Summary
For close to a century,cartoons and animationhave stood alongsidecomic booksas popular pastimes for kids, giving them endlessly imaginative escapism. At the same time, comics have delivered consistently great entertainment, often crossing paths with these popular cartoon universes. With the likes ofDynamite Entertainment’sSpace Ghostshowing readers how great cartoon-based comics can be, it’s worth looking over the industry’s proud history of adapting ‘toons to comics.
Cartoon-based comic books represent some of the most enjoyable and nostalgic titles in print, reigniting the love of shows that date as far back as the 1940s. While some of these properties have been directly adapted to ensure verisimilitude with the original, others have been reimagined into entirely new ideas. These stories have reeled in new readers while also appealing to viewers of the original shows, and continue to demonstrate comics’ versatility.
10Looney Tunes Has A Great Ongoing Series
Based onLooney Tunes
Looney Tunestakes place in a whimsical world populated by anthropomorphic animals, with Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny standing out as the faces of the franchise. The same is true in theLooney Tunescomics, which continue to document everything from Wyle E. Coyote’s ongoing attempts to catch the Roadrunner to Western-style Yosemite Sam stories.
TheLooney Tunescomics' creative team includes Jack Enyart, George Wildman, Scott McRae, Ivan Cohen, Frank Strom, Walter Carzon, Sholly Fisch, Scott Gross and more.
The ongoingLooney Tunescomic book series holds true to the format of the series, following its creatures in an endless stream of adventures, rivalries and hare-brained schemes. The series has also played with parody of the likes of DC, with one story casting Daffy in the role of a duck Man of Steel, while also exploring his alter egos, like the Duck Dodgers. As a fun piece of trivia, due to DC Comics' New 52 relaunch,Looney Tunesis technically the current longest-running, uninterrupted DC title, having launched in 1994 and being spared the 2011 renumbering.
9DC Crossed Over With Hanna-Barbera and Looney Tunes
Based onLooney Tunes,The Flintstones,Space Ghost,Speed Buggy,Dynomutt & Blue Falcon,Hong Kong PhooeyandJabberjaw
In the late 2010s, DC launched a line of one-shot comics that united DC heroes with various Warner Bros. cartoon characters, namely those from the Hanna-Barbera andLooney Tunesuniverses. Among the highlights wereGreen Lantern’s team-up with Space Ghost, Jonah Hex’s encounter with Yosemite Sam and Martian Manhunter taking on Marvin the Martian.
Superman/Top Cat
DC’s crossover with Warner Bros' cartoonproperties brought a combination of serious stories and comedy, with creators like Tom King, Jimmy Palmiotti, Kelley Jones, Aaron Lopresti and more working on the initiative.More highlights of the crossover include Booster Gold traveling back to meet the Flintstones, an unlikely meeting of Joker and Daffy Duck, and the Martian crossover.
The Batman Vs Elmer Fudd Comic Is Surprisingly Dark (& Great)
The Batman Vs Elmer Fudd crossover special between DC Comics and Looney Tunes works surprisingly well. Here’s how the story plays out.
8Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries Is A Fun Detective Series
Based onScooby-Dooand Guess Who?
Scooby-Doohas been one of the most popular Saturday-morning cartoons on TV since the 1969 debut of the original series introduced the world to Mystery Inc. and their weekly cases. Due to their popularity, theScooby Doofranchise actually has one of the strongest footprints in comics outside of the core Marvel and DC Universes, with some 400 issues from various publishers, like Archie and Gold Key.Honoring a TV crossover from the 1970s, the gang were partnered up with Batman on a long-term basis forBatman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries.
Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries' creative team includes Sholly Fisch, Dario Brizuela, J. Torres, Ivan Cohen, Randy Elliott, Scott Jeralds and more.
Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteriesfollows Mystery Inc. in Gotham, where they work alongside Batman, as seen inScooby-Doo and Guess Who, and his supporting characters, like Nightwing.In the Dark Knight’s city, the teen sleuths are forced to reckon with the existence of very real monsters, from Solomon Grundy to Man-Bat, as they solve cases together. Considering how dark the mainBatmancomics are, this team-up provides some much-needed levity for the Caped Crusader.
7The Simpsons Has Received Mutliple Great Comics
Based onThe Simpsons
Set in the town of Springfield,The Simpsonsfollows its titular family as they navigate life, from work to school. The family is made up of the bumbling patriarch, Homer; the loving and organized homemaker, Marge; the intelligent and socially conscious Lisa; the mischievous Bart; and the innocent baby, Maggie.Surrounded by exaggerated yet familiar figures around town, the series casts the family in a never-ending cavalcade of absurd situations, often caused by Homer’s well-meaning but silly actions.
The Simpsonscomics' creative team includes Matt Groening, Cindy and Steve Vance, Bill Morrison, Todd J. Greenwald, Jeff Rosenthal, Chuck Dixon, Chris Roman and more.
The Simpsonscomicsrange from episodic issues designed to expand the show to the adventures of Bartman, Bart Simpson’s comic book superhero alter ego.The series has also done a great job of honoring the series' use of satire and parody, delivering sharp social commentary while poking fun at popular trends and franchises.
6Scooby Apocalypse Did What Velma’s TV Show Couldn’t
Based onScooby-Doo, Where Are You?
WhileMAX’sVelmahas been taking heatfor presenting viewers a twisted take on theScooby-Doolore, DC Comics actually beat them to it withScooby Apocalypse. Set in an alternate world to the main Saturday-morning cartoon, the series retells the origin of Mystery Incorporated.Reimagining Scooby as a lab experiment and Shaggy as the hipster who freed him, the book brings the five heroes together at the start of a monster apocalypse.
Scooby Apocalypse’s creative team includes Jim Lee, Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, Howard Porter, Dale Eaglesham, Ron Wagner, Rick Leonardi and more.
Scooby Apocalypsemerges parody with dystopiaas it reimagines a variety of Scooby characters as monstrous mutations, replete with a gun-toting Scrappy and hordes of zombies. The series isn’t just a fun horror book, it was actually worked on by prolific DC creators, including Jim Lee, Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis. As the friends navigate the hellscape wastelands, they form a tenuous friendship, with the aid of Velma’s scientific ingenuity and a hard-boiled Daphne.
Scooby-Doo Saved Batman’s Son in The One Story DC NEEDS To Tell
Batman’s son had to be rescued, in part, by the Scooby-Doo gang’s Mystery Machine, an untold story that DC Comics needs to explore in full.
5Justice League Infinity Continued The DCAU Story
Based onJustice League(2001)
The DC Animated Universe adapted some of the DCU’s best heroes to their own series, initially focusing on Batman and Superman in their respective shows. In 2001’sJustice League, the writers reimagined the origin of the JLA, uniting their two flagship heroes with Wally West, John Stewart, Hawkgirl, Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter.Despite not being the original Just League line-up, this roster became the favorite of a generation, and DC continued these adventures in comic book format.This culminated inJustice League Infinity, which returned to the franchise’s original seven for a multiversal adventure.
Justice League Infinity’s creative team includes J.M. DeMatteis, James Tucker and Ethen Beavers.
Justice League Infinityfollows the League as they explore the multiverse and take on the arrival of a dark Amazo, who has ascended to full goodhood. Ranging from a universe where Darkseid loved Wonder Woman to the fascistic Earth-X, the League teams up with alternate versions of themselves and take the fight to the villainous android. The series is packed full of well-delivered fan service, and is a true continuation of the DCAU.
4Kings Watch Reunited Three Pulp Hero Icons
Based onDefenders of the Earth
The world of comics may be known for superheroes like Superman and Spider-Man, but American comics actually started out with pulp magazine and newspaper strip heroes. Three of the most prominent of these wereFlash Gordon, Phantom and Mandrake the Magician. Under the ownership of King Features Syndicate, the heroes were given their own 1980s Saturday-morning cartoon show,Defenders of the Earth, which united all three into one team.While the series has gone overlooked by modern audiences, they were given a great reunion by Dynamite Entertainment:Kings Watchand its sequel,Kings Cross.
Kings Watchcomes from the creative team of Jeff Parker and Marc Laming.
Kings Watchfollows Flash Gordon, Mandrake and the Phantom as they take on a supernatural cult leader intent on transporting an alien menace to Earth.The miniseries — and its sequel — unites all the core elements of each character, from the sci-fi of Flash, the supernatural touch of Mandrake and the jungle adventure of Phantom. For fans of old-school pulp fiction, the two miniseries are brilliant windows into pre-Golden Age comic book heroism, and firmly surpasses its inspiration show.
3X-Men: The Animated SeriesBuilt a Comic Legacy BeforeX-Men ‘97
Based onX-Men: The Animated Series
As the 1992X-Menanimated series found success bringing Marvel’s mutants to mainstream TV, the publisher seized on its success.While the original animated-based comics were direct adaptations of the series, the company took creative license with the show’s scripts. The series primarily focused on the mutants’ fight against prejudice, and the rivalry between the main team and Magneto, while also fighting off the Sentinels. Later comic series such asX-Men ‘92would incorporate characters and stories introduced after the animated series ended.X-Men ‘92: House of XCIIreimagined the popular Krakoa Era of the X-Men in the style of the animated series.
Adventures of the X-Men
X-Men ‘97
Knowing that theX-Men ‘97revival would be a success, Marvel also launched a prequel comic book series, with Steve Foxe and Salva Espin working on the story and art. The series fills the gap between the end of the original series and the revival, taking the heroes back to the ’90s for fresh adventures. While the series is limited by the events of the show, it’s still a great companion book to the cartoon.
2Batman: The Adventures Continue Modernized The Animated Series
Based onBatman: The Animated Series
Batman: The Animated Seriesremains arguably the most iconic superhero cartoon in TV history, thanks to its dark stories, character studies and the voice work of Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill. The series follows the Dark Knight’s career as Gotham’s protector, where he takes on everything from his classic rogues’ gallery to werewolves and made-for-TV villains.
Batman: The Adventures Continue’s creative team includes Paul Dini, Alan Burnett, Ty Templeton and Jordan Gibson.
Batman: The Adventures Continuetakes the original animated series and brings it in line with modern-day DC Comics, introducing plot threads like Deathstroke taking on an apprentice and revisiting Roxy Rocket.Havingrecently concluded its third volume, the series is the best ongoing Elseworlds continuity, and is a perfect match for the original show.
Batman: The Animated Series
Cast
Batman: The Animated Series follows Bruce Wayne as he assumes the role of the masked vigilante Batman to combat crime in Gotham City. This acclaimed 1992 series explores his dual identity and features an array of iconic villains, while Bruce vows to avenge the murder of his parents.
1Future QuestTransformed Hanna-Barbera Into A Shared Universe
Based onSpace Ghost,Jonny Quest,The Herculoids,Moby Dick & the Mighty Mightor,Birdman & the Galaxy TrioandFrankenstein Jr and the Impossibles
As much as many people may look back on Hanna-Barbera with great fondness, very few of the company’s characters have actually endured.Fortunately, in DC’sFuture Quest, many of these characters were resurrected, being placed in a shared, pulp-inspired universe. There, the likes of Jonny Quest, Space Ghost, Mightor and Frankenstein Jr unite to protect their world from evil.
Future Quest’s creative team includes Jeff Parker, Evan Shander and Steve Rude.
Future Questdoesn’t just stand out as a fun superhero comic book series, it’s a masterclass in adapting even the most obscure cartoons into a brilliant universe. The series made Hanna-Barbera’s lost shows more relevant for a new generation, showing the full potential of the company’s history. Merging science fiction, adventure, superhero action and fantasy, the series is not only a great adaptation of ananimated series, it’s everythingcomic booksshould be.
