Review: Batman/Elmer Fudd

Quick Summary

Pros: Deep emotion, heartbreak, and betrayal combined with a noir tone make this book as unique as it is enjoyable. In addition, any fan of the Looney Tunes will appreciate how its characters and catch phrases are brought into the real world.

Cons: If you are unfamiliar with Looney Tunes characters then you will miss out on the majority of this issue’s positives.

Overall: Mystery, a compelling storyline, and action fill this book. It is a surprisingly emotional, noir journey through the world of Batman, centered around characters from Looney Tunes. If you like Batman and have ever watched Looney Tunes, then you owe it to yourself to try this comic.

Story

Comic book crossovers are typically passable at best. They rely on the excitement garnered by putting two popular series or characters together, rather than actual quality. So when prolific writer Tom King was announced to do the Batman/Elmer Fudd crossover, it seemed like this crossover might actually turn out alright.

Now that Batman/Elmer Fudd is released, “alright” is quite clearly an understatement. The story is a noir style crime drama set against the backdrop of Gotham City with Looney Tunes characters as the cast. This alone would be enough, yet King does not stop there. The story itself is an interesting series of twists and mysteries which lead to a surprisingly emotional conclusion.

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The story begins with Elmer Fudd confronting Bugs Bunny in a bar for killing the love of his life. However, Bugs throws the hunter off the case by telling him that he only killed the girl; the man who paid him to do it was none other than Bruce Wayne. He decides to spare Bugs and go after his new target.

Within these first few pages, this issue has already presented a compelling story with multiple twists. A girl is dead, yet the killer and the man who wanted her dead are not who we would expect. Something is wrong but it is not clear what it is. It truly feels like a noir mystery of old and the issue has only just started.

After an unsuccessful attempt on the life of Bruce Wayne, Batman gets involved. He and Elmer Fudd have an unexpectedly intense physical battle before realizing that they could uncover the answer to everything by teaming up. This then escalates into another unexpectedly intense physical battle, except this one is Batman and Elmer Fudd against the rest of the main Looney Tunes cast.

The issue ends when the mastermind behind the whole ordeal reveals herself. Silver St. Cloud, former girlfriend of both Batman and Elmer Fudd, reveals that she is not dead, she just wanted them to think she was. In classic femme fatal fashion, she tells them all of this only to walk out of their lives forever. It is a melodramatic and somber ending which, once again, harkens back to this book’s noir theme.

Besides the obvious successes in this issue’s storytelling, it is worth mentioning how perfectly the issue wraps in the Looney Tunes universe. Every character in the story is a humanized version of a Looney Tunes character, with matching features and personality traits to boot. On top of that, the dialogue and narration makes frequent use of the show’s catch phrases, ranging from Elmer Fudd’s “I’m hunting Wabbits” to Porky Pig’s “That’s all folks.” It is the perfect way to involve aspects of Looney Tunes without destroying the realism of the world this story is set in.

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Art

This issue’s positives are not confined to the story alone, as the artwork looks great as well. Lee Weeks presents a gritty and somber looking book that perfectly matches the tone the issue is going for. In particular, it really hammers down on the noir feeling that the story sets up. It is a wonderful example of artwork and story coming together and complimenting each other perfectly. It is also the cherry on top of what is overall an excellent comic issue.

Continuity

This is a one-shot issue generally unconnected to the rest of DC Comics continuity. This means that readers do not have to know anything specific before reading besides having a familiarity with Batman and some of the Looney Tunes characters.