Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Young Romance Comics - Funny Bunny - No. 141 April-May 1966

I finally found a reliable and affordable source of old romance comics and so we shall all now reap the rewards! This one grabbed my attention right out of the ol' comics discount bin. With the headline: She'll do anything to attract a man's attention! Read what happens to the girl they called... FUNNY BUNNY!, you know it's a good one. And Funny Bunny does not disappoint.

Funny Bunny - super freakin' on the outside; completely freaking out on the inside


The original manic pixie dream girl of 1966, Funny Bunny is a shy wallflower until she discovers the wild clothes of the sixties, and like, WOW!, suddenly no one can take their eyes off her. Especially the menfolk. But before we delve into the complex emotional soup that is Funny Bunny, let's explore what attracts me to old romance comics in the first place.

Drama!


Classic pop-art composition!



Delusional thinking verging on insanity!



And fonts!


Back to our story. But first a word from our sponsor: Heavy Legs.

Heavy legs—them's the breaks, kid

Parties are "dull as dishwater" until Funny Bunny makes an appearance. This is contingent on her wild, way-out womenswear and kooky hijinks, as evidenced here. Wearing a pale orange half-apron with big hand-pockets and posing like an ancient Egyptian hieroglyph is the secret to her social success.



But it wasn't always thus. Until Bunny found her inner fierce fashion diva, she was just a social misfit in sweater and slacks.



After donning her fashion-forward duds, she's able to attract the "one" true love of her life—this guy. Sixties-era romance comics tend to make the men bland and interchangeable. They often have forgettable one-syllable names and perfectly coiffed hair. Emotions are conveyed through eyebrows alone. This guy distinguishes himself by having a two-syllable name, Richy, but otherwise, he doesn't stand out as an actual human being in any "real" sense—that would be too scary! Anyway, Bunny comes across as extremely manic, or perhaps coke-addled, in the early stages of their budding romance. Richy's kind of like, "Huh, whatever," but things are going OK. At first.



Alas! Funny Bunny senses Richy is pulling away. No amount of picket-fence hopping or twirling tent dresses can recapture the magic they once shared!



And heartbreak is just around the corner.



Don't worry! It all comes out all right in the end. As Bunny puts on a plain lilac dress and quietly admits how phony she's been, Richy tells her she was trying too hard to hide the person he truly loves. They kiss in tremendous close-up. SWOON! But what about all those clothes? And what about all those parties?! It's going to be dullsville around here. I will miss you, Funny Bunny.

Yes—yippee!

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