Robo-Rabbit was a creation born out of failure. As a kid of the 90s, Wolverine was the coolest comic book character ever. Sure, my first obsessions were Spider-Man, Superman, Batman, the Hulk and even the Flash, but Wolverine represented a new kind of hero and every kid my age thought he was the greatest. During this time, drawing and doodling was something I was doing on a regular basis. Obviously, trying to draw Wolverine would be the thing to do. The problem I had was he never looked right to me. At this point, my artistic abilities were quaint at best. I would practice often drawing whatever I was into at the time. But people were difficult to draw correctly. And trying to draw Wolverine and make him look cool was an even harder task. Eventually, my frustration led me to drawing a very abstract image in the vein of Wolverine. It was in that scribble that I saw something else.
THE ADVENTURES OF ROBO-RABBIT
I began drawing a mechanized humanoid rabbit. I’m not sure why THAT was what I saw, but it was. After drawing this new hero, I had to give him some villains. Before long, he had an entire rogue’s gallery of animal-based enemies with one exception. With all the pieces in place, I decided to write The Adventures of Robo-Rabbit.
While writing a story wasn’t anything new to me, I believe The Adventures of Robo-Rabbit (as I affectionately refer to it) was the first comic series I started writing from scratch. Stephen’s Wacky Maze did not start as a comic but gradually became one. The Battles at Fort Destruction would have been developed and written soon after.
This is the story of Robo-Rabbit, as stated at the top of the first page. We waste no time and are immediately introduced to Robbie Rabbit, who has to help with an Easter egg hunt. I guess Easter would be a big deal in Rabbitville. Yes, Rabbitville… I was a kid. Leave me alone. Anyway, after downing a fresh (and we would assume scalding) cup of carrot coffee (because rabbits…), Robbie meets up with his mother to hide eggs. Robbie quickly hides his eggs but stumbles upon a mysterious cave when trying to hide the last one. Inside, he finds a giant container that he opens by busting the lock with a rock. Inside the container was a armored rabbit suit. Upon seeing this, Robbie has the idea that everyone else would have: become a superhero. So, he takes on the moniker of The Masked Rabbiteer and fights crime.
Now, I could have focused on that portion of his life for a bit longer, but I had no time for that. These were the adventures of Robo-Rabbit, not this Rabbiteer fella. So, within one single page, Robbie became a hero and then was blown up by a bomb. As Robbie was rushed to a nearby hospital that luckily dealt with cybernetics, the doctors quickly began work on his new body. Meanwhile, his nemesis was being built by Doctor Longnose, at least that’s what we’ll call him. Why was he human? No idea. Why did King Computer Crab kill him instantly? Because he’s an evil robot. Duh. Because of that, he decides to build his own robot army, but to do that, he needs some of that green.
So, as Computer Crab begins his life of crime, Robo-Rabbit begins his life as a hero. It was a quick apprehension via Carrot Missile. I’m not sure why everything had to be carrots. Rabbits, probably. I also added a strange embellishment to Robo-Rabbit where you could see him smile. I would not approach it like this today, but I think I did this because I was not talented enough to come up with a better way to convey it.
And since I didn’t know how to properly lay out my comics (and because I was trying to utilize every inch of the page), the second story begins on the same page that the first one ended on. In issue #2 (as we’ll refer to it), RR fights Snake Sensor. I’m not sure why that was the name I settled on other than it’s the only tech word I could think of that started with “S”. In this story, we see RR at the bowling alley because why not. Furthermore, we see that he now has the Rabbit-Mobile even though we establish in this same issue that he can fly. Computer Crab also now has his own mad scientist castle. Plenty of Mega Man influence here. So much so that after RR destroys Snake Sensor, Crab takes off. But hey, “Robo Rabbit will now try to find Computer Crab and destroy him.”
In issue #3, we get a sneak peek at some of the upcoming villains I had in store for RR. We then see RR in his new flying jet, The Carrot Wing… even though we established he can fly in the last issue. Anyway, he finds Crab’s new castle, currently under construction. Not sure why Robo calls him “claws” though. RR goes in guns, well missiles, a-blazin’! He is then attacked by Walrus Wire who had chainsaw fins, if that’s what you call walrus feet. Ultimately, this confrontation came down to magnets because Walrus Wire traps Robo to a giant magnet and bites off his hand, but then RR uses his own magnet to turn off the big magnet. He then push Walrus Wire into the big magnet and turns it back on. Thrilling stuff! Then, after Robo escapes in this Rabbit Mobile (not the Carrot Wing that he came in), he has one last fight with Walrus Wire on top of the Rabbit Mobile. At least, that’s what I assume. I also assume that Robo electrocuted Walrus Wire with his nub which, in turn, caused Walrus Wire to cut off his own head. Makes sense.
But stay tuned because “the next battle will be great the second best battle till the Last! Till then.”
Being a kid of twelve, story writing wasn’t my strong suit, as you can see. Obvious influences on how the story was being presented were Robocop and The Six Million Dollar Man. Since he was already a rabbit, I figured he would live in a world full of rabbits, making the world he inhabited an alternate version to ours. That said, the man responsible for creating the villainous robots was human. Why? Not sure. It feels like an avenue I should have pursued for the sake of the story. In any case, he didn’t last very long after creating the lead villain Computer Crab.
Issue #4 kicks off with Robo-Rabbit on his way to meet with “the doc.” This was meant to be the doctor responsible for creating RR. Even though I never wrote anything beyond this scene, the doctor was meant to be who Robo would go to for repairs and upgrades. Here, he is swiftly presented with the Carrot Sword. I know… After some quick training, Robo-Rabbit is ready to put his new blade to work. But not before heading home for a nap and dreaming about future events because that makes sense, right? I would really like to talk with myself at this age to understand the logic behind some of these choices.
Anyway, after being awakened by this nightmare, Robo-Rabbit decides to go for a walk. Little does RR know that this was the opportunity two new villains were looking for. Bird Bomber and Torch were meant to be a duo in which one would drop bombs and the other would light the bombs… you know, because bombs were only these round objects with a fuse. And such bombs couldn’t blow up a house that someone could have been sleeping in… Anyway, a fight with Bird Bomber and Torch ends as quickly as it began with Torch dying because.. Robo-Rabbit deflected his fire back at him?? And before Torch dies, he tells Bird Bomber to go recruit his cousin Fire Fly because vengeance must be taken.
After some simplistic explaining, this newly formed duo return to finish the job. Unfortunately, they are no better as RR cuts off Bird Bomber’s wings this time. Luckily, Fire Fly was prepared with a piece of string he tied to himself and Bird Bomber that he uses to quickly remove them from the fight. Fire Fly goes straight to Computer Crab who gives them an upgrade. This raises a question (at least for me) as this establishes both Bird Bomber and Fire Fly as not being fully formed robots, but cyborgs. So do bird and fly people live in this world as well? We don’t have time to look into it.
The upgraded duo go after Robo-Rabbit yet again, but this time get the drop on him and blow up The Rabbit Mobile. Luckily, RR always has a vehicle waiting on standby as he returns instantly with the Carrot Wing. The following fight scene is hilarious to me as Robo-Rabbit expertly cuts off the hover plates from Bird Bomber’s wings, which causes him to crash land into an electric fence below. We know this because it is noted in the panel, as is the slab of pavement in which Fire Fly falls and obliterates into after being doused with water. It was in this moment Robo knew “crab must DIE.”
Issue #5 kicks off with RR acting as a lifeguard, swiftly saving a bunny from a sharp serrated rostrum. He then quickly heads underwater in the Carrot Marine (sigh). Now, I know nothing about marlins, so my influence for the Maniac Marlin was clearly Jaws. Meanwhile, another of Crab’s henchman known as Motor Man, is out robbing more banks. It’s the only crime they know. I always liked Motor Man’s design, but I never could come up with a good narrative for him. Any of them if we’re being honest.
This one is equally confusing as a new hero calling themselves The Masked Rabbiteer appears to stop Motor Man. Motor Man goes back to Computer Crab and takes off his mohawk(?) saying, “it didn’t work,” leaving us with no context about what it did. Then while Robo-Rabbit is still fighting Maniac Marlin, the Masked Rabbiteer finds Robo’s doctor, asks for a spare Robo-Rabbit suit(??), which he then uses to replace all of the outer pieces of Motor Man to make him look like Robo-Rabbit(???) I can’t explain how my brain got here. And THEN the fake RR is immediately faced with the real one as soon as he arrives on the dock. The real RR tosses the fake RR into the water where Maniac Marlin stabs fake RR/Motor Man and electrocutes himself in the process… wow… After a quick thank you and a moment of PTSD, we see that Computer Crab is done playing around. It’s time to unleash the secret weapon.
The final page is interesting as I laid out several upcoming plans in the outro. I wish I had dated it for context. In any case, it reads, “Well, as you heard, Computer Crab is going to use Robo-Rabbit’s twin, Robo-Rabbit II, to kill him.” He didn’t say that so I’m not sure why I said he did… anyway, “After the Robo-Rabbit battle, you will see the team-up of the century. Stephen White and Robo-Rabbit team up to destroy Robo-Rabbit 3.” Why would I spoil that here?? Continuing on, “And that will be the last appearance by Robo-Rabbit until a new comic! Remember to look for TASDEVILS 2020 and Bloodsuckers and Bloodsuckers 2! And now Lightning Bolt and the Ghost Kid.” There is also a faint remanent of a credit that reads, “Creative consultant: Micheal White”. Not sure why I credited my bother, but there must have been a good reason.
Keeping in line with the ridiculous names, every villain had to have names like that: Sensor Snake, Disk Drive Dog, Fire Fly, Bomber Bird, Maniac Marlin, Wire Walrus, and Motor Man. Honestly surprised I remembered them all. And I am pretty confident the naming process was inspired by the Mega Man series. Each entry of the original series saw Robo-Rabbit tussle with one of these creations before finally facing off with his doppelganger Robo Rabbit II then the devious Computer Crab. I’m not sure why he became the head villain. It just seemed right somehow. Robo-Rabbit defeats them and that’s that.
We pick up right where the last story ended with Computer Crab ordering the activation of Robo-Rabbit II. Its sole purpose is to kill Robo-Rabbit. We also see that RR has a new set of wheels that hovers. Many will point to the blatant plagiarism of the idea of flying cars seen in Back to the Future part II. While there is some truth to that, the real reason I would typically draw flying cars is because I hated drawing cars. I never could make them look right. So I went with more futuristic looking vehicles. This one, in particular, foreshadows another future design.
RR hauls ass to Computer Crab’s all-new castle that looks very similar to his other castles. He blows down the door and immediately dispatches Disk Drive Dog, another villain I never developed a solo outing for. RR confronts Robo-Rabbit II and even tells him he has had a dream about him, which leads to a very lame comeback. RR2 cuts off RR’s Carrot Sword then straps him to a table where RR2 proceeds to cut RR into pieces. The parts are then sent to RR’s doctor, who never gets a name by the way. Now, why the villains would do this is beyond me. I was clearly inspired by the scene from Robocop 2. What wasn’t inspired by that movie was Computer Crab ordering RR2 to “go rob some banks for awhile.”
After some time (we assume), Robo is apparently feeling better, despite still not being fully repaired. He states his intention to leave and puts himself back together, thus rendering the doctor useless. Might be why we don’t see him anymore after this. RR goes immediately after RR2 and Round 2 ensues. RR comes in with a straight left jab with RR2 countering with his spring leg. I think I was aware this shit was ridiculous. RR2 then uses a jetpack to fly (how novel!) towards RR and knock him down. But before RR2 can finish him off, RR uses a cable that came out of his spiked bunny tail that is able to turn off RR2. One design flaw Computer Crab needs to address is the very accessible ON/OFF switch on all of his robots. RR reprograms RR2 to kill Computer Crab, which he starts to do until Computer Crab starts pleading for help. I guess it was too much for RR to handle, so he intervenes and saves Computer Crab by knocking RR2 into a nearby grinder which Computer Crab would obviously have. Computer Crab is then hit with a bomb that I would assume came from Robo-Rabbit, but we never see where it originates. In any case, Crab goes boom in a very Freddy’s Dead sort of way. With Computer Crab now destroyed, the story is set for the big event.
THE TEAM-UP OF THE CENTURY
Around this time, I had the idea for Robo-Rabbit to meet one of my other characters: Stephen from Stephen’s Wacky Maze. Realizing that they existed on two different Earths, I had to devise a way to bring one of the characters over. Luckily, I had featured two magic based villains in Stephen’s follow-up series, The Battles at Fort Destruction, so they became a means to make this happen. This story became known as The Team-Up of the Century, and two versions of the story were written and drawn with different material written for each character’s side of things. It was an idea I no doubt copied from somewhere else but still. Pretty ambitious for a twelve-year-old.
The duo had been tossed through a dimensional vortex and landed in Rabbitville. Robo-Rabbit comes to investigate and during his pursuit of the villains gets drawn into a vortex back to our Earth. Seeing the two being chased by Robo-Rabbit, Stephen immediately helps take them down. However, the duo uses a spell to create a magical duplicate of Robo-Rabbit: Robo-Rabbit 3. Stephen and Robo-Rabbit overcome the odds, saved the day, and decided to acclimate Robo-Rabbit to a new world.
As you can see with its presentation, I wanted people to know that this was a big event. Even though no one had read my comics or even knew who the hell any of these characters were. But the idea was so massive, that it will be remembered as the team-up of the century. Forget The Flintstones meeting the Jetsons or Superman meeting Spider-Man. This was the event. What made it an even bigger even was the fact that I made two versions of this comic, each seen through the lens of the main character of that comic. At least that was the intent. For the most part, they are identical. I have to believe I stole this idea from someone else because I feel it was just too good for a 12-year-old.
After the flashy title page and cast of characters, we pick up moments after the last issue seeing the “two humans” mentioned in the last panel. Now, if I had any creative sense, I would have found a way to properly reveal them here. Instead, we just jump in to the action. Following up from where we saw them last in The Battles at Fort Destruction, Rags and Soap from are causing havoc in Rabbitville. Robo-Rabbit arrives to stop them which leads to a very cartoonish reaction from Rags. Not sure why I chose to go that route. In any case, Rags and Soap are apprehended, only for Rags to use his newly formed wand to turns the tables and teleport them all back to Fort Destruction. Upon arriving, introductions between Stephen and Robo-Rabbit are instantaneous, as is the creation of Robo-Rabbit 3. Rags, once again, has a cartoonish reaction before being punched in the face by Robo-Rabbit 3. OG Robo-Rabbit even creates a rhyme about his new doppelganger. I didn’t realize it at the time, but the Vein Voodoo Team was responsible for two second-doppelganger villains: Robo-Rabbit 3 and Mirror. They don’t seem very original…or maybe I don’t.
Stephen immediately jumps into action and knocks down Robo-Rabbit 3, who then attacks Soap for some reason. Robo-Rabbit steps in and knocks out this mystical machine with ease. Officer Barkus from The Battles at Fort Destruction shows up to check on things, which gives Robo-Rabbit 3 time to recoup. But original Robo-Rabbit wastes no time in obliterating his body with a bomb. Stephen proceeds to say, “Thank Robo Rabbit,” which is followed up by RR saying Stephen’s name. You have to establish that in crossovers. Suddenly, RR3 comes back, Terminator style. Somehow in that form, he’s more dangerous and even kills Soap for some reason… at least that’s how it looks. Rags seems to disappear during the chaos, which shows what kind of a shit friend he is. It looks like he could have destroyed his creation, but we never see who used the wand, which is poor storytelling on my part. In the end, with no way home, Robo-Rabbit decided to acclimate himself to our world… by walking around in a suit and tie with a rabbit mask because it’s normal. It was an idea that I didn’t follow through with, thank goodness.
Sometime after that adventure, I had plans to write a follow-up series to The Adventures of Robo-Rabbit. However, I was also preparing my first team book, The Destructors, which he was meant to be a part of. Instead of trying to work out continuity details, I wrote them as separate pieces far removed from each other where each could exist simultaneously without any form of reference. I did eventually come up with a way to explain it all away, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
THE NEW ADVENTURES OF ROBO-RABBIT
When I approached this new series, I initially wanted a parallel to the original crew with a unique variation. So, instead of a scientist creating animal-themed robots, we had one creating mutant aberrations. It’s not the approach I would take today, but I understand my reasoning. The biologist was designed to possibly be the brother of the other mad scientist responsible for Computer Crab and his cohorts. His roster of mutant misfits consisted of Terrible Tick, Wicked Widow, Crazy Coyote, Whirlwind Wolf and their leader Great Grizzly. For reasons I cannot remember, I felt a need to get these stories written quickly. As if I was on a deadline. It’s very apparent when you look at the stories, as there is very little story to speak of.
So, I’m not sure why I renamed the series but kept the numbering. In any case, we see Dr. Longnose II (because I don’t know his name) in his own forest cave castle creating mutates for his pet tick. You can clearly see that drawing animals was not my strong suit at age 12… maybe 13 at this point. I don’t remember. Anyway, the mutates waste no time in killing the doctor and Robo-Rabbit wastes no time in arriving. How did he know? Furthermore, Great Grizzly orders them to their stations, which makes no sense to me but definitely feels like some Mega Man influence.
RR and GG have a quick fight with RR getting the upper hand, using his spring-powered punching glove. I know the character has used this in previous issues, but I haven’t had a chance to comment on it. It seems my tone for this series was all over the place. Very cartoonish and ridiculous elements, mixed in with some strong, but not over-the-top violence. Also, some wide leaps in logic. We have no idea how RR knew the biologist was here. We also have no idea how RR knows GG has troops. But he immediately asks after trapping GG and even tortures him for the information, using a very well-placed and convenient cage. To be fair, this biologist could have had this stuff working with wild animals. In any case, GG decides he doesn’t want to be electrocuted anymore and shares the locations of his troops: East Woods and South Cave. These are very accurate directions for a video game in the 80s. Not necessarily great for comics. But RR goes after them because he can find anything.
As I said prior, it feels like I was trying to rush these stories. I think that becomes more apparent when you look at the villains. I’d like to think I had some intense creative session, but honestly, I think I chose a setting, made a list of animals that would inhabit the setting, then threw random adjectives at each animal to see if anything interesting caught my eye. That feels even more accurate in the following series as well.
RR has arrived at what we would assume is the East Woods. This would have been a great opportunity to label the location on the page, but alas I didn’t. Upon approaching the dark entrance, RR is trapped by Wicked Widow’s webs and subsequently killed by Terrible Tick, sucking his energy dry(?) because this mutant tick feeds off of electricity(??). It makes as much sense as the spider talking. And talking to whom exactly? Great Grizzly was trapped last time we saw him. Hmm…
The idea of these two defeating Robo-Rabbit was meant to reflect who quickly they would be dismissed as not strong enough. But as a duo, they got the job done. In fact, they are so amazing, they are able to load Robo-Rabbit into a garbage truck and, possibly, drive it to the dump. What’s funnier is how Robo-Rabbit’s Carrot Sword is out, even though it wasn’t prior to any moment before his “death”. But that’s how we bring him back to life. By convenience. And the Widow and the Tick are just so excited they’ll be known as “The Robo-Rabbit Murderers” because that’s the best name anyone could ever come up with. Ever.
RR is revived by a well-timed lightning bolt that gets his circuits fired up again. He quickly returns to the forest, burns Terrible Tick to dust, and then cuts Wicked Widow in half. He’s a hare of action. We don’t have time for anything else.
Now approaching the South Cave, Robo-Rabbit is ambushed by Crazy Coyote and Whirlwind Wolf. I’m not quite sure what Whirlwind Wolf’s ability is other than having a tornado for a torso. Not sure how that was a mutated ability. And I guess Crazy Coyote is just that. RR uses a vacuum to make Wolf’s whirlwind go backwards (?) and then decapitates Crazy Coyote, which is cool for PG-13. But as soon as RR thought his work was done, Great Grizzly escapes his cage and calls out to RR, who hears him somehow. RR flies back up to his jet, because he can’t be bothered to land the jet and heads for the final showdown… or is it?
Continuing from the last issue, Great Grizzly seems equally surprised Robo-Rabbit heard his call. Action ensues if you can call it that. I honestly think most of the action scenes I thought of stayed in my head, and I drew just enough to get a point across, even though it is sometimes never clear. Anyway, just as RR cuts off Great Grizzly’s arm and attempts to finish him off, a past threat emerges in the shadows. One so surprising, RR can’t even swear! To be continued…
OK so here is where things go way off the rails. First things first, I censored Robo-Rabbit right from the start. We can’t be saying “hell” in a PG-13-rated comic. That’s insane. Furthermore, Computer Crab is back and all in one piece. How could this be? After all, we saw him obliterated last time. Well, it’s up to you to speculate, because I never give an explanation. One might have assumed he was the mystery voice talking to Wicked Widow, but he wasn’t as evidenced by Great Grizzly having no idea who he is. Even more bizarre is after being saved by Robo-Rabbit from Computer Crab attempting to choke him out, he just disappears. I never realized I had such a large unresolved plot point.
Anyway, Computer Crab puts a beating on Robo-Rabbit, which causes the latter to flee. Once Crab declares victory, we cut to “LATER” and RR returns with an army of himself. How? Why? No idea. But they beat the shit out of Computer Crab before slicing his head in twain. shoving his body into garbage bags, and weeks later, incinerating him, putting an end to Computer Crab once and for all.
Now, remember how I said that I tried to keep this series separate. Well, I did up to this point. The world that Robo-Rabbit seems to be inhabiting in this series would be that of Rabbitville, what with all the talking animals. However, at the very end of this issue, we see Robo-Rabbit interacting with his teammates from the Destructors. It causes some huge continuity problems as well as a few plot holes. Again, I’m honestly not sure what the purpose of this series was meant to be.
THE RADIANT ROBO-RABBIT
The third series, The Radiant Robo-Rabbit, follows a similar plot thread as the previous series with another mad scientist creating an army of animal cyborgs/mutates. Since the series seemed to be following a pattern, that could have explained this season’s lack of any story whatsoever. It was clear I was not into writing this narrative as there is NO narrative. Hell, the new enemies aren’t even name-checked. To my best recollection, Trigger Tiger is the only name I remember. Lethal Lizard also sounds correct. There was another big cat that I think was named Pistol Panther, but something about that doesn’t sound right to my ears. There was also a gorilla and what I would assume was meant to be a tropical bird, even though it looks just like Bird Bomber. And considering I wasn’t well-versed in tropical birds, I would assume the only one I knew was a parrot. So Grim Gorilla and Psycho Parrot it is.
First things first: I have to comment on the fact that I changed the title of the series for a second time, yet still maintained the numbering. Anyway, this story takes place AFTER the Eliminators. What does that mean? Well, you’ll have to go to that page and find out. Secondly, I love how this series was noted as being “on safari” which is ludicrous from the outset.
The story begins on a beach of California. This immediately causes a plot hole since we were under the assumption that Robo-Rabbit was in his world last time. Here, it is evidently clear that he is not, and yet another scientist is doing the same damn experiments. It makes zero sense. It’s also humorous to me that I chose to give this mad scientist the same nose as the last two but turned upwards. I guess he’s a cousin. Anyway, this guy wastes no time explaining his plans to no one and uses a ray to make them smart or whatever. He then shoots Trigger Tiger’s eye out (???) just so he could apply some Kano-like eye piece to himself, right after killing the scientist. He then finds a cache of weapons and starts unloading them (?).
Meanwhile, Robo-Rabbit is ready for a vacation when he spots these assholes. He goes in, beams a-blazin’, and runs off all of the Safari Crew. He then traps Trigger Tiger, only for him to escape and then be trapped again. RR says, “Got to get the others,” and that’s what he does.
It becomes even more apparent that I was rushing these stories in the next few entries as they are essentially two-page stories. It was find, locate, and destroy. I was also obsessed with adjectives at this point in time. Since all of the good names were taken, I was always workshopping new names and titles. Here, like The Amazing Spider-Man or The Uncanny X-Men, I thought it would be fun to give Robo-Rabbit an adjective. Since the word “radiant” was in my vocabulary thanks to Charlotte’s Web, I chose to use it for a time.
Robo-Rabbit finds Lethal Lizard and has some sort of fight with him that takes place on top of the Carrot Mobile, I’m guessing. Not sure how he can fight on top of and inside of the vehicle at the same time. I honestly think these fights played out so much better in my head. I believe that conceit was that the fight would happen as Robo-Rabbit was driving. I’m sure at any point, he could have pulled over and dealt with it, but this was more exciting. In any case, RR shoots Lethal Lizard with some darts I guess (?) and heads for Grim Gorilla, who is singing the banana song. You may also take note of Robo-Rabbit’s design in that last panel. At that point, I had begun playing with a new art style for my characters where they had proper muscles. It was a work-in-progress and I believe this was drawn to show that change.
We start as if we never stopped. We jump straight into the fight. And the “storytelling” as it were is not improving. So, GG body slams RR. As GG is rushing to attack RR, he throws a banana peel that GG slips on but quickly recovers from, which allows him to toss a dagger at RR’s hand. But that does nothing I guess as he tries shooting a laser but then that is blocked by a shield. RR then uses his patented spring glove, which somehow was immune from becoming rabbit-themed.
Robo-Rabbit then takes off in the Carrot Wing, but not before Grim Gorilla tosses a lasso around it, climbs onto the Carrot Wing, and tears it open from the outside. Surprisingly, this actually causes the Carrot Wing to crash. I guess I was starting to become aware of how things worked in the world. Anyway, RR exits the Carrot Wing using some odd flotation device… even though he had a jetpack… and proceeds forward. However, unbeknownst to him, Psycho Parrot is right behind him.
Continuing on, Psycho Parrot pops the balloon from Robo-Rabbit’s flotation thing and FINALLY uses his jetpack to fight in the air. Mid-fight, Robo-Rabbit contacts his Destructors teammate Stephen for assistance. He says he’s in L.A. which is where I established the Destructors, so I’m not sure why he didn’t ask sooner. Regardless, Stephen is on his way.
Meanwhile, Psycho Parrot gets jacked up by some mysterious serum administered by a mysterious figure. And it’s never clarified either. We can only assume it was Pistol Panther (that name still doesn’t sound right) since he arrives once Robo-Rabbit impales Psycho Parrot in the face. Pistol Panther opens fire and then tosses a cartoon bomb near the rock that Robo-Rabbit is hiding behind. Will he notice in time?? TO BE CONTINUED…
Apparently, Robo-Rabbit didn’t need to see the bomb because, as luck would have it, he is distracted by… something which causes him to walk away from the boulder. The boulder explodes. Pistol Panther begins unloading on a building which causes it to start falling over (?), leaving Robo-Rabbit to hold it. We would assume he put it back up all the way off-screen since he’s ready to fight after that. Trigger Tiger and Pistol Panther team-up to take down Robo-Rabbit in a way that, once again, feels like it had elements from Robocop in some ways. They unload their guns into him before landing one bullet in the head. Then, to be sure the deed was done, they drop a giant weight on top of him, killing him instantly.
Stephen arrives just a second too late but quickly dispatches both Pistol Panther and Trigger Tiger. Stephen gathers up Robo-Rabbit’s remains, puts them in a bag, makes sure to label it before placing it in a trash heap. Fast-forward to the year 2093, two scientists, who must be twins, find the remains of Robo-Rabbit and repair him for a new age.
ROBO-RABBIT 2093
Not sure if anyone out there reading remembers, but there once was a magazine I read called Wizard. It was all about comic books. Upcoming stories, new titles, interviews, lists, etc. It was everything a nerdy kid like me could ever ask for in a magazine. The very first issue I ever purchased was #9 all because it had Venom on the cover. Venom was the coolest character in comics at that point in time, so I was obsessed. This issue was published in May of 1992.
In this particular issue was an article chronicling the announcement that Marvel Comics was working on a new run of comics focused on future versions of some of their most popular characters. The four characters featured were Spider-Man, Dr. Doom, the Punisher, and an original character called Ravage. While most well-versed comics readers know that this was the beginning of the 2099 timeline in Marvel Comics, some might be surprised to know that originally the year was set as 2093. I would assume it was meant to showcase 100 years into the future at that moment in time. Upon seeing this idea, I became enamored with the idea of a future version of any character.
However, I didn’t immediately set out to make my own future heroes. In fact, Robo-Rabbit was the only character of mine that I had even considered going to the future. And that was the key difference. I had barely established any of my regular characters, so I was not thinking about descendants. I was focused on getting the original Robo-Rabbit to the future. That idea coupled with an updated, futuristic design was all I needed to forge ahead.
I was very eager and excited to write this story. However, most of the ideas I had for the series were never developed beyond ideas. I remember having several of the sequences in this story rolling through my head. If I had taken the time to develop them properly, this could have been a decent story. Hell, I actually got this one to four pages!
Kicking things off, we jump right in to seeing the twin, balding scientists performing a trial test with their new toy. Immediately, we see that Robo-Rabbit is now extremely aggressive. After a hard day of “clashing” (?) criminals, Robo-Rabbit is put into rest mode where he dreams again. This time, his dreams make sense as they are actual memories, not future vision. RR seems to remember dying and awakens after a nightmare of that memory. As this occurs, a public forum is seemingly being held to discuss Robo-Rabbit’s continued existence. What we would assume are citizens of the community express their concerns about Robo-Rabbit’s aggressive behavior and what influence it’s having on kids. You know? THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!! This was clearly lifted from Robocop 2.
After a unanimous decision, it is decided that they are going to put him through a time warp tomorrow. Now… what does that mean? Well, for some reason I cannot fully explain, I had this idea that these time portals would randomly appear at certain points in time. I was unaware of the concept of time fissures at this time, but some form of this concept had to have been introduced to me at some point before this time. Mainly because time fissures are my only form of time travel in my old comics. I swear, I have so many unformed ideas that if I took the time to craft this stuff, the universe would be something extraordinary.
As the vote passes, Robo-Rabbit realizes that he needs to get back to his own time. So everything should work out easily then, right? WRONG! Robo-Rabbit runs as opposed to talking to this oncoming lynch mob (?). While he’s on the run, he encounters an updated version of Motor Man for some reason. There was meant to be more to this, but I dropped the ball. Also, I assume tomorrow happened somewhere between when Robo-Rabbit decided he needed to get home and the mob appearing. I make this observation because the portal opens during this chase, giving Robo-Rabbit the opportunity to return to his own time. Even more convenient is that he arrives at the point in time where he was ambushed by Trigger Tigger and Pistol Panther. So, realizing what needs to be done, Robo-Rabbit shoots Trigger Tiger and Pistol Panther from behind (and we would assume hidden). Killing them prevents Robo-Rabbit’s death which then causes Robo-Rabbit from 2093 to disappear out of existence, because that’s how time travel works in my head. Stephen and Robo-Rabbit head home, officially ending my run of Robo-Rabbit comics.
Robo-Rabbit 2093 was the last entry of the Robo-Rabbit series. I had plans for additional stories in the future as indicated by “for now” seen after “THE END”. Unfortunately, it never came to pass. Most of my story ideas were becoming more team focused, feeling as though it was just easier to tell stories with all of my characters in The Destructors.
WILD HARES & OTHER CONCEPTS
During this time, as I was expanding the team roster, I began playing with the concept of putting Robo-Rabbit back in Rabbitville. This started with another parody character, Bat-Rabbit. I have no idea why I even entertained the concept of this character since he was nothing more that a rabbit version of Batman. In any case, I wanted to show someone else from Rabbitville crossing over into our world and getting stuck.
This idea eventually led to expanding the concept even further by creating a robin version of Robin. That then led to a Nightwing parody until I began thinking outside of Batman parodies.
When I began considering the idea of expanding Robo-Rabbit’s world, it felt appropriate that he would go home to do so. And if Robo-Rabbit was no longer going to be with the Destructors, I felt like it would be appropriate for him to lead his own team. This is what led to the concept of Wild Hares.
The story begins in Rabbitville, where a war has broken out. A soldier takes out a cybernetic rabbit soldier. Robo-Rabbit and the Dark Hare return to Rabbitville through a dimensional portal. They are informed that Computer Crab has rebuilt his army and has unleashed them all looking for Robo-Rabbit. Computer Crab then appears on a giant monitor in the city, explaining that he has teamed up with Robo-Rabbit II, Robo-Rabbit III. Trigger Tiger, and Great Grizzly in an effort to destroy him for good. Robo-Rabbit is ready to fight, but is informed that Computer Crab has developed a new metal stronger than anything their weapons can pierce. The Masked Rabbiteer appears and asks for help. A young bird boy is being threatened by Motor Man and Walrus Wire…
Around the time I was developing this series, I was also developing several other spin-offs. While reviewing the fourth season of The Destructors, I realized that Robo-Rabbit was nowhere to be found. After finding these two pages, I realize that I had made the decision to send him back home and remove him from the Destructors altogether. I’m sure this was done out of embarrassment.
In developing a new team, I needed to fill out the roster. Obviously, Robo-Rabbit, the now renamed Dark Hare, and his sidekick The Robin were there, but three wasn’t enough for an official team for me. I felt this would be an appropriate time to reintroduce the Masked Rabbiteer since we never got to know the new hero who took up the mantle. I was also going to adjust what the suit could do, and actually make it imbue the wearer with powers. Four still didn’t satisfy me, so I sketched two additional heroes that I do not believe I ever gave names to You can even see two different takes of the same characters in the sketches below.
Additionally, for a reason I’m not sure of, I had contemplated the idea of Robo-Rabbit being given the chance to become flesh and bone again. This may have been an idea to have him return home for. Then, upon returning home and starting a new “normal” life, Robbie soon realizes the life he left behind was his purpose and finds a way to become a hero once more. Sounds like a solid idea to me. Oh, and yes, the title is very much intentional.
While these ideas never materialized past concept, I’ve always kept the character close to my heart. I’ve always loved drawing him and consider most of his designs to be badass, despite his name taking away from that. When I began thinking of a reboot of my characters, I wasn’t sure if Robo-Rabbit would be possible. How could I present this character in a more serious manner? Eventually an idea came to mind and it took off. Furthermore, I went a step beyond my original designs and attempted to make the character look more intimidating, which I think I succeeded in.
THE CLASSIC ISSUES
At some point in 1993, I had an idea to redraw some of my comics. My art style had improved somewhat, and the writing wasn’t very good to begin with. So, I figured I could improve upon what I had already created. While looking through my book of “Classic Issues,” I noticed I had four out of five of my series in the book. Even though the main cover states that all five were inside.
Luckily, I did find some of the missing pages for this comic. I say “some” because I believe there has to be more, but at the same time, I’m not sure if I ever completed this one. Considering I finished all of the others, I find it difficult to believe I didn’t finish this one. So, for now, I’m posting what I have. Should I recover the additional pages, I’ll add them in.
The cover page explicitly states that all 18 stories were completed. So, I guess we’ll see. Robbie Rabbit wakes up from his long night slumber. He soon realizes he is late and jumps out of bed. He gets dressed quickly and is out the door. With a cup of coffee in hand, he meets his mother to hide Easter eggs. That must be a fascinating holiday in Rabbitville. Anyway, Robbie reluctantly assists with hiding the eggs. While he is hiding them, he stumbles upon a cave with a mysterious glow emanating from inside. Robbie enters the cave and finds a torch. He lights the torch and goes deeper into the cave, where he finds a container holding a special suit. Robbie puts on the suit and immediately feels different. He soon realizes he has enhanced strength and speed within the suit. So, from that day on, he decided to become the Masked Rabbiteer and help the citizens of Rabbitville. Some time passes and the Masked Rabbiteer is now working with other heroes like the Dark Hare to keep the city safe. A call came in from the governor saying that there is a bomb at City Hall.
I’m still convinced there are additional pages to this, and I hope I can find them. It’s very clear that I was working to retcon several elements of the original narrative that I could then carry over into a new series like Wild Hares. If I did stop here, I guess I would like to know why. While I was working to flesh out these stories more, the blueprints were there to work from. So, I’m not sure what could have hindered my progress here.
Obviously, the idea stuck with me a bit as I apparently attempted a second pass on it. I would assume that I was working to re-establish this character in the Diamond Universe, perhaps in a world separate from the rest. Considering the art style, I would assume this was also drawn around the same time as I was working on Wild Hares.
The story beats are essentially the same as the first with some alternate dialogue. So, I’m not really sure what good recapping it all again would do. The art is much better, but I think I would opt for something a bit more cartoonish now.
Robo-Rabbit used to be one of several original creations that I was embarrassed by. I wouldn’t talk about the character, even though I would always love to show off new sketches or drawings I did. What is funny is that I recently had my entire perspective shift about everything.
If you read through every story breakdown, you may have noticed a certain level of disdain for the silliness I injected, even though the stories aren’t that well-written in the first place. I believe whole-heartedly that my desire was to create something serious, but my sensibilities always leaned towards the absurd. As of the time I’m writing this particular piece, which is May of 2025, I had recently begun watching a series on HBO Max called Jellystone. This was a fresh take on numerous Hanna-Barbera cartoon character living in a fictional town where chaos happens on the regular. That then led me to revisit some other shows from Cartoon Network like The Powerpuff Girls and Courage the Cowardly Dog. It was then that it occurred to me: I had been writing THESE types of shows. The ridiculous names, the insane situations, it all works in those shows, so why not in my comic?
It very well could work, and it led me down this rabbit hole (no pun intended) of reimagining the first season (as I consider it) in the vein of one of these characters and everything works! Seeing Computer Crab as some over-the-top maniacal villain was amusing, but even more amusing was him scuttling away when things get too tough. The only element I haven’t quite decided on is Robo-Rabbit and his personality. Would he be a stoic robot or an over-the-top hero? I guess it would depend on the vibe of everyone else. I’m not sure, but it could very well be the pitch the character has sorely needed.
RELATED SKETCHES
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