Growing up from my youth I was one of many that watched the classic Looney Tunes shorts airing on different programs, whether it was ABC, NBC, Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network, and coming back to watch them time and time again, I was fond of a Looney Tunes character that only got a few appearances in the shorts, the Tasmanian Devil.

The Taz character was used only briefly for a few shorts, mostly as a comic foil for Bugs.

I guess what grew my liking for Taz was just how different he was from the other Looney Tunes we were familiar with, he had this boundless energy and felt the need to demolish anything that got in his way. In any other short you'd see a character in some kind of predicament or situation, while Taz just mindlessly destroys things, it's so simple, yet somehow funny to me.

Taz did gain some attention, at least for a while in the early 1990s, kicking off with the cartoon, Taz-Mania which aired in 1992. I guess there was someone in the Warner Bros. staff that also saw in my perspective that Taz didn't get enough recognition from the earlier Looney Tunes cartoons, so I was pretty excited to see a show all about him with some original new characters included as well.

Taz-Mania fleshed out Taz's character more, even giving him a family as well as a host of new characters exclusively for the show.

The show really had some breaking ground for its time as well, having familiar cartoon voice actors such as Rob Paulsen, Maurice LaMarche and even Dan Castellaneta from the Simpsons, it really added some flavor to an already fun cartoon. And if that wasn't enough, it even got its own video games for different game consoles.

The comeback of Taz was pretty much like the popularity of dinosaurs in media in the 1990s, it was like a fad and it was interesting to also see some Taz related merchandise also popping up in stores during this time as well, you could find him on football shirts, car floormats, and even school trapper keepers.

Taz even saw himself in his own Sega Genesis game sequel, Escape From Mars, releasing in late 1994.

With all of the Taz collectibles, shirts, Taz-Mania VHS tapes and more, it was a great time to be a Taz fan. It didn't last forever however, as I was eventually making my way into middle school with new responsibilities, and Pok'emon was taking over as a new kind of fad. The memories didn't fade away, but it's certainly a highlight of my childhood.

So as you might expect from me, Taz happens to be my favorite cartoon character. He left a huge impact on the cartoons that inspired me to draw, and even more, becoming such a fun character to watch during those Saturday mornings. There may not be another revival as memorable as what we saw with Taz, but I was glad to be part of it.

Are you a fan of Taz and his 1990s return? Leave a comment and as always, see you next article!