The Best Tune That is Looney!

 Well, I guess I asked for it...

Now that the voting is closed in our Gottfredson Guessing Game, and the results will be posted soon, I volunteered, as a lead-in to the Big Event, to offer up "My Favorite Looney Tunes Short", followed by "My Favorite Carl Barks Story"...

...So, here they are!  Looney Tunes today, Barks maybe in another day or three, and finally the glory of Gottfredson!  

As I mentioned in the previous Comments Section, these things often come grouped in "Top Threes", and Looney Tunes and Barks are no exception. I'll run 'em all down with explanations as to why they fall where they do.  Good fodder for your comments too!  

FAVORITE LOONEY TUNES SHORT: "Rabbit Seasoning"! Chuck Jones, Michael Maltese, and Mel Blanc are ALL at the top of their game in this one!  With Bugs, Daffy, and Elmer as the most perfect, textbook versions of the characters as we know them best!  

This is the second of the "Duck Season, Rabbit Season Trilogy" and far and away the best, in terms of  character design, character movement, witty dialogue (...which you all know that I LOVE), and voice performances! 

But for me, as a writer, what REALLY sets "Rabbit Seasoning" apart from its predecessor "Rabbit Fire", and its successor "Duck! Rabbit, Duck!", is that it has the strongest ending of the three, paying off a gag bit expertly laid earlier in the cartoon by Michael Maltese!  The now-immortal "Would you like to shoot me now, or wait 'till you get home?"

In comparison, the "Elmer Season" closing gag of "Rabbit Fire", and the "Baseball Season" closing gag of "Duck! Rabbit, Duck!", despite these cartoons' other fine moments, cannot help but fall flat!  

Those who know me in real-life know that "Rabbit Seasoning" is chock full of go-to quotes for me:

"You keep outta dis, he doesn't have to shoot you now!" (from Bugs). 

"Let's run through that again!" (lisping like Daffy Duck).

"Pronoun trouble!" (from Daffy). 

"Well I say he DOES have to shoot me now - so SHOOT ME NOW!" (from Daffy)

"Yaess?" (from Bugs). 

"Ohhh no you don't! Not again! Sorry!" (from Daffy). 

"Yeah, you're so smart! If I was a rabbit, what WOULD you do?" (from Daffy). 

"Right-o!" (from Daffy).

"No more for me, thanks! I'm drivin'!" (from a dazed Daffy).  

David, Thad K., and Jonathan Gray, for instance, have heard most, if not all, of these at random moments in different and unrelated conversations! 

And, while not a quote, I must also cite Elmer's "hat-erection" when kissed by Bugs in drag! 

.........................

Rounding out my "Top Three" at #2 is something as opposite from "Rabbit Seasoning" as a Warner/Schlesinger short can get... "Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur" (1939, Chuck Jones). 

In the stone age, a primitive, manically wild version of Daffy Duck, heckles a put-upon Jack Benny-inspired caveman and his clumsy pet dinosaur literally to death!  And it IS that unexpected death of our three main characters that makes this one of my three favorite endings in cartoons!  (I'll exclude modern things like "Rick and Morty" - Thanks, Thad! - from this list, because the "unexpected ending" has become more of a norm!) 

Daffy has "died" at the end of at least two other cartoons, "Draftee Daffy" and "Show-Biz Bugs", but the novelty and execution of the triple-demise makes this one the best!  

.........................

Daffy has the honor of appearing in ALL THREE of my favorite Looney Tunes shorts... and this one just happens to have my *second-favorite* ending in all of cartoons... #3 is "Yankee Doodle Daffy" (1943, Friz Freleng).  

Talent agent Daffy mercilessly hounds theatrical empresario Porky Pig into giving the lollipop-licking, almost silent, diminutive duck, Sleepy Lagoon, an audition. 

 Notice Friz Freleng (as Porky Pig!) in the portrait adorning Porky's office! 

What wins it a place in my "Top Three" is the ending of Sleepy not just unexpectedly demonstrating a shockingly beautiful operatic voice - that's great enough!  But, what REALLY puts it over the top is the last-second addition of Sleepy CHOKING as he sings his last line!!!

It's that "going back for one more gag, once you think it's over" that truly appeals to me as a writer!  Not seeing the originals of many of the stories I translate, you may not notice this, but adding an extra gag to compliment the one that precedes it is something I try to do whenever possible! ...and it just might have been this cartoon that would eventually inspire me to do so!  

.........................

Something I just realized at this writing... While Bugs Bunny is my favorite Looney Tunes character, it is Daffy Duck who stars in all three of my favorite shorts! 

And a DIFFERENT VERSION of Daffy in each one, to boot!  Primitive Manic Daffy, Obnoxious Huckster Daffy, and Jealous and Resentful Daffy!  I'd say the duck has had quite an evolution over the years!  

Drop some comments on us, and let us know what you think!  

TIAHBlog at 16 Presents 16 Covers -- Number Nine: Another Top Three Cover(s?)!

Okay, I thought about it! Perhaps longer and harder than I even had the time for today, but in THIS POST I named BATMAN #244 (DC Comics, Cover Date: September, 1972) as one of my TOP THREE FAVORITE COVERS!  

 ...And deservedly so!  

And, to be perfectly honest, I never, at any time, gave any real thought to what the others might be!  

Sure, I made a TOP TEN STORIES list in the late '90s which, if I weren't so (all together now) Horrifically Busy all the time, I'd probably update for the 2020s!  Not at all sure what would change, and what would remain, from the original list - but I KNOW Casty's "Night of the Living Text", to which I contributed its "George Romero Tribute Title", would displace SOMETHING among those ten precious slots!  

...But, I began to wonder today, WHAT WOULD THE OTHER TWO COVERS BE? (See, this series has me THINKING, in addition to going stark raving DAFFY!)  

 AW, C'MON! WE DID THIS GAG TO DEATH YESTERDAY! 

 YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BE ONE OF THE TOP THREE COVERS! 

...AND DON'T BOTHER STUFFING THE BALLOT BOX  WITH REPRINTS, IT WON'T HELP!

Anyway, I began thinking about what other covers might rival BATMAN # 244 for sheer awesomeness and, I must admit, there aren't many!  

...And, ironically, it was BEING PESTERED BY DAFFY yesterday, which led me to tonight's answer! 

Oh, Daffy, sometimes you can be your own worst enemy, because it was thinking of YOU that brought me to... ("Oh-no!" says Daffy plaintively, as a pit begins forming in his stomach!)...BUGS BUNNY! 

And, as always, BUGS BUNNY delivers the goods... with a pair of covers that DO INDEED rival BATMAN # 244 for sheer awesomeness! 

Just look at these Rabbit-Rific covers for FOUR COLOR #123 (Dell Comics, Cover Date: October, 1946)... 

...And FOUR COLOR #142 (Dell Comics, Cover Date: April, 1947)... 

...Both by the great Tom McKimson, and tell me they don't run with Neal Adams' BATMAN # 244! 

Of course they do!  And so, the honors for Cover Number Nine are shared by FOUR COLOR #123 and FOUR COLOR #142! 

...But, if you'd prefer to stick with Batman's "desert and sword motif", we've got one for that as well - FOUR COLOR #298 (Dell Comics, Cover Date: October, 1950)!  

 They kinda go together too!  

Can't say when, but I'll probably round out my TOP THREE FAVORITE COVERS sometime before this series is over... 

...Or, maybe I'll just pick something at RANDOM, like this!  When it gets to be this late at night, there's just no telling what I might do! 

Happy Thanksgiving 2023 - and Happy 6th Birthday to Averi!

For Thanksgiving 2017, Esther and I gave far more than our standard amount of thanks - for, on that day, in that year, our darling granddaughter AVERI was born!  

And as the calendar works, six years later, her birthday falls on Thanksgiving once again - and so we happily summon up a metric ton of of additional thanks for the wonderful presence in our lives that she has become!  

And still more thanks for Cici and Logan who followed! 

As for Thanksgiving, I'm remined of the time last year, where I showed Averi the great Warner Bros. cartoon "Tom Turk and Daffy" - in which Porky Pig as a pilgrim hunted a frantic turkey for Thanksgiving dinner.  

In her kindergarten class, she had to "disguise" a drawing of a turkey with crayons, paper scraps, etc. lest he be found on Thanksgiving.  Since this was akin to Daffy Duck hiding the turkey from hunter Porky, I showed her the cartoon. 

And, while she laughed at all the antics, she questioned why Porky didn't just buy a turkey at the store like we did!  

You just GOTTA LOVE HER!  

Adventures in Comic-Boxing: Compressed Duck!

Here is an untitled one-page gag from DAFFY DUCK # 4 (Dell Comics, Cover Date: January-March, 1956) that I called "Butterfly Tie" for purposes of my personal indexing.

Art is by Warner Bros. animator and Dell and Gold Key Comics stalwart Phil De Lara.  

Here is "Butterfly Tie" once again, when it was later reprinted in BUGS BUNNY # 104 (Gold Key Comics, Cover Date: March, 1966)...

...Reformatted down to HALF-SIZE to allow page space for the required STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT, AND CIRCULATION, which was once part of the magazine publishing biz.  

Western Publishing rarely indulged in this type of reformatting-shrinkage in its Dell and Gold Key Comics - save reformatting older classic material for reprinting in their later comics digests. 

But here's an example of how they "compwessed a duck" to "conform with wegulations"!   

"I feel the PANEL WALLS cwosing-in!"  

(Click to Enlarge!)

"Wegulations, BAH!"

What’s Last …and First …and Red (read) All Over? (...Another LONG Post!)

Ya know?  That old joke REALLY doesn’t work in printed form!  No matter, because…

THE HOLIDAYS AREN'T OVER UNTIL I SAY THEY ARE!

As for that “What’s Last …and First” part... You're probably asking yourself, now that the (once unimaginable) New Year of 2020 has been rung in, what was the LAST comic Joe read in 2019 - and what was the FIRST comic he read in 2020 - and were they really "red (read) all over?"

...Even if not, just go along with the bit, okay?  

You're ALSO probably asking yourself... They must have been really spectacular choices to commemorate such an important turn-of-decade, right? 

Well, EVERY comic book I own is "special" to me, kinda like the way every coin is "special" to Scrooge McDuck.  Each one of my precious comic books has "its own story"!  In fact, many of them have SEVERAL stories, and lots of ads to boot - but I digress. 

But, in terms of historic import - or "gravitas", if you will - you might well consider my choices to be quite ordinary!  Though, again (like Scrooge's coins), none of them are "ordinary" to me! 

Last Comic of 2019:  MARCH OF COMICS # 402 -  Daffy Duck (Promotional Giveaway, 1975)

First Comic of 2020: WORLD'S FINEST # 106 (DC Comics, Cover Date: December, 1959)

Feel free to read on, once your moment of stunned silence has passed! 

Okay, now that you've rejoined us, I have to ask... Has anyone ever actually said "Great Scott!" in real life? 

Sure, Captain Kirk might occasionally say "Great Work, Scotty!" in times of crisis...

...But "Great Scott!"?  I dunno!  

Yet, it's even on the cover of the VERY NEXT ISSUE (# 107)! 

...And, many, many more! 

You might think that my choice of WORLD'S FINEST # 106 could have something to do with its  Cover Date of December, 1959 - sixty years after we'd just left 2019 in our cosmic rear view mirror... but, no.  It was just luck-of-the-draw, as both these comics were in the very last shipment of back issues I received from Lone Star Comics before the turning of the year!   

So, without further ado, let's say goodbye to 2019 with MARCH OF COMICS # 402 -  Daffy Duck (Promotional Giveaway, 1975)!

"March of Comics" (as discussed in THIS POST) was designed to be a giveaway premium, and was used for promotional purposes by major retailers such as Sears, and by others you probably never heard of.

Beginning in 1946, and ending in 1982 (!), it ran for an astounding 488 issues - and was produced by the same editorial and creative folks that brought you Dell and Gold Key Comics. 

Daffy Duck "The Bottled Blabber" 14 pages (of 3-tiers per page) is written by Vic Lockman and penciled by Phil DeLara. 

Long story short, Daffy and Elmer Fudd, with the help of a few wacky inventions by Elmer's (presumably deceased) Uncle Fignewton Fudd...

...Travel to a somewhat familiar place in time and space, even if you've never read this particular story before!  

"Familiar", that is, to ANOTHER duck named "DONALD"!

Yes, Vic Lockman sent BOTH famous ducks back to the fabled "Battle at Hadrian's Wall"!  

Happily for us readers, Lockman gave us two very different stories about "Hadrian's Wall" - for Donald in 1966, and for Daffy in 1968!  More "wall" for "all", let's have a ball!  

...And, yes, I said "Daffy in 1968!" 

Because, while March of Comics # 402 appeared in 1975, the story therein was reprinted from 1968's March of Comics # 313!

Look closely, and you'll see a reference to "1968" in one of the panels I reproduced above!  

Look closer still, and you'll find a total of FOUR references to "1968" scattered throughout MOC # 402!  Oops!  Someone was asleep at the time-switch!  

All the more oddly, this story was ALSO reprinted in GOLDEN COMICS DIGEST # 39 (Gold Key Comics, Cover Date: September, 1974) - where THREE of the FOUR references to "1968" were changed to "1974"... but one was not!  

Golden Comics Digest # 39: ("1974" re-lettered)

March of Comics # 402: (Still "1968" in 1975) 

(Click to Enlarge)

Western Publishing... Ya gotta love 'em! 

Regardless of the year, it was my last comic-read of 2019!  Now, let's usher-in 2020 with WORLD'S FINEST # 106!

There's probably no better way to celebrate a new year than with a good 1950's sci-fi-based-villain story, featuring DC's two greatest heroes...

...Oh, yeah! ...And Robin, too! 

(...Okay, maybe there ARE better ways, but none I'm willing to discuss here!) 

Classic DC artist Dick Sprang could sure draw some great villains!  

And, look... Even some iconic "giant props"!  

Add a villain that's (at least temporarily) a match for Batman (Oh, yeah! ...And Robin too!)... 

...As well as Superman...

...And a good time is had by all...

...Eventually! 

See the lower left of the panel above… Even DICK TRACY admires “The World’s Finest Heroes!”

WORLD'S FINEST # 106 is rounded-out by stories featuring "Tommy Tomorrow" and "Green Arrow and Speedy" - the later of which serves to illustrate just how similar Green Arrow was to Batman!

Let's check the boxes, shall we? 

"Wealthy Guy in a Mansion"?  CHECK!

"Youthful Ward"?  CHECK!

"The Arrow Signal"?  CHECK!  

"The Arrowcar"?  CHECK!  

...And, quite true - no joke, he drove "The Arrowcar" out of "The Arrow Cave"!   CHECK-A-ROONIE!  

Small wonder they made so much of the similarities, which evolved into a rivalry, on the animated series BATMAN THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD!  

Not to mention the comic based on the show! 

Anyway... This post might be just about finished, BUT...

THE HOLIDAYS AREN'T OVER UNTIL I SAY THEY ARE!

We will have at least one more Holiday Post before I'll consider calling it quits.  Be there, won't you?  

BONUS GCD LINKS:  Here are the links to each featured comic at Grand Comics Database!

March of Comics # 402  (I wrote this one!) 

World's Finest # 106