Development of Bugs Bunny and of the character. A model sheet by Charlie Thorson describes this prototype character as "Bugs' Bunny" (note the apostrophe) but in most of the cartoons the character is unnamed. Virgil Ross, the animator for "A Wild Hare" describes how the character came to be named in the interview published by "Animato!" magazine #19. Mel Blanc often told the story of the creation of the character and its name. He suggested that the character be named after the character's initial director, Ben "Bugs" Hardaway. Blanc's own book, "That's Not All Folks" published by Warner Books in 1988, describes the "tough
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