| The Book of Bunny Suicides: Little Fluffy Rabbits Who Just Don't Want to Live Any More | |
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First edition cover |
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| Author(s) | Andy Riley |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | (Bunny Suicides) |
| Genre(s) | Humour |
| Publisher | Hodder & Stoughton, Ltd |
| Publication date | October 27, 2003 |
| Media type | Hardcover |
| Pages | 96 pages |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-340-82899-4 (hardcover) |
| OCLC Number | 59290437 |
| Followed by | Return of the Bunny Suicides |
The Book of Bunny Suicides: Little Fluffy Rabbits Who Just Don't Want to Live Any More (2003) is a bestselling collection of mostly one-image black comedy cartoons drawn by author Andy Riley.[1]
Each cartoon shows one or more white rabbits in their creative attempts to end their lives using a variety of items. Revolving doors, a toaster, a cricket ball, a boomerang, a hand-grenade, the shining sun, a magnifying glass, smoking of several cigarettes, bowling balls and any combination of these are all featured as suicidal tools. The book also features a few cultural references, most notably a parody of a scene from The Wicker Man, where the rabbit is atop the burning figure. A reference to the Terminator movies is also included, as well as a reference to the scene from Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove where the captain of the bomber rides the atomic bomb as it drops and explodes. Noah's Ark is also featured. While all the other animals are boarding the ark, two bunnies stay behind suntanning on the beach. There are also several references to Lord of the Rings, including a bunny shaking pepper into the eye of Sauron, and a bunny tied between a nail and Gollum reaching for a ring.
The cartoons are often drawn in such a way that the bunny's exact method is not immediately obvious, leaving the reader to work out exactly how the bunnies plan to end their lives.
In 2004 a sequel was published, under the title Return of the Bunny Suicides. The book proved so popular that pirate scans started to circulate heavily online as "Bunnies Suicide" or "Bunny Suicide", facilitating DMCA notices of cease and desist.[2] Cartoonist Liu Gang was inspired by the book to create his Suicide Rabbit.
A special edition, The Bumper Book of Bunny Suicides, was released in the UK in 2007. It contains every bunny suicide ever.
The book drew controversy in 2008 at an Oregon, USA, high school when a mother refused to return the copy to her son's library, saying she was going to burn it instead.[3][4]
The Bunny suicides cartoons from the book have also been converted into a calendar (2011 Bunny suicides calendar) and Bunny Suicides Notecards, all published by teNeues.
In September 2010 Andy released Bunnycides app, the official iPhone app of the Bunny Suicides series, available only for iPhone and iPod Touch devices with iOS 3 or later. [5]
In 2011 Bunny Suicides started their very own brand of Graphic Tee shirts. These Tees can be found on Urbanoutfitters.com and in retail stores in January.
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