Although the use of anthropomorphic animals in storytelling has been common throughout human history, I would like to give credit where it is due. The Johnny Rabbit avatar is a successor to a long line of rabbit rascals, including Brer Rabbit, a trickster figure originating in African folklore and transmitted by African slaves to the New World, where it acquired attributes of similar native American tricksters . Brer, or Brother, Rabbit was popularized in the United States in the stories of Joel Chandler Harris (1848–1908). The character’s adventures embody an idea considered to be a universal creation among oppressed peoples—that a small, weak, but ingenious force can overcome a larger, stronger, but dull-witted power
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Brer-Rabbit
When I was a child, one of my favorite “funnies” (as we called the newspaper comic strips) was Pogo. This long running strip, drawn and written by Walt Kelly, did not have a major rabbit character, although a trickster role was played by an alligator, who was sidekick to a philosophical and amiable possum named Pogo. Although Doc Possum could be compared to Pogo in some regards, Rabbit Reckoning recognizes that we are amateurs compared to the genius of Kelly, and his creations, in using anthropomorphic animals living in a swamp, to comment on human affairs. I highly encourage readers to explore the world of Pogo.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pogo_(comic_strip)
The band was originally named Delta Boys. The concept was a rock opera, in which swamp creatures from the nearby Tensaw Delta, stumbled upon the Ghost Fleet, dozens of mothballed warships and freighters, which had been towed up the Tensaw River, after the War, and lashed together, to be brought out of retirement, if ever needed.
Rabbit and his friends board the abandoned ships, and find some old musical instruments. They start a band, as a vehicle for Rabbit’s visions, which include apocalyptic dreams of a world on the brink of destruction. They attempt, but fail, to broadcast their message to the world from Doc Possum’s makeshift radio broadcast station, scavenged from radio equipment taken from the old warships. The Delta Boys songs of warning and hope, are played, and interwoven with their adventures, as they eventually make their way downstream on a riverboat, after Doc Possum’s homebuilt submarine becomes grounded on a sandbar. They are determined to make it to Shiny City, whose spires and skyscrapers are visible, through the treetops, even from the swamp. There they will perform their music for the people, to save the world. The band may be naïve, but they are ambitious, and sincere.
The rock opera, with a dozen original songs, is almost complete. I plan to sell to Disney or Netflix next year for approximately $50 million.