IT'S A DOG'S LIFE...

[peur_evol.insanejournal.com]

Dollar the dog, an extremely rare breed of dollarmation, was Richie Rich's faithful companion, although not from the very beginning. While the earliest Richie stories centered upon young Mr. Rich's interactions with the other neighborhood kids (Freckles, Pee-Wee, Gloria, etc.), eventually the series had a much larger supporting cast with Richie's aunts, uncles, cousins, pets, neighbors, servants, and many other recurring characters; too many to name from memory.
While the majority of characters would appear only as needed(usually for a two-page gag), Dollar appeared more frequently than was absolutely necessary; sometimes you'll see him in stories where he doesn't play a prominent role at all. This short story, however, was specifically written for him:










from RICHIE RICH & DOLLAR THE DOG #23, June 1982

Comments

[crinosg.insanejournal.com]

Ah the eternal struggle between dogs and robots.

Also: What kind of decadent bastard is Richie Rich that he has to commission a robot to pick up pins for his bowling game. I mean a robot maid I can understand, but a robot pin setter? I wonder how many families in Darfur could be fed on the money Richie blew out his ass to build that damn thing.

There Are No Starving Poor People In The Richie Rich Reality...

[peur_evol.insanejournal.com]

His family has more money, businesses, property, homes, jewels, and treasures than all the Rockefellers and European aristocracy combined. One might suspect that money has tainted the Rich family, but such is not the case. The Riches are warm, friendly, courageous, humorous, intelligent, and exciting – not at all conniving or greedy. A happy family, the Riches care for each other and give generously to others. Undoubtedly, Richie's parents are more understanding and compassionate than Audrey's, Lotta's, or Dot's, perhaps because money enables them to be. The implied statement of the series is that the more money one has, the less one has to worry. The less one worries about money, the more one can concentrate on the important things – human relationships. Again, the Harvey scenario contradicts the stereotype: the Rich family is not greedy, aloof, or uncaring, just rich. (http://www.english.ufl.edu/imagetext/archives/v3_3/jackson)

Re: There Are No Starving Poor People In The Richie Rich Reality...

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

Do we ever find out HOW they got rich? What is the source of their income?

Re: There Are No Starving Poor People In The Richie Rich Reality...

[crinosg.insanejournal.com]

Richie Rich: Serious Business.

Re: There Are No Starving Poor People In The Richie Rich Reality...

[crinosg.insanejournal.com]

According to Wikipedia, Richie's dad is an Industrialist. But it doesn't go into any greater detail than that.

[lookingforsigns.insanejournal.com]

I'm amused at how an automatic pin setter is a fanciful robotic device here. Lol past.

Re: There Are No Starving Poor People In The Richie Rich Reality...

[besamim.insanejournal.com]

The "no-prize" answer to that question has to be the one Mr. Rich gives Richie in a (fortunately non-canonical) ad: "As a young boy, I sold Grit (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grit_(newspaper))!"

[psychop_rex.insanejournal.com]

While I'll grant you that the pin-setter is being kind of a jerk, it's actually perfectly justified in everything it says and does here - Dollar IS playing terribly, he IS cheating, especially with the 'barbell bowling' trick, and he IS causing damage to the bowling alley, hence the robot is only doing its job by blocking his shot. Even when it hurls him out of the way, it's only doing its job - Dollar IS in the way, and moreover, he's just cheated. Yet he still wins the game. I ask you, is this fair? Moral of the story - you can cheat like mad, provided you do it humorously.
OK, so I'm probably overreacting. But still, it's odd in a story like this to have an ANTAGONIST who is playing fair, and a protagonist who is cheating.