Before most of us started reading about
Super Heroes
We probably saw
“Funny or Talking Animals”
Maybe on
Saturday Morning Cartoons
Or
A movie
Or
A comic book
This month
The DC History Club
Explores
The Funny Amimals
Comic books in our library
When was the first time
You saw them?
Who are your favorites?
Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew! is a DC Comics comic book about a team of funny animal superheroes called the Zoo Crew. The characters first appeared in a special insert in The New Teen Titans #16 (February 1982), followed by a series published from 1982 to 1983.
The Zoo Crew characters were created by Roy Thomas and Scott Shaw
Our Library doesn’t have the insert from New Teen Titans #16
Here is some information on this insert
The series can be found here
Currently we have only issue 1
Which is a “done in one issue”, unlike most comics today
Issue 1 is a continuation of the insert in New Teen Titans
Issue 2 should be in the library on 04 / 19
Issue 3 will be available on 04 / 26
More on Peter Porkchops
Re
Rubber Duck
For fans
Who watched
Sesame Street
As a kid
They immediately think of the song
Rubber Duckie
But for IT types
From Harvard CS50 Course
Currently, Ferdinand from Wonder Woman. He is a great character and I would love to taste his cooking.
As for my first exposure to animal cartoon superheroes:
I still wear shirts with these guys on it and watch the cartoons. My first exposure was a video a family friend rented that had the pilot episode on it. Next thing I knew, the cartoon was everywhere as they took over my cartoon watching and toy collection. While they aren’t exactly DC characters, they are in few minis with Batman, as you have posted an image from.
Thanks for sharing
My first memories
Were Disney
One time I was at a convention
When the Mickey Mouse Club song was played
The chorus for
Donald Duck was much louder than for Mickey
The first time I got an idea how popular the artist Carl Barks was in Fandom
I remember a Road Runner comic.
He had a wife son and daughter. The wife wore a pearl necklace around her neck
And they all talked
Another case of transfer to another medium being different
The Flintstones haa a pet Dinosaur called Dino. One issue of the Flintstones series by Mark Russell had arguments between Dino and the assorted animal appliances that had to work while Dino didn’t have to. I will do a post on that issue.
I had the first issue of Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtles but don’t have it any longer
And I read Cerebrus the Aardvark for many many issues
I don’t remember any DC or Marvel funny animal series in the 1950s or 60s. Much later was Howard the Duck.
Outside of superheroes, I think Mickey and Bugs Bunny are tied. They came before superheroes, but not by much. I remember waking up early and realizing Saturday mornings had cartoons. I had to be around 3 almost 4. There was a Star Wars cartoon with Ewoks and Super Friends. The rest is history from there.
We didn’t have cable so I would have to watch Snagglepuss, Hong Kong Phooey, and Top Cat at my grandparents house as they had cable and more importantly, Nickelodeon.
I remember Top Cat. There were a group of Cats. One I think was called Benny
And Huckleberry Hound
Quick Draw McDraw
I know of Bugs and Daffy but don’t remember when especially the first time I saw Elmer and Bug’s opera Kill the Wabbit.
Speaking of Looney Tunes, there is this series on DCUI.
I really wish the Looney Tunes books would be on there as well. I know they come out each month but I don’t pick them up.
That’s where I got the
Joker vs Daffy picture
The one I remember the most is Catwoman and Sylvester vs Black Canary and Tweety
I haven’t read this but you sold me with those team-ups.
@TurokSonOfStone1950 @D4RK5TARZ you both failed to mention Batman and Bugs Bunny. Below is a great reading by Neal Adams doing the Elmer, Bugs, and the other Looney Tunes voices. It’s a hoot!
I don’t remember my first encounter with funny animals, but watched all the Looney Tunes cartoons. I also watched all the early Hanna-Barbara cartoons. Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Top Cat, and so many more.
I also don’t remember my first funny animal comic, but I did read the occasional Dell comic featuring Looney Tunes crew. The Looney Tunes are my favorites, especially the original Theatrical Shorts.
I am a huge fan of Cerebus the Aardvark. Dave Sim did great commentary on the comics industry and then went far beyond that. The Zoo Crew came out when I was in college so I never read it.
I’ve heard there’s this guy who dresses in a bat outfit and runs around fighting crime. Does that count as a funny animal?
Perhaps my favorite unintentionally funny animal moment, however.
The memability is just a bonus.
YES! Please. I think they come out every other month, though. In addition to not being readily available, there isn’t much in the way of trade collections for these, which is disappointing.
I’m a bit disappointed we never got comics from the Scooby-Doo Mystery Inc. Universe. It seemed like there might be some fun stories still to tell there. Great show.
In our current library
There are two issues
In 2005
That involve
Captain Carrot
Issues 30 and 31
Of the 2003 run of
Teen Titans
Throughout these two issues
Eddie (Kid Devil) is reading a comic book called
What ever happened to Captain Carrot?
Is it canon?
Probably not
It is an unusual story
Many aspects seem to be based on the darker side of post crisis like Watchmen
It starts with a murder
With carrot crumbs on the scene
The rest of the issues
We are in the middle of a Teen Titans storyline
Including the Beast Boy and Raven relationship
Plus the villain Brother Blood
Before we get to the
Next mini series starring
Captain Carrot and the Amazing Zoo Crew
We have to mention
THE JUST’A LOTTA ANIMALS
I love Carl Barks! I loved watching Donald Duck and Ducktales when I was a kid, and I always enjoy reading Carl Barks comics whenever I get the chance.
I started reading
Carl Barks
In my twenties
And still have some of his Uncle Scrooge comics
They were very good stories
Now that I think about it, I think some of the earliest comics I ever read were Disney comics. Doing a little research, I think they might have been Gladstone Comics, which reprinted a lot of his work.
