Emily the Strange and Rosamond

There were several books I read as a child that eventually were forgotten but, somehow, life inexplicably spurred me to remember them. Files lost in my hard drive were not lost at all, my mind just needed some shaking to remember things from my childhood. I remembered The Giving Tree, Amelia Bedelia, Where the Wild Things Are, The Stinky Cheese Man, and of course, Nate the Great. All these children books helped make the Mickey-Oscar I am today. The Giving Tree was one of the first books that introduced me to the human condition of growing up and how we eventually cease liking things which used to thrill us. Amelia Bedelia was a riot to read because of her goof nature, she was the maid that did all the chores wrong but could never be fired because she was a tremendous pastry cook! Max from Where the Wild Things Are fed my imagination as to how I would rule the world but eventually needed to compromise and obey my parents. And Nate the Great, wow, the kid detective who would always solve any tough crime or (case) after eating some pancakes! Nate thrilled me to no end. If I ever have kids, I would want them to be smarter than me, I will sit with them and read all the books I loved as a child with classical music in the background. The Nate the Great series invented by Marjorie Sharmat and Marc Simont is truly a work that has touched the lives of many kids everywhere. I remember how Nate would follow the clues alongside his dog, Sludge to solve crimes, the actions of Nate were very memorable, and the pancakes he ate always made me hungry!

As an adult, I had all those books in the back of my mind. I love rock, both in Spanish and in English, classic and alternative. I ran into a character that thrilled me for being dark, moody, and strange (she is also a rocker). The character’s name is Emily the Strange. The character is owned by Cosmic Debris, a company founded by Rob Eger, a skate boarder, and Matt Reed, a race car driver. I am not going to lie, I am a big fan of counterculture characters such as Chococat, Pochacco, Snoopy, and Emily. As a guy, I don’t wear such girly things, of course, but I do like the cool designs that, like Hello Kitty, look cute on girls . Emily is a strange girl accompanied by 4 black cats, she has long black hair, always wears black, and wears white Mary Jane shoes. She has a strong fascination of dark themes and her attitude is very interesting and appealing. However, surfing through the internet, I found that Cosmic  Debris and  Sharmat and Simont had tangled in court! In 1991, Emily the Strange made her appearance, but in 1978, in Nate the Great and the Lost List, Sharmat and Simont introduced a girl named Rosamond that loved dark themes, was always attended by 4 black cats, and even wore the white Mary Jane shoes! In short, Emily is based on Rosamond! Perhaps… that is another reason I like Emily the Strange! My mind subconsciously connected Emily to a character I HAD read about in a book series all those years ago.

Cosmic Debris sued first, Sharmat and Simont counter-sued, but  both reached a civilized agreement and agreed that both were original creations. Personally, I think Cosmic Debris should pay a small percentage to the creators of Nate the Great, their profits allow for it. As for me, I am a winner, I am a fan of both Emily and Nate the Great (including Rosamond).