***THIS REVIEW WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON THE NERD BLITZ PATREON***
What we have here is a comic from 1981 (though it strangely has a 1960 copyright).
That means it’ll be 41 years old by the time this review goes out to mark the 82rd anniversary of Bill Hanna & Joe Barbera’s creation of the characters.
Those numbers are mind blowing to me when I stop and think about them, that this duo has persisted for that long and through the multitude of shorts, series, and movies is impressive as hell given it’s just a cat and mouse endlessly beating the bejesus out of each other.
I’m curious to dive in and see how that translates to the page, as you’re bound to lose some of the dynamic nature of what makes the animation work so well in still images.
Shall we dive in and take a look?
As always, gang, this is one of those fancy pant ***SPOILER ALERT*** things you read about in them thar big city reviews.
Cover By No Credit Given: This is what I think of when I imagine old school kid’s comic covers.
Super simple, lots of color, familiar characters, no fuss or frills.
And I’m of 2 minds on it.
1. Again, it perfectly fits the period and is a great injection of nostalgia into my see holes.
But 2. I am on the record, repeatedly, and I know this is kind of unfair, as not really being a fan of featureless colored backgrounds.
I know it was the style of the day, but it’s just plain and boring.
So at best, I can say I’m conflicted on it.
Art By No Credit Given: It varies from story to story.
Some stories are perfectly on model and look like they are repurposed animation cels, while others are so off model that I was grateful the characters featured in each are credited at the top of the story so I can redraw them in my head and make it look right.
Story By No Credit Given: There are 8 stories here, including 2 4 panel strips on 1 page, and a prose story.
This actually reminds me of an Archie digest given the sheer amount of content included.
And that is not a bad thing!
One minor complaint I have though as that this feels a bit mislabeled.
This is issue 337 of Tom & Jerry, right?
They only feature in 2 of the 8 stories.
This is not a Tom & Jerry comic, but this is a MGM Cartoon showcase book!
I feel like, especially back then, that would have been a great way to sell it.
Sure, other than Droopy (who stars in the 2 unnamed strips), Tom & Jerry are the most famous and recognizable characters in this book, but it still feels a little weird.
Something else that is odd, and not necessarily in a negative way, is that this isn’t the violent “cat chases mouse” comic I was expecting.
It’s a battle of wits and one upsmanship.
It’s a clever twist to have these icons of brutality engage in what really boils down to a meeting of the minds and trying to outsmart each other.
The other characters featured here, just for any curious animation buffs like myself, are as follows: Spike & Tyke, Bertie Bird, Wuff The Prairie Dog, Barney Bear with Fuzzy & Wuzzy, & Droopy.
Now, technically, Bertie Bird isn’t a character from any of the MGM cartoons, but there is enough evidence to suggest he was either inspired by or inspired enough characters to still fit in.
The 2 Droopy strips feel the most like Archie digest pieces to me.
They are quick, dialogue-less, visual gags and both are good for a quick chuckle, and that’s all I need.
Something I have to point out that I just plain do not like though is having Tom & Jerry, in both of their stories, talking.
It didn’t work in that movie in 93 and it just doesn’t feel right in here either.
It’s odd that they would flat out give them dialogue instead of just thought balloons or something.
Don’t get me wrong, within the context of both stories, it works fine, but I just don’t like it.
All in all, if you dig those MGM cartoons, there’s no reason to not pick this up if you happen to stumble across it, though I wouldn’t go out of your way.
It has a great simple, stripped down, 60s comic feel to it.
Right down to the missing credits, which I must admit also bothered me.
I really wish WB, or whoever owns the rights to these books, would put out some collected editions or something just to get them out there again.
Though they are simple and may get a wee but repetitive after a while, it does it’s job and it does it well.
What more can you ask for?
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