It’s the meeting of two bald gents, with DC’s release of Lex Luthor and Porky Pig!
In this crossroad meeting of DC Comics’ Lex Luthor and Looney Tunes’ Porky Pig, how will the characters fare? And is the book a must buy, or is it just ‘fair’? Let’s have a look inside, shall we?
First, the cover sets the tone: Evil Lex is either giving bald Porky a haircut or just swinging a straight razor around his head; you pick! Lex is in a plaid suit, while Porky, looking highly humanized, is a portly gentleman in a blue suit, with red bowtie and socks. It’s all kind of sinister.
The uneasy tone carries on inside, in the book’s first story, Employee of The Month. It seems Porky, a former millionaire on the stock market, is in desperate shape: he’s broke! Time for a job working for Lex Luthor! Writer Mark Russell and penciller Brad Walker, inker Andrew Hennessy, and colorist Andrew Dalhouse combine forces to capture the dark-toned story of corporate evil. It’s shenanigans for sure, but with a realistic visual style. The humans look human, the buildings look like buildings, and well, Porky looks like a strange little-humanized pig in a suit. Sorry.
It’s a sad and unfunny tale of these two characters, with special cameo appearances by some familiar faces. But not anyone’s finest hour.
Second, “Lex’s Next Appointment”, written by Jim Fanning with John Loter on pencils, Paul J Lopez on inks and colors, starts off better. The drawing style is a lot more cartoony, more of what we are familiar with from the Bugs Bunny animated shorts. It’s the ‘real’ Porky, yay! In this Looney tale, Porky is a salesman, intent on selling some products to Lex Luthor. But Lex has high sales resistance and has his own conversation in mind. Quite amusing, and fun to read. This story has a better feel for the characters and still manages to pay tribute to both DC Comics and Looney Tunes characters.
It’s a mixed bag. Two stories, diametrically opposed in tone and feel. And That’s All, Folks!
DC Comics, Lex Luthor, and Porky Pig, $4.99 for 39 pages of content, Rated Teen
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