December 1942: The Rabbit Who Said ‘Shazam!’

Fawcett’s Captain Marvel was one early superhero who swiftly evolved into a franchise. Debuting in 1940, he was joined by Captain Marvel Jr. in 1941 and Mary Marvel in 1942.

“The other addition this year to what eventually came to be known as the Marvel Family was far and away the strangest,” observed Kurt F. Mitchell in American Comic Book Chronicles. “‘Hoppy the Marvel Bunny’ was the star of Fawcett’s Funny Animals, a new monthly.

“Meek, clumsy Hoppy, distressed over being snubbed by his girl Millie, took comfort with the latest issue of Captain Marvel Adventures. When he read aloud the magic word, Hoppy, too, became a Captain Marvel just in time to save the city of Funny Animalville from ‘der bearers uf der New Order:’ a dachshund named Hermann, a chimp named Muss and a mouse named Zero. Subtle it wasn’t. 

“The Marvel Bunny wasn’t the first funny animal super-hero, but the expressive art of Chad Grothkopf, perfect for depicting the slapstick action that made the new strip so much fun, and the cachet of the Captain Marvel brand translated into superior sales.”

“Funny animal comics were a strong staple of the industry in the early decades of the art form, and before animal sidekicks became more of a presence in DC’s books, Fawcett introduced their lead hero’s animal counterpart in his own title in 1945,” recalled artist Alex Ross. “Just like Captain Marvel, Hoppy said ‘Shazam!’ and had all of the same abilities. The Marvel Bunny also enjoyed merchandising along with the other Marvel Family members.”

Unlike Captain Marvel, Hoppy even survived the very collapse of his comic book universe when Fawcett stopped publishing superheroes. 

Charlton Comics took over the character in 1955, ultimately changing his name to Happy and his costume from red to blue. 

Happy the Magic Bunny had plenty of super-anthropomorphic company at Charlton — Atomic Mouse, Atom the Cat, Atomic Rabbit and Atomic Bunny were also published there during the 1950s.