Previously in one of these things I expressed my strange and unconditional devotion for the Hanna-Barbara characters, so it should surprise no one to discover this goes double for The Looney Tunes gang. I can’t exactly say Porky Pig was my favorite growing up — it was more like I admired his impressive body of work and respected him as an artist. Everybody (with any sense) wants to be Bugs Bunny, but it’s hard to not empathize and sympathize with Porky. Especially when you’re a shy, timid fat kid.

You certainly have got to admire the way he broke out of a pack of unknown toons in the short I Haven’t Got A Hat (decades later, for no good reason, I still find myself trilling “I’d tip my hat to you/I truly would/I’d tip my hat to you — but I haven’t got a hat”) to become an exceedingly unlikely star. Unlikely because from the vantage point of the early 21st century it’s kind of hard to see exactly how a certain cuteness, stutter and a catch phrase (if you are too young to not know it I don’t wish to know you) translated into high wattage star power.

And when the resident zanies Bugs and Daffy eclipsed that stardom he effortlessly and without complaint transitioned into a strong utility player. He didn’t even seem to mind becoming Daffy’s sidekick, someone who he was once equal partners with.

Like a lot of fading Hollywood stars of the 30′s and 40′s Porky once again found stardom on television in the 60′s. I have to admit I fondly remember watching some of his early shorts for the first time on The Porky Pig Show. Even if the newly animated opening sequence was drawn with him looking dangerously off model; either that or must have really let himself go.

He also had a solid career in comic books, proving himself surprisingly effective as a comedic action hero, as seen here in his frequent appearances in Four Color Comics. Not to mention a romantic leading man; unlike Bugs and Daffy, Porky had a girlfriend.

Entirely by accident I stumbled across this copy of Porky Pig #1, his first issue published by Gold Key. As previously established I know diddly squat about funny animal comics so the fact I don’t have any idea who wrote or drew it’s contents is no surprise, but even the Grand Comic Book Database (blessings be upon it) doesn’t know. Each story in it contains the declaration “Reprinted By Popular Demand”, which undoubtedly means its a reprint of a Dell comic book, but so far I haven’t been able to track down where it originally appeared.

The cover featured story from Porky Pig #1 is “Porky Pig and the Mouse of Monte Cristo” though the scene depicted is actually from Poe’s ”The Cask of Amontillado”. The mustached mouse forcing Porky to brick himself into a wall is I believe Hubie, from the comedy team of Bertie and Hubie. I am of the opinion that this is seriously messed up (I mean, look at the expression on Porky’s face).