Batman/Elmer Fudd Special #1

The Wait is Over…

The book that I’ve been finally waiting for hit shelves Wednesday: the Batman/Elmer Fudd Special. I’ve been counting down the days until it’s release ever since I found out about the announcement for it sometime in May. So was the DC Comics/Looney Tunes crossover as good as my expectations?

My opinion of the book can be summed up in one word: Epic! However, only saying “epic” makes for a very small review.

That being said, let’s dig in a little deeper, shall we?  

Bat Season

The special starts off with Elmer going into a Gotham City saloon called Porky’s. His task is to kill a the man who murdered his wife- one Bugs ‘the Bunny.’ On exchange for his life, Bugs names the man who hired him to put out the hit, Bruce Wayne! After Fudd makes a play at Wayne, Batman goes on the prowl and Elmer the hunter becomes the hunted. However, it’s soon apparent that both Fudd and Wayne were set up. Thus Elmer and the Dark Knight join forces to uncover just who killed Silver St. Cloud. 

 Yes Bugs and Porky, along with Tweety, Sylvester, and the rest of the Looney Tunes gang are here! It makes perfect sense too! Batman has had one of the most colorful rogue’s galleries on all of comicdom. Therefore by converting all the Looney Tunes gang into thugs with features like those of animals visually works, all thanks to the deft pencils of Lee Weeks. For example, Bugs is a hit-man with buck teeth and an affinity for pickled carrots whereas Porky is a stuttering barkeep with a pudgy nose.

  Writer Tom King saved the best for last with this special. He really knew how to blend the two universes into one that actually could work in the monthly adventures of the Caped Crusader.

I’ve been reading the other DC/Warner Bros crossovers and I must say that this was the best of the bunch. Each special also has a backup story told in the Looney Tunes manner. For the most part, I really haven’t enjoy them. This one, also by Tom King with art by Byron Vaughns, was exceptional. It followed the classic rabbit season/duck season routine with Batman standing in for Daffy Duck. I laughed aloud several times.

A Sleeper Hit?

There’s been some hype about this book. I confess, It’s mostly all due to me. However, the Batman. Elmer Fudd Special is now currently sold out at my local comics shop. Plus, I’ve checked and learned that another area store has run out of copies as well. I point this out as the other crossovers haven’t been selling very well according to the owners I talked with. So if you decide to jump in on this title, it might be too late.

Or as Porky always says…

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Review originally published June 29, 2017 on outrightgeekery.com.

Bugs Bunny #46

  A Christmas themed cover does not a Christmas comic make. And that was the mistake I made when I paid $4 for this book. I'm very thrifty. I love to shop but I tried really hard to stretch my dollar. If it wasn't for dollar books, massive sales on comic book web sites, and the library, I my collection would be much, much smaller and my knowledge of comics would be greatly less. 
   But I came across this 1956 book a little while ago and I figured that I'd never come across such an old Christmas comic for such an affordable price ever again. What can I say, I'm addicted to holiday comics!
   Alas, this is NOT a Christmas or holiday comic book. Maybe I'm wrong, but I doubt it. Let's look at what's inside:

1. Bugs joins the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. But instead of being made a Mountie, he's been made to clean out the stables of the horses. So when a case of mistaken identity points to Elmer Fudd as an evil fur trapper, Bugs takes it upon himself to head a manhunt. Chaos naturally ensues.
2. In a one-page prose short story, a character named Pemrose Pig seeks to get his girlfriend, Petunia Pig, a birthday present. (I thought Porky Pig dated Petunia. Whose Pemrose?)
3. Lastly, Bugs and Elmer go on a skiing trip but problems quickly arise when the pair discover that they don't have any firewood to keep them warm. (I'm pretty sure you can figure out where this story was going.)

     And that's Bugs Bunny #46 in a nutshell. Other than the snow in the third story, there's very little winter hi-jinx much less anything to do with Christmas. My wife's family (who are half Jewish) would go so far as to say having the Pemrose and Petunia Pig story keeps this from being a Hanukkah comic as well! And yes, they have actually said this before in the past!!! 

     If I had spent only dollar or less on this, I might donate it to the reading program at my wife's work. But $4 is, to a collector like me, a lot of moolah. Plus, the book's staples are quite rusty and the cover is being held on mostly by sheer will power.

    I enjoyed the stories but I didn't like being duped by the cover. This is a prime example of how if you have doubts about a book, you should always ask the owner if you can examine it out of the bag. If they say no to your request, then it's a sign that the comic wasn't for you.

    Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.