We all know that Bill Mantlo based his now famous creation, Rocket Raccoon, on the song written by John Lennon, Rocky Raccoon. (We do all know that, right? Especially that part about Bill Mantlo being his creator, yes?)
Did you ever wonder what inspired John Lennon?
No, i don't mean his pet raccoon. I mean, what inspired him to name his raccoon Rocky. Could it have been Happy Comics?
We know John and the Beatles read comics. I think we covered that a bit during the King Kirby 100. He even doodled and drew images from the comics he read.
So it could be entirely possible that Rocky Raccoon owes his name to - Rocky Raccoon.
So far, i've only found him in the very first issue of Happy Comics, but i'm still looking through as i find issues. Meanwhile, here's that first story for your perusal:
Ol' Rocky does seem to prefer banjo to guitar, but... What?
Oh.
Never mind. My staff has just pointed out that i misread things. His name isn't Rocky, it's Racky...
Oops.
Carry on.
RACKY Raccoon written & drawn by Gene McGregor for Happy Comics #1 (1943)
