It’s been awhile since Captain Carrot and the Amazing Zoo Crew flexed their puns and muscles on a comic all their own. The three-issue mini-series by Bill Morrison and drawn by co-creator Scott Shaw brings us back to this wacky world where animals walk and talk, and some even put on spandex and try to save the day. With a few surprises and the return of some big bads and one of the team’s own, here’s a comic no Captain Carrot fan should pass up!.
Captain Carrot and the Final Ark
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From the very first page the puns start flying. Our adventure begins at the Sandy Eggo Comic-Con. With tons of slightly skewed remarks (like the names of the comic artists or the newly announced comic teaming up of the characters Krypto and Bat-Hound called, what else, Best in Show) and plenty of furry friends going gaga for comics, this is certainly the right way to re-introduce the world known as Earth-C.
The adventure really gets started with the appearance of the Zoo Crew’s old nemesis The Salamandroid who arrives to cause trouble and destroy the only known copy of Captain Carrot and the Amazing Zoo Crew! issue #1 (worth twenty thousand simoleans). After the Crew chase him off we get a short look back over the important events of the Crew and the “Collar I.D. Initiative” which caused the team to hang up their capes (nice Civil War spoof). The recent trouble at the Comic-Con and now the rising tensions between sea and land dwellers bring the team out of retirement just in time to face a new threat (but that’s in the next issue!).
This is a great beginning, and fans of the puns the series is known for can make themselves deliriously happy with just the Comic Con scenes alone; make sure you take your time here because the pages are filled with puntastic goodness.
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The second issue gives us the return of Alley-Kat-Abra complete with a Dark Alley doppelganger, and a Neither World, in an amazingly on the nose rewrite (nicely spoofing comics continuity issues in numerous titles today) which clears the magician of the murder of Little Cheese and brings her back into the fold. Nice to have you back Kat!
We also get Red Herring, Rash Al Paca, and a third villain slightly out of frame (but easily recognizable) discussing their plans to flood the Earth! Oh, and did I mention there’s a giant frog terrorizing the city with a crush on the Statue of Ribbity (heh). That’s right folks, Frogzilla is back, and he’s swallowed Pig Iron! Sweet! Who hasn’t wanted to see a giant frog/lizard monster take out a major metropolitan city (or is it just me)?
And I’ve got to mention the spoofing of one of my favorite Bat villains as Rash Al Paca takes a dip in the “Blaberous Pit” and discusses his plans with his Panda man servant Bamboo, and then, for no reason in particular, puts on a puppet show. Nice.
A pretty good second issue with the return of Alley-Kat-Abra and the big fight all over Gnu York City. It’s a slight step back from the first issue but still a fun read with plenty to enjoy.
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The third issue begins with the Crew facing the sudden loss of their powers and the reveal of the brains behind the plan to destroy the surface world, Starro the Conquerer (if you didn’t guess from last issue, man are you are sloooow!).
The issue is packed with action including the appearances of the Just’a Lotta Animals (Green Lambkin, The Crash, Aquaduck, Batmouse, Hawkmoose, Zap Panda) the flooding of the Earth, the mass exodus onboard Boa’s Ark, a space/time vortex, the New Dogs (Orihound, Lightstray and Muttron), and the final fate of all Earth-C creatures on our own world. C’mon, you gotta’ love characters called Muttron and Hawkmoose!
All this plus a squabble in space, a ride through a Kaboom Tube of Barkseid’s (heh), and the Crew find themselves accidentally transported to New Earth as regular animals, with their powers and intelligence but unable to communicate to the heroes of the main DC Universe. Is this the end for our furry friends? At least for now the answer appears to be yes and so the Crew goes out not with a bang, but a whimper.
I’ve been a fan of these characters for years. The series is really designed for old fans like me but there’s certainly enough backstory gone over that anyone can enjoy it. Although I quite enjoyed the short series I saddened at the chosen ending which leaves Earth-C gone and the Zoo Crew stuck on our world as ordinary animals. With the reboot of the Multiverse I was hoping for more wacky adventures with the Crew, which, at least for the time being, seems unlikely. Still I’ve got to thank Bill Morrision and co-creator Scott Shaw for giving fans of the characters this big send-off. I’m just hoping we haven’t seen the last of Captain Carrot and the Amazing Zoo Crew! For more on the Cap’n and his Crew check out the fourth issue of our Comic Spotlight.