff the Little Devil
at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...
Archived
from the original on February 5, 2016.
407 LRP Squadron hat, as sold by the 407 Squadron kit shop, with a modified Hot Stuff logo.
{{Casper the Friendly Ghost
Harvey Comics series and characters
Harvey Comics titles
Fictional demons and devils
DreamWorks Classics
1957 comics debuts
Humor comics
Fantasy comics
Comics characters introduced in 1957
Child characters in comics
Casper characters
Children's comics