In Search of an Elusive Good Rabbit Artist

When it comes to sharing age-old comics that only registers in the memory of old-school comic readers, there's the borderline legal impetus to share that joy by posting scans of some notable short stories, like The Horrors of it All,  Four Color Shadows, Big Blog Comics, Pappy's Golden Age, and recently, the defunct Looney Comics of Matthew Hunter who started his blog to share some Looney Tunes comics with his opinions on them.

For the most part, most of the Warner Bros. Comics had sub-par art and stiff off-model characters.  But there was one exception.  In the few Looney Tunes comics that happened to fall in my hands, there was always one story that seemed to be slightly above average than the others.

For some reason, Elmer's line of "That's my Gwandfather you're punching!"
is endearably funny to me.

A long time ago (circa 2016), Mike Sterling made the claim that there never was a “Good Rabbit Artist” and the reason Carl Barks comics was fondly remembered while Warner Bros. Comics weren’t.  For the longest time, this confused me, since I thought this was the elusive artist that'd fit the profile.

It's unusual for Bugs to build up to trickery, rather than just bulldoze his way
into forcing others into whatever reality he deems plausible.

Nowadays, we'd recognize Bugs' tactics as gaslighting,
but at the time, I thought it was typical trickster tactics.

I started doing some research, but absent a name, I had no way of identifying him.  By process of elimination, I knew he wasn't Ed Volke, Pete Alvarado, Chase Craig, Roger Armstrong, Tom McKimson or Charles McKimson [no relation?].

It was only by going through the Comics Database that I found this elusive clean line artstyle showcasing Bugs Bunny with highly defined buck teeth than usual was most likely Phil de Lara, who also did the Porky Pig and Daffy Duck comics in the same issues.  The Bugs Bunny comics were also 10 pages long, which gave rise to the allusion that these were higher quality material, especially since the shorter comics weren’t as strong.

He was quite the prolific artist, working in animation, for both Warner Bros. and Walt Disney, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Foghorn Leghorn, Chip & Dale and Woody Woodpecker.

My enthusiasm upon finding these comics was dampened upon actually seeing them all at once.  One factor that comes up is that the Warner Bros. Comics bear little resemblance to the cartoons that inspired them.  The majority of the Bugs Bunny comics had Bugs be on a frenemy terms with Elmer, and there were plots involving cursed idols, running across crooks, and casual racism which would make reprinting such stories a problem.

As with any adaptation of licensed products, there was a tendency to misunderstand the allure of the characters, grafting known marketable traits onto new properties that were known to work.  Somewhat similar to the Weekday episodes of The Real Ghostbusters where the team temporarily branched out into Crimebusters, cracking down on criminals.  Not exactly the same as tracking down and analyzing ghosts, which made the team more like cops than anything, which wasn’t what they were supposed to be doing anyways!

The difference between the nameless comics and the Carl Barks classics is that for all of Phil de Lara's skills, he worked off someone else's anonymous script.  If given the chance, could he have used his imagination to create something that could've expanded on the nature of the Warner Bros. cartoons?  We may never know.

There's no animal such as a pip-squeak, but if there were, would it behave any differently from how Elmer portrayed one here?

I normally would’ve ended this post here had I not in my searches come across this otherwise unremarkable story from 1957 where Bugs encounters Elmer on the docks in an inconspicuous disguise and WAITAMINIT.

That steamboat with cargo looks awfully familiar...

In fact, this whole setup is directly lifted off from The Crab with the Golden Claws, which was published in 1947, a full decade later, basically summarizing a 48-page comic classic in under 10 pages.

For any American ignorant of Tintin, this would be another unremarkable story, but for any comic connoisseurs in the know, this would be deliberate plagiarism, or at the very least, an indirect homage.

One other fault with these Warner Bros. comics is that the ending can be abrupt and with a somewhat unsatisfying joke, even for a condensed 10-page comic like this one.  As such, it seems we won't be seeing a collection of Phil De Lara's works anytime soon.

The Appeal of Anti-Climax Man

Fan1: Hey, I haven't seen you around much lately.  What's up?

Fan2: Nothing much.  I've just been preoccupied with this series that's Crazy Awesome and Addictive: Anti-Climax Man.

Fan1: Oh yeah, I think I've heard of it.

Fan2: You gonna give it a try?

Fan1: I dunno.  It seems to have limited appeal beyond its high-concept premise.

Fan2: Dude, you know me.  I don't get heavily invested in anything without good reason.

Fan1: Well, I could, but isn't it only available on some heavily reserved ultra-expensive elitist subscribed channel?

Fan2: It's been leased out to this other channel that you have.

Fan1: Well, it's a later episode, so -

Fan2: Not a problem.  Each is self-contained, while also building on a larger narrative.

Fan1: I'd still like -

Fan2: There's also several online sites showing it for free.

Fan1: I feel a little uneasy about -

Fan2: I also have the DVD sets.

Fan1: Man, it was SO easy for me to ignore when it wasn't easily available.

Fan2: WATCH IT.

Fan1: Okay, okay.  Don't twist my arm.  I'll take a look, but I'm not promising anything.

(Two days later)

Fan2: So, what do you think so far?

Fan1: Well, it's okay I guess.  The guy gets caught up in outlandish scenarios that are resolved in the most banal ways possible.

Fan2: I know!!  Isn't it great?!

Fan1: I thought he'd just win all the time, but I was surprised that he allowed himself to lose on purpose.

Fan2: You have to admit it was an effective way to deescalate the situation.

Fan1: As I said before, its extremely childish.  The supporting cast seem to be more fully developed compared to the protagonist who's pretty much a blank slate for the audience to latch onto.

Fan2: How much of it did you see?

Fan1: ...thirty episodes.

Fan2: HAH!  I knew once you'd get started, you'd find it hard to stop!

Fan1: Well, they're very breezy.  I wasn't too into it at first, but after awhile, it started to grow on me.  Frankly, I was surprised at how quickly I blazed through them.  I'll give it another thirty episodes, but if things haven't improved any, I'll quit.

(A week later)

Fan1: The later seasons are completely INSANE.  There's so much Tension involved.  And Anti-Climax Man is always so blasé about it!  I'm always screaming at him to look at the Apocalyptic Disaster he's completely unaware of, just so he can resolve it in that pithy underhanded manner he always does!

Fan2: NOW do you see why I like it so much?

Fan1: I'll say!  I never thought I would become so invested in this so much!

Fan2: I'm particularly impressed with the emotional heft the characters have.  For being rather broad caricatures, there's a surprising depth to their relationships.  Who they were at the beginning of the show are completely different to how they are later on.

Fan1: For me, it's all about the constantly building pressure in every episode.  How long can they prolong the situation before Anti-Climax Man resolves it?!  And he's always in the wrong place!!  LOOK TO YOUR LEFT!!

(A month later)

Fan1: It's absolute torture waiting for new episodes to come up.  I've been compulsively rewatching the early episodes picking up subtle clues that've been sprinkled throughout.

Fan2: Even the lousy episodes?

Fan1: Well, maybe not those, but definitely the high quality ones.  I've made amusing crossover Fanfics because I've been dreaming about it in my sleep!

Fan2: Yes.  Revel in the pain. 

Fan1: This was your plan all along wasn't it?  To draw me into this Fandom just so you'd have someone to compare ulcers with?

Fan2: Consider yourself lucky - I got into it when there were fewer episodes than there are now.

Fan1: I didn't even know it existed, but now I can't imagine not having this show in my life.

Fan2: Well, don't get too complacent.  There's been rumours that this might be the last season.

Fan1: Are you kidding me?!  There's still so much untapped potential!!  Not to mention so many unresolved plotlines!!!  Are we ever going to find out what that mysterious item in the warehouse was supposed to be?!  How can they possibly wrap everything up in just a few episodes?!

Fan2: As I said before, it's still hearsay.  The sponsors have been complaining that the side characters have been taking over the show.  Anti-Climax Man hardly ever shows up anymore.

Fan1: But that's the whole appeal!!  It's seeing these lesser competent guys deal with the increasingly heightening drama the only way they can that further ramps up the suspense!!  Anti-Climax Man's presence would resolve things way too soon!

Fan2: Well, sponsors don't always understand what their viewers are so passionate about.  And the viewer numbers have been dropping.

Fan1: Because it's constantly in reruns!!  And... (checks rating numbers) each episode STILL gets at least two million views!!

Fan2: If it's any consolation, we had a good run.  And we can still spread word about the show through word of mouth.

Fan1: I tried to get my friends to get interested in Anti-Climax Man.

Fan2: And?

Fan1: They just laughed in my face for trying to convince them to watch a silly children's show when they've got more serious Adult entertainment suited for them.  The fools.  I tried to make it as easy as possible for them to jump in, but they resist any attempt to even give it a sidelong glance!

Fan2: Sounds like a certain somebody I know.  Weren't you just complaining that Anti-Climax Man was in danger of becoming formulaic and predictable?

Fan1: I wanted excitement, but Not Like This!  I've been checking the news feeds every day, checking every #Anticlimaxman tag on an hourly basis.  The suspense is terrible.  I hope it doesn't last.

(Ding)

Fan2: Sounds like another hit just registered.

Fan1: Probably just another article about making your very own Anti-Climax character.  As if I didn't have enough - (Gasps)  It's news about the creator of Anti-Climax Man.

Fan2: Looks like something happened to the guy.

Fan1: I can't look.  What does it say??

Fan2: It says...

TO BE CONTINUED.... (maybe)

License Request: Tintin Director's Cut

Tintin is one of the most beloved comics read worldwide, it's material present in a surprisingly scant 24 albums (and one movie special) that has delighted audiences of all ages, long past the long-obsolete technological and political ramifications that these period-specific quests took place in.

An instance in Cigars of the Pharaoh where Tintin is cornered
by the elaborate security system of the Masked Cigar Cult.

And yet, there still remains a surprising amount of unreleased material that has long remained out of the casual audience's purview or knowledge.  Pure Tintinologists are aware of these, but for the most part, this deleted stuff is fascinating.  (Sadly, the Black & White reprints uses substandard translation that doesn't match the originals)  The brief forays into casual racism notwithstanding, the main bulk of left out pages comes from condensing the sheer amount of published material into more easily packaged format of a 62-page album.  (Which I've alluded to in detail in my definitive essay, Mathematical Equivalence of Comics)

In the original Tintin in the Congo, Tintin put a stick of dynamite
inside the Rhinoceros' hide, causing his intended prey to explode to pieces.

That forced limitation for European-style storytelling has encouraged tighter storytelling, but also limited the amount of length a typical interesting subject could provide.  (Gag-based albums are further restricted to anywhere between 44-62 pages) Not unlike the forced publication of weekly serials (6 pages for 2000 AD, 16 pages of Shonen Jump, and 22 pages for the typical American comic)  Independent publishers have relaxed this series of limitations somewhat, and allowed for the addition of more pages wherever necessary.

For the most part, most of the pages left out in a Tintin book can be considered superfluous, and filler boilerplate stuff intended to drag out the scene a little longer, and give the drawer some time to figure out how his spunky hero was going to get out of this little fix.

But in terms of sheer amount of available material, the bulk of unpublished stuff goes to Prisoners of the Sun.

Here, the Visionary sees that Captain Haddock has not only a bottle of Whisky
in his coat pocket, but also a box full of Monocles.

Not unlike most comic serials, The Seven Crystal Balls started off by first being published as a daily strip in Le Soir.  And then, WWII happened, which forced Hergé to put his planned arc on hold, and his story wouldn't be continued until two years later, leaving the fate of further Tintin adventures and the mystery of the epileptic/catatonic explorers and Calculus' kidnapping unknown.  Fortunately, after the War, Hergé was pardoned for suspicion of collaborating with the enemy, which was absurd, since his stories were more anti-fascist than anything.  Incidentally, I find the reduced minimalist panel below to be funnier than the enlarged splash panel version.

That forced hiatus may have proven to be a blessing in disguise, since it gave the author time to do some proper research (which greatly benefited his stories since The Blue Lotus) and go into further detail about The Incas, which would be described in footnotes to the side or below the page, taking up valuable space.

The tiny print is probably the main reason that this particular segment of Tintin hasn't been reprinted in English.  The amount of trivia would only be of interest to subscribers of National Geographic.  And people who'd actually go to the trouble of reading those passages would skim over them once, then forgo those to focus solely on the main story, which'd be more interesting.

In terms of pacing and amount of slapstick mixed with adventurous comic storytelling, only Floyd Gottfredson's Mickey Mouse comes close.  I've speculated that if the Disney cartoonist had managed to reprint his stories in a more conventional and consistent format, he would be far better remembered today.  Indeed, when you look through his strips, there's a fair amount of annoying repetition that some clever editing could solve.

Here, we see an instance of the titular character getting annoyed by a persistent Black Cat that keeps getting attracted to him, no matter how much he tries to shoo him (her?) away.

Some of the panels add a little extra something that's missing in the final presentation.  In the above instance, Tintin is already halfway out the door before he hears Calculus' voice.  The additional panel gives some breathing space that's sorely needed.  Likewise, in the page below, Tintin confronts the Incan who was once General Alcazar's partner.  Since Tintin never met the man, and only saw him from a distance, it makes more sense that he doesn't know who he is at first sight.

Another bonus from getting bonus panels, (some of which are slightly out of sequence from the final product), we get more amusing shenanigans from the Thompsons.


Another instance that was missing - Captain Haddock talking to a stranger in a poncho who only responds a monosyllabic "No sé..." before revealing himself to be Tintin himself.  In that context, the open mouth and grim expression makes more sense.

There are plenty of other instances of deletes scenes, such as encountering a skull post before entering the border to Incan lands, Captain Haddock chewing cocoa leaves to counteract poison in his system, and Captain Haddock finding Gold in the caves that he has to leave behind in order to fit through the tunnels.

Even though the majority of the text is familiar to the source material, it'd be nice to have a more complete version.  The only instance that a serious effort was made to transcribe the Sunday Comic version was in the long-out-of-print The Making of Tintin-In the World of the Inca, which I've seen the cover of on the back of some volume previews, but never the inside.  From what little I've seen, it's mostly documentary stuff instead of actual comic pages.  The only other instance that Tintin was made more interesting was when someone wrote some stuff inside the pages, which were intentionally amusing.

All images taken from this book: