Strange Ally Comics
Cover art for 'Strange Ally', May 1958
This most violent of the golden age kid's comics was in flagrant
violation of the Comics Code and the publishers were hauled in front of a
joint session of the U. S. Senate and HUAC. William Deltoid Bunny,
president and CEO of Sanguinary Tails Distributed did not help matters
one little bit by denying all knowledge of the comic in question and
also his own identity. Pressed, he finally admitted that he was,
indeed, in charge of STD publications but that the senators were too
stupid to understand a damn thing about the comics industry and, in
the case of Senator Buford (D.-Florida), too inbred. He then began to
reminiscence about his own deviant sexual practices with evident gusto
and ended by dropping his pants to show his "great respect for this
august body". Every single copy was ordered destroyed and Mr. Bunny was
dragged away by capitol police with the help of Senator Buford. The
entire funny animals comic industry was immediately put under
surveillance by J. Edgar Hoover and Walter Lantz was seen with a shotgun
outside of Mr. Bunny's tarpaper house waiting for him to return home.
The story of a wandering wolf who takes over the rabbit army to lead
them against the villainous humans was not sued into oblivion by the producers of 'Yojimbo' only because that movie was not made until 1961.
Just as well. I mean, who ever heard of warrior rabbits?
Statement from William Gaines'
testimony to the Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency April 21,
1954 -
“I was the first publisher in these United States to publish
horror comics. I am responsible, I started them. Some may not like them.
That is a matter of personal taste. It would be just as difficult to
explain the harmless thrill of a horror story to a Dr. Wertham as it
would be to explain the sublimity of love to a frigid old maid.”
Usagi Yojimbo by Stan Sakai.
...warrior rabbits...or speedy Hedgehogs, or teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Will the silliness ever end?
ReplyDeleteUsagi Yojimbo did a number of issues with those turtles, I almost quit reading it. And no, this stuff will never end, Hybrid Online is about to go APE and become the mainstream reading material preferred in the West and required to study at gunpoint in North Korea, making all our people wealthy beyond the wildest dreams of extreme avarice.
DeleteBut the rainbow colored crinklefur flying pony thing will get you 20-life, first offense.
Cool! Finally a funny animal comic with some spine! Where can I get my copy??
ReplyDeleteNearly all were burned in front of the Capitol in D. C. Surviving copies are the holy grail of comic collecting, and none are in pristine condition. Rumors that William Bunny was J. T. Chick are just that, rumors. Still, the occasional Strange Ally leaflet will turn up in laundromats and remaining phone booths.
Delete