Snagglepuss reinvented by DC Comics as a ‘gay Southern Gothic playwright’
DC Comics is reimagining 1950s comic character Snagglepuss as a “gay Southern Gothic playwright.”
The new comic by DC is one of a series of reimagined Hanna-Barbera comics including “Scooby Apocalypse” and the Flintsones.
The pink mountain lion was announced by writer Mark Russell who was discussing upcoming projects.
Russell said the new incarnation of Snagglepuss “was not much of a stretch”.
He said: “I envision him like a tragic Tennessee Williams figure; Huckleberry Hound is sort of a William Faulkner guy, they’re in New York in the 1950s, Marlon Brando shows up, Dorothy Parker, these socialites of New York from that era come and go. I’m looking forward to it.”
The character first appeared in 1959 as a character in ‘The Quick Draw McGraw Show’ and was later featured on ‘The Yogi Bear Show’ in his own segments.
Later he was the co-host of Hanna-Barbera’s ‘Laff-A-Lympics’.
Many have speculated about the sexual orientation of Snagglepuss, says Russell.
“[I]t’s never discussed and it’s obviously ignored in the cartoons ’cuz they were made at a time when you couldn’t even acknowledge the existence of such a thing, but it’s still so obvious.
“So it’s natural to present it in a context where everybody knows, but it’s still closeted. And dealing with the cultural scene of the 1950s, especially on Broadway, where everybody’s gay, or is working with someone who’s gay, but nobody can talk about it — and what it’s like to have to try to create culture out of silence.”
Russell said that the comic will differ from the Flintstones.
“[It’s] much more of an intimate story, much less about social criticism,” he says.
The Snagglepuss story will arrive in the form of an eight-page comic in March.
“It’s about Snagglepuss being dragged in front of the House Committee on Un-American Activities.”
