"Every Witch Way"
"Bad Scare Day"
Writer: Frank Strom
Artists: Walter Carzon; David Alvarez(p), Mike DeCarlo; Ruben Torreiro(i), David Tanguay(c)
"House of Horror"
Writer: Sam Agro
Artists: Scott Roberts(p), Jorge Pacheco(i), Tanguay(c)
Publisher: DC
Our trio of Halloween Looney Tunes begins with Frank Strom's delectable return of Witch Hazel, pitted against her classic foe Bugs Bunny. Strom begins his foray into Candyland with a recapitulation of the fat little Hansel and Grettle modeled from Chuck Jones' cartoons.
After Bugs does his concerned citizen bit, we discover carrots aren't the only things that tempt Bugsy. The rabbit has a sweet tooth--two incisors to be precise. This lands him quickly in Witch Hazel's pot, and Strom cracks the funny from our furry star.
After the initial amenities recalling the history between Hazel and Bugs, Strom takes a contemporary detour that draws Hazel into a series of unexpected events involving two ancient Looney Tunes characters. Strom captures the attitudes and the voices. Carzon and DeCarlo emphasize the body language and the previously unrecognized Fuddness in the character design. The artists furthermore create distinctive breaks from the typical more familiar models of characters from other animation companies. One in fact is an understated testament to animated good-girl art.
Strom's second story resuscitates Daffy Duck's perhaps most fitting role--that of the "Stupor" Salesman. This time, Daffy takes on Bugs Bunny's foes the Mad Doctor, the abnormal looking chap voiced by Vincent Price, and his hirsute pet/monster Gossamer.
Daffy in the form of the "Stupor" Salesman is easily Bugs' equal when it comes to quickly thinking out of bad situations. Using his snappy, saliva filled repartee, Daffy cons and bamboozles Gossamer and sets into motion some painful slapstick--courtesy of David Alvarez and Ruben Torreiro.
The Mad Doctor has delicate doomsday operations in mind, but Daffy unwittingly throws a spanner in the works. The little loon's temper skyrockets, but the ending to this hilarious trickery is an unexpected treat.
Most know Sylvester the Cat as the foil to Tweety. Some may remember him as the boxer of "giant mice." Sam Agro's confectionary bases its flavor on Sylvester's often forgotten role as protector to Porky Pig.
Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese made several cartoons in which ghoulish goings on targeted Porky. This led to Sylvester trying to thwart the culprits--usually a nasty band of mice--and often ending up being framed for the crimes.
There are no mice in "House of Horror." In fact there's no explanation for why wax figures come to life and attack Porky Pig. Sylvester however remains vigilant and valiant, and the short toon ends with a nicely thought out solution.
Jorge Pacheco's inks bestow a roughness to Scott Roberts pencils. The effect works well given the subject matter, and of course throughout all three tales, David Tanguay offers the reader as much varied color as one can find in a Halloween candy-bag.
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