Martian Manhunter/Marvin The Martian Review: Isn't That Lovely?

In the realm of Looney Tune antagonists, Marvin the Martian is something of an odd duck. While all of the other foes that Bugs Bunny has faced are fairly harmless, he's one of the only ones that can actually be considered a credible threat. Let's be honest, Elmer Fudd is a perpetually-clueless dope, and he's not even good at that. At times, you almost feel sorry for him. Yosemite Sam has more weapons and confidence, but he's easily tricked and almost all bluster.

Marvin, on the other hand, can actually pose a very real danger to Bugs. I wouldn't go so far as to say that he projects an aura of menace, but there's a reason that so many entries into the franchise have positioned him as the villain. For the most part, he wants to commit genocide by destroying Earth for his own petty reasons, the most common of which is that it "obstructs his view of the planet Venus."  He utterly enjoys hunting smaller creatures and mocks Earthlings for being primitive. He also has a soft-spoken and gentle nature, making the true nature of what he aims to do even more disturbing, as much as that word can be applied to a slapstick cartoon.

With all of this in mind, it comes as no surprise that Steve Orlando and Frank J. Barbiere manage to turn what could be a ridiculously mismatched story into a touching cosmic tale. The heart of the crossover comes from Marvin and J'onn's shared Martian heritage. Despite having completely different views of society and coming from separate dimensions, they still share a bond, as slight as it may be. J'onn even pronounces Marvin's name in the distinct Martian dialect, trying to connect with him.

I'm also glad that Aaron Lopresti kept Marvin's ant-like structure in the art. It enhances the contrast between Marvin's puny gladiator design and the Martian Manhunter's distinctly more humanoid look. If we ever get a DC Rebirth series starring J'onn, then I hope Steve and Aaron are retained as the official creative team. The story has an effective grasp on keeping the standard Looney Tunes comedy, while also portraying the humanity seen in J'onn's worldview. Even though the chaos caused by Marvin's actions cause the populace to mistrust him, he still puts his hope in the essential goodness of human nature.

All the while, Marvin just has this smarmy tone of voice, and it fits with his character. In a way, he also does care about the Martian race, but he'll gladly prioritize them over others. One other thing that I really appreciate in the story is the inclusion of Area 52, where Marvin finds weapons to use against Earth. I'm fairly certain that it acts as a reference to the theatrical film Looney Tunes: Back In Action, where Marvin actually shows up in that government facility, later playing a key role in a spectacular joint Duck Dodgers/Star Wars homage.

The short backup story features the standard Looney Tunes incarnation of the character and a stylized version of J'onn. It's a cute story and packs a lot of jokes into a small amount of pages. In a way, it's very similar to the main feature, but features more references to the cartoons, such as Marvin's assistant K-9 and Duck Dodgers cameos by way of shape-shifting. Plus, cookies!

"Best Intentions" is written by Steve Orlando and Frank J. Frank J. Barbiere, drawn by Aaron Lopresti, inked by Jerome Moore, colored by Hi-Fi, and lettered by Carlos M. Mangual. "The (Next To The) Last Martian" is written by Jim Fanning, drawn by John Loter, and lettered by Saida Temofonte. Martian Manhunter/Marvin The Martian is available at your local comic book shop.

Zachary Krishef is an evil genius. Do not question his knowledge of Saturday Night Live trivia or Harry Potter books.

Comics 100-Page Super Spectacular Review: DC Reprints 'Superman & Bugs Bunny' For A New Generation

Back in the Silver Age, DC Comics had a title called DC Comics 100-Page Super Spectacular that featured reprints of select comics, typically those related to special events that were going on. The issues had a diverse array of handpicked titles, ranging from the contemporary adventures in Young Love to the more standard Superman and Flash tales, with a splash of Batman thrown in for flavor. The nineteenth edition even had a selection of Tarzan newspaper strips. This week, the colorful characters in the Looney Tunes join in as DC reprints Superman & Bugs Bunny to promote the upcoming crossover specials.

To start off, I have read this miniseries before, many times. It holds particular nostalgic value for me because I first discovered it at my very first trip to a local comic shop. In my return visits to Argo's Books, I discovered the joy of reading comics and vintage books. The visits were brief, but I happen to go to a college that is a short walk away from the store. Getting the opportunity to officially review the special is a joy, and I'm delighted to share my thoughts with you.

The story starts off with a fitting pair of villains, Mr. Mxyzptlk and Yoyo the Dodo. In case you haven't heard of Yoyo, there's no need to fear. The Dodo himself describes his backstory, even including a recreated scene from his debut cartoon, Porky In Wackyland. Mr. Mxyzptlk and the Dodo soon bond over their shared love of the art of annoying people and conspire to help each other out. You see, DC's premiere imp (Sorry, Bat-Mite) is tired of superheroes and wants to go to a world where he doesn't have to deal with them, especially Superman. As for the Dodo, he wants to annoy people again. Society has gotten too weird for him in the Looneyverse. The Dodo agrees to send Mr. Mxyz to the world of the Looney Tunes.

You fool, don't look a gift rooster in the mouth! Wait...

The sequence that follows is utterly brilliant. Along with showing Mister M tangling with some of the weirdest characters that the universe has to offer, it's also something of a character study into how his mind works. For once, he's on the receiving end of some slapstick, and has a bit of a temper tantrum, unable to handle it. For all his talk of loving to annoy Superman and cause a bit of mischief, he can't even handle a pie to the face or an anvil to the head. At one point, he even says that this must be how Superman feels when he travels out of the fourth dimension. He's so petty that he can't even handle someone turning the tables on him.

This dovetails into the actual crossover, when Mr. Mxyzptlk decides to transport the Looney Tunes into the DC world, causing mass hysteria and talking cats and talking dogs living together. Or, more accurately, hurling cartoon sticks of TNT at each other. Once again, Mark Evanier, the author, takes this opportunity to create the best character combinations that are possible, used to maximum pun-filled effect. Take, for instance, Batman hunting Cobblepot and coming across a certain Playboy Penguin or the Flash having two separate encounters with Speedy Gonzalez and Road Runner.

It only gets weirder as Mxyzptlk and Yoyo start betraying each other, swapping characters into even more dimensions and combining various characteristics. This part does get slightly confusing if you don't know that Kyle Rayner was the Green Lantern or that Connor Hawke briefly took the mantle of Green Arrow at the time of the book's publishing. I wasn't confused when I first read it, but, then again, I had no idea that multiple people inherited the same title. On a similar note, some of the pop cultures make it clear that the comic is a product of the very early 2000s, but it doesn't hurt the book too badly.

Words can't describe how much I wish that we could have actually seen that happen.

Also, the running joke of Connor Hawke attempting to show people Michigan J. Frog's singing ability does wear slightly thin. It's still funny, but it does get a bit tiresome. It doesn't really adhere to comedy's rule of threes, instead sticking to the unknown 'rule of sixes.' Interestingly, now that I'm older, I actually recognized an alcohol joke in one of the sequences. Green Arrow first accuses and then gets accused of being drunk by a random person on the street. Still, seeing Batman gain the personality of Daffy Duck definitely makes up for it.

"They're called m-m-m-male rompers or something, I dunno!"

The best part of the story, by far, comes in when the Looney Tunes characters and the DC superheroes actually team up to stop the Toyman and get everything back to normal. The sheer absurdity of seeing the Looney Tunes fight crime alongside iconic heroes is something so wonderfully, dare I say it, loony and amazing. I definitely recommend reading the special or the miniseries, if you can get your hands on it. It's a joy to read and behold.

DC Comics 100-Page Super Spectacular (otherwise known as Superman & Bugs Bunny) is written by Mark Evanier, layed out by Joe Staton, finished by Tom Palmer and Mark DeCarlo, lettered by Phil Felix, and colored by Trish Mulvihill. You can find it at your local comic book shop.

Zachary Krishef is an evil genius. Do not question his knowledge of Saturday Night Live trivia or Harry Potter books.

To My Eternal Delight, Select DC Comics Heroes And Looney Tunes Will Unite In June

Yes, this is really happening. To my delight, DC Comics has announced a series of Looney Tunes crossovers in the same vein as the Hanna-Barbera specials set to come out later this month. However, unlike those, the much more humor-orientated epics will be released over the course of June. Interestingly enough, this isn't the first time that DC has taken advantage of their shared ownership by Warner Brothers. 

A notable episode of the Duck Dodgers tv show, based on 1953's Duck Dodgers In The 24 1/2th Century, actually had Daffy Duck accidentally become a Green Lantern after a mishap with the cleaners. Later, The Looney Tunes Show featured a one-off gag revealing that Bugs Bunny was secretly Batman, an entire episode dedicated to Superman's mythology, the Looney Tunes: Back In Action feature film had a sequence with the Batmobile, and, of course, a set of amazing variant covers back in 2015. It's been two years and I would still read those. There was even an awesome four-part crossover miniseries called Superman & Bugs Bunny. (Check back later in June for my review!)

In fact, an original Bugs Bunny short entitled "Super Rabbit" aired all the way back in 1943, satirizing Superman. Essentially, I'm saying that this has been brewing for a long time and I'm so happy that DC Rebirth has now provided the means for some suitably zany crossover action. Six specials will be arriving and here's the scoop on all of them, served with a generous side portion of speculation and nerdy predictions.

"Batman/Elmer Fudd Special #1"- After a chance meeting with billionaire Bruce Wayne, multi-millionaire Elmer Fudd’s obsession quickly escalates into stalking Batman through the dark alleys and high-class social settings of Gotham City.

Isn't this cover amazing? I just love the image of Elmer Fudd and Batman stalking each other. Just the thought of someone as pathetic as Elmer trying to hunt down Batman makes me chuckle. I've been coming up with my own joking dialogue for this ever since the crossovers were teased. Despite the dark nature of much of Tom King's Batman work, I'm not worried that the special will be lacking in humorous content. The beginning of Batman #16 was hilarious. Set to be written by Tom King and drawn by Lee Weeks, who also illustrated the cover, it will come out on June 28th. Mark your calendars and make sure to be vewy, vewy quiet, Elmer's got a new target.

"Jonax Hex/Yosemite Sam Special #1"-  When miner Yosemite Sam strikes it rich, word gets out as everyone comes gunning for his wealth, including the notorious Freleng gang! To protect himself and his his new riches, he hires bounty Hunter Jonah Hex­—but the man protecting him may be his worst nightmare!

This is where I start to get a little dubious. Part of the problem with the crossovers would be the more realistic style that the Looney Tunes characters are drawn in. I mean, they're cartoons, and it looks odd to have them with fairly realistic proportions, or as realistic as you can get. It's not as awkward for Yosemite Sam, but something about Foghorn Leghorn seems off. Maybe it's just that I can't really see his face.

In any case, I appreciate the nod to Friz Freleng, one of the original workers on the cartoons. I'm also curious as to precisely how Foghorn fits into the whole affair. Is he part of the gang? Could he be Sam's partner in crime? Jimmy Palmiotti and Mark Texeira will give us the details on June 28th.

"The Legion Of Super-Heroes/Bugs Bunny Special #1"-  The Legion of Super Heroes always thought they had taken their inspiration from the 21st Century’s Superboy. But when they try to bring that hero into their future time, the team discovers to their surprise the caped champion isn’t who—or even what—they expected!

Nyehhh, what's up, doc? Super Rabbit is what's up, coming all the way from 1943, or earlier in this article. I wonder if this will lead to a Legion Of Super-Pets joke. I do wish that Bugs had on the classic Superman suit, but at least the over-sized boots are red. As I mentioned earlier, seeing a titch more realistic Bugs is slightly disconcerting, but it could be much worse. I also love the full-cover homage to Adventure Comics #247, the first issue to feature the team. I'm kind of a Legion nerd, I've had the first two Showcase Presents volumes for years. Cosmic writer supreme, Sam Humphries will scribe the tale and both Tom Grummett and Scott Hanna will provide the artwork, coming on June 14th.

"Lobo/Road Runner Special #1"- Wile E. Coyote travels to the far reaches of space to hire Lobo to hunt down and kill his greatest nemesis of all time, The Road Runner. When the Coyote and Lobo are after you, the Road Runner realizes if they catch him he’s through.

Okay, Bill Morrison could just take an actual Road Runner comic and crudely paste Lobo over Wil E. Coyote and I would probably still love it. I believe this one has the most potential for some classic slapstick because of the sheer absurdity of Lobo's healing factor. He once healed from a single drop of blood, after all. I'm not sure how Wil E. got into space, but maybe he's also in his "Super Genius" persona from a few Bugs Bunny crossovers. In any case, will hiring an intergalactic hit-man prove to be more successful than using a Batman suit? (Twice, actually.) Bill and Kelley Jones will release the results on June 21st.

"Martian Manhunter/Marvin The Martian Special #1"- Martian Manhunter tries to halt Marvin the Martian’s determination for world domination. J’onn is conflicted with his own Martian identity as he attempts to stop the hapless, determined Marvin from blowing Earth to bits in order to gain a clear view of Venus.

This was the most obvious crossover of the bunch. With two Martian-based characters, how could you not have them interact in some meaningful way? I'm glad that they're still keeping Marvin's extremely petty reason for wanting to blow up the Earth and I'm interested by the new twist of them being related. Shape-shifting vs a Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator, what will win? The comic will be released on June 14th, written by Steve Orlando and Frank Barberi and drawn by Aaron Lopresti.

"Wonder Woman/Tazmanian Devil Special #1"- Not since the twelve labors of Hercules has a Greek warrior faced as great a danger and as destructive a peril as the Tasmanian Devil!

Whoa, Taz, buddy, I hate to be mean, but have you been taking steroids? Wow, he looks bigger than usual. This one is the most mystifying to me. Apart from the brief synopsis, I'm really not sure why Wonder Woman would be matched up with Taz. Maybe he's supposed to represent toxic masculinity, but you would think that Pepe LePew would fulfill that role. I guess he just looks like more of a threat. In any case, the comic is coming out on June 21st, written by Tony Bedard and drawn by Barry Kitson, with Jim Lee providing the cover.

So, that's everything to be released for the event and I'm pretty hyped. No matter what, this definitely seems to be a return to the fun DC Comics days of yore. I hope this goes well. Maybe it'll lead to a second wave of specials with Plastic Man meeting Daffy Duck or Zatanna encountering Dr. Moron. Let's hear it for crossovers! I'm going to go crack open a big bag of carrots and watch some cartoons.

Zachary Krishef is an evil genius. Do not question his knowledge of Saturday Night Live trivia or Harry Potter books.