“Yesterday’s” Comic> Animaniacs #35

Don't worry, the real one shows up.

Animaniacs #35

DC Comics (March, 1998)

Based on the TV series, Animaniacs is an anthology title, with three stories much as the show had three stories per episode. I’ll be honest: I just wasn’t a fan of the series as whole. The title characters hit and miss with me depending on the episode, but while I admit there were segments that I did enjoy, there were also ones I hated. So I never bought the comic, except for this issue, which guest-starred Freakazoid and Cosgrove in the main story.

“Tour DeFreak” has our heroes on a Warner Bros. Studio tour that the other Warners keep pestering. Dot fall for Freakazoid (who has a girlfriend, as fans know, and is thus uninterested), and the two must team up when the Lobe takes hostages from the tour after the studio rejects his TV show idea. Jennifer Moore & Sean Carloan are the writers, and get all the characters correctly as well as breaking out some great movie parodies. Leonardo Batic on pencils and Scott McRae on inks (they also do the cover art) draw them in keeping with the show. It alone is worth getting the comic.

Remember the segments I said I enjoyed? Slappy Squirrel wasn’t one of them. A lot of her targets didn’t deserve it and it just reminded me of characters in those old cartoons (which she represents) that should have gotten what they deserved but didn’t because they were the “hero” of their production. (Jerry of Tom & Jerry comes to mind in certain stories.) “Move It Or Lose It” is more of the same when Slappy and her nephew Skippy (who is actually more enjoyable to me, which should tell you a lot about my tastes) move into the “Home For Financially Strapped Cartoon Stars”, where a lot of her former opponents, plus a Popeye knockoff, have to endure her punishment for no reason. If you haven’t guessed, I hate this story, which means Bill Matheny got it right. Scott McRae returns on inks, this time with Horacio Saavedra on pencils and they do a great job.

One of the segments I enjoyed, and I’m not sure why since it was the same gag every time, was Chicken Boo, so when they combine it with Doctor Who for “Doctor Boo” in a comic with Freakazoid, you know I’m in. Sadly, it’s only two pages long, giving me another reason to hate Slappy Squirrel. Jeff Suess still gives us a good story. Omar Aranda on pencils and Horacio Ottolini on inks could stand to learn how to draw a Police Box (or at least something reminiscent of one compared to whatever that is the “Doctor and his unnamed companion climb out of), but otherwise it’s a nice little parody.

So the comic is worth it for the Freakazoid story alone, and I wish he had gotten his own comic. The Doctor Who parody is a nice bonus, but Slappy can sit on a landmine for all I care. She doesn’t ruin this comic, though, and I recommend it for Freakazoid fans. Mostly because it’s the only comic we’re getting.