Retro UK Annuals: Bugs Bunny 1983

Along with the Tom & Jerry version, this was my very first annual I received on Xmas Day 1982. What I didn't know is that this would be the last Bugs Bunny annual to be published by World Distributors, who would finally give up producing classic cartoon annuals a year later, ending a golden era.

World published its first Bugs Bunny annual in the early 50's, but it was from its 1964 annual that it would publish a new book every year. Every book included reprints of American comic strip (licensed from Western Publishing), and most (including this one) also had short stories, jokes and even puzzles.

I'm proud to present the best bits of this fine annual. Unfortunately, my copy is long lost, and the one I later obtained has some bizarre tick marks (why?), which I'm only able to conceal on a few scans. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy reading them.

Front cover:

Back cover:

In this annual, there were three illustrated short stories, and the following is the first one, which I present in full:






This annual has plenty of puzzles, activities, and jokes. The former two were completed or had a few scribbles on, so I decided not to upload these. And most of the jokes are very painful (I like to know who wrote these), so here are the more bearable ones:



And, of course, I shouldn't forget to include examples of the American comic reprints included in this book. Here are the first pages of the first few:



And here's my favourite comic strip (in full), Power of Pizazz. I don't mind admitting that when I first read this, I had enormous sympathy for the alien "Bugs" when he exclaimed "This is food?" - I thought he was eating cauliflower!










More Bugs Bunny annuals will appear soon. Coming up next - Pink Panther!

Merry Xmas!

A very merry christmas to all!

And here's my present to you good folks: A Looney Tunes comic strip featuring Sylvester (TV Comic #1045, 25th December 1971). Artwork by Bill Titcombe.

Enjoy! Ho, ho, ho!

R&TVP Redrawns - Off To The Races (Ups 'N' Downs)

Firstly, apologies for the recent lack of posts, as I've been quite busy recently.

These series of R&TVP posts will come to an end today, partly because of problems with my Windows Movie Maker software, and also because I'm more keen on starting a series of posts about UK cartoon annuals and British versions of Tom & Jerry, Bugs Bunny, and Barney Bear comic strips. But I will end this series with a true WTF redrawn! I intended to post this as a big, surprising finale. but my uploaded copy was already discovered by a GAC Forum member ( click here! ). That'll teach me to upload it a day early!

Nevertheless, I'll present the most bizarre redrawn ever - Off To The Races.

This is based on Ups 'N' Downs, a 1931 Looney Tune starring Bosko. At first glance, it looks as if it is a better-looking effort compared to some of the others featured on my blog. That is, until the bad guy throws a grenade at Bosko and his mechanical horse, which then explodes. At that point, it gets really, REALLY bizarre - the ending is completely different to the original, with extremely crappy-looking original Korean animation, off-model characters, and, to add insult to injury, the original soundtrack is replaced by terribly-corny music (thankfully, it's quite brief). One may assume that the source material came without its ending, hence the entirely-new one!

For those of you who haven't seen either or both versions, I recommend seeing the original first:

Ups N Downs - Original
Uploaded by ldglover

And if you're brave enough to see this redrawn, here it is:

Ups N Downs - Redrawn
Uploaded by ldglover

That's the end of my R&TVP posts. I hope some of you enjoyed watching them, and to those who are now virtually blind after overdosing on these redrawns, I beg you to accept my sincere apologies (hee! hee! hee!).

Now, on to the annuals...

Tweety is a GIRL...

...well, according to Britain's TV Comic.

From the late-60's to the comic's demise in 1984, potentially thousands of young British readers were led to believe that Tweety was a girl (this was in the days before Warner Brothers started to market Tweety merchandise to girls, hence the current confusion), while children on the other side of the pond were reading the Dell Comics versions where the canary is clearly referenced as male.

Hard to believe, ain't it? But alas, I provide the proof.

Below are five examples of where Tweety is often referred to as a she. Enjoy or weep, it's up to you.

11/11/72
16/12/72

17/02/73

14/04/73

27/02/81

BTW, I will be posting more of these British LT strips in the future, along with the TV Comic versions of the Tom & Jerry, Pink Panther, Barney Bear, and Droopy comic strips.

R&TVP Redrawns - On Duty (One More Time)

On Duty is Radio & Television Packagers' redrawn version of One More Time, the third Merrie Melodie ever made (released 3rd October 1931), and the last to feature Harman-Ising's short-lived character Foxy. This redrawn was sourced from a silent print, so you don't get to hear Frank Marsales' music score performed by Abe Lyman's Brunswick Recording Orchestra to ease the pain of watching it!

However, if you like to watch this version with stock music and sound effects, here it is for your viewing (dis)pleasure (apologies for the sound being out-of-synch):

One More Time - Redrawn
Uploaded by ldglover

And here's the original in all its glory:

One More Time - Original
Uploaded by ldglover

R&TVP Redrawns - Ain't Nature Grand

And just when you thought I abandoned the redrawns topic for good...

(cue evil laugh): MWAHAAHAAAHAAAAAHAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!

Today's post is the Bosko short "Ain't Nature Grand". It's one of the earliest Bosko cartoons (can't pinpoint the release date, but it was released sometime in 1930-31), and is typical Harman-Ising fare.

Here's the redrawn version (in which the main body is complete and, with the exception of the end music, comes with its original soundtrack):

Ain't Nature Grand - Redrawn
Uploaded by ldglover

And if you don't want to watch the redrawn, or if you're looking for a comparison, here's the original (albeit a Sunset/Guild Films print):

Ain't Nature Grand - Original
Uploaded by ldglover

R&TVP Redrawns - Barnyard Frolics (Moonlight For Two)

Barnyard Frolics is a redrawn version of the WB Merrie Melodie Moonlight For Two, released in 11th June 1932. It is a typical early Harman-Ising cartoon, full of posing, dancing, and singing.

The print used as the basis of this redrawn is a silent version, so expect the corny music and sound effects added on by Radio & Television Packagers (which makes this version so awful it's strangely entertaining). Unfortunately, my copy has the audio a little out of synch. Enjoy (if you dare):

Moonlight For Two - Redrawn
Uploaded by ldglover

And of course, here's the original for comparison:


Moonlight For Two - Original
Uploaded by ldglover

R&TVP Redrawns - Country Boy Rabbit

As it's now Easter, what's better fitting than posting a cartoon starring some Easter bunnies? Well.....not Easter bunnies to be exact, but this redrawn does star a lot of rabbits!
Country Boy Rabbit is a redrawn version of the two-strip technicolor Merrie Melodie short "Country Boy". The source print used is an edited, possibly damaged B&W print - the charming opening song is incomplete, and it's missing the final end gag!
For your enjoyment (or disgust), I now present the redrawn:

Country Boy - redrawn
Uploaded by ldglover

And here's the complete original for comparison:

Country Boy - original
Uploaded by ldglover