Joey Cavalieri

Nearly pure fizzle, with a touch of sizzle near the end.

As the title says, DC superheroes meet versions of the Looney Tunes characters -- usually in a grotesque, more realistic form -- in the DCU. But then in each chapter there is a back-up story that let's the traditional cartoon version of the Looney Tunes characters meet a more cartoonish version of the superhero.

It's all very unfunny, sad, and tiresome until the final pages when Bugs Bunny tries to convince Elmer Fudd that "rabbit show more season" is actually "bat season."

Mostly it all paled in comparison to the hilarious, raunchy, and very unauthorized crossover Bugs Bunny had with Betty Boop in the [book:Mr. Boop|60106023] graphic novel I read earlier this week.

FOR REFERENCE:

Contents:

Legion of Super Heroes/Bugs Bunny Special #1
• Cover / Tom Grummett, penciller; Karl Kesel, inker
• Variant Cover / Ty Templeton, artist
• The Impostor Superboy / Sam Humphries, writer; Tom Grummett, penciler; Scott Hanna, inker
• Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes: The Impostor Superboy / Juan Manuel Ortiz, writer and artist

Martian Manhunter/Marvin the Martian Special #1
• Cover / Aaron Lopresti
• Variant Cover / Stephen DeStefano, artist
• Best Intentions / Steve Orlando and Frank J. Barbiere, writers; Aaron Lopresti, penciller; Jerome Moore, inker
• Marvin the Martian and Martian Manhunter in "The (Next to the) Last Martian" / Jim Fanning, writer; John Loter, artist

Wonder Woman/Tasmanian Devil Special #1
• Cover / Jim Lee, artist
• Variant Cover / Byron Vaughns, artist
• The Devil You Know / Tony Bedard, writer; Barry Kitson penciller; John Floyd, inker
• Trojan Horseplay / Tony Bedard, writer; Ben Caldwell, artist

Lobo/Road Runner Special #1
• Cover / Kelley Jones, artist
• Variant Cover / Bill Morrison, artist
• Fast and Fraggy-ous / Bill Morrison, writer; Kelley Jones, artist
• But Wait, There's More! / Bill Morrison, writer and artist

Jonah Hex/Yosemite Sam Special #1
• Cover / Mark Texeira, artist
• Variant Cover / Dave Alvarez, artist
• Comin' in A-Shootin'! / Jimmy Palmiotti, writer; Mark Texeira, artist
• The Road to Bruin / Bill Matheny, writer; Dave Alvarez, artist

Batman/Elmer Fudd Special #1
• Cover / Lee Weeks, artist
• Variant Cover / Bob Fingerman, artist
• Pway for Me / Tom King, writer; Lee Weeks, artist
• Rabbit Season / Tom King, writer; Byron Vaughns, artist

Sketchbook / Jim Lee, Mark Texeira, Byron Vaughns, artists show less

Most of the stories are mildly amusing, but "Pway for Me" wherein Elmer Fudd comes in conflict with the Batman is worth the price of the book. There's an audio reading by comics artist, Neal Adams, that can be found online that's even better.

A unique type of Superman story, this takes place in "our" world, where Superman is simply a comic book hero. Young Clark Kent, the subject of unrelenting teasing because of his parents' unfortunate choice of names, one day wakes up with the powers of Superman. He cautiously embarks on a few exploits that do not go unnoticed, and suddenly the rumors are buzzing of a flying boy with amazing powers. Clark conducts a few anonymous interviews with an ambitious journalist, considers revealing show more himself to the world, then changes his mind when the heat gets too much. There is a nice bit at the end where he is able to rescue the girl he has a crush on, and win the respect of some of his tormentors. The charm of this book is how realistically it plays out; this is exactly how a teased young man might react, waking up one day to find out he has the powers of Superman. Love the artwork, too. show less

These are mostly great stories, accomplishing team-ups which really shouldn't work. Each team up is done twice....once in the style of an actual DC Comic and once in the more animated style of the Looney Tunes. The latter are almost always more successful, but I give them points for making the former work at all.