Thursday, October 11, 2012

"Porky Pig and the Mouse of Monte Cristo" ( Dell, November 1952)

Throughout the 1950's, the Western Publishing writers really seemed to enjoy putting Porky Pig in weird adventure stories. This was especially true in Porky's self-titled issues,like this one from 1952: "Porky Pig and the Mouse of Monte Cristo". It's not only longer than most Looney Tunes stories of the time, it's also weirder! Here we have Porky as a handyman hired by a rat who looks like Hubie, posing as the Mouse of Monte Cristo (a mouse who looks like Bertie) to build a brick wall to cover up a doorway. I won't give away the plot, but key elements include a giant cat named Satan and grapes drugged with a sleeping potion.