Bugs Bunny that another proposed name for the character was "Happy Rabbit." In the actual cartoons and publicity, however, the name "Happy" only seems to have been used in reference to Bugs Hardaway. In "Hare-um Scare-um", a newspaper headline reads, "Happy Hardaway." Animation historian David Gerstein disputes that "Happy Rabbit" was ever used as an official name, believing that the only usage of the term was from Mel Blanc himself in humorous and fanciful tales he told about the character's development in the 1970s and 1980s; the name "Bugs Bunny" was used as early as August 1939, in the Motion Picture Herald,
Bugs Bunny interview with Tim Lawson, co-author of "The Magic Behind The Voices: A Who's Who of Voice Actors", Blanc emphatically denied being allergic to carrots. Bugs first appeared in comic books in 1941, in "Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies Comics" #1, published by Dell Comics. Bugs was a recurring star in that book all through its run, which was 153 issues until July 1954. Western Publishing (and its Dell imprint) published 245 issues of a Bugs Bunny comic book from Dec. 1952/Jan. 1953 to 1983. The company also published 81 issues of the joint title "Yosemite Sam and Bugs Bunny" from