...but this one has to be the wildest of all!
WTF?
If you're shaking your head in confusion, consider two things...
1) It was 1968 and "psychedelic" was IN!
2) This story, illustrated by Ernie Colon (though who wrote the tale is unknown), is from Bunny #4, Harvey Comics' 1960s attempt to expand their fanbase from pre-teens to 'tweens and teens...which has a fascinating back-story of it's own...
To most people today, the 'tween / teen comics scene begins
and ends with the
Archie Comics
line.
Archie, Jughead, Betty, Veronica, and the rest seem to be the
only non-super powered teenagers in the four-color world!
But it wasn't
always that way...
In the 1960s, when many comics companies flourished in the era of Pop Art
and "Camp",
every company had teen-age characters side-by-side with superheroes and spies!
Harvey Comics, had a teen line headed by a
female lead, rather than a male.
She was a doll...literally!
In 1966, a toy company wanted to launch a line of
Barbie
-type dolls, with the added kick of a comic book tie-in to boost public awareness in the same way the 1980s
GI Joe
series was co-conceived by
Hasbro and
Marvel.
Harvey's writers and artists worked with the toy company's staff on character development and storylines for the comic
and toys.
Like most
Harvey characters,
Bunny had an ongoing obsession--in this case with teen fads and trends...clothing, dances, hairstyles, etc!
Presumably,
this was to encourage doll buyers to pick up the newest clothing and
accessories the manufacturer could produce...after seeing them in the
comic!
However, before a single doll could roll out of the factory, the toy company collapsed!
The
Harveys (three brothers who owned and ran the comic company), not
wanting to let the already-prepared pages go to waste, decided to
publish the comic anyway.
It sold well enough to keep going for several years and produce a spin-off title,
Rock Happening, which serves as the basis for our own
line of Bunny-themed goodies!
Next Week:
We don't know yet what we'll present, but we can guarantee...
You'll Cry Your Eyes Out if You Miss It!
(Things are really getting juicy...)
And now a word from our sponsor...
