Snagglepuss: The UNUSUAL DC, so unusual it might as well be Indy....

[matt levin]

(Sure, I posted this on the DC forum, but given how...unconventional this title is for DC, I figure it will far more likely be appreciated here!)

Are you reading this? Perhaps you can suggest an answer:

My question is, “Why Snagglepuss?” The world of Puss’s New York is the world of Joe McCarthy’s 1950s, in a slightly-Twilight-Zone dimension where actors in one of Puss’s highly successful theatrical productions wear ‘animal-snout masks’, and anthropomorphic characters mingle with ‘human’ ones on the sidewalks. No explanation given: this is simply the world of the story, catch up with it.

I like comics tackling politics and this clearly is going to be one: Snagglepuss is about to be set up for a career-crushing fall, pawn in a political ploy by those whose hopes lie with McCarthy. Here’s a comic with a character stating, “Every nation is a monster in the making,” and a story about to lead us through that truth.

I like intellectual comics; this one quotes Dorothy Parker, Lillian Hellman, and takes us through moments before the Rosenbergs are electrocuted, with bitter wit. With hope, the parallels between the 50s and the 2010s are clearly, but not bombastically drawn, and so far that hope seems a viable one. Artwork by Feehan, Morales, & Mounts is professional and clean, if not especially individual or striking.

But why Snagglepuss--? Is that DC, or writer Mark Russell, felt a straight-forward drama with an all-normal-human cast would sell only a dozen copies (as if Snagglepuss will draw in dozens more?) or that a political drama would only succeed as “parable,” Aesop-style fable? Whatever the reason, I hope this series lives up to its first issue promise and garners a lot of attention.

[seismic-2]

The idead of all the Hanna-Barbera re-launches was to put the characters to more interesting settings than just episodic sit-coms. Thus, Ruff & Reddy are a washed-up comedy duo trying to stage a comeback in 1950s television, and the Jetsons is a continuing sci-fi adventure series, albeit told with a light touch. Mark Russel's previous project before Snagglepuss was the 12-episode Flintstones, and although the characters went through the normal "Honeymooners'-style domestic problem of the day stories, in most of them there was a strong political background related to the class structure of Bedrock, the incompetent government structure, and an ongoing war with another tribe. Prior to that, Russel of course wrote the 6-issue (which was supposed to be 12, before DC pulled the plug) miniseries Prez, which was of course purely politics. It's his thing, and he's good at it, so of course Snagglepuss will be like that. As for why Sbaggy was chosen to be the character put into the world of closeted performers in 1950s New York theater, I can only assume it is because he always came across as an overly dramatic, flamboyant character who would fit in well in that setting.