Looney Tunes Merrie Melodies Comics (1941) 1

National Day Calendar offers the following advice on how best to observe National Pig Day:  “Cuddle up with one, read about one, or eat one.”

Not sure if it’s just me, but consuming something sentient you are commemorating as a show of affection is just macabre. Almost as creepy as the kid catcher in Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang.

Today is the day the world recognizes the domesticated pig. From Arnold to Wilbur. Television to the big screen.

Looney Tunes Merrie Melodies Comics (1941) 1

We’re setting our sites a little lower. We’re looking at the printed page. The four-color printed page and our host is Porky. We’re not being judgmental, that’s his name:  Porky Pig.

Our portly pig made his debut in the animated short, I Haven’t Got a Hat in 1935. Believe it or not, Porky was the original star of Warner Brothers Merrie Melodies series. Not the leading man type, the anthropomorphized swine became a straight man and fall guy in many of the shorts to follow.

His comic book career didn’t begin until 1941 with the first issue of Looney Tunes Merrie Melodies 1. He was a mainstay in the Dell publication that ran 107 issues appearing in all.

In 1965 he received his own title under the Gold Key imprint, though he shared top billing with Bugs Bunny from issues 39 to 93. The series lasted to issue 109.

To be fair, Porky appeared in 86 of the 135 issues of Bug’s Gold Key career.

Since then he has never been far from the comic book world. He appeared at the Batman/Elmer Fudd Special in 2017 and in issue 50 of Batman in 2018.

So, if you’d rather enjoy one of our four-hooved friends without a fork today, sit down with one of the many comic books featuring the stuttering straight man of the Looney Tunes universe. And, don’t forget to commemorate last year’s entry with Spider-Ham.

Th-th-th-that’s all folks (ouch).