Hoppy the Marvel Bunny (comic series)

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Hoppy the Marvel Bunny
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Hoppy the Marvel Bunny #1
Art by Chad Grothkopf.
Publication information
Publisher Fawcett Comics
Format Ongoing series
Genre Superhero and Funny Animal
Publication date December 1945-September 1947
Number of issues 15
Creative team
Penciller(s) Chad Grothkopf

Hoppy the Marvel Bunny was a character who first appeared in Fawcett's Funny Animals #1 (December 1942) as a funny animal spin-off of Captain Marvel. While appearing in just about every issue of Fawcett's Funny Animals the character became popular enough to gain his own series which led to the creation of the ongoing series Hoppy the Marvel Bunny in December 1945 which also brought back many of Hoppy's supporting characters. The series lasted for a total of fifteen issues before being cancelled in September 1947 most likely due to the decline in popularity for comic books and superheroes after the end of World War II. Fawcett was later purchased by Charlton Comics and eventually the character was purchased by DC Comics.[1] Somewhere along the line this particular series fell into the public domain.[2] This series seems to take place in Pre-Crisis Earth-S.

Issues[edit | edit source]

Issue # Title Writer / Penciller Publication date
1 Hoppy the Marvel Bunny: Over the Rainbow unknown/Chad Grothkopf December 1945
Hoppy is a bunny who turns into Captain Marvel Bunny whenever he says the word "Shazam". However, if he tells his secret to anyone he will lose the power. In this issue all of the ogres, giants, and witches have teamed up in Fairy Tale Land against the fairy tale folk and if they conquer the land then there will be no more fairytales. A knight calls upon Marvel Bunny since the Fairy Queen's wand was stolen. Marvel Bunny goes in and defeats the witches, giants, and ogres then returns the magic wand to the Fairy Queen which saves all of the fairytales.

Note: This issue references a ton of different fairy tales including Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, Prince Charming, Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, and The Story of the Three Bears.
Note: The title is a reference to the song of the same name from The Wizard of Oz.

Willie the Worm is Wet
Willie the Worm is being taught to dive but is very afraid of jumping off the 15 ft diving board. He is asked what he would do if he was on a sinking ship at which point he replies "I would wait for it to sink ten more feet."
Hoppy the Marvel Bunny: Brushes Off an Artist
Hoppy is at an art museum when he notices how much money J. Van Smear's paintings are selling for. Then he decides to become a famous and rich painter to impress his girlfriend Millie. Van Smear walks by and leaves his paintbox with Hoppy. Hoppy (who is incorrectly assumed to be Van Smear) and Millie are soon captured by Louie the Lug's goons who kidnap artists and force them to paint so they can sell them for money. Hoppy then turns into Marvel Bunny and tricks Louie with a fake painting buying him just enough time to defeat Louie and put him in prison. Hoppy then decides not to paint anymore.

Note: Vincent van Gogh is spoofed here as J. Van Smear.

Sherlock the Monk, and Chuck: Check Up on Checker Outers
Sherlock the monkey and his partner Chuck the duck investigate stolen towels at the Plymouth Hotel. They trick a customer who is leaving by telling him that customers must exercise before leaving. He gets the customer to do an exercise which reveals the stolen towels which Sherlock then grabs.

Note: The character Sherlock is a reference to Sherlock Holmes.

Pokey Heads
In the issue's text story two children named Willipus Wallipus and Gussie Goofus are interested in trains. In late August 1944 they sneak out to the railroad with Willipus using peer pressure to get Gussie Goofus to help him go into places he shouldn't be (which the author explains is called being a "pokey head"). They trespass and sneak onto a boxcar but get locked in and a few hours later end up in another town where they are finally found. Their parents are phoned and told what happened and later that night their parents arrive to get them but are quite angry. This story is clearly hear to try and teach children not to trespass.

Note: The name Willipus Wallipus seems to be a spoof of William Wallace.

Hoppy the Marvel Bunny: El Toreador Hoppy
Hoppy and Millie go to see Don Jose Carlos Hacienda do some bullfighting. Before the show Millie asks for some taffy and while looking for it Hoppy runs into Don Jose who says that he is sick and cannot do the show. Hoppy takes his costume back to his dressing room for him and tries it on but ends up getting pushed out in the ring. Don Jose goes out anyway to help and soon enough Millie falls into the ring as well. Hoppy turns into Marvel Bunny and helps Don Jose calm down the bulls which causes Marvel Bunny to be called a "real toreador".
Billy the Kid: The Nail and Hammer Meet
Billy the Kid runs into a man and they get into an argument. Billy says how tough he is at which point the man says that he is just a carpenter but does have the skill to "hit the nail on the hit". The carpenter then hits Billy with his hammer.

Note: The main character is a reference to the real life Billy the Kid, a gunman and criminal.

Hoppy the Marvel Bunny vs. the Boxing Kangaroos
Hoppy and Millie are on a ship with Millie's uncle when they go into shore. Hoppy and Millie visit a town which seems to be deserted. They soon learn that it is constantly under attack and being robbed by a group of kangaroos led by King Kangaroo so everyone is hiding. Millie and Hoppy are soon kidnapped by the kangaroos so Hoppy turns into Marvel Bunny and defeats King Kangaroo and saves Millie and the town.
Benny Beaver and Fuzzy Bear: The Twin Turnabout
Fuzzy is serving tables at a restaurant when he says the Mr. Diffle is a very mean man who always trips him and has an identical twin brother with the only difference being that this one is deaf. He walks up and insults Mr. Diffle repeatedly only to learn that he had been insulting the brother that can hear which leads Fuzzy to get punched in the face.
Hoppy the Marvel Bunny Meets the Seasons of the Year!
Down on Earth the weather starts getting out of control so Hoppy turns into Marvel Bunny and goes to another planet. On this other planet there are four people, the seasons, who take turns controlling the weather on earth along with the help of their children the months. Winter has been causing havoc and wanting to control more of the year which has been causing all of the weather problems so Marvel Bunny defeats Winter and forces him to promise not to mess with the weather again.
2 Hoppy Duels with Stinger Bee unknown/Chad Grothkopf January 1946
3 Tugboat Millie unknown/Chad Grothkopf July 1946
4 Woodsman Spare That Tree! unknown/Chad Grothkopf August 1946
5 Hoppy Cleans Up Things unknown/Chad Grothkopf September 1946
6 Hoppy Puts Some Light on the Subject unknown/Chad Grothkopf November 1946
7 unknown/Chad Grothkopf December 1946
8 The Three Carroteers unknown/Chad Grothkopf February 1947
Note: This issue title is a reference to The Three Musketeers.
9 A Witch's Tale unknown/Chad Grothkopf March 1947
10 Rock-a-Bye Marvel Bunny unknown/Chad Grothkopf April 1947
11 Magic Madcaps unknown/Chad Grothkopf May 1947
12 Hoppy and the Bicycle for Two unknown/Chad Grothkopf June 1947
13 unknown/Chad Grothkopf July 1947
14 Marvel Bunny's Business Agency! unknown/Chad Grothkopf August 1947
15 Hoppy Meets the Practical Jokers unknown/Chad Grothkopf September 1947

References[edit | edit source]

  1. Grothkopf bio, Lambiek's Comiclopedia. Accessed Dec. 26, 2011.
  2. "Hoppy the Marvel Bunny (Fawcett Comics)." Comic Book Plus. N.p., 2 Dec. 2010. Web. 15 Aug. 2013. <http://comicbookplus.com/?cid=1404>.