here's me talking (or rambling) generally about the jb comics in cn starring/cartoon cartoons and block party. i'm not a huge fan of most of the stories. some of this is also more series bible talk except with a focus on bunny, johnny and suzy as opposed to just johnny and carl. also longg post underneath the cut. some scattered trivia and notes at the end too if you're interested in that sort of thing
(reblogging a cut-less version to @backdaft)
the most notable instance of bunny making johnny do chores is the beginning to "i, fly." we never really see it happening otherwise. however, this is a reoccurring theme in the comics. it also matches up with the pre-retool bible stating that johnny gets an allowance from bunny each week.
in most of the comic stories, bunny has a low tolerance for johnny's behavior and often threatens to kick him out and otherwise fully embodies the "aggressive nagging mom" trope. this is even noted by "charles d. brown," a fan that sent in letters. there's also a running gag in a few stories of bunny chasing him with a bat? that is completely absent from the show (and likely wasn't allowed even if they wanted to.) bunny instead takes the role of beating the tar out of any man that threatens her son. van's bible and the retooled version seem to be similar in the way bunny uses guilt to get johnny to do what she wants. that specifically was not a retool invention. although s1 bunny wasn't very fleshed out, nor did she appear a lot, van was planning to do more with her before he got fired. the retool was going to harness a much more edgy identity, so it makes sense.
back on topic: comics also feature certain panels such as bunny asking who would be stupid enough to give johnny a driver's license.
my biggest problem with these stories is how frankly miserable some of them feel. johnny and bunny's relationship is a big part of that. in the beginning to the smarty pants story, we see bunny pouring a super-sized box of antacid into her mouth as soon as she sees johnny hitting on a random woman, telling him that she's the "eighth 'betty' [that] week [he] decided [was] 'the one [for him].'" she then gives him genuine good advice that he doesn't follow, a la suzy.
overall, the amount of awareness bunny has just makes me feel terrible for her. what makes bunny work in the show is her pretending (or being blissfully unaware) that her son isn't as bad as he seems. like the rest of the cast, she's a very flawed person. the show works because johnny's friends are also fucked up in different ways without being the exact type of cynical that he is. characters like pops can be very, very mean to johnny, but characters like bunny carl and suzy have their mean moments as well. but some comic stories take this to an extreme and i think the show achieves a specific vibe of mean that mostly worked.
the world revolves around whatever johnny subjects his friends to, but they are his only support system. they feel like a group of horrible people that work well together, united by one idiot. i like that a lot about the retool, it's a huge reason why i got this into it in the first place. but, i love that there's a balance between, say, episodes like "johnny's guardian angel" that acknowledge how the status quo is johnny's fault or episodes where his friends don't care as much about him, and ones where they do and they pay for it. it's not too static. if you don't love one, you have the other.
retool bunny is notable because of the heart she brings to the table. again, she loves her son and will fight to protect him, she's way too clingy and longs for the past when he was still a child, she makes plenty of mistakes as a mother, but at the end of the day, you know she wouldn't threaten to kick johnny out on a daily basis or treat him like a total freeloader. either the retool or the comic writers misinterpreted what "bunny guilts johnny" was supposed to mean. for meaner jokes with her or carl etc., you could at least go "that's kind of funny in a dark way" or at worst "this feels ooc" and move on to the next episode. when we get the gist in the comics that bunny is always suffering this much, what joy is there seeing them interact?
the majority of the stories were not written by the show's writers, but there is a difference between comics and tv censors— comics seem to get away with more. some examples of comic writers taking advantage of this were funny, some were not. one example is in the "you cast a spell" story. i'll let you guess which panel. very S1 in nature, honestly.
(left) this one-page comic where it's obvious a woman hired actual hitmen to kill johnny after he stalked her is like... the show didn't do this because 1. again, i doubt they were allowed to and 2. it's uncomfortably realistic. the stalking part. i feel weird criticizing a one page gag like this, but the concept of hiring hitmen to kill johnny IS funny— and that very well could've worked in the retool's world, don't get me wrong— it's how it's executed. the bollywood movie did a better hitman/assassin type concept.
(left and right) much like bunny, johnny feels uncomfortably self-aware in ways he shouldn't be. "'sides, it's full of stuff the babes can throw at you!" this should not cross his mind. he'd likely tell you anywhere BUT some place that tongue-in-cheek. it's a very easy joke. "always be a gentleman on the first date, save the real you for later!" johnny doesn't play dumb or polite to deceive women, he's just a jackass. "charm school johnny" and "tyler perry's guide to love" are the main examples of this, as johnny can't be a gentleman (or pretend to know what one is) without someone guiding him along. CSJ is a cel-era S2 episode. johnny isn't smart nor devious enough at any point in the show to say something like this. his everyday self is wildly inauthentic as it is.
to me, it feels like these lack what really makes johnny funny when he IS funny. i can't tell if this is a misunderstanding of his character or if the bible was a bit off in terms of what retool johnny became. kupperberg's stories seem to have this problem the most, however... all in all, it kind of feels like an exaggerated parody of the retool and what could be viewed as its worst qualities
one of the other comics i found interesting was "go cart go," a story about suzy building a go cart for a derby and asking johnny for help. johnny uses a nickname for suzy as opposed to forgetting her name and otherwise acts nice to her. he kind of sees himself as a role-model to her, and he has a "tooth or consequences" style change of heart when he sees how sad she is after he enters the derby with his own cart. he cheats his way to get her to win. it's arguably the sweetest official johnny and suzy story i've ever seen and it was very likely an episode premise in the bible that got reworked into the aforementioned tooth fairy ep. johnny is completely selfless and it's played straight even when he gets beat up at the end. is it in-character? is the tone accurate to the show? not really, but it's really nice to see. i like it! retool johnny WAS supposed to be a "jerk with a heart of gold," it's just a shame we barely got that.
johnny uses a lot of "flirty" food nicknames. "pop tart" he uses at least twice. very much the same type of thing as "etruscan honey bun" from the gladiator short. definitely toned down in the actual show
like the s2 model sheets, master hama is referred to as 'master hong,' something that was likely changed early in production to lessen possible complaints of racism / (over)stereotyping
only two of the comic stories were written by one of the show's crew members (john crane.) partible pencilled for a comic / covers but wrote zero of the stories, even post-retool. retool-era storyboard artists such as dave schwartz (the man with the idea for a suzy spin-off / "the great bunny book ban," whom unfortunately passed in 2021) and neal sternecky pencilled a few comic stories. lovely work
unlike "johnny bigfoot," a john crane story, miss williams/winkleman is referred to as "miss butterworth" in "to sea or not to sea." further confirmation that she's the retooled version of ms. babe (suzy's teacher in S1), complete with johnny trying to woo her repeatedly— something he only does twice in the retool as she appears three times with two different designs and last names.
one penciller, anthony williams, was particularly on-model / used plenty of model sheet poses and expressions in the stories he illustrated. since none of carl's model sheets have been shared online yet, the williams-drawn comics are the closest thing we have to those.
besides the short bursts of "HUH?" bible-influenced moments with carl, he's written pretty decently in the comics. consistently. i like the majority of his appearances a lot.
in a car story, suzy gets jealous of a woman johnny persues. that sort of thing is absent from the show entirely— instead, she uses johnny and women to persuade him to take her places. suzy seems to have no hard feelings toward the women, not even in "rashomoron" (where carl is used to fulfill that purpose instead.)
