The Dark Knight will be gaining an unlikely partner when DC’s Batman/Elmer Fudd Special #1 hits comic stands later this month. Both DC and Marvel have a long history of entertaining crossovers involving their characters meeting up with other fictional heroes and villains. From the X-Men and Star Wars crossing over, to the Justice League and Power Rangers joining forces, both publishers have provided geeky fans with plenty of meta-entertainment over the years.
Recently, however, DC have emerged as especially adept at this. Along with the savvy move of pairing their titans with Saban’s heroes, Batman teamed up with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Moves like these not only merge two fandoms, but prove that each can still have fun and not take themselves too seriously. They’re also right up genre fans’ alley, as many a comic reader has wondered what it would be like for their favorite properties to join forces. The Turtles won’t be the only cartoons joining the gritty world of Gotham, however, as a stalwart Looney Toon is setting his sights on the Dark Knight.
DC Comics just shared the cover and a few pages from the upcoming Batman/Elmer Fudd Special #1 that will be on sale June 28th. In it, a grim-looking Elmer Fudd will turns his attention to the Bat in a noir-style book from writer Tom King and artist Lee Weeks. You can check them out below, along with a synopsis for the story:
Be vewwy quiet–we’re previewing the first noir pages of BATMAN/ELMER FUDD SPECIAL #1, out 6/28! pic.twitter.com/3FGRAL9PlU— DC (@DCComics) June 5, 2017
After a chance meeting with billionaire Bruce Wayne, multi-millionaire Elmer Fudd’s obsession quickly escalates into stalking Batman through the dark alleys and high-class social settings of Gotham City.
The new book will continue DC’s trend of pairing the dark and dour vigilante with colorful cartoons, providing a nice juxtaposition between the two very different properties. It’s not just Batman who’s joining in the fun, however, as DC and Looney Toons have a whole slate of crossovers officially in the works. Among the many intriguing team-ups are Lobo and Wile E. Coyote, Wonder Woman versus the Tasmanian Devil, and Martian Manhunter with Marvin the Martian.
Aside from the fun of seeing the characters join forces, the move will also we DC and Looney Toons poking fun at the concept of gritty reboots of childhood cartoons. It’s also a savvy marketing move as both as Warner-Bros-owned properties. If they’re successful, we could see future animated series or films play with the same concept. Perhaps some enterprising WB exec will even greenlight a film set in an alternate version of the DCEU, where Batman and Fudd team up to solve crimes. We can only dream.
NEXT: The 15 Best (and Strangest) Batman Comic Book Crossovers
Batman/Elmer Fudd Special #1 goes on sale June 28th.
