Review: Looney Tunes #241

Yes, I normally write about horror and Sci-Fi books each week, but I decided to mix it up a bit and review Looney Tunes #241 from DC comics today. From the age of 4 till about”¦”¦now, I have enjoyed the classic cartoons staring Tweety, Bugs, Sylvester, and Porky. The comic should simply be an extension of those beloved classics, right? Well that is the good and bad of this comic. The writers have taken a successful formula, and followed it religiously, which would be fine if we lived in a time warp. We don“t however, and as much as I have a nostalgic love for the cartoons that had me rolling on the floor as a young child, I admit, the world is different now, and while the love for the characters is still there, the gags need to be updated.

The comic consists of three short stories, that would mirror an afterschool half hour block of cartoons. The first story, Big-Budget Block-Busted, (written by Sholly Fisch) is a Sylvester vs Tweety romp in a movie theatre. I will say, the name of the movie they went to see make me chuckle right off the bat. It was Gone With The Wind II: Electric Boogaloo. That is pretty funny. The rest of the story was pretty much classic Loony Tunes. Cat tries to eat bird, but the bird is smarter and cute. I did think it was outdated to have Sylvester dress in a confederate soldier uniform as part of the story. Again, this is not the 1950“s and I“m pretty sure characters who are supposed to be cute and loveable should not be dressed in military uniforms that were at one point worn by enemies of a large majority of their target audience. To be fair, there were no flags, insignias, or any other markings on the uniform, but it still rubbed me the wrong way and was not needed for their childish gags.

The second story, Puss in Books, (written by Frank Strom) was another Sylvester tale. This time he was with his son, rummaging for dinner. After discovering a mouse, and chasing it into a library, the two cats try to catch a fresh dinner, while Sylvester attempts to not draw the attention of the librarian, who is out to get him. This story is a more fun slapstick romp that was pretty good. I thought the writing was pretty much spot on for classic Looney Tunes.

Finally, we complete the Sylvester trifecta, this time he is paired with Porky Pig in Dig That History! (also written by Frank Strom). The pair arrive at a cave to search for fossils, or better yet, the missing link. Porky works diligently, while Sylvester continues to get bonked in various types of ways by a caveman that only he seems to see. It“s the traditional bit where Porky looks away each time the caveman shows up. It is, again, a fine story, but does not offer any originality to these traditional characters.Â If you“re looking for a kid comic where you know exactly what you“ll get, this is it. There is not anything really new to speak of, but I wonder if that is expected?

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

(W) Sholly Fisch (A) Robert Pope, Scott McRae (CA) Scott Gross

Author Profile

Bryan Spaulding

In his free time, other than reading comic books, Bryan enjoys listening to his ever growing record collection and driving his 27 year old roadster named Mingo.