Review: DC Meets Looney Tunes
Quick Summary
Pros: Most of the stories tend to range from average to above average. The Bugs Bunny story is hilarious and full of meta comedy. The Batman story is an incredible comic and nearly makes the collection worth it on its own. Almost all of the collection’s artwork looks nice and helps complement the story.
Cons: The Wonder Woman story fails to effectively use the Tasmanian Devil and ends up being generic.
Overall: This is a solid collection of comics where nearly every story ends up being a remarkably entertaining adventure. The comics collected here all have the same wonderful level of humor that one would expect from Looney Tunes, allowing the stories to detail a way range of bizarre adventures. A few of the comics also have a surprising level of emotion and meaning, enough to rival many more mainstream works. All in all, anyone familiar with Looney Tunes characters should consider reading this collection.
Review Notes
DC Meets Looney Tunes is a bit different than most comic collections out there. Instead of telling a singular narrative, where each issue continues the story from the last, DC Meets Looney Tunes collects six one-shot comics that all exist independent of each other. Because of this, this review will consist of six shorter reviews covering each one-shot. These shorter reviews will be prefaced by a general review of the collection as a whole, but this general review will not cover as much as our reviews typically do.
Story
DC Meets Looney Tunes is an incredibly unique reading experience that takes some awesome elements from the DC Universe and combines them with some great Looney Tunes characters. The end result is a collection that is occasionally wholesome and often humorous. The highlights here include a Legion of Super-Heroes/Bugs Bunny crossover that is filled to the brim with well-written meta-humor and a Batman/Elmer Fudd crossover that is shockingly meaningful. The book has a few low points but even these moments are average at worst. Overall, this is good collection that successfully crosses the DC universe with the Looney Tunes universe.
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Legion of Super-Heroes/Bugs Bunny
This is an incredibly self-aware crossover that emphasizes the humor of both properties. It uses Bugs Bunny’s inherently wacky nature to poke fun at the Legion of Super-Heroes’ often comical history. This allows the comic to make jokes about ever-present angst and their strange obsession with the 21st century. Writer, Sam Humphries, also takes some time to provide meta-commentary on comic books in general, as tropes are examined and used for further humor.
The only problem with this chapter is that the backup story is lackluster and does not add much to the work as a whole. It essentially just reviews the same narrative as the main storyline but presents it in a different style.
Martian Manhunter/Marvin the Martian
This meeting of the Martians is an entertaining encounter that allows both characters to show off what makes them great. Marvin is a force of destruction intent on his doomed mission to eliminate Earth. Meanwhile, Martian Manhunter is a force of good, utilizing the pain of his lost homeworld to fuel his passion for his new planet. Steve Orlando clearly understands these characters and writes them in a way that fans will appreciate.
However, as far as bizarre crossovers go, this one is rather mundane. It casts Marvin as a generic villain and puts J’onn in his traditional hero role. There are a few moments where the story tries to establish some sort of message about humanity but this never develops into anything that interesting. All in all, there are few surprises in the narrative as everything plays out rather expectedly.
Wonder Woman/Tasmanian Devil
Unfortunately, this may be the least entertaining chapter of the collection. It has Wonder Woman head out on a few short quests and develop a unique bond with the Tasmanian Devil. However, it does so in a way that barely uses Taz as a character. His presence here could have easily been swapped out for any other generic monster and the story would read almost exactly the same. Even the backup story barely uses Taz, as it is essentially a Looney Tunes reimagining of the Battle of Troy.
As a Wonder Woman story, this chapter works better. It shows off her ability to love even the most unlovable character in the Looney Tunes roster. It also dives into some cool elements from Greek Mythology. However, almost all of these positives are on the Wonder Woman half of things, leaving it a very one-sided crossover.
Lobo/Road Runner
This chapter combines Lobo’s unyielding commitment with Road Runner’s inability to be caught for some humerous results. It has Lobo step into Wile E. Coyote’s shoes while still adding in his trademark penchant for over-the-top violence. This makes for a unique reimagining of a traditional concept, one that ends up being very funny. Even the backstory story has plenty of comedy, as Lobo provides gruff meta-commentary about his view on the cartoonish nature of Looney Tunes.
The problem with this chapter is that it spends far too much time focusing on Wile E. Coyote’s new history within the DC Universe. Though reimagining him and Road Runner as the products of genetic experimentation is interesting, it is drawn out more than it needs to be. This takes away from the rest of the book and leaves a lot less time for Lobo/Road Runner shenanigans. This is still a good story but could have been better with a more clear focus.
Jonah Hex/Yosemite Sam
This chapter sees Jimmy Palmiotti manage to successfully introduce Yosemite Sam into the gritty world of Jonah Hex. This allows the story to be more serious and meaningful while still allowing Sam to spout out a couple of his trademark phrases. Watching the cartoonish violence of Yosemite Sam clash with the realistic violence of Jonah Hex is also satisfying and makes the story even more enjoyable.
The downside here is that the backup story is pretty lackluster. It has Jonah Hex track down and fight a bear, while Yosemite Sam essentially just provides commentary. It concludes without any significantly enjoyable moment and feels a bit unnecessary overall.
Batman/Elmer Fudd
In picking up a crossover between typically serious comics and typically outrageous cartoons, I would have never expected to read a story this poignant and entertaining. In this chapter, Tom King turns Elmer Fudd into a deadly hitman ready to kill an anthropomorphic version of Bugs Bunny, yet does so in a way that feels completely natural and not at all out of place. The story plays out well and ends up bringing in a number of emotions.
However, the best part about this comic is the way in which it revels in its status as an entertaining work of noir-style crime. This is a tale filled with an interesting series of twists and mysteries which lead to a surprisingly emotional conclusion. It has a number of classic noir elements that range from the whodunit mystery to the femme fatale girlfriend. The entire endeavor also ends with a bittersweet conclusion that could have easily come from any number of film noir adventures.
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Art
Legion of Super-Heroes/Bugs Bunny
Tom Grummett’s artwork matches both the Silver Age Legion of Super-Heroes style and the Looney Tunes style. This makes the crossover seems more natural and helps transition these characters into each others’ worlds. It also helps this comic get away with some of the more wacky hijinks it pulls, such as Bugs Bunny’s general defiance of physics. Overall, the artwork here looks nice and matches the comic’s tone.
Martian Manhunter/Marvin the Martian
This chapter features some solid artwork from Aaron Lopresti. This comic centers around heroic action from Martian Manhunter, which the art does well in reflecting. It also helps that both Martian Manhunter and Marvin the Martian are depicted with a nice level of detail, in a way that suits both characters’ unique appearances. This is another good looking story that enhances the appeal of this collection.
Wonder Woman/Tasmanian Devil
This chapter, penciled by Barry Kitson, does well in immediately matching the style seen in the rest of the Wonder Woman Rebirth comics. It presents Wonder Woman as a heroic Amazonian and presents Themyscira as a lush and beautiful paradise. There are a few places where characters and backgrounds could use a little more detail, but this is still a solid looking chapter overall.
Lobo/Road Runner
Kelley Jones’s work on this chapter is a great complement to the over-the-top nature of this comic. It allows both Lobo and Wile E. Coyote to be as brutal and ridiculous as possible, which is exactly what the story needs. The artwork here adds to the humor and makes the antics of the main characters more comedic. Plus, Jones brings an awesome level of detail to every page, especially those set in the science labs of Area 52.
Jonah Hex/Yosemite Sam
This chapter provides another instance where the artwork helps bring the characters’ world to life. Mark Texeira has experience with Jonah Hex and uses it to his advantage in penciling this comic. The entire work looks as if it were ripped from an old western, with classic-looking saloons and creative character designs. This works in establishing Jonah Hex’s gritty and harsh world, while also giving Yosemite Sam a good-looking and realistic redesign.
Batman/Elmer Fudd
In addition to having one of the best stories in this collection, this chapter also contains some of the best artwork as well. Lee Weeks presents a gritty and somber looking Gotham that perfectly matches the tone the story is going for. Specifically, it really hammers down on the noir vibe and helps maintain the general feeling of mystery. It is a wonderful example of artwork and story coming together and complementing each other perfectly.
Continuity
DC Meets Looney Tunes seems to take place within the traditional continuity of the DC Universe but does so at unclear points in time.
None of the stories told here develop continued narratives. However, another batch of DC/Looney Tunes crossovers is detailed in DC Meets Looney Tunes Vol. 2.
This volume also references stories from other comic books, all of which are detailed below:
- The image of Superman carrying Supergirl in his arms in an homage to the cover of Crisis on Infinite Earths #7.
- Computo’s previous rampage is a direct reference to Adventure Comics Vol #340, now collected in Legion of Super-Heroes: The Silver Age Omnibus Vol. 2.
- The image of Bugs Bunny flipping a car is an homage to the cover of Action Comics #1, now collected in Superman: The Golden Age Vol. 1.
- Lobo mentions having a long solo series and a number of miniseries. Some of these are collected through Lobo by Keith Giffen & Alan Grant Vol. 1 and Lobo by Keith Giffen & Alan Grant Vol. 2.
- Batman’s relationship with Silver St. Cloud ended back in Detective Comics #476.