BEST BUNNIES IN COMIC BOOKS

The Easter Bunny hopped by our house this morning dropping off some baskets full of goodies for my kids. My son's happened to be full of comic books including a few issues of Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham. It made me wonder if bunnies had ever been featured in comic books and indeed they have! Here is a roundup of some of the best bunnies in comic books over the years:

BUGS BUNNY

That crazy rabbit who first became popular as the main character in short films shown at movie houses in the 1930s hopped to the printed page for comic book adventures in the 1940s. He has continuously been featured in comic books since his first appearance in Looney Tunes & Merrie Melodies Comics #1 published by Dell Comics in 1941 and which had a 153 issue run through 1954. Bugs Bunny got his own comic book series from Western Publishing that ran from 1953 - 1983. At this time DC Comics began to incorporate Bugs Bunny into their publications as Warner Bros. owned both the rights to Looney Tunes characters and the comic book company. DC Comics is currently publishing a monthly Looney Tunes series full of adventures with Bugs Bunny and his friends as well as occasionally including that wacky wabbit in spin-offs and cameos with the other superheroes in their fantasy universe.

USAGI YOJIMBO

This comic book series by Stan Sakai is about a rabbit rōnin on a warrior's pilgrimage. Usagi Yojimbo has been nominated for 20 Eisner Awards ( the Oscar of the comic book industry) and won 5 awards for BEST LETTERING (1996/2012/2015/2018), BEST SERIALIZED STORY (1999) and TALENT DESERVING WIDER RECOGNITION (1996). The samurai bunny in these tales is based upon the famous Japanese swordsman Miyamoto Musashi and has teamed up on a number of cross-over occasions with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In fact, Usagi Yojimbo recently was picked up by IDW Publishing, the comic company that also has the license for TMNT.

CAPTAIN CARROT

Multi-verses have become a popular story telling tool for comic books. It allows for different scenarios and spins on superhero stories from mainstream storylines. Captain Carrot is based in Earth-C of the DC Comics superhero universe. This is a dimension where this bunny is the world's greatest superhero and leads a team of animals known as the Zoo Crew. Captain Carrot has teamed up in cross-overs with heroes ranging from Batman to Donald Duck as well as had is own comic book series. A great hero for kids, and kids at heart, to enjoy! His stories are sure to give you a fuzzy feel good feeling.

HULK BUNNY

Speaking of multi-versus, the Bruce Banner of Marvel's Earth 8311 which is inhabited by sentient animals instead of people transforms into the HULK BUNNY when he gets angry. Hulk Bunny can be seen in the comic book and cartoon adventures of Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham.

JAXXON

Even Star Wars comic books have a bunny in them! Jaxxon the space bunny was introduced in Marvel Comics original Star Wars run in issue #8. This green-man sized rabbit looking alien teamed up with Han Solo on a number of missions until George Lucas intervened saying the character was to silly to be associated with the Star Wars brand. After not being seen since his 15 appearances in the 1970s era Star Wars comic books Jaxxon is back! He has recently been included in the pages of IDW Publishing's Star Wars Adventures series aimed for young readers. Shows you that you just can't keep a good bunny down!

THUNDERBUNNY

Thunderbunny is a 1980s comic book character that combines the traits of Bugs Bunny, Shazam, and Venom. The premise is a human boy named Bobby Caswell who bonds with an alien artifact that turns him into a giant super-powered pink rabbit. Thunderbunny hopped among a few different publishers but just never took off with comic book readers.

BUCKY O'HARE

Created by Larry Hama (the guy behind G.I.JOE comic books, Bucky O'Hare was published by Continuity Comics in the mid-80s. The comic book series revolved around a ragtag crew of funny animal space swashbucklers led by a fearless bunny in a fight against the villainous Toadies. The comic book series inspired a television cartoon series, toy line and a video game that was available to play both at arcades and on the NES home gaming console. Jaxxon's creators must be envious!

There you have it! Seven of the best bunny rabbits to grace the pages of comic books. Happy Easter!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles + Usagi Yojimbo Toys

 ** A Geek Daddy received the featured toys for free**

One comic book features a samurai bunny on a warrior's pilgrimage wandering an ancient Japanese landscape inhabited by anthropomorphic animals instead of humans.  The other features ninja turtles living in the sewers of modern day New York City protecting mankind from a variety of terrors.  Both comic books, Usagi Yojimbo created by Stan Sakai and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, originated in the 1980's and each have developed a passionate fan base. This year the two comic book universe's are coming together in a special one-shot comic book story, a three episode story arc on Nickelodeon's TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES animated television series, and a collection of action figures from Playmates Toys.

The man behind Usagi Yojimbo, Stan Sakai, has written and illustrated a special one-shot issue of IDW Publishing's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book series which sees the main character from Usagi Yojimbo, rabbit samurai Miyamoto Usagi, cross paths with Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo.  Miyamoto Usagi is on a quest to save Japan from the maniacal Jei and joins forces with the Heroes in a Half-Shell to save the day.  Look for this one-shot comic which was released in July at your local comic book shop or you can purchase a digital download of it from Comixology. You can follow the ongoing adventures of Miyamoto Usagi in the Usagi Yojimbo comic book series from Dark Horse Comics and The Teenage Mutant Ninjas in their series from IDW.

In Nickelodeon's fifth season of Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Sakari has come together with Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman to bring their characters together within the animated series.  The Ninja Turtles find themselves in another dimension inhabited by animal warriors! Disguised as samurai, the Turtles ally themselves with a ronin rabbit named Usagi Yojimbo. Together they must save a young prince from a band of Neko ninjas led by Jei, an evil sorcerer.  Season 5 is airing now!  Tune in to the Nickelodeon cable channel or look for these episode on their website or the network's mobile app.

Playmates Toys has also released a collection of 4.5" sized action figures based upon the Usagi Yojimbo story arc in Nickelodeon's Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  Available at most major toy retailers is Usagi Yojimbo along with Leo, Don, Mikey and Raph dressed as samurais.  Each comes with weapon accessories plus the turtles have removable samurai helmets and masks.

Walmart also has some exclusive items available from this Playmates Toys' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles /  Usagi Yojimbo collection.  Look for an 11" Usagi action figure and a 4.5" Usagi in samurai armor while you are shopping at Walmart.  Also keep an eye out for the Walmart exclusive 4.5" samurai Usagi with horse toy set.

To share my family's excitement about these great Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles / Usagi Yojimbo crossovers, A Geek Daddy is hosting a very special giveaway.  One lucky winner will receive the Walmart exclusive 4.5" samurai Usagi with samurai horse toy set with a special twist!  The toy package is signed by Usagi Yojimbo creator Stan Sakai!  To enter to win this very unique prize complete the entries below before 11:59 pm on Friday August 18, 2017.  Must be a U.S. resident over 18 years old to be eligible to win.

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Disclaimer & Rules:  A Geek Daddy has not been financially compensated for this endorsement or hosting the giveaway but was provided the Playmates Toys TMNT / Usagi Yojimbo toy collection for personal use. The prize is provided by Playmate Toys and A Geek Daddy is hosting the promotion as a benefit to our readers. Must be a US resident over the age of 18 to participate.  One entry per mailing address and winner will be randomly selected from all eligible entries.  If you have already won this prize through another blog participating in this promotion, your entry will be disqualified.  By participating in this promotion you waive any liability of any kind against the publisher of this blog. Winner is subject to eligibility verification. No P.O. Boxes allowed for delivery of the prize. Playmate Toys will be responsible for shipping the prize to the selected winner.  A Geek Daddy is not responsible for delivery of the prize.