Comic Review #48: Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew #6 (1982)

 

I've decided for the next little while I am going to review comic books that I had owned as a wee baby child. I collected Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, and X-Men so expect them to show up. I also ended up owning Archie and all kinds of other stuff. I didn't do much DC because Batman barely ever showed up in the comic sections of my local book store. Either that or they'd get bought out so quickly. I thought the rest of the DC Universe was "gay" because I was a dopey ten year old in 1995. Expect a lot of bronze and late 80s stuff because I would pick that stuff up the most. I will probably talk about some stuff made in like 1998 because that was a great era for a certain hero! I got a special TMNT comic coming up too! And some Simpsons! It'll be a fun time for everyone maybe even portnoyd. Probably not because he's a negative jerk.

I've also wanted to talk about this comic series for some time because I've gotten several issues now as an adult and I think they are wonderfully fun and charming and goofy. I'm pretty sure I got this in a 3 pack with Secret Wars II #8 (yes I'm sure I will read the entire story one day) and some other comic I can't remember. Any DC stuff that was in my collection was from these 3 packs. I think one of them was a Blue Beetle comic. It seriously wasn't much because sometimes I'd always try to see what all 3 comics were and only get packs where I was at least interested in two of them. I like how I can turn a simple memory in to a boring paragraph. I'm the best!

I must have read this comic quite a bit because it's stuck in my mind for the past 26 years (time flies when you're havin' fun!). I mostly remember the cover because it's pretty damn wild. The Zoo Crew having their asses kicked by the BUNNY FROM BEYOND. Anyway I think before we get to far into this thing I should talk to you fine people about who Captain Carrot and the Amazing Zoo Crew were. Well they first debuted in New Teen Titans #16 in 1982. Created by Rascally Roy Thomas and Scott Shaw! It stars Roger Rabbit (no really) a cartoonist who becomes Captain Carrot! The Zoo Crew were made up of Yankee Poodle, Pig-Iron, Fastback (can you guess what animal is the fast character??), Rubberduck (his alter ego is Byrd Rentals. I love it) and Alley-Kat-Abra the magic user! They were funny animal characters that fought crime as well you can tell. The stories took place on Earth-C and I miss when DC Comics had alternate earths. Getting rid of them was no good.

Now let's talk a bit about the creators because well that's what I usually do Roy Thomas was a fan first and even had an zine out there called Alter Ego in the 1960s and that he brought back. I have a few issues we will probably review them! Why not! I enjoy spewing my thoughts on things to an uncaring internet. Anyway he became Stan Lee's right hand man in about 1965. He then go to write for the  Avengers, X-Men, Conan, got them to do a Star Wars comic, and the concept for What If? So Roy's got some stuff behind him. He moved to DC in around 1980 I believe and did All Star Squadron which is a great comic book. I like Roy. I think he does good comics most of the time. Scott Shaw! has worked in comics and cartoons. Like the Flintstones and The Completely Mental Adventures of Ed Grimley (yes the Martin Short character got his own short lived cartoon and yes I'm sure I'll discuss it) and in comics on Sonic the Hedgehog as the first artist for that comic! I like his art in this comic quite a bit. It's very cartoony and that works for this comic.

I think it's finally time I get into the actual comic book here and now because why not? This comic starts off with them talking about what happened in the last part. Yes this is a two parter and I'm only reviewing part two because that's the one I had as a kid. I also forgot that it was a two parter. The prior issue involved fighting alien egg yolks from Easter Bunny Island (I told you the jokes in this comic were goofy!) and they learned that there were more alien egg yolks in Washington and that Baron Von Vermin was behind it. He's a Ratzi. You know a Rat that's also a Nazi. He had found the alien egg yolks before. They all stop the Egg Yolks from harming people and the president Mallard Fillmore. They then go back to Easter Bunny Island to help find a coffin that contained THE BUNNY FROM BEYOND. They are doing this because they think that he'll get rid of the Egg Yolks. I mean he does do that but he also turns Baron Von Vermin into a rock statue. Oh this comic also has Oklahoma Bones and Whipley the snake that acts like a whip. I think he's a chipmunk or something. Anyway he's Indiana Jones as an animal and he was pretty big in part one of this story I'm guessing but he kinda gets thrown to the wayside in this one. I did feel like I had to mention him though.

Captain Carrot and the Amazing Zoo Crew don't like that they turned Baron Von Vermin into a rock statue because they are for justice and feel that people should get a fair trial. They fight the BUNNY FROM BEYOND and he is not a fan of that so he quickly beats the crap out of them all and puts them in his spaceship which materializes out of nowhere. They are all put in capsules that will keep them from using their powers. Like Alley-Kat-Dabra is stuck in a capsule that plays nothing but disco music. I found that amusing despite the fact I like disco music. It's radder than you think jerks! Anyway Captain Carrot needs to eat a super Carrot to get his powers and he turns back into regular old Roger Rabbit. As Roger Rabbit he tries to mess with THE BUNNY FROM BEYOND and gets his butt kicked. He then decides to eat another carrot and become Captain Carrot while THE BUNNY FROM BEYOND isn't looking. He gets a good hit on him and then twists the two antennas on his head around and when the BUNNY FROM BEYOND goes to use them he blows up. I guess THE BUNNY FROM BEYOND doesn't get a fair trial. Just death.

This comic also has a second story which I shall tell you all about because why not I want to make this the longest review I've ever done because I think that's funny. The second story starts sometime after this story but before the next issue. It has Captain Carrot run-flying around. It's weird and hard to describe really. It's funny though. I like that. He's talking about how he needs his Cosmic Carrots to turn into Captain Carrot and how he should be careful about the carrots being eaten by anyone else. He goes back to his job. We go to the same building and find a Mole janitor who got fired for literally jabbing that thing you use to pick up paper into his boss's foot. He then ends up eating a Cosmic Carrot and turns into DIGGER O DOOM. I don't know why he's now Irish but hey. Digger O Doom then decides to go after his bosses because he didn't know his foot was there! Of course Captain Carrot and Digger O Doom fight until Digger O Doom loses the power from the Cosmic Carrots. There's not much to describe with this little story but it's still a fun addition to the overall comic. 

FINAL VERDICT: I enjoyed this comic as a kid and was one of the few DC comics that I did. I still enjoy this comic as an adult. It has lots of fun action, art and is a good pick up for your collection. I don't think I paid more than a dollar for my copy and any of the issues I have. I might even come back to this series for more reviews but I got like 320,000 things I've already talked about doing first. I'm gonna be a busy boy!