Cartoon stars never age, but there’s a price to be paid for their immortality: they can die and yet live on. Bugs Bunny’s origin was as a goofy antagonist for Porky Pig in the Warner Bros cartoon Porky’s Hare Hunt (1938), directed by Cal Dalton and Ben “Bugs” Hardaway, for whom the hare is named. Back then, Bugs was much smaller, more rabbit-like and completely white — but in wit, resourcefulness, and the sheer relish with which he demolished his antagonist, he very much resembled his later self. Bugs evolved in a generally Bugs-like direction for a couple of years, emerging fully-developed in the Oscar-nominated A Wild Hare (1940), directed by Tex Avery. It was there that he first munched a carrot, first uttered his trademark line, “Eh, what’s up, Doc?” and first kissed Elmer Fudd. During the 1970s and ‘80s, he appeared in a long succession of prime-time TV specials and even feature films, produced by his old directors, consisting mainly of clips from the old cartoons. In 1996, he and his Looney Tunes cohorts were catapulted back into the limelight when they co-starred with Michael Jordan in the feature film Space Jam. Two years later, he appeared on a US postage stamp. He’s also an occasional guest star on Tiny Toon Adventures, where he’s mentor and favourite instructor to a couple of latter-day toons, Babs and Buster Bunny.

In comics, Bugs did not fare so well. He appeared in both newspaper strips and comic books between the 1940s and the ‘70s, but none of them truly captured his character; nor were any notable writers or artists associated with him. In recent years, he has been revived as a comic book character, appearing regularly in the monthly Looney Tunes Comics, an occasional one shot or mini-series of his own, and even as a co-star with Superman.

Along with Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny was the most enduring American cartoon character of the 20th century. He is noted for his feuds with Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Daffy Duck, and even Wile E Coyote, who usually takes on the Road Runner. Almost invariably, Bugs comes out the winner in these conflicts.