I remember so well boarding a plane in the late 70’s with my family to go visit Grandma. All of us were gussied up in fancy dresses and suits, for no other reason than because one dressed up to go on a plane. How quaint it seems now! And the best part was waiting until after takeoff, when the plane had leveled off and the stewardesses/flight attendants started walking around taking your lunch or dinner order. Because you were allowed to ask them for a FREE kid’s pack that came with a special American Airlines coloring book and crayons!
But on that particular flight, when we asked the stewardess for our pack, she handed us this:
A FREE RICHIE RICH COMIC!!! WHAT??????!!! I still can’t look at this cover without it raising my heartrate off the charts. How amazing to get your absolute favorite comic as a gift, just for the price of a measly plane ticket. We were expecting the generic coloring book and perhaps a set of wings after visiting the pilot! But, this special day, I got my very own Richie Rich comic that I didn’t have to share with anyone and I was the giddiest goat that was ever giddy!! What a day, what a moment, such bliss………………
We took one more American flight during the time period of Astro comics (1968-1979) and the second comic was as exciting as the first! The only negative was that the flight home was the same comic. But, it was nice to give to a friend as a souvenir.
I also remember the first time they stopped giving out the comics and getting the coloring book instead and just being devastated. You can’t go back to a stupid coloring book after being given the holy grail!
For more information on Astro comics, do check out the links below:
Weekend Wayback Machine: AstroComics the American Airlines Inflight Comic Book
http://www.comicvine.com/astro-comics/4050-32623/
Here are a few of the one pagers I remember so fondly, every page in this comic seemed like the best one that ever existed!
And now, to the nice and long main event. I love this story! Enjoy…
What a noble ambition, he always dreamed of having a camp for RICH KIDS! And when they find out they have enough money to also invite the plebian children, all they can think of are the tips they will get. Humpf! I do not think the tall counselor should be around kids, he was quite scary, punching dogs, shooting arrows at kids and whatnot.
Hopefully the chief has other avenues of finding kids to come to camp, otherwise, Richie may as well stay home and play in his Indian village playhouse if it’s just his usual gang. And what was the power source for the teepee tv?
On a side note, I think Richie would be the easiest kid in the world to camp pack for, it’s just one outfit!
Did you like the story? Do you remember getting an Astro comic on the plane?
RichieRichcomicsfanclub 
Nice! Thanks for sharing!
I flew a couple of times as a child in the 70’s, but I don’t think we ever took American, so no I never got one of these comics in flight. Are these scans from your actual copy? That would be pretty amazing! I’m still trying to find all of them…
Yes, they are from my actual copy, it’s still in good shape! I brighten the pages up on the computer so they are easier to read and don’t look as yellow. The cover is from the internet though as little me wrote my name all over the cover. Arg! I also had an Astro comic with a King Midas story that I need to find. Thanks for stopping by!
It looks like the Grand Comics Database shows the story “The Midas Touch” in the 1979 edition:
http://www.comics.org/issue/376800/
There are several for sale on eBay right now…
Thanks for the info, I still have my original copy of King Midas somewhere, I just need to remember where I hid it!
I remember getting fun stuff on planes but never a comic! How cool is that!
Did Richie ever realize that his adventures with Casper were not dreams? If he did, how did he react?
I don’t think so. He always said they were dreams. Casper must have been so annoyed!
But if Richie did realize that they were real, how do think he would react? Would he think it was cool and express his excitement, or would he faint from shock?