Top Dog: The K-9 Who Ruled Star Comics

Posted on February 2, 2024 by bloodlinematt

Star Comics, the kids branch of Marvel Comics in the 80’s, was one of many reasons why I became a life long comic reader. They did some amazing comics based on some of the most popular cartoons and toys of the time with Masters Of The Universe and Thundercats being some of my favorites that I can remember getting issues of at the grocery and convenience stores, and I loved reading about the adventures of He-Man and Lion-O in the pages. Besides the popular licensed characters, Star Comics also did a slew of original characters,t some of which we have already covered like Wally The Wizard and others being Planet Terry, Meet Misty, Royal Roy, Spider-Ham. Among my favorites of the original characters is Top Dog, a boy’s pet who was always up for adventure and oh yeah, could talk! And for those wondering Spider-Ham was always my favorite original character created for Star Comics. This update will also be kicking off Dog Month as I have two other updates about classic comic canines on tap to make this February just a little more fun. So let’s sit back and relax and spend some time with Top Dog, that canine of mystery.

Top Dog is not like your normal dog as he can talk as well as is super smart, and comes to live with the Jordan family after he befriends the son Joey who knows of Top Dogs smarts but is sworn not to share his secret…cause Top Dog was actually an agent who worked for the Government for many years and this has made him a target of many criminals of all types. Throughout the run of the comic series Top Dog and Joey would have all types of adventures and would even meet the likes of Royal Roy, Peter Parker and Heathcliff. The character Top Dog was created by the team of Lennie Herman and Warren Kremer in 1985 for Star Comics and it would run for 14 issues and would end in 1987, but even after the series ended the character would appear sometimes in the Heathcliff comic series. And years after that Top Dog would appear in the Marvel Comics series X-Babies showing that the character will never fully go away. Top Dog was one of the original characters created for Star Comics and for the most part was I think at least in my circle of friends was one of the most popular ones as I knew more kids that read his issues than I did Planet Terry, Royal Roy and Wally The Wizard and he was only rivaled by Spider-Ham. It’s a shame that Top Dog is just sitting around Marvel Comics collecting dust as they could easily place him into the Marvel Universe again as I mean they have all types of strange creatures around now, he is smart why not place him in New York or even have him lead a Animal version of The Avengers with the likes of Spider-Ham, Howard The Duck, Devil Dinosaur and Rocket Raccoon. But Marvel these days lack the imagination that use to make them the House Of Ideas and seem to be more into their MCU and creating the same plotted movies over and over again with the same style humor recycled over and over. And I can hear you all saying now “but the movies make billions” and I get it, but I think if they spent more time on the comics as well with fresh and entertaining ideas their sales would pick up and they could even…gasp bring in new readers! But don’t get me started on the state of Marvel and DC Comics as I could go on forever and this update is about Top Dog and I should say that fans of Star Comics as well as classic kids comics should track down his issues and give them a read, as they are enjoyable.

So as you can see, Top Dog really is a fun character that brought entertainment to his readers in the 1980’s and is truly a character that should be used and be around to this day, and now I think this is the time that we start reviewing the comics and I have to admit I am very much looking forward to reading these comics again as I have not read them sense I was a kid and they were originally being released, so it will be interesting to see if they hold up and still hold that charm like they did decades ago for me. I would also like to thank Bell Book And Comic, Mavericks Cards And Comics as well as Lone Star Comics for having these issues in stock and making this update possible. I would also like to remind you that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So if you are ready, let’s see what kind of adventures Top Dog is going to have and if they are as awesome as I remember them being.

Top Dog # 1 ***
Released in 1985 Cover Price .65 Star Comics # 1 of 14

Top Dog and Joey are playing baseball in the basement when his Mom hears him and they two have to be quite so that she does not learn Top Dog’s secret of talking. Then Joey and Top Dog think back about a few days ago and how they meet. Joey was playing baseball in the park with friends and chases a homerun ball into the woods and meets Top Dog a talking dog who friends Joey and the two make a pact to keep his talking a secret and Joey takes Top Dog home to live with him and his family. As Top Dog and Joey are walking home Joey tries to help Top Dog on how to act like a real dog, and once home Joey’s Mom falls in love with him as does his Dad and even his sister Lizzie seems to be coming around. The next day Top Dog and Joey start racing each other and rich kid Mervin Megabucks hears Top Dog talk and tries to buy him, Joey says no deal and denies the talking but Top Dog gets dognapped by Mervin and his chauffer Slyme and taken to the family mansion. And Top Dog watches as Mervin kicks out his old dog Bruno in order to make room for him, and in order to make Top Dog talk Mervin throws him into a heat box trying to fry him into talking. Joey sneaks around the mansion and ends up finding Tog Dog in the heat box and as Mervin and Slyme approach they trick them to let Top Dog out of the box by having him speak and then Joey makes it look like he was doing the voice to pull a prank on Mervin and then Joey and Top Dog make an escape from the Mansion even bringing down the robot guards that Mervin has sent after them, and once free they head home.

This is such a fun first issue and was a great one to get young readers hooked as it has lots of stuff to get their attention like a talking dog, a Spider-Man t-shirt wearing kid, robots, baseball and even a rich kid who gets made to look like a fool…so in other words those readers who dislike Ritchie Rich and Royal Roy will like seeing Mervin Megabucks being made a fool of as he truly is a terrible rich brat. Top Dog in this issue is hiding out in the park reading a newspaper and enjoying his life away from drama and his stressful life and finds that acting like a normal dog and living with the Jordan family could be a great life and get away for him, as it’s clear his new friendship with young Joey is something special as the youngster keeps his secret of being a super smart and talking dog. Speaking of Joey Jordan he is a normal kid who loves baseball and Spider-Man and is a good kid with a good family and is very loyal to his new friend and I guess pet Tog Dog. And while Lizzie Jordan is Joey’s mean older sister the true baddies of this comic is Mervin Megabucks who is a rich bratty kid who gets what he wants and steals a dog after not being able to buy it and then treats his old dog as well as his chauffeur Slyme terrible all the while seeming like he is taking great joy being as rude and snotty as possible. I mean you have to feel bad for his old dog Bruno that he just kicks out of his life when he thinks he has a new more special dog you know Mervin is truly scum. The stories are lots of fun and have that classic kids comic charm and yet also has that 80’s Marvel Comics charm to it making for a very enjoyable read that truly held up for me. The cover is great and very eye catching as it does a great job of showcasing Top Dog and the interior art done by Warren Kremer is great stuff and has that Marvel Comics charm with that dash of 80’s kid’s comic style. Over all a great read and if you have not read Top Dog check out this first issue as it does a great job of showing you want you are in for with the rest of the series.

Top Dog # 2 ***
Released in 1985 Cover Price .65 Star Comics # 2 of 14

Joey Jordan has to go to sleep as it’s a school night and he has a big test the next day, as Joey gets ready for bed Tog Dog sneaks out the window to go disco dancing and later a dog that looks like Top Dog creeps into a hole in a fence at a military base and acts as the tech labs watch dog at night, they call him Spike and when everyone is gone Spike takes out a little camera and takes photos of all the Top Secret plans and deliveries them to Foreign Spies who call the Dog Vladamir via hidden in the morning paper. And the next morning Joey sends Top Dog out to get a paper so he can write paper for school and Top Dog runs into the spies who steal the paper form him thinking that more top-secret photos are inside, while Spike looses his paper and Tog Dog finds it and takes it to Joey and they find the film with the stolen secrets! You see Spike is really a little person named Vladamir who is acting as a dog in order to steal from the USA Military to help his country with these stolen tank blue prints. Top Dog and Joey set a plan in motion to get all the Spies captured by the F.B.I and after tricking Spike and getting the two other Spies to show up at the lab and Tog Dog acting as Spike and using things around the lab to trip up the baddies the F.B.I show up and arrest them as well as Spike who ends up showing up and getting blamed by his now captured spy friends for this missions failure. Joey and Top Dog sneak away and are heroes that helped save America from spies who wished our nation ill.

The second issue of Top Dog is just as much of a fun read as the first issue and in this issue Tog Dog and Joey Jordan setting up spies in order to stop them from taking stolen top secret tank designs back to their country, and after making the baddies look silly they are able to get them all arrested by the F.B.I who are more than happy to take them away. In this issue Top Dog is having fun living with The Jordan’s and being the best friend of Joey but also likes going out at night to hit the clubs, but when he stumbles on a Spy Ring he uses his smarts to bring them down. Joey Jordan is proud of his new “pet” dog as they two are quickly becoming best friends, and he is also very much down to help Top Dog bring down the spies as well and even endangers himself to do so. The Spies are tricky and use one of their own to dress as a dog and act as the bases guard dog in order to steal the plans, and yet they are also out smarted by a talking dog and a young kid. I like in this issue that we see that Top Dog is also good at throwing darts and likes to Disco Dance and will do what is right for America when he finds that people are trying to do our nation wrong. I also like that we get a look at Joey’s room and that he has a poster of The Incredible Hulk as all kids should. This issue also shows that Mom Jordan is wanting to know more about Top Dog as Lizzie Jordan is still being rude to the canine. The cover for this issue is very cool and eye catching as it shows Top Dog showing off is multi tasking skills. The interior artwork was done by the talented Warren Kremer again who I am a fan of as his kid comic work is great stuff and captures that 80’s style used in them. Over all a great issue and it as well held up really well for me as I liked this issue as a kid and like it now as an adult, lets see what issue three is all about.

Top Dog # 3 ***
Released in 1985 Cover Price .65 Star Comics # 3 of 14

The TV News has been covering the Mad Biter a dog that has been biting people around town and has yet to be caught! While Joey and Top Dog are outside on a walk they run into Larry Lewis who wants Joey to go to the movies with him, but Joey tells him that he and Top Dog need to finish their walk and this upsets Larry who hates Top Dog and storms off only to be bitten by the Mad Biter! And Larry gets an idea and calls the cops and says that Top Dog is the Mad Biter and this leads to Top Dog betting arrested and put into a jail for criminal canines! But once Joey gets Top Dog out on bail and after visiting Larry late at night and making him think he his having nightmares about how he has wronged Tog Dog he is proving innocent and set free. Now Top Dog and Joey are looking for the true Mad Biter and they find a patron and know that he will attack next at the library and worse Lizzie is on her way to the library and finds herself in the path of The Mad Biter who goes for the attack but is knocked away by Top Dog who gets the dog to chase him into the park and then punches and knocks out The Mad Biter and the cops are able to take the crazed dog away and Top Dog is a hero. In the end Joey, Top Dog, Lizzie and Larry are all hanging out watching TV and enjoying the day.

Yet another great issue that held up and delivers a fun and entertaining read as this issue has Top Dog being framed for crimes he did not do and sent to jail and has to go to court in order to clear his name and when he finally does so he and Joey has to try and bring the real Mad Biter to justice as well as save Lizzie who is about to be the next bite victim! In this issue Top Dog is having a great day, but do to one young man’s jealousy he is blamed for a crime and finds himself in jail, court and later in the path of the true criminal dog and all the while the people of the town have turned fearful of him all besides Joey and his sister Lizzie who stick by him. Top Dog also in this issue shows that he can act like a dog even under pressure and can also fist fight with the best of them as he knocks the real mean dog silly with a series of punches. Joey Jordan is upset when his friend Tog Dog is blamed for the rash of animal attacks and even comes up with a good plan that ends up clearing his name and getting him out of doggie jail. And you also have to give Lizzie Jordan some respect as in court she stands with Top Dog and gives him credit when he saves her from being bitten. Larry Lewis who is a friend of Joey’s is the one that starts all the drama for him when he spreads the story that Top Dog is the canine going around biting people and this is all cause he feels that Joey spends to much time with his pet and not enough time hanging out with him! Oh course Larry learns his lesson and feels bad for what he has done to his friend innocent dog and makes things right. The Mad Biter is a dog that is mad at humans for some reason and is biting them all over town and causing fear and panic, but when he runs into Top Dog he gets knocked out and captured and now will pay for his crimes. The parts that have Top Dog in Doggie Jail is great stuff as he is surrounded by lots of mean dogs and even his fist fight with The Mad Biter are the highlights. The cover is really cool and the interior art once more done by Warren Kremer is solid great stuff. Another great kid comic read and shows why Top Dog was a well loved original character in the world of Star Comics.

Top Dog # 4 ***
Released in 1985 Cover Price .65 Star Comics # 4 of 14

While at the mall Joey and Top Dog are looking around when a man named Morrison recognizes Tog Dog and this causes the talking canine to panic and he and Joey run all the way home. Once back and safe in Joey’s room Top Dog tells Joey that he use to be called Mr. X and was the creator of the super computer in Washington D.C and he is the only one that can work it, but he left due to the pressure and that Morrison is the only one who knows his secret, but they have been followed home as a rock with a note comes from the window telling Top Dog they need his help. Top Dog takes the job as he has to help his country and best part is Morrison has brought the super computer with him and the case is a threat that was made to the President about bringing down the country with fake money unless he is given real money and the criminal is Eddie Etch. Top Dog is able to trick Eddie and ends up in the criminal’s hideout but after going for a device that will drop the fake money all over America via a satellite in space goes off Top Dog and the computer must come up with a plan that will push all the money to the ocean and he is able to pull it off saving America from the fake cash drop. The government is able to arrest Eddie and the town people end up getting an Ice Cream shop as a fake one was built as a base and Top Dog makes Morrison open if for the favors that Government asked of him.

This fourth issue truly turns Top Dog into a man of mystery as his back story of working for the government is starting to come to light and now Joey knows just how smart and unique his new friend really is, as not only does he bring down a criminal but he is also the one who created and can control a Super Computer that America needs to solve some big problems. The comic also lets us know that this is only a small part of Top Dog’s secrets as it appears he did more stuff for our country than just the computer, and you know as this series goes on we will see more and more of his past. In this issue Top Dog goes from being in a panic about being found by one of his past co-workers to becoming a spy and hero that saves America from a rash of fake cash that will causes prices to skyrocket! Plus as before it shows just how smart and skilled Top Dog is as he uses them both in order to help America as well as the people of the town he now lives by getting them ice cream! Joey who is just a regular kid finds himself being apart of the plan to try and stop this attack and now being around Top Dog he finds himself on more and more adventures that most normal kids would never be able to go on. Eddie Etch is a criminal who wants to be rich and his idea of getting lots of money is to threaten to flood America with fake cash if he is not given real cash so that he can build a mansion, he also is super smart as he carries a remote control around that if he presses a button the fake money will fall from the sky as it will drop from space cause its all stashed inside of a satellite. Its lots of fun seeing Top Dog work his butt off super fast to solve this case and it’s also cool that we get to also learn that he is liking his life with the Jordan family. The cover for this issue is fun and has a big figure pointing at a shocked Top Dog and like before the interior art by Kremer is really great, and for some reason the way he drew Eddie reminded me of a drunk, addicted version of Bluto from Popeye. Over all once more a great issue and packs lots of fun and some silly moments and shows that Star Comics was the king of Kids Comics in the mid 1980’s.

Top Dog # 5 ***
Released in 1985 Cover Price .65 Star Comics # 5 of 14

Top Dog has to do one more job for the government and he and Joey head to the backroom at the ice cream parlor and Morrison fills them in on what is needed and that is to stop the invisible criminal named Mr. Invisible who has grown bored of stealing jewels and money and now craves power as he wants the current President to step down and appoint him as the new President! Top Dog goes to work on the computer and finds that a pearl that is in Egypt can block the power of the amulet that give Mr. Invisible his powers. Once in Egypt Joey and Top Dog go looking for the pearl and unknown to them they are being followed by that sinister Mr. Invisible who makes it very hard for them to find the only item that can stop his crime wave. Once Top Dog has the pearl in hand Mr. Invisible tries to steal it from his hand, crashes their plane, pops their raft while at sea and tries to have one of his stooges get it…all attempts fail and in the end both the pearl and amulet fall into the sea and are lost and Mr. Invisible is arrested and his threat to America is over.

This issue has Top Dog and Joey Jordan once more on a mission for the Government with this time having to stop a invisible criminal who wants to become President of America in order to have power! Top Dog as always uses his smarts as well as skills to pull off this adventure as he is able to use the Super Computer, find the pearl, tricks Mr. Invisible and his Goon friend into dropping the amulet into the sea and is of course able to make the world think he is just a normal dog. Joey Jordan is also very helpful in this case as he helps trip up Mr. Invisible and he also is able to make people think he is Mr. X in order to cover for Top Dog. Mr. Invisible started out as a petty criminal and when finding the amulet during a museum heist gets the power to stay invisible and this helps him pull off bigger and better crimes, but also has driven him into a power trip as now he thinks he can bully the President Of The United States and force himself into that position…and of course he is wrong as Top Dog will not allow it! I like that in this issue Top Dog and Joey travel to Egypt and have to climb a pyramid in order to find a secret pearl hidden in one of the blocks, I wish that a Mummy would have showed up as that would have been lots of fun to see. Top Dog in these last two issues has truly turned into a canine version of James Bond as he is a government agent sent on missions that affect his country…just done more with a kids comic silly nature. The cover for this issue is pretty fun and has Top Dog and Joey being stalked by Mr. Invisible who has a gun pulled on them behind their backs. And to sound like a broken record the interior artwork is great and done by Warren Kremer who showcases just how great of an artist he is. We are five issues in and all of them have held up and are great solid reads.

Top Dog # 6 **1/2
Released in 1986 Cover Price .65 Star Comics # 6 of 14

Top Dog and Joey Jordan are swimming at a water hole and Mervin Megabucks and his chauffeur Slyme show up once more as Melvin makes another offer to buy Top Dog as he wants him for his collection as he knows he can talk, and this offer of course is shot down. Melvin then heads to the two mad scientists Frank and Stein that live in the castle lab on his land and gets them to use a hypno beam on Top Dog that will force him to want to live with Melvin, and the beam works as Joey watches as his canine friend leaves with the two scientist back to the Megabucks estate. Once inside the castle lab Top Dog snaps out of his trance and comes up with a plan to act like a rabid dog and chases Melvin, Frank and Stein all around the lab growling and acting as if he is going to bite them! Joey comes to the Mansion to talk to Top Dog about his rude leaving without saying goodbye but instead is given back Top Dog as Melvin thinks the canine is crazy! In the end Joey and Top Dog head home as Melvin and his two looney scientists are left back at the lab happy to have not been bitten. Days later Joey has to take Top Dog to the vet for a checkup and things get crazy when after given gross tasting medicine Top Dog sneaks into a bathroom to brush his teeth and the Vet sees all the foam and thinks he is rabid! But in the end Joey covers for him and acts as if Top Dog eats toothpaste and once home and a prank pulled by Joey that has toothpaste in a dog bowl, Top Dog eats a good dinner to end a stressful day.

Issue six is a very fun read but does something that the other issues did not and that is have a backup story as well as two single page gag stories to fill the page count as the main story falls a little short in the length department. The main story while a fun is also this point the weakest of any of the main stories as the issue has Top Dog being brainwashed to want to live with the rich kid Melvin only for him to snap out of it and acted crazy in order to scare his kidnapper who in return give him back to Joey just to get him away from his estate. The stories is filled with two mad scientists Frank and Stein who add a dash of kid friendly Horror elements to the adventure, but they are mostly used as a gag as they each say each others name like they are introducing themselves to everyone who gets their names mixed up. Mervin Megabucks is as scummy as ever as he tries to once more buy and steal Top Dog and treats everyone around him like dirt, so it’s nice to see him be scared silly by Top Dog who does a great job of acting rabid. Joey Jordan in this issue is very sad when he thinks Top Dog leaves his family in order to love with Melvin as it hurt him that his canine best friend didn’t even say goodbye, he of course learns later that his friend was dognapped. The second story is ok and is more just a long joke about toothpaste and Top Dog brushing his teeth in order to get a bad taste out of his mouth. While this issue is good it just lacks a little of the charm of the past five issues and leaves it feeling a little more lackluster. The cover is very cool and has Top Dog in the hot seat while being looked at by two mad scientists and as you guess the interior artwork is done by Kremer still and is really good stuff. Over all a good issue that only slips a little but still delivers an entertaining read.

Top Dog # 7 ***
Released in 1986 Cover Price .75 Star Comics # 7 of 14

In the kingdom of Cashelot Royal Roy and his pet toothless alligator Gummy are listening as his father King Regal is arguing with the King of a surrounding natuon who wants to take over one of the kingdoms water reservoirs as there is empty and this is leading to a possible war between the two kingdoms. The United States steps in and calls on Morrison to call Top Dog in order to use the Super Computer in order to find a way for the war not to happen and for the nation of Lessavia to get the water they need. And the answer is for Top Dog to get to Cashelot and cook a great meal for the two Kings and this will cause the two to come to peace and work out this water crisis, and of course Joey has to go to Cashelot as well with Top Dog for his cover. Once at Cashelot Joey, Top Dog and Morrison under a hood going as Top Chef are greeted by Royal Roy, Gummy and Ascott who rush the three Americans to the castle, but unknown to them Count Archduke Von Krunch the sinister cousin of the Royal family is on the way to the castle as well to try and ruin the big meal to set a plan in effect that will have his take control of Cashelot. Once in the kitchen Top Dog gets to work on the meal as Joey and Morrison try and help keep everyone out of the kitchen, but when Joey is sent out to get some spices he is kidnapped by Von Krunch and this causes Royal Roy and Top Dog to rush out and find him and Morrison is left alone to continue the meal. Once Top Dog saves Joey from a locked room at the castle they all rush back to the castle only to find that the meal is done, and is super hot and both Kings have to help each other using water and this causes peace between the two nations as they both get a laugh out of the super hot meal.

This is such a cool issue as it brings Top Dog together with another Star Comics original character Royal Roy (Read Here For His Update) and it’s pulled off pretty well! In this issue’s plot Royal Roy’s kingdom is about to go to war with another kingdom over water and the only one who can save the day is Top Dog who is also a great chef and can make a meal that brings peace, but of course things go crazy when Joey is kidnapped and Top Dog and Royal Roy has to save him even though it puts the meal in trouble. Top Dog is shown now to be a chef that’s food is so good that it causes peace to breakout between warring nations. And because he is a talking canine he has to hide around the Kingdom of Cashelot as a regular dog and also must dodge Gummy the pet of Roy who wants the play. Joey does what he can to help Top Dog on this mission and is very honored to meet Royal Roy who is kind of an idol to many of kids. And poor Morrison has to wear a hood over his head and act as if he is the one known as Top Chef in order to cover for Top Dog so that the meal can be made. Royal Roy, Gummy and Ascott are around and do what they can to help get Top Dog and his friends to the Royal Kitchen as well as find the missing Joey when he is taken by the issues main villain that goofball baddie and Royal Roy cousin Count Archduke Von Krunch who fails in his attempt to try and ruin the meal and take over the Kingdom. I like how Gummy who is a toothless alligator that acts like a dog wants to play with Top Dog who tries his best to get away from him as he has a world saving meal to make, I also like that Royal Roy and his cast take more of a backseat and do not outshine Top Dog and Joey who are the main stars throughout. The cover is cool and showcases both the main Top Dog and Royal Roy characters and yep the interior is great and done by Kremer again. A very cool crossover issue that was a blast to read back then and even now as it did both comic series justice.

Top Dog # 8 ***
Released in 1986 Cover Price .75 Star Comics # 8 of 14

Top Dog hears Mom Jordan and Lizzie talking about a surprise party the next day for Joey’s birthday and he leaves a note and heads out to find a gift for his friend, but the note is very basic and makes it sound as if Top Dog was leaving for good. While out looking for a gift Top Dog is hit by a car and this leaves him confused on who he is and the older couple who hit him take him home and call him Woofer. Meanwhile Joey is so upset that he cries throughout his Birthday Party and his family start to worry about his sadness. Soon the old couple find that Woofer is super talented and take him to an agency that gets him work for dog food commercials under the name Horace The Dog and when Joey and Lizzie see it they know that this new mascot star is their old missing dog Top Dog. Joey tracks Top Dog to the film studio and notices that his canine friends mind seems to be off as he does not recognize him, but after an accident that has a lighting rig falling and hitting Top Dog on the head he gains his memory back and gets himself fired from the commercials and returns home with Joey as the two friends are once more back together.

This issue has the plot of Top Dog loosing his memory and becoming a TV star and only after being hit on the head does he gain his memory back and return home to Joey as well as get himself out of the spotlight of being famous. You have to say poor Top Dog in this issue as he not only gets hit by a car and gets a head injury he also then take a hit to the head via a light and each time he has head trauma making you wonder if he has brain issues. Joey in this issue has a terrible birthday as he thinks his friend and pet dog Top Dog has ran away and this causes him to cry throughout his party and make his friend and family very uncomfortable. But Joey does not give up on his friend and tracks him down and helps him regain his memory and find his way back home. The plot of this issue is really simple and is very basic, as it has been done lots of times before in comics, cartoons and TV Shows and because of this familiar plot it makes for a read that brings a smile to your face as you know it will have a happy outcome. The cover is fun and has Top Dog being a superstar and the interior artwork is great and is of course Kremer who has done all the issues this far in the series and has done a great job every issue. Over all a simple plot but a very fun issue that brings the entertainment.

Top Dog # 9 ***
Released in 1986 Cover Price .75 Star Comics # 9 of 14

It’s Pet Day at the museum and Joey Jordan and Tog Dog are attending as is Iggy Nutmeg and his cat Heathcliff who is very much into seeing the fish as he wants to eat them! Joey and Iggy decide to team up as they are both working on a project about Egypt and Top Dog makes a promise to Joey that he will keep an eye of Heathcliff to keep him out of trouble, and after the two you boys head to the exhibit Heathcliff escapes the pet area and Top Dog has to follow him and the two even fight with Heathcliff making his escape once more, Top Dog alerts Joey to the cats rampage but says he will stop it. Heathcliff is causing mischief all around the museum and Top Dog is given chase. Meanwhile both Joey and Iggy find themselves taken prisoner when the stumble on a robbery plot at the museum and one of the crooks is even dressed as a Mummy. Heathcliff stumbles onto the crime as well and is able to take the stolen jewels and after finding Top Dog the two pets keep the robbers busy and even set off the silent alarm, and once the police get their and Top Dog uses the Mummy’s bandages to wrap up the crooks the jewels are returned and Heathcliff and Top Dog are the heroes of the day.

This is yet another super fun crossover that has two of Star Comics popular characters coming together for one fun issue as this time around Top Dog is paired up with Heathcliff who was super popular not only in Star Comics but also on TV and Comic Strips. And this pairing was a great idea as these two were the Star Comics icons when it came to animal main character based comics. In this issue Top Dog and Heathcliff start off as enemies as the two just do not get along but their human owners Joey and Iggy do, but after a theft takes place the two animals team up and make a great team as they bring down the crooks and save the day as well as the priceless jewels the baddies were trying to steal. One of the best parts of this crossover is the brief paw fight between Top Dog and Heathcliff as paws are thrown and that makes for a fun few panels. I also feel that they use both Joey Jordan and Iggy Nutmeg well as they quickly become friends and work on a school project together and even both stumble on and taken prisoner when they find out about a robbery. The comic also has a cameo from Heathcliff characters Muggsy Faber and his bulldog Spike and that adds to the fun nature of this crossover. The villains of this issue are the three crooks with one that is wearing a Mummy costume while they are thieves they are not that dangerous and are out smarted really easy by Top Dog and Heathcliff. I should also note that while Top Dog and Heathcliff stop the criminals in the end, its clear that Top Dog is annoyed by the attitude of his feline friend. The cover is great and has Top Dog and Heathcliff running from a Mummy and yep you guessed it the interior art by Kremer is as good as ever. Once more a great Top Dog comic that held up for me and of course if you are a fan of Top Dog give it a read, but also fans of Heathcliff should check it out.

Top Dog # 10 ***
Released in 1986 Cover Price .75 Star Comics # 10 of 14

Comic World the local comic shop is having Spider-Man as a guest and Joey is helping Danny the son of owner Mark Carter hang posters for this event, and once done Joey is paid in comics for his help and Top Dog wonders why people would read comics as they seem silly to him. While Joey is still looking Jim Osborn enters the shop as he is the actor who will be playing Spider-Man for the public appearance and all the kids in the shop want the actor to sign their comics. As Comic World is about to close for the day a man named Magee shows up just as Danny leads Joey, Jim and Top Dog to his house, but something does not set right with Top Dog who goes back to the shop and hears Magee tells Mark that he wants the money back that he put into the comic shop and that they should burn the shop down and collect the insurance money! Meanwhile Danny goes to Joey’s house for dinner and Top Dog has to wait to tell his friend what he over heard, and when he does Joey is torn about calling the police about the possible arson as it would really hurt Danny. But after talking to “Spider-Man” or Spider-Actor Jim about keeping secrets Joey comes up with a plan and goes to Comic World and confronts Mark on the arson plan, this causes the owner to change his mind but before they can call the police Magee shows up and at gunpoint locks Joey, Mark and Top Dog into a storage room with the idea of burning them alive inside the shop! But Top Dog is able to escape and gets help from Danny who is also quickly captured and thrown into the storage room. But Magee was not ready for Jim as Spider-Man who swings into action via a banner and knocks Magee silly and saves all his friend locked in the storage room and proves he his a hero not just an actor playing one and also saves the comic shop from a fiery death. The Comic Shop is now doing well and Danny is now working with his dad at it and Jim Osborn is a local hero and Top Dog and Joey meet Peter Parker who has been sent to take pictures and even see J. Jonah Jameson shows up to rant about Spider-Man.

This is the crossover that all the readers had been waiting for and sadly while it’s a good issue those who want to see Spider-Man and Top Dog work together to bring down criminals will be very much let down as the Spidey in this issue is just a goofy actor and the real Spider-Man is only shown in a cameo and as Peter Parker. The plot of this issue has Joey’s friend Danny and his Dad not having much time to spend together as the dad has made a bad business deal with a criminal to get his comic shop up and running and now faces the threat of arson in order for the shop to turn a faster profit, but of course Top Dog, Joey and an actor play Spider-Man save the day and bring down the criminal and turn the comic shop into one of the towns must stop shops. Tog Dog in this issue is the one who discovers the plot of arson and is also taken back by Joey who does not want to call the cops over it as he fears it will hurt Danny’s feelings, we also see that Top Dog does not like comic books and thinks Spider-Man is cheesy. Joey ends up saving Mark Carter the father of his friend Danny by not calling the police and also getting him away from Magee who is a true scumbag who wants to burn up a store full of comic books! One of the cool parts of this comic is seeing Peter Parker and J. Jonah Jameson at the comic shop covering the Spidey Actor saving the day, and its great that Joey who is a big Spider-Man fan not knowing that he is that close to his idol who is taking photos at his local comic shop. The cover for this issue is very iconic as I remember many of my friends having this issue in their comic collection and its super eye catching as it has Spider-Man swinging with Top Dog! The interior art this time is done by a team as Warren Kremer did all the normal Top Dog stuff and John Romita drawing Peter Parker and J. Jonah Jameson, making this a very fun comic to not only read but also look at. A great issue that holds up for me after all these years, and yes I do wish Spider-Man in the comic was really Spidey.

Top Dog # 11 ***
Released in 1986 Cover Price .75 Star Comics # 11 of 14

Joey and Top Dog are heading downtown as a new comic shop as just opened and when they reach town they find that everything ran by computer has gone crazy so they rush to the Ice Cream shop and to the Super Computer that is going crazy, and after quickly fixing it Top Dog learns that his brother Dirty Dog is the one who made the computer go crazy and that he wants to meet his brother alone on top of a near by mountain. Morrison films Joey in on who Dirty Dog is and this causes Joey to follow Top Dog and once on the mountain they are both captured by Dirty Dog’s trap door. Top Dog learns that his brother has built human like robots of all the worlds leaders that will allow him to control the world, but he needs Tog Dog’s help to build in their speech and uses Joey as a hostage to get what he wants. Dirty Dog sends out a robot version of Joey to report back to Morrison and even stay at his home and be the perfect son to his parents, while Top Dog tries to figure out a plan to save the day. Top Dog ends up freeing the real Joey who goes and gets Morrison for help and he also has programed the World Leader Robots to fight his brothers robots and they all destroy each other, but before Dirty Dog can be captured he escapes inside a rocket. In the end Top Dog and Joey head home and have to take apart the robot Joey that has been living at the Jordon house while the real one was held prisoner.

This issue pits brother against brother as Top Dog has to face off with Dirty Dog as one wants to help the world while the other wants to rule over it. Dirty Dog is the dust cloud caring canine brother of Top Dog and is just as smart as his brother, but is also very bad as his whole world is just about him and his want to be a ruler. Dirty Dog is so smart that he knows how to hack into the Super Computer as well as can build robots that can look and act like anyone. Dirty Dog due to his creative and smart mind makes him very dangerous to all of the world as his mean nature knows no bounds. Meanwhile Top Dog in this issue uses his smarts and creative ways for good and is able to stop his brothers plans as well as get his friend Joey to safety, it’s a shame that the two canine brothers are at odds with one another and have different values. Morrison also is a hero of sorts as he comes to the aid of Top Dog and causes Dirty Dog to flee the scene of his crimes. I like that when characters are around Dirty Dog the sneeze as a dust cloud of dirt follows him, think Pigpen from Peanuts. This issue also makes the stakes seem high as Top Dog fears what his brother can do as he knows just how dangerous he is and the fact they can match wits makes for a entertaining showdown and read. The cover for this issue is fun and has the robot called Max holding Joey and Top Dog as Dirty Dog mocks them. And yep you guessed it the interior art is once more done by Kremer and is very great stuff! One other really cool thing I should say that in the letters page called “Star Signals” they ran a reader poll and the winner of “Favorite Character” went to Top Dog with the characters Lion-O (Thundercats) and Wicket (Ewoks) both tied for second place! I would have really loved to have seen the full list as were did He-Man (Masters Of The Universe), Royal Roy, Spider-Ham and R2-D2 (Star Wars: Droids) place on this list! But to sup this up another great issue from the Top Dog team and I can see why he was so popular back in the 80’s.

Top Dog # 12 ***
Released in 1987 Cover Price .75 Star Comics # 12 of 14

Joey Jordan and Top Dog are heading to their booth at the school’s science fair and soon find out that their neighbor is Mervin Megabucks who is as rude as ever. Mervin tricks Top Dog with a kite that he claims only he can fly, and when Top Dog tries it turns into a rocket and flies the canine back to the Megabucks estate and to the lab of Dr. Frank and Dr. Stein who are waiting and once more capture Top Dog. Mervin gives Joey a ride to the lab and then informs him that they will be switching minds so that he can prove that Top Dog talks and with the help of a machine made by Frank and Stein they do just that! The switch only lasts 24 hours and once its done Joey who is really Mervin heads to Top Dog who wakes up in a fake version of Joey’s room that has been built at the castle. When Top Dog does not speak and Mervin who is really Joey shows up the plan is a bust, but Joey who is really Mervin decides that he will do the next best think and that’s ruin his nemesis life! The fake Joey tries his best to ruin the reputation of the real Joey at home and school but everything keeps backfiring as all his bad doings keep falling on Mervin and making him look like the bigger jerk. In the end a mix up at the lab turns Joey back to normal but Mervin, Frank, Slyme, Stein, a Rooster and a dog get all mixed up and the machine shorts out making it take time before they can all be back to normal.

That mean rich brat Mervin Megabucks is at it again in this issue as he once more makes an attempt at owning Top Dog and proving that he can talk, this time he even uses a machine the switches minds….but this of course backfires for him as by the end his mind ends up in a dog that has fleas! Mervin is such a rude young man who treats people and animals terrible and thanks his money makes him powerful, when in reality it just makes him a not likeable person with a massive ego. The Mad Scientist Frank and Stein are goofy doctors who just do what they are told and that includes kidnapping a kid and a dog. Top Dog is two smart to fall for this mind trick, well and he looses his voice for a short time that causes him not to speak to the fake Joey. Speaking of Joey the real one he is the true hero here as he saves Top Dog as well as stops all the antics of the fake Joey and even tricks Mervin into going back home so that they can switch minds back. This issue really does feel like a cartoon and is packed with lots of silly humor as well as a dash of Sci-Fi fun and that is why it’s a good read. The cover for this issue is silly and has the mind switching machine hard at work and the you know the deal with the interior artwork being great and who did it by now. So with that lest see what issue thirteen has in store for us and if it will hold up as well as all these issues have for me.

Top Dog # 13 ***
Released in 1987 Cover Price .75 Star Comics # 13 of 14

After watching TV and a sci-fi show about time travel Top Dog tells Joey that he has ben working on a time machine and the two rush off to the Super Computer that is hidden at the ice cream shop that is watched over by Agent Morrison. But before they get their Top Dog helps out Brutus a dog that is being miss treated by his owner Tommy Turner by setting him free from pulling a wagon full of groceries. Once at the computer something goes wrong and causes the machine to go off and zap Joey who finds himself in the year 2007 and everything has changed from travel, to dress to locations and this makes Joey confused as he rushes to the new location of the Ice Cream shop and meets Morrison and later Top Dog who are both very old now and confused by why the younger Joey being there and the worse they are not sure how to get him back to his time! And worse he finds out that Vladimir and enemy of the state has captured the adult version of himself who is now an agent, and the mind of Top Dog is starting to go. But with the help of young Joey Top Dog is able to save older Joey and arrest Vladimir and send Joey home by accident when they bump into the time machine that blasts Joey back in time.

This is a fun issue as it really has a Sci-Fi feel to it as Joey is sent to the future by accident and must save the older version of himself from a spy that has taken him hostage! Top Dog when older is slowly loosing his smarts, but still is very much a fighter and still has is attitude and humor that makes him the well loved canine of comics. Joey lands in 2007 and well sense it’s 2022 nothing they predicted the future to be like came true…but Joey does learn that he will become a Government agent. Morrison as an old man still works at the Ice Cream shop as the secret base for the Super Computer. The issues villain is Vladimir who goes down really easy when Top Dog frees the adult Joey and he is punched in the face. While this issue does not have any real “danger” feeling to the mission it does bring some wonder as you start to wonder just how young Joey will get back to his time, and of course its just like the way he got to the future. The cover is funny and shows the future in the background and young Joey trying to talk to the very old Top Dog. And once again you know the deal when it comes to the interior art so I am not going to say it again. Over all a pretty fun issue that sadly leads us to the final issue in the series.

Top Dog # 14 ***
Released in 1987 Cover Price $1.00 Star Comics # 14 of 14

Joey Jordan is waken from a nightmare that had his best friend Top Dog leaving, and when up he and Top Dog head to the Super Computer to give it a tune up and meet up with Agent Morrison who is happy to see his friends. But unknown to them all they have been followed by Dr. Ominous who pulls a gun on them all and is ranting that he is the one who truly created the Super Computer (called The Brainstrain) and that Top Dog took the credit for it, and Morrison admits that Ominous built some of the computer but had a mental breakdown before it was even close to being finished and that Top Dog was indeed the one who finished it and made it better. Dr. Ominous is not hearing it and uses a transport ray gun to steal the computer and then also blasts Top Dog and himself leaving Joey and Morrison to have to rush to the basement to use a very talkative and old Super Computer to try and get the answer of were the Super Computer is now. Meanwhile Dr. Ominous threatens the lives of the Jordan’s in order to get Top Dog to help him install a new feature and then operate the Super Computer. Meanwhile the changes used allows Dr. Ominous to steal all the worlds landmarks from the Great Pyramids to The Statue Of Liberty all because the scientific world thought he was washed up when he had his breakdown, but of course Top Dog along with Joey Jordan and Agent Morrison stop this mad man and send the landmarks back, but Dr. Ominous is able to escape being captured. In the end Top Dog tells Joey that until Dr. Ominous is captured that he can no longer live with his family as it would put them all in danger and with that Top Dog leaves.

And with that ends the Top Dog series that ends kind of sadly as our canine hero has to leave his best friend and really his family behind all because of a fat crazy scientist by the name of Dr. Ominous who has threaten to hurt the Jordan family in order to get to Top Dog. I think the real kicker in this is that at the end they promised a new Top Dog series was in the works and would be released soon after the currant series ended, and we all know that it never happened and Marvel Comics was the master of not allowing Star Comics series to end in a proper manor…so imagine being a kid and reading this issue and the last image you see of Top Dog a character that you have read every issue of and have grown to love is him crying and running down a street away from his best friend who is also crying sad tears in the street in front of his home….like way to go Marvel! Sadly the new Top Dog series was never made and I truly do feel that this was a missed character opportunity as he was very popular with readers and already we seen that he was in the normal Marvel Universe as he crossed over with Spider-Man so why not continue is adventures in Marvel proper? The one thing that Marvel did at least somewhat right is they allowed this Star Comics character to have a final issue that alerted the readers that this was it for them on this run, as so many before and after just ended with no send off and true ending for the characters. I mean I would have really loved to have seen a comic that would have has Top Dog along with Agent Morrison and yes Joey Jordan going around the world taking down spies and villains on their hunt to bring Dr. Ominous to justice and along the way they could have meet up with The Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Luke Cage and even Spider-Man once more. Or even imagine an issue that had Top Dog in Florida and having a run in with Man-Thing that would have been awesome. Top Dog really was a well written kids comic that started out like your typical Harvey Comics with a dash of Archie Comics but really quickly it turned into something very special and of its own as it added many different elements together from action to sci-fi to even comedy it brought it all. I mean it also did a great job of having crossovers with such characters as Spider-Man, Heathcliff and Royal Roy and each was done really well. Speaking of Heathcliff for those wondering Top Dog would appear in solo back up stories in that series, so in a way he did continue on after his series ended. The cover for the final issue is sad and shows Top Dog crying and the interior art by the talented Warren Kremer was really great stuff throughout the series. While much time has past I say to Marvel Comics it’s never to late to bring Top Dog back into the world of comics and you should do so as he still has many adventures left to have with us his readers. Checkout the artwork below to see they style used by Warren Kremer.

I have an idea for Marvel Comics that they should do as they own Star Comics, Malibu Comics and CrossGen Comics all three they do nothing with…so why not mix them together in their own universe that runs separate from Marvel but gives the characters new life and makes their old readership happy to see them back, plus could give creators more to work with as well as give readers something different from their bland stories they are spewing out in their main titles…as some of modern Marvel is unreadable at this point. But we all now this will never happen as they have been a shell of a company sense Disney bought them and only care about films and shows with the characters. But with that I will say I was a Top Dog fan as a kid and after reading these issue again I am a Top Dog still! Dog Month continues with our next update as we will be taking a look at that comic strip canine called Belvedere. So until next time, read a Star Comic or three, watch a movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update as we spend some time with a dog with some major attitude.

The Wacky Comic World Of Daffy Duck

Posted on April 12, 2022 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink and the 10 Year Celebration of this blog! On May 5, 2015 I took a look at Bugs Bunny and called him “The King Of Saturday Morning Cartoons” and pointed out how he was the most popular and recognizable Looney Tune character, but if Bugs is the King then our next character would be the Jester as his antics and crazy nature made him a hit for me and my brother who both loved watching his cartoons…and I am talking about the one and only Daffy Duck! I know that it’s Easter Bunny season and not Duck season, but what better way to celebrate this holiday time than to cover a true icon in the world of classic cartoons and one that will surely make you month a little better. So as you find a comfy place to sit and enjoy this blog update, let’s get crazy with Daffy!

Daffy Duck made his debut in the Porky Pig cartoon “Porky’s Duck Hunt” that was seen on April 17, 1937. In the toon Daffy was a no-name character but got viewers’ attention as his aggressive and zany attitude brought something fresh and new for the time and he became a favorite of many viewers. Early Daffy Duck was really crazy, a total loon who would bounce off the walls and laugh like a mad man all the while getting laughs from viewers and annoying his target in the toon. He became the subject of many discussions of viewers and Daffy quickly became one of the top characters in the Looney Tune universe. Over the years Daffy Duck went from crazy to snarky and became very short tempered and would even become a frenemy of Bugs Bunny as who can forget the “Duck Season…Rabbit Season” bit! Warner Brothers knew that Daffy Duck was something special and to this day feature him in many cartoons, merchandise and even feature length movies like Space Jam 2 that was released in 2021. The term “screwball character” was termed after Daffy who was the first of the kind and started a trend of character that followed his personality and tropes. Daffy was so well liked by fans that he became one of the must watch cartoons and would rival the popularity of many other characters of his time like Popeye, Mickey Mouse and Betty Boop. And even in 2019 website ScreenRant ranked Daffy Duck as # 1 in their Top 10 list of Funniest Looney Tune characters. Daffy Duck was created by Tex Avery and Bob Clampett and has had many voice actors as well as cartoon makers help flesh out the character and make him the icon he is to this day. Say what you will, but we all know that Daffy Duck is a true icon of cartoons and over the decades has made so many viewers lived just a little bit more silly and fun.

The main voice of Daffy Duck during my childhood was the iconic voice actor Mel Blanc who created the characters iconic lisp as well as sarcastic tone and line delivery. Mel is considered one of the biggest icons in voice work in the early days of cartoons as he lent his voice to many iconic characters like Looney Tune ones like Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Foghorn Leghorn, Speedy Gonzales and Sylvester to name a few. And non-Looney Tunes characters include Flattop, Tom & Jerry, Barney Rubble and Speed Buggy to name a few. Mel would voice Daffy Duck from 1937 to 1989, the year that he passed away. And after Mel’s passing, three different voice actors would voice Daffy off and on through the years during my childhood with one being Jeff Bergman and the other two being Joe Alaskey and at a lesser level Greg Burson. And in modern times Eric Bauza has been the voice behind the Duck. And with all respect to those who followed him, let’s be honest, Mel Blanc is the amazing voice actor who made Daffy Duck the zany character we all love to this day.

Like all great cartoon characters, Daffy Duck has had his fair share of amazing merchandise for fans of all ages to collect and I as a kid was one of those fans who owned lots of cool Daffy stuff! Over the many years of the character, such items as books, comics, shirts, dolls, toys, posters, magazines, statues, trading cards, Music, Home Media, drinking glasses, video games, hats, Shoes, Erasers, Buttons, Pins, Watches, Candy, cups, jars, stamps, socks, towels, Halloween costumes, necklaces, night lights and so much more were made. If you are a Daffy fan and have any need for an item you can find it as there are also Daffy Duck toothbrushes! Growing up some of my favorite things that I owned that featured Daffy Duck besides the comic books was an old plush doll that I had when I was super young, an old Pepsi glass that as a kid I can remember drinking Kool-Aid and chocolate milk from, a McDonalds Happy Meal Toy that had Daffy Duck as Batman and lastly an eraser of Daffy’s head that was for your pencil that I got from school in Waynesville! Daffy is awesome and has some very cool items for fans, and I for one am still a Daffy fan and have many of his items in my collection.

Growing up I would watch Daffy Duck on Saturday Mornings via old reruns of Looney Tunes on TV and also would watch them via home media on Beta and VHS that we would rent from the library or even would buy them from a dollar store that use to stock all types of cheap VHS tapes that featured cartoons as well as silent horror movies. I would raid that section and would buy everything that I would enjoy or ever wanted to see. There was always something very special about watching Looney Tunes and for both my brother and I, some of our favorite ones to view featured Daffy Duck as we loved his crazy laugh, his bouncing around, his sarcastic attitude, his Duck Dogers persona and so much more that made him so fantastic and one of the top cartoon characters in our household. Also we would find ourselves reading Daffy Duck comics and even as a kid I can remember my brother reading the comics out loud to me and even doing goofy voices to go along with it. It was almost like a story time. But now I am off subject and I really just wanted to share my memories of old Daffy VHS tapes and how when growing up I used to watch them all the time as I would always find myself laughing when watching him act like a total nut job! And I am sure many of you reading this blog have very similar memories of watching your favorite cartoon characters on owned or rented VHS tapes.

One Daffy Duck cartoon that was amazing was from 1988 and was called “The Night Of The Living Duck” that has Daffy reading a horror comic book called Hideous Tales # 176 that ends of a cliffhanger and when he goes to find the next issue a clock falls and hits him in the head, and when knocked out he thinks he is a singer at a club that is filled with many classic monsters like Dracula, Wolfman, Frankenstein’s Monster, The Fly, Leatherface, The Mummy, Creature From The Black Lagoon and The Blob to name a few. And after being attacked by the Godzilla inspired Smogzilla in his dream world he wakes up and finds his issue of the horror comic. And for a Monster Kid like myself seeing Daffy Duck sing to many classic monsters of the movies was really awesome to see as who would ever guess that Leatherface of Texas Chainsaw Massacre fame would appear in a Looney Tunes cartoon! And seeing the Universal Monsters being sung to by a sauvé Daffy is very surreal and was something that I never would have thought could have happened in the world of Looney Tunes. The animation is great in this episode and really makes me wish that Warner Brothers would have made animated monster movies as it would have been great to see classic monsters get the animated treatment. So if you love classic movie monsters as well as Looney Tunes cartoons make sure to track this one down and give it a watch.

Well now that we have taken a trip down memory lane and talked about Daffy Duck and all the elements that have made him a cartoon icon, I think we are at the point of this review that we take a look at the comics I own of him and have selected the comics from Gold Key and Whitman to cover. I want to thank several stores for having these in stock like Bell, Book and Comic, Game Swap Kettering and Mavericks Cards And Comics as well as Mom Young for having these issues for me to buy and make this update possible. I want to also remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you are ready, let’s get wacky and silly with Daffy Duck!

Daffy Duck # 83 ***
Released in 1973 Cover Price .20 Gold Key # 83 of 145

“High And Flighty” The Road Runner and his fellow birds are running from Wile E. Coyote and they run through the sidewalk that Daffy Duck was making and the job goes south with footprints and Daffy looses his job. Road Runner feels bad and sets up a new job for Daffy that has him trying to help Wile capture them, and of course all goes wrong. “Ego-Tripped” has Daffy Duck a host of a late night talk show along side Elmer Fudd and they have many guests that night Bugs Bunny, Yosemite Sam, Porky Pig, Tweety Bird, Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote, Sylvester Cat and Petunia Pig and the topic is how after the cartoons end that they are all friends and this turns bad real quick as all of the Looney Tunes characters start arguing over who is the best on their shows and even leads to a end chase of Elmer trying to capture Daffy for his harsh words on the way Elmer speaks. “Dough Nuts” has Daffy Duck owning a bakery and he ends up getting Clovis Cat as a helper who is the cousin of Sylvester and he causes so many issues as he is kind of silly and ruins many orders, but he does end up stopping a robbery. “Stamp Scamp” has Daffy by accident letting one of Elmer Fudds high priced stamp blow out the window and the two have a wild chase to try and get it back, only for it to be a cheap stamp instead as Elmer was wrong on the price.

This issue has lots of guest stars and Daffy while the main attraction can kind of be lost in the shuffle when it comes to each little segments plot as sometimes the likes of Road Runner and other steal a little of the spotlight. And because of the guests and Daffy antics this is a better than average read! All four stories are really good with my favorite one being “Dough Nuts” as I enjoyed the fact that Daffy owned a bakery and was making cakes and hired a goofball cat who stumbles around ruining all his business and making customers mad. When picking my least favorite it was hard but I guess I would have to choose “High And Flighty” as it was just kind of a one joke story that had Daffy always taking a break when trying to capture Road Runner when the Runner would make a whistle noise. But with that said seeing Daffy on the payroll of Wile E. Coyote was really cool. The cover is cool and like a broken record him in the birdbath never happens in the comic. The art by Unknown Artist is really good and I like the way he drew Wile E. Coyote as well as Clovis Cat and of course Daffy and the rest look great. Over all a good read and a cool kids comic based on an amazing cartoon character and series!

Daffy Duck # 86 **1/2
Released in 1974 Cover Price .20 Gold Key # 86 of 145

“Dr. Elmer And Mr. Fudd” Daffy Duck is babysitting a young duck who wants to hear a spooky story before bed so Daffy makes one up about Elmer Fudd being a mad scientist who makes a formula that turns a mouse into a raging monster and he as well takes the formula and turns into a monster and torments the village and its up to Daffy in the story to save the day when he follows Fudd into a warehouse that the big mouse is in and they two fight. After the story the young duck puts on a Halloween mask and scares Daffy who runs out of the house. “The Duck Who Came To Dinner” The Tasmanian Devil is locked up behind bars at a zoo and Daffy goes to mock him, but soon Taz traps Daffy in the cage and as well when Daffy escapes Taz follows as he wants to eat duck for lunch! Daffy ends up tricking and knocking Taz out and leaves the country quick to be away from Taz once and for all only to find himself stuck in Tasmania! “An Alarm Clock Is A Rooster’s Best Friend” Daffy Duck is jobless and decides that he wants to take the job of Foghorn Leghorn as the rooster of the farm and does his best to set up Foghorn so that the farmer will fire him! Once Foghorn is fired Daffy takes the rooster job, but is soon found out by The Farmer and Foghorn who end up giving Daffy a new job on the far and that’s the top of the weather vein! “Hair Today And Gone Tomorrow” Daffy has made a formula that grows hair and his fellow ducks make fun of him as they doubt that it works, and when Daffy finds Elmer he tries to use the formula on his bold head and Elmer runs away and as Daffy gives chase he is attacked by a hawk it leaves Daffy featherless and when his formula falls on him Daffy becomes a duck covered in hair and must return to the drawing board to make a formula that will grow feathers.

This is an action packed issue when it comes to guest cameos as joining Daffy Duck in this issue is Elmer Fudd, Tweety Bird, Yosemite Sam, Tasmanian Devil, Foghorn Leghorn and Petunia Pig and each add fun moments to the stories they are in. This issue has the normal four stories and each of them bring their own styles of humor and put Daffy Duck in all types of situations that include him almost being eaten and even being a mad scientist! The kid friendly humor in this issue works really well and the best story for me in this issue is “An Alarm Clock Is A Rooster’s Best Friend” as I like how Daffy is so lazy that he thinks that being a rooster would be easy work and gets Foghorn Leghorn fired, but of course his sneaky tactics blow up in his face. Plus besides Daffy being awesome in the story so is Leghorn who is in my Top 10 favorite Looney Tunes characters. My least favorite story in this issue is “Hair Today And Gone Tomorrow” as I found it very lackluster and the lamest in plot in story, but seeing Daffy covered in hair was a little funny. The cover is awesome and has Daffy lifting weights that are really balloons, and you guessed it this never happens in any of the stories. The artwork is great and is very cartoonish and looks like the cartoon characters on the comic pages and is done by Unknown Artist! A good issue for sure and I am looking forward to read more of these Daffy Duck comics.

Daffy Duck # 92 ***
Released in 1975 Cover Price .25 Gold Key # 92 of 145

“Duckula” Daffy Duck and Porky Pig are driving a pizza truck and it runs out of gas near a creepy castle as a storm blows in and the two end up having to stay the night in the castle as the owner Count Duckula invites them in, but soon Daffy and Porky find themselves on the dinner menu as Duckula is a vampire and his friend Engelbert is a werewolf! But before Daffy and Porky can be eaten Daffy comes up with a plan the leaves them safe and the two monsters big fans of Pizza. “A Rare Bird” Daffy is in a museum looking at dinosaurs when two professors spot him and see that he is a rare breed of duck and they want to capture him and taxidermy him to place on display! And Daffy must run for his life to escape them and the museum! “Movie Madness” has Daffy Duck trying to get into Warner Brothers Studios to be casted on the new Raquel Robin film that he learned about from Sylvester Cat and Porky Pig! But standing in his way is Elmer Fudd who is the new guard at the studio gate and is told no none employees are allowed in! So Daffy has to use his bag of tricks in order to get in and meet Robin. But Daffy becomes a hero when two cast members try and steal her jewelry and he almost goes into a date with Robin that us until Yosemite Sam scares him off by wearing a monster mask. “Stop, Look, And Duck!” has Daffy faking that he is a traffic officer in order to get into Elmer Fudds house to raid his refrigerator and eat all his food, but Daffy is followed by a hungry bank robber who also breaks in and wants all the food that Daffy is stealing! But thanks to Daffy’s traffic signs and his quick thinking the robber is caught and in the end the Police make him act as a traffic signal for borrowing the signs from the city junkyard.

Wow this was a really fun kids comic and had Daffy Duck in all types of different and zany adventures! Plus like before this issue does a great job of having fellow Looney Tunes characters guest star and that includes Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig, Yosemite Sam and Sylvester Cat and they all play off Daffy very well in each of the segments. And really after reading this issue I had a smile on my face as it was such a silly good time, I mean Warner Brothers Studios even appears and they even make a joke about the MGM lion! And when sitting back and having to pick the best and least favorite story in this issue it was super hard but I would say “Duckula” was my favorite as I love the spooky horror feel of it and it read like a classic kids haunted house with a vampire story. And picking the least is really hard as all the stories were good but I guess I would say “Stop, Look, And Duck!” is the weakest as it’s just a Daffy stops a robber story that we have read before and it seems to be a big idea that the comic makers had when writing Daffy stories. The cover is great and showcases Duckula and shockingly it does tie into a story in the comic and that’s rare! The art is good and done once more and like always when it comes to Gold Key Comics by an Unknown Artist, and like always its very good and the characters look like they should for the most part. To sum it up this is a great issue and one of the best this far I have read of any of the Looney Toon themed comics. So with that lets see what the next issue has in store for us.

Daffy Duck # 98 ***
Released in 1975 Cover Price .25 Whitman # 98 of 145

“Snowman’s Land” Daffy Duck travels to the Himalayan Mountains in order to find the Abominable Snowman to ask him how often he clips his toenails in order to get $2.00 from Elmer Fudd who asked him that question. But once he finds the Snowman he learns that he has been fired as people do not find him scary so he makes a deal with Daffy if he helps him get his job back he will tell him the answer to the toenail question. And after trying to teach the Snowman to be scary and failing, it’s the rescue of two lost kids that gets the Snowman his job back and also gets Daffy the answer to Fudd’s question and he gets his $2.00 that is owed! “Northern Exposure” Daffy is stuck outside in a blizzard and meets an Eskimo who has been sent out by his wife to hunt a duck so they can have it for dinner, the man has never seen a duck and Daffy leads him in wild goose chases and after the poor guy is almost killed by a whale, Daffy saves him and comes clean that he is a duck and he is instead invited to dinner and they all eat fish. “Rainbow Riot” in this one Daffy is playing in the rain and after the rain stops a rainbow appears and Daffy uses this to his advantage to try and trick a free meal out of Porky Pig by dressing up as a leprechaun and promising a pot of gold to Porky if he can make Daffy happy and makes him a big meal and makes a fool of himself. And after finding out that the leprechaun was really Daffy dressed up he rushes back to the end of the rainbow and shoves a pie in the face of a leprechaun that was not Daffy but a real one!

This is such a fun read and has Daffy Duck meet the Abominable Snowman, Tricking a Duck Hunter and even acting like a leprechaun in order to get a free meal. And this one like the issue before has a Horror Comic element to one of the stories and Daffy even dresses like Count Duckula at one point in order to try and teach Snowman how to be scary. And as I am sure you guessed my favorite story in this issue is Snowman’s Land as how great and silly is it that Daffy tries to teach the Snowman how to scare people in order to find out how often he clips his toenails…and the two become friends. The weakest story of the group is Rainbow Riot as its not a bad story just the weakest of the three as it was just kind of blah as its just Daffy being a terrible friend to Porky Pig who is this issues only Looney Tune cameo. The cover is great and showcases what happens in this comic and that’s a rare thing in these types of comics made by Gold Key/Whitman. The interior art for at least the first story (Snowman’s Land) is done by artist Joe Messerli and is good stuff and I like his kid friendly take on the Abominable Snowman. Over all a solid issue that showcases just how fun these Daffy Duck comics can be for readers of all ages.

Daffy Duck # 104 **1/2
Released in 1976 Cover Price .30 Whitman # 104 of 145

“Shopping Cart Caper” Art is a man who owns a grocery store who is having an issue with someone stealing all his shopping carts and making him having to buy more of them for his customers. Both Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd end up trying to help Art find who is stealing and after thinking its each other, they end up finding the real thief and it is the man selling Art the carts as he is stealing them with a magnet gun and then sells them back to the store. “Relatively Speaking” Elmer Fudd is really mad at Daffy who eats much of his food acting as a food inspector, and after being chased off Daffy returns to Elmer’s home with a train jumper who looks like Elmer and the two in order to get a free meal and a place to stay lie to Elmer and act as if this guy is a long lost cousin. But when Elmer figures this out as a lie after reading his family tree he chases the two out of his home with a gun and Daffy joins the fraud on rail riding as they jump on a train. “The Broccoli Bungle” Porky Pig is shocked and worried when he finds Daffy Duck talking to a piece of broccoli, and when asked about it Daffy acts as if Porky is rude and this causes Porky to go to the grocery store and buy some broccoli and talk to it! But it was all a big joke as Sylvester Cat bet Daffy that he could not trick Porky into talking to broccoli. In the end Porky is mad and chases Daffy around and the pair run into a cop and both have to serve public serves at a broccoli farm. “The Duck Bunch” Elmer Fudd goes to a cabin by the lake to relax, but soon his peace is shattered when Daffy and his duck friends rent the cabin next door and have a party…after being mad for a bit Elmer ends up partying with Daffy and the ducks.

This is an issue that I almost forgot I owned as I had gotten it from Mavericks Cards And Comics when I worked there and after moving this issue along with other comics was missed boxed and has sat at a friends house for many years, and by luck I found it just in time to be covered…and I have to say the issue is another above average read and brought Daffy Duck into four silly adventures with three of them being alongside Elmer Fudd! And also the issue has Porky Pig and Sylvester both making a cameo in a story making this one feel like a Daffy Team-Up issue, and thinking about it they should have done a DC Comics Presents and had Superman team with Daffy Duck at some point in the 70’s or early 80’s, a wasted opportunity if you ask me. The best story in this issue for me is The Broccoli Bungle as I love the idea of Daffy and Sylvester making a free lunch bet with each other on if they could trick Porky Pig into talking to a piece of Broccoli, like a harmless prank but also poor Porky as he seems to be the butt of the joke. My lest favorite story in this issue is The Duck Bunch, nothing wrong with this one just bland as it has Daffy and fellow ducks harassing Elmer Fudd. The cover is cool but like always has zero to do with the pages inside, speaking of interior pages the art is done by Unknown Artist and is good the only thing really off is the color of Sylvester’s noise that should be red but is blue. Over all a good issue that delivered some cheesy, silly, goofy Daffy Duck comic book laughs.

Daffy Duck # 107 ***
Released in 1977 Cover Price .30 Whitman # 107 of 145

“Knight For A Night” Daffy Duck is lost flying around and finds an island the rest out and also sees an ad for a Knight wanted at a round table and he rushes to apply for the job as he thinks there will be food on the round table, but soon finds out that the King indeed of the Knight is poor due to an evil knight named Gore Thor who is stealing all his food, and after some tricks Daffy chases off the evil knight and the King’s Kingdom gets its food and knights back. “The High-Flying Queep” Daffy is in the park when a scientist and his henchman grabs Daffy and put a tracker on his leg in order to track were he goes, and Daffy ends up flying away to a western town but his tracker messes with the towns only TV and Radio and causes the sheriff to miss the weather warning of a flash flood, but the flood ends up causing Daffy to find a band of counterfeiters and for his reward the town gives him a reward and Daffy decided to fly on a plan to Hawaii but the tracker is also messing with their radio! “The Mysterious Mr. Big” Daffy Duck gets a job to go to the scary castle of Dr. Frankenfritter with a big check from Mr. Big who wants to buy the doctors new mechanical dog! And after Daffy is chased around the castle by mechanical monsters he makes the deal and takes the dog to Mr. Big who turns out to be a small flea. “The Hitch-Piker” has Daffy Duck trying to get home when he tries to get a ride from Elmer Fudd who is not happy to see him, but after getting tired Fudd ends up allowing Daffy to travel with him and even drive the car. Daffy ends up speeding around the highway and is pulled over and after finding out Daffy does not have a drivers licenses he and Fudd end up in court and Daffy has to pay a fine and work community service for seven days and Fudd must pay a fee.

Another great Daffy Duck comic that has Daffy being crazy and goofy and once more shows that Daffy Duck is great in cartoons as well as comics and in this one he even meets robotic Frankenstein Monster’s as well as takes down a evil knight that has a great name like Gore Thor! And all of the four adventures in this comic is a great read and it will be hard to choose what I think is the best but if I have to I am going to go with The Hitch-Piker as I like the idea of Daffy trying to hitchhike home cause he is to lazy to fly and ends up getting Elmer Fudd into trouble with the law when he makes the mistake of picking up Daffy. And I cannot pick a bad one from this issue as I really did enjoy them all so I am going to select none for this issue! Yeah this will be my only get out of selecting a Bad One card for this update. I mean were else can you read about Daffy busting a counterfeit ring, buy an electric dog for a man named Mr. Big, was rude to a judge and got himself and Elmer in trouble and even becomes a Knight and does battle in order to get a free meal! Great eye catching cover with Daffy making ice cubes and the use of a purple background makes it standout. The interior art is done by Unknown Artist and is great as I like the designs he/they created for side characters like Gore Thor and the robotic monsters. Over all a top notch read and this far is one of the top three best I have read from this Daffy series.

Daffy Duck # 122 **
Released in 1979 Cover Price .40 Gold Key # 122 of 145

“The Robot Robbery” Armchair Daffy is back on another case and this time while at a science fair a robot steals an invention that takes control of items and allows the person with the invention to control a selected object. And when Armchair Daffy goes after the crook his armchair is thrown around and Daffy uses a bowling ball to bring down the crook and the people at the fair upgrade his armchair to fly. “Ye Olde Time Machine” has Daffy at an amusement park and goes into a funhouse called the Time Machine that really is a time machine and takes him back in medieval times and Daffy as a knight takes down a dragon as well as the Fight Knight before finally being able to go back to his own time, and he runs away from the fun house and then spends his time riding kids rides. “Aerial Grease Monkey” has Daffy becoming an in air mechanic for plans in need, and it’s hard and fast work and after an emergency landing leaves him aching he changes jobs to work as a water mechanic for boats in order to sooth his aching wounds. “Water Follies” Elmer Fudd is getting ready for a bath when he finds that Daffy Duck is in the tub and tells him that he is going to stay awhile as the government is working on the swamp! Elmer chases Daffy our only to find him now soaking in the kitchen sink! Elmer gets Daffy out of his house and ends up sneaking back in and turning Elmer’s basement into a pool and invites other ducks over! In the end Elmer is even more mad when the swamp is moved next door to him and he has to see Daffy more.

In this Daffy Duck comic he has all types of weird adventures from using a bowling ball to bring down a crook, going back in time to bring down a dragon and an evil knight, fixing planes in air and even helping other ducks in a swamp have a place to swim! But while it’s an entertaining issue it’s also very bland and middle of the road compared to other issues we have read this far. While Daffy is as zany and silly as ever he just does not do anything that truly stands out here. The best story is “Ye Olde Time Machine” as I like the idea of Daffy Duck at an amusement park and stumbling into a real life time machine and finding himself in danger in medieval times! Plus his lucky ways of defeating a dragon and an evil knight is pure cartoon/comic book stuff. My lest favorite story in this issue has to be “The Robot Robbery” and that’s sad to say as I think truly it is the weakest of any Armchair Daffy case we have read here this far. It was nice to see Elmer Fudd once more have a cameo and its great as in this issue he truly hates Daffy and it shows. The cover is good and has zero to do with any of the stories and the interior art by Unknown Artist is as good as always and helps add to the silly stories you are reading. Over all a very average read, but still a good one for the most part.

Daffy Duck # 123 **1/2
Released in 1979 Cover Price .40 Whitman # 123 of 145

“Tin Pan Daffy” Daffy and his trusty horse Deadpan are trying to travel around the Old West to sell pans and by accident they wake up a pair of thieves who steal Deadpan and go and rob the towns bank, but Daffy thinks quick and uses a pan to mock the sound of a rattle snake that scares Deadpan who throws the robbers and Daffy is then able to return the money to the bank. “Rude On The Tube” has Daffy Duck going to a TV station in order to help Petunia Pig on a cooking show, and while at first it goes bad as Daffy ruins the show, but when Petunia switches his role to a taste tester things go smooth. “Big Switcheroo” Armchair Daffy is on the case, but Slippery Sal has messed with the armchair and has switched it out with a fake chair that controlled by a controller. But when Daffy finds Sal’s hideout he is able to get his armchair back and also takes Sal down and brings him to jail. “Hot Tub Snub” Elmer Fudd has belt a hot tub in his backyard on his doctor’s orders in order to relax and like always Daffy Duck ruins it by wanting to also soak in the tub, and after tricking Elmer several times and getting into the tub Elmer ends up turning the tub into a jail cell and traps Daffy in it in order to finally find his peace.

This is another fun comic featuring the zany Looney Tune character Daffy Duck and has him as always annoying the heck out of Elmer Fudd as well as solving crimes in his armchair and selling pans in the west! And in this issue the only two Looney Tune character to appear are Elmer Fudd and Petunia Pig and they both are used well and I really like the idea that Petunia Pig has a TV Cooking Show that has Daffy Duck as her assistant, imagine if this was a real show and Daffy would ruin the recipes as well as just shovel the food into his mouth. The best story in this issue is Rude On The Tube and is for the reasons I mentioned about as it really is a fun silly read. My least favorite is Big Switcheroo just a kind of un-interesting Armchair Daffy case that kind of puts along and has a payout that is kind of bland. The cover is good and has Daffy with pie on his face after he took a bite from one on Elmer’s window seal, and yep this never happens in the comic. The interior art done by Unknown Artist is good and I really like the way whom ever they are draws Daffy as well as Elmer Fudd. So with that let’s take a look at whats next for Daffy Duck in the next comic book.

Daffy Duck # 124 **1/2
Released in 1979 Cover Price .40 Gold Key # 124 of 145

“Tasters Choice” At a small diner a newspaper editor is worried as his food critic just quit and he notices Daffy Duck eating a ton of food and giving reviews of it to the chef and the editor finds his new critic! Daffy does a great job at the start and travels around eating all types of food, but after awhile Daffy is getting fat and brings in Tasmanian Devil as his assistant to help eat the food and that goes wrong when Taz destroys the dinning room of a restaurant and this causes Daffy to be fired by the paper and chased by Taz who is still hungry and wants to eat Duck! “The Missing “Missing Persons” Person” Daffy as his Armchair Daffy crime solver persona gets a case that takes him to a boarding house to find a missing Officer as well as a boarder of the place, but when he gets there the chair can not enter the haunted room were the people have gone missing from! Once inside Daffy solves the case as the officer and boarder fell into the caller via a loose floorboard. “Duck Calls” Yosemite Sam has decided to give up on sea life and has built a cabin in the woods to get away from stress and sound, but Daffy Duck shows up and makes all types of noise and this causes Sam to try and stop him from doing so. And when his attempts fail to keep Daffy quite Sam just leaves his cabin to return to life at sea, and Daffy takes over the cabin and enjoys the quite life. “Meteor Hunt” a scientist forces Daffy Duck to help him hunt for a fallen meteor and instead of finding the falling space rock, Daffy ends up ruining a group of friends beach clam bake when he thinks it’s the meteor that smoldering in the sand and his chased off by the angry friends.

A solid Daffy Duck kids comic here that brings the reader four tales featuring Daffy being silly, hungry and just plan old crazy! It’s always nice to see a crime being solved by Armchair Daffy and this one is classic Horror Comedy stuff as the missing people have fall through the floor and are stuck in the locked cellar, I mean come on this could be the plot of a Don Knotts film. It also was cool to see other Looney Tune characters like Yosemite Sam and Tasmanian Devil as they help add to the stories they take apart in. My lest favorite story in this issue has to be “Meteor Hunt” as it was just kind of bland and the pay out of Daffy ruining a clambake is kind of just lame even for kid friendly humor. Plus let’s be honest in that story Daffy is kidnapped and forced into help labor by a nut job scientist. But for me I would pick the story “Tasters Choice” as the best as I love the idea of Daffy Duck being a food critic for a big newspaper and eating like a slob and becoming fat and ends up on the dinner menu for Taz who Daffy was silly enough to bring in as his assistant to help eat and review the food. The art is great and like before done by an uncredited artist. The cover is cool and like most Looney Tune comics from Gold Key and Whitman what Daffy Duck is doing on the cover is nothing he does in the issue. Over all another great comic featuring Daffy and is a great read for fans of the character.

Daffy Duck # 126 **1/2
Released in 1979 Cover Price .40 Gold Key # 126 of 145

“Artsy Daffy” Elmer Fudd is near a pond trying to paint the landscape and Daffy Duck will not leave him alone as he wants to be in the painting, and after harassing Elmer who gives in and paints Daffy who in turn is annoyed by the painting as he thinks its bad. But while walking home a man buys the painting of Daffy from Elmer for $10.00 and claims that paintings of ducks are rare. Daffy says he will let Elmer paint him only if he allows him to eat everything in his fridge, Elmer agrees and after Daffy eats everything Elmer rushes outside to try and sell all his new paintings to people who seem to have no interest. In the end we learn that Daffy Duck paid the guy to buy the painting from Elmer in order to eat all his food. “Breakfast Blahs” Daffy Duck becomes a spokesman for a breakfast cereal and his commercial helps sell the food to the masses, but he is also forced to only eat the cereal for every meal and to make sure he does just that the company even hires a man to follow and watch Daffy to make sure the cereal is his only meals. But Daffy is able to get out of his contract as he finds out the dirty secret of the owner of the cereal company and uses it against him…the secret is that he eats another brand of cereal for breakfast! “Swamp Swap” Daffy is upset as the lake is now filled with swimmers and fishermen and he decides to find a new place to relax and that is a near by swamp. Once at the swamp he finds Elmer Fudd is there and is fishing and the two go back and fourth as Daffy ends up stealing food and now has to work it off by steering the boat, but after an accident the boat sinks and Daffy has to pull Elmer on a raft while he still fishes. “Just Plumb Daffy” A stamp collection worth thousands of dollars is saved by Daffy Duck and his monkey assistant M.W as they are plumbers and by doing this they get a big front page article in the newspaper. A criminal tricks Daffy to help him break into a house and search pipes for a coin collection, but when Daffy figures it out he and M.W alert the homeowner and stop the theft.

Daffy Duck as always brings us four more zany tales of silliness and like all before is a good kid comic read that brings the Looney Tunes world to the comic pages, and I do need to say that I feel as if they do an alright job at doing so…but the characters like Daffy and the others also do not 100% feel and act like the cartoon versions as these ones are way more friendly and Daffy is far less crazy and is really more about eating lots of food. And with this being a kids comic Elmer Fudd does not have his trusty shotgun and does a lot of kicking when it comes to getting Daffy Duck out of his way. And it’s also odd while characters are annoyed with each other they all also come off as if they are friends. And that’s the one thing about these Looney Tunes comics from the 60’s and 70’s they really are good kid friendly reads with characters that most of us grew up watching and while its not 100% like the cartoons they have a very familiar feel that makes them very much enjoyable to read. My lest favorite story in this issue was a hard one to choose as I enjoyed them all but the weakest of the stories is “Breakfast Blahs” as while it is entertaining the payout at the end is weak of the boss eating another brand of cereal is his dark secret. My favorite from this issue is “Swamp Swap” as I like the idea of Daffy and Elmer on a swamp trying to fish and run into issue with a ranger as well as Daffy’s hungry that causes them wreck a boat! The art as always in this series is done by an Unknown Artist and its good classic kids comic art and they character look like they should. The cover is good and has Daffy annoying Elmer and this act at least happens in two of the stories, even if it’s not the same way shown on the cover. Over all a great read and any of these comics are must have stuff for fans of Daffy Duck and Looney Tunes in general.

Daffy Duck # 136 **1/2
Released in 1981 Cover Price .50 Whitman # 136 of 145

“Demolition Duck” has Daffy Duck working for the demolition track as a janitor and after moping the floors in drivers dressing room the demolition derby champion trips and injures his back and Daffy is forced to take his place in the derby and wins it all. “Super Salesman” has Daffy selling Elmer Fudd a trick door that is suppose to scare unwanted guests away, and when Elmer buys it he chases off a game show worker that could have won him lots of money and of course Elmer is mad at Daffy! “Armchair Daffy’s Dilemma” has Armchair Daffy on a case when a Crime Boss goes after him for getting his gang all locked up, and he even messes with Daffy’s chair in order to get him out of the way so he can try and breakout his gang. But in the end it back fires and the chair ends up capturing Crime Boss and putting him behind bars. “Striking It Rich” Daffy sells out of pans in the Wild West due to a gold rush but a pair of robbers steal all of Daffy’s money as well as his donkey’s gold tooth! And both are not happy and once they find the robbers they get the money back and the donkey strikes gold and becomes super rich as due to his tooth he is sensitive to gold and that allows him to find it easy. “Ambition Nutrition” Daffy Duck is so lazy that his pond land is littered with trash and Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig and Petunia Pig try and ask him to clean it up and they can not get him to do so, the three end up going to a local scientist who makes a salt that will motivate who ever eats it and after tricking Daffy into using the salt on hamburgers he uses to much and is super motivated that he cleans the pond and turns it into a tourist attraction! But it’s noisy and annoying for all the neighbors and once Daffy gets lazy again when the salt wears off and Elmer, Porky and Pentunia decide to clean the pond themselves as a motivated Daffy is dangerous.

Daffy Duck is still going strong as this is another fun issue that as always takes Daffy on so many zany adventures and has him involved in some goofy moments. Plus this issue brings on the cameos from other Looney Tunes characters like Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd and Petunia Pig and they are used well as neighbors and friends of Daffy who are annoyed with his laziness. The best story in this issue is Demolition Duck as I like the idea of Daffy by accident hurting the Demolition Derby champ and having to take his place in order for the fans not to riot and ends up beating a challenger as well as win the event! My least favorite story is sadly Armchair Daffy’s Dilemma as the Crime Boss of Crime Co. is cool but also the story of his capture and being a thorn very briefly in Daffy’s side just is a little weak and I hate that Armchair Daffy is the weakest story again. The cover of Daffy holding onto a flying toy is cool and eye catching but as always has zero to do with any of the stories inside the issue. The Unknown Artist interior art is good and like I have said before captures the characters pretty well. So with that lets get to the next issue and see what Daffy has in store for us.

Daffy Duck # 137 **1/2
Released in 1981 Cover Price .50 Whitman # 137 of 145

“The Flying Detective” Armchair Daffy is back and this time is on the case of trying to stop a pair of thieves who have a flying car, and sadly the armchair can not keep up! So Daffy adds on wings and makes his armchair fly, but did not count on rain clouds that makes the armchair fall apart, but thanks to the springs from the chair Daffy bounces up and tags a ride with the car. And after shooting the robbers in the eyes with onion juice Daffy delivers them to the police. And in the end uses the reward money to rebuild his armchair this time with wings and an umbrella. “Eskimo Daffy” in this one Daffy is an ice cream man and an accident puts his igloo shaped cart into the water and people of the town think that he is from the North Pole and throw a big feast in his honor, but when his secret is exposed that he is just an ice cream man, Daffy is forced to run out of town and when doing so he and his cart crash into a limo that ends up saving the life of the Mayor as the rail sign was not working and the limo would have been smashed by the train! And Daffy then returns to the town as a hero and is selling tons of ice cream. “The Raindance Kid” has Daffy Duck as a pot and pan salesman in the old west and most towns are mad at him as his wagon makes all kinds of noise, but soon Daffy finds out that his banging of the pans causes rain and while in a town suffering from a drought he makes it rain and it will not stop and now the town wants him dead as the streets are flooding and the roofs are leaking! But when they soon find that the rain is causing gold to come up they forgive Daffy and end up buying all his pots and pans to capture the rain from the leaky roofs and to carry their gold. “Beaver Fever” has Yosemite Sam on the hunt for beavers as if he captures and kills them he can sell the fur for $30.00 each! So he sets some traps and Daffy Duck is here to save them as he uses Sam’s own trap against him and the beavers build a dame that sweeps his house away.

This Daffy Duck has four stories as well as two small one page gags given us a lot of Daffy for very small pocket change! Daffy in this issue once more is a duck of all trades as he is a rainmaker, an animal savior, an ice cream salesmen and a detective! The best story in this batch for me is The Raindance Kid as I like the idea of Daffy in the wild west and with his pans he is able to make it rain, very silly stuff and plus I am a fan of rain so Daffy being the bringer of it is silly funny to me. My least favorite is Beaver Fever just a middle of the road story and pretty gruesome for a kids comic ad Yosemite Sam wants to murder a whole family of beavers to skin them…pretty gross stuff for what is pretty much a light hearted comic issue. I also need to say I do enjoy reading the cases of Armchair Daffy as well as he is like a very lazy version of Sherlock Holmes, but yet is also very inventive when using his chair and making upgrades and repairs to it. Interior art is done by Unknown Artist and is good as always, and the cover is good and kind of at least fits the Wild West feel of one of the stories. Over all a great issue in the Daffy Duck comic series and had many enjoyable tales to share.

Daffy Duck # 139 **1/2
Released in 1982 Cover Price .60 Whitman # 139 of 145

“The Missing Moosehead” Armchair Daffy gets a case that takes him to a mansion where a mounted moosehead as well as a late night snack has gone missing! And as the owner goes to sleep Daffy sits guard and ends up finding a secret door and that the previous owner of the house is living in the walls as he is sad to have lost him mansion. In the end the new owner allows the old owner to live in the mansion as well and Daffy takes the moose head as payment. “The Clang-Bang Day” Tin Pan Daffy is arrested for all the noise his pots and pans are making as this old west town likes it quite, but also thrown into jail is a banker who has been stealing and hiding money from the safe. A pair of crooks bust Daffy out of jail thinking he is the banker and force him to show them were the money is hidden, and after leading them around he ends up using his pots to capture them and also uses the noise of his wares to annoy the banker who tells them were the money is hidden and leaves the town a hero. “Airmail Mallard” Elmer Fudd hires Daffy to deliver a poem to the wrong lady and after a second try he looses the letter and ends up writing a bad poem that coasts Elmer a date! But it works out for Elmer when he wins a free trip and Daffy is then paid to house sit and while there can eat all the food in the refrigerator. “Migration Tribulation” Daffy is flying across the ocean and is getting tired when he gets involved in hijinks as two pirates are in a sub and Yosemite Sam is on his ship hunting whales. But in the end Daffy gets both ships sunk and uses the sail to glade across the ocean. “Deputy Daffy” in this adventure Daffy becomes a Junior Deputy and annoys the town as well as Elmer Fudd, but when Fudd is robbed its Daffy who stops the crook and by the end Daffy becomes a Detective.

Well this is the final issue of Daffy Duck I have and I must say that this issue as well as all the others covered here on this update are just as fun as I remember them being from my youth growing up reading them. The thing about Daffy Duck as well as all the other Looney Tune characters is that they make great comic book characters as well and that is why they still make comic appearances from time to time as Warner Brothers and DC Comics both seem to agree. In these Gold Key and Whitman Comics they do a pretty good job of capturing the nature of Daffy from the cartoons but they do play down is zany crazy nature and add more of a food obsession to him and I get it as the comics needed to be a little more simple for young readers. And while Daffy is different from cartoon to comic he still is very much fun. The best story in this issue has to be The Missing Moosehead as this Armchair Daffy adventure is silly and has a haunted house feel and seeing the panel of Daffy zooming around the mansion in his armchair was great stuff. My least favorite story in this issue is Migration Tribulation as the story is weak, the payout bland and is a short filler story for sure. The cover is very cool on this issue and has Daffy being fired out of a circus cannon and he is scaring Elmer Fudd who is selling popcorn. The interior art is done by Unknown Artist again and is good stuff and fitting for this comic series and they do a good job of making all the Looney Tune Characters look like they should. Over all these Daffy Duck comics are great reads and if you are a fan of Daffy and enjoy reading comic books you should check these out as they are Daffy adventures that put him into more goofy situations than the cartoons ever did. Checkout the art below to see the work of the Unknown Artist and the style used to bring Daffy alive in these classic comics.

Daffy Duck truly is one of my all time favorite Looney Tunes characters and while his comics are not 100% like the character they are still great reads that really made me flashback to being a kid and reading them when I was a youngster. And while these Daffy Duck comics might not be the most amazing cartoon based comics you will ever read, they are entertaining and bring Daffy into adventures the cartoons would not take him on, in fact almost all of the Dell/Gold Key/Whitman comics based on Looney Tune characters are worth reading. Showcasing Daffy Duck was a great way to spend one of Rotten Ink’s 10 Year Anniversary updates with as Daffy really was a big part of my life growing and needed to be apart of the fun. And our next update takes us into the world of Jack “The King” Kirby and his DC Comics creation The Sandman, one that should be a blast to talk about. So until next time, read a Looney Tune comics or three, watch a cartoon or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next time for a chat in the dream world…or is that nightmare world.