A Word From the Author

I started this blog in hopes that someone out there will wake up and put some serious effort into collecting, preserving and anthologizing this material. Anthologies of classic comics are more popular than ever now, and “funny” comic books are making a comeback. So much love and devotion has been put into preserving and glorifying classic superhero comics, and it seems like that stuff is all comic book fans have talked about for decades.



Not so anymore. There is an explosion of great books collecting the Disney comic strips and books. There’s a series of collections featuring Popeye, Barney Bear, Richie Rich, Casper the Ghost, Baby Huey and dozens of others. So why can’t someone get their ass in gear and do some collections of Looney Tunes comics?

NOW is the time.

A few people have recently called me a pirate, and accused me of somehow depriving the artists of royalty profits. Actually, my intent is exactly the opposite. I bought the comics (Or in some cases, they were given to me) and decided to post selected stories from them that I liked. I’m no more of a “pirate” than people who resell these comics in comic shops and online for 3 times what they were originally worth. If there were any officially licensed way to see this stuff, it would be different.

As for royalty profits, most of the artists who worked on the classic Western Publishing stories are dead, and probably had no royalty deal in the first place. They got paid peanuts to do what they did, and I actually want to give them something far more valuable than any money they SHOULD have gotten: a legacy. Warner Bros., this is your wake-up call. There are literally THOUSANDS of comic book stories featuring the universally beloved and revered Looney Tunes characters, many of them written and drawn by the brilliant artists who helped create the classic cartoons themselves. The characters have had a life in print for over 70 years, and for about 50 of those years, the artists responsible went uncredited. It was a crime then and it’s a crime today, one that will remain unsolved until a serious effort is put into finding, restoring and re-releasing their work.

As I write this, there are STILL Looney Tunes comics being released under the D.C. banner, and while largely reprints from the 90's these days, new stories are being made, and the artists, thankfully, are credited. But these works of art, too, are largely unsung. They’re not promoted, the comic book stores don’t have posters and statues and newsletters recognizing their existence. But they’re out there. As a cartoonist myself, I know how hard it is to get ones work noticed, and I know that when someone shares my own work with others, it gives me far more gratification than any money I could get for it.

For many years, I have collected these comics. I buy the new ones, and I’ve bought all the old ones I’ve been able to afford.

I know there are people out there who have larger collections, and know infinitely more about this material. These are the people I want to reach, and the people I want to comment on this blog. Many of them already have. We need to convince the powers that be to preserve and save these wonderful comics, before the acres of musty, yellowed newsprint they were printed on turns to dust and fades into the ether forever…and an entire chapter in the history of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Sylvester, Tweety, Road Runner, and others fades from history.

Until that happens, I’ve got the internet, 2 boxes of classic comics, and a scanner.

Enjoy.

-Matthew Hunter