What an absolutely delightful comic book is Superman and Bugs Bunny is. I eagerly collected up the original four-part series by Mark Evanier and artist Joe Staton when it first came out (gasp) over twenty years ago now. But having it in all in a beautiful 100-page package with its striking Steve Rude cover is exceedingly cool. I'm a Joe Staton fan and will glom onto any project he's a part of most of the time, but this one was ideal for his particular skills. He's a dandy artist who is able to sit inside the confines of the superhero universes and also produce delightful broader more bigfooted artwork. This project was the perfect vehicle for his talents. Aided by inkers Tom Palmer and Mike DeCarlo (who are listed as finishers on this project) the two took Staton's art and make it at once distinctive but still cohesive, no small challenge when working with characters which are so divergent as these.
The series is actually a crossover (when crossovers were king) between the myriad characters of the Looney Tunes universe and the stalwarts of the Justice League of America. When this was produced, the League was comprised of Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Flash (Wally West), Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner), Green Arrow (Connor Hawke), Aquaman (with a hook), Plastic Man, and Martian Manhunter. It's a visual feast but aside from that it's a really funny comic book. I don't always laugh when I read "funny" comics, but I did when I read this one again after all these years. Evanier does a grand job of capturing the lines and cadences of the Looney Tuners to a tee and that plays off the rather more stern JLAers perfectly. The scenes with Green Arrow and the singing Frog that won't are invariably hilarious.
You owe it to yourself to get this one if you can dig it up out of the back issue boxes. This is one crossover that is an absolute delight.
NOTE: This is a Revised Dojo Classic Post.
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I only managed to pick up issue 2 and 3 on this series but even from that you could tell it was a labour of love by all involved. Joe Statons (Palmer and Decarlo) art is excellent especially on the Looney Tunes type characters. I love the little gems like the singing frog in the box from the animated cartoons. I will really need to hunt down the other issues or get the collected series.
ReplyDeleteJoe Staton has retired now, but he was one of my faves. He had the knack to change up his style for the material and his ability to hit that animated sweet spot made him ideal for a project like this.
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