Lex Luthor/Porky Pig Special #1

Writers: Mark Russell and Jim Fanning

Artists: Brad Walker and John Loter

Inkers: Andrew Hennessey and Paul J. Lopez

Colourists: Andrew Dalhouse and Paul J. Lopez

Letterers: ALW’s Troy and Dave, and Wes Abbott

 

I’m not a fan of these Looney Tunes crossovers, save for the Batman/Elmer Fudd one which is one of the most brilliant issues of the past few years. Given that Mark Russell is writing this particular crossover, I had high hopes going into it and I’m happy to report that people should pick this up.

 

Russell is one of the best satirists in comics and he manages to expand the scope of this relatively simple-looking crossover between two unlikely characters. He manages to make this story about capitalist America mining the labour and resources out of people under them, and it’s simply brilliant.

 

I particularly enjoyed the way Russell wrote Porky. He obviously has his signature stammer which wasn’t as annoying as I thought it was going to be, despite me skimming through some of his dialogue as I got the gist of it, but his thought boxes are written in this exceedingly eloquent way which hilariously contrasts between the two types of speech.

 

Brad Walker tight weaves this piece that easily could have been entirely plot driven, and makes it his own. His expressions are top notch and this over-sized story doesn’t even feel as long as it does. Andrew Hennessey’s inking and Andrew Dalhouse’s colours solidify the piece.

 

The back-up has a funny premise but can be entirely skipped, as the main story is worth the cover price.

This is the Batman/Elmer Fudd of this year’s crop of crossover books. It’s hilarious and deep, and required reading. The art is fantastic and the back-up looks great.