VOICE FROM THE LONGBOX

As a kid, I never read funny animal comics. NEVER. I was the superhero kid. From day one, I knew where my allegiance lay: the spandex crowd. I chose the genre that was larger than life. I took offense when I told my friends that I was a comics fan and they assumed woodpeckers and roadrunners. As I said, I never read funny animal comics. Well,.. except one. Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew debuted in 1982 with the tagline, \"Not just another funny animal comic!\" And it wasn\'t. This was a superhero parody, but it was more than just a spoof. Every page and panel was loaded with more puns than the best episode of M.A.S.H.. In an attempt to stop a radioactive meteor from striking the Earth, Superman intercepted it, which caused it to break into six pieces. The resulting explosion also sent him and the fragments hurtling through the dimension barrier into a universe whose Earth followed a different evolutionary track. Earth C featured ALL animal species as part of an intelligent civilization. Superman and Captain Carrot rushed to the U.N. (United Nature, of course) in Gnu York City to save the day. The other meteor fragments landed in other parts of the U.S.A. (United Species of America) such as Piggsburgh, Mew Orleans and Bel-Airedale. In typical comic fashion, each new hero joined the herd and shared an origin story. From Kornsas came Fastback, a super-speed turtle. Alley Kat Abra was a feline sorceress. From the West Coast, Rova Barkitt was transformed from gossip columnist to Yankee Poodle. Byrd Rentals was a popular Follywood movie star, which was nothing compared to his new role as Rubberduck, the self-proclaimed malleable mallard. After joining forces and defeating Starro the Starfish Conqueror, the Zoo Crew tackled such foes as Armordillo, Frogzilla and Cold Turkey. They even faced a Wuz-Wolf, which was (of course) a wolf who lost all his fur during a full moon and became a man. My favorite story was a two-parter where the Crew teamed up with members of the J.L.A. (Just\'a Lotta Animals) such as Super Squirrel, Batmouse, Green Lambkin and Wonder Wabbit. I understand that these comics may not be for everyone. However, maybe they should be. They don\'t take themselves very seriously. Which, if you think about it, is the way comic books should be. If you ever find one when digging through a back issue bin, try it. Who knows? You just may have some fun.