Looney Tunes: Bugs Bunny Stamp Special Issue
Cover
Among stacks of other wooden crates, Bugs Bunny is sitting in an open crate of carrots. As he munches he states, "It does not get any better than this, brudda!" The crate in which he sits is addressed to Bugs as: Bugs Bunny, 1 Hole In The Ground, Cute Forrest, USA. Where a return address would be are the words: Carrot Of The Month Club / May.
Postage for the crate is a 32 cent Bugs Bunny stamp, not a drawing but a genuine stamp. The stamp is canceled with a postmark indicating the stamp is first day of issue.
The postmark is for Burbank, CA 91505 on May 22, 1997 which was the first day of issue of the Bugs Bunny stamp. Additional cancellation artwork shows Bugs lying down eating a carrot and also includes the Warner Brothers shield logo.
The title on the cover is simply "Bugs Bunny." Under the Y in Bunny is the number of the comic, "Limited Edition" then the individual comics number and then "Of 100,000." In the upper left is Bugs' head in the Looney Tunes logo, just above a DC Comics logo. In the upper right is the eagle logo of the United States Postal Service above the price ($4.95).
The cover is not the usual shiny gloss of a regular comic cover, but is a heavier stock paper. Inside, however, the pages are a high quality gloss rather than the standard paper of the regular comics.
Credits
Synopsis
Bugs' phone call is interrupted by a delivery from Cut Rate Delivery. Thinking the parcel is the latest installment from the Carrot of the Month Club he takes it down into his hole and opens it only to find a gazelle fearing for its life. Checking the parcel Bugs finds that it was from the Live Game of the Month Club and meant for Taz.
Bugs sets out to find his missing carrot, making wrong turns in Albuquerque and finding himself in Pismo Beach, Brooklyn, and Spain before finally getting to Tasmania. Following the carrot's aroma, bugs drifts into Taz's cave and runs right back out again with the Tasmanian Devil after him. Bugs gives Taz the slip by disguising himself, barely, as part of the forest.
Another disguise, that of a Tasmanian She-Devil, is Bugs' next move. Taz however is more interested in using the carrot as bait than falling for just anyone; He's saving himself for someone special. Bugs does give Taz a kiss, with a bear trap, which distracts him long enough for the rabbit to make a hasty departure.
Playing it Taz's way, Bugs is lured by the carrot and treed by him. But Bugs points out they need a chase sequence to add thrills, to make it a real hunt, and to fill more pages. Bugs sets up a start like a race and takes a head start, mailing Taz his order to "Go!" The chase spans the globe, as shown in stamp shaped panels, through Maui, Tokyo, Paris, and across Mount Rushmore. In the desert southwest, they pass some marathoners with Taz being his disruptive self. At a checkpoint and water station Bugs' plays coach and encourages the Tasmanian Devil, warning not to hit the wall...which Taz immediately hits and the wall wins.
A month later Bugs gets another parcel, this time a book on raising carrots. He comments that gardening is a way to get fresh carrots and the postal service can deliver them fresh.
Did You Notice...
Page 1: When Bugs tells someone on the telephone that he has to go he calls her "doll." This refers to Lola Bunny, introduced in the movie Space Jam and the one thing you don't do is call her "doll."- Page 1: The Imperator and Chantenay are real varieties of carrot.
- Page 4: The sign greeting visitors is variation on Pennsylvania's version, "You've got a friend in Pennsylvania" while the hanging K in a circle is the symbol of the Kiwanis Club. Take a look at the bushes in the background too.
- Page 4: "Aaaah sweet mystery life at last I've found you..." is from the movie Young Frankenstein and was sung in a couple of the more intimate scenes of the film.
- Page 7: Jenny McCarthy was co-host of the MTV show Singled Out, was Playboy's 1994 Playmate of the Year, and had her own show, Jenny on NBC.
- Taz's speech is modeled after the Mongo character in the film Blazing Saddles.
- Considering where Taz had that carrot, I really hope Bugs washed it before eating it.
Technical Nits
Page 2: That address isn't quite right for Tasmania. Australian addresses, and Tasmania belongs to Australia, have four digit post codes rather than five digit ZIP codes. But then, what do you expect from Cut Rate Delivery? The comic is consistent, with Bugs using the same address on page 9.- Page 5: Bugs' line in the first panel is mangled, it should read, "...Y'know, I should have called those 'Carrot-of-the-month' dinks before I set out on this cockamamie--"
Credits
Synopsis
Bugs is marvelling at a fine spring day, with butterflies flitting and squirrels frolicking in the morning sun, when he's deluged by a blanket of letters. His over stuffed mailbox just emptied itself on him and a postal carrier adds another pouchfull of letters.
In letters up to his waist, Bugs sets about reading through his mail. As time passes, the effort of sifting through a paper sea of advertising takes its toll until at last he finds a fan letter. The letter is from someone named Finster and is rather insulting, demanding Bugs' presence at a party rather than inviting him. Bugs replies, declining the invitation rather forcefully.
Almost instantly, Rocky and Mugsy show up to take Bugs to Finster's party. Bugs 'misinterprets' an order to get into a car, but is soon taken to Finster's hideout. Upon seeing 'Babyface' Finster Bugs begins to leave, only to have a rabbit shaped outline of bullet holes convince him to stay.
Finster demands a pie toss and Bugs obliges by giving a lesson in pie tossing, using Rocky and Mugsy as targets. After covering the thugs with pie filling he tries signaling for help but the signal he uses only attracts Mugsy. This does give the rabbit enough time to get to a phone and start to call for help. Mugsy catches up to Bugs and is about to tell the agent Bugs said he was calling all about himself when Rocky stops him.
Bugs hits on the idea of teaching the thugs how to be rabbits so they can entertain Finster themselves. This is one idea they like and soon they're in rabbit costumes. Bugs first lesson is romping in the forest, and it just happens to be rabbit season...
Did You Notice...
- Page 14: The mailbox has peeled back like an exploding cigar.
- Page 16: "The mouse" has to be Mickey, but "the duck" could be either Donald or Daffy.
- Page 17: "...So firm, so round, so fully packed!" was a bit, slightly modified, used in the classic Looney Tunes and they took it from an Lucky Strike slogan, "So round, so firm, so fully packed."
- Page 18: Finster's hideout is as about as subtle in style as anything on the Las Vegas strip, including the sign advertising Rip Taylor appearing, which all makes sense if you recall how Las Vegas got started.
- Page 19: Bugs notes the special effects as they can't have guns, and the thugs indeed do not have guns. This is not a result of USPS image polishing as might be expected, but of Warner Bros. Worldwide Publishing minimizing the presence of firearms in its comics. Here it makes for a good gag line, but see the nit for page 24.
- Page 23: Well, now we know Rocky's size: Junior Petite.
- Page 24: Rocky's bunny suit covers his eyes just as his hat normally does.
- Page 24: The sign calling rabbit "the other white meat" parodies pork industry advertising which used that line.
- Page 24: The hunters are all dressed in Elmer Fudd's traditional hunting attire.
Technical Nits
- Page 14: In both stories Bugs uses an oil lamp, but in the bottom panel here there is a television and a refrigerator which indicates electric light is available.
- Page 17: The car's radiator has squared corners in the middle panel, but has a rounded design in the bottom two panels.
- Page 24: Keeping the presence of firearms to a minimum in the comics may be a good idea, but the result here is absurd as the hunters chase after Rocky and Mugsy, who are dressed as rabbits, with nothing but their bare hands!
Issue Comment
In the first panel of the first story Bugs refers to a comment he makes in the final panel of the second story. This may make it seem the two stories were swapped. Writer Sean Carolan explains, "Actually, they were submitted in the opposite order, but the way it wound up has kind of a Joycean feel, so we're [Carolan and Moore] happy with it."
Other items:
Inside, loose between the front cover and the first page, is a certificate of authenticity for this limited edition comic. The number of the comic, which appears on the cover, is shown on the certificate.
This comic being a "Philatelic Special" there is no outside advertising in it. The inside covers are printed with a faded pattern of Bugs Bunny stamps. The inside front cover also has the copyright and trademark notices, as well as the designer and editor credits that appear at the bottom of the first page in the regular series.
The inside back cover has a picture of Bugs, talking from his hole in the ground, a mailbox behind him. He's suggesting a free call be made to 1-888-STAMP FUN for more information about other stamps.
A big, about four times normal size, Bugs Bunny stamp is drawn on the back cover at a slight angle and against a blue field. At the bottom of the stamp Bugs has signed the comic. In red, the signature is simply, "Bugs!" In the lower left corner is the Warner Bros. logo and in the lower right is the eagle logo of the United States Postal Service.
The number to call to ask about or order this issue if it is still in stock is 1-800-STAMP24 (1-800-782-6724) and the item number is 558872.
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Last updated 01 August 2004