Walt Disney's Comics and Stories: 75th Anniversary Special

This year is the 90th anniversary of the debut of that rascally Disney character Donald Duck. So when I saw this issue for sale, at a local coffee shop that sells comics, I thought that this was a tribute issue to Donald. Instead, this book from 2015, is an 75th anniversary salute to Walt Disney's Comics and Stories in all of it's various incarnations thanks to the license being passed through several publishers, including IDW, the latest and currently last company to produce the long anthology.

There are a total of 10 stories and shorts in this giant sized collection, split over a dozen segments. While Donald and his nephews kick off things in a story about a war of pranks amongst the ducks, Disney's brightest star Mickey Mouse stars in a 3-part story divided throughout the book. Titled 'Ridin' the Rails' from 1955, whomever did the restoration job on that story should have won an Eisner or other similar award. They made Mickey and Goofy and Grandma Duck look so modern and not from a 60 year old book. 

Some forgotten characters such as Little Hiawatha and Bucky Bug from Silly Symphonies, the Li'l Bad Wolf and the Three Little Pigs and Walt Kelly's World War II rapscallions, the Gremlins, all make appearances that fall under IDW's editorial trigger warning that some material in this book may be culturally insensitive but kept in the retrospective for historical purposes. Less offensively, there's visits by Scamp, the young son of Lady and the Tramp as well as a lesson on dinosaurs presented by Ludwig Von Drake!

But really this is a Donald Duck book because he appears in 3 stories. Along with the aforementioned opener, Donald is given the runaround by the antics of Chip and Dale before wrapping things up with Huey Dewey and Louie once more. In that story, the fellas take on Magica de Spell in a caper that doesn't even star Uncle Scrooge, even though the enchantress is trying to steal McDuck's singing flea! Even the variant cover stars Donald Duck. But where is Uncle Scrooge in all this? He's a WDCAS icon who made his very first appearance in any form in the pages of this series. He belongs here! At least Scrooge's creator Carl Barks is featured...

Be sure to read David Gerstein's article at the end of this issue. It dives into the history of the long running anthology and has some interesting in-depth info. So good, I'd love to read a book about the history of Disney comic books.

This 75th anniversary collection was a good read. But to not have Uncle Scrooge involved, other than his name in passing, seems a tad unforgivable. So I'm going to knock a couple of stars off of my rating. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Walt Disney Comics and Stories: Donald and Mickey- Quest for the Faceplant

IDW presents a rather charming collection of comic stories starring Mickey Mouse, Donald and his family and other iconic characters from titles originally published previously all over the globe.

Obviously, Donald Duck is the star of this collection. The best two stories costar Donald's cousin Gladstone who's literally a lucky duck! Usually Gladstone and Donald are rivals. But in the opening story based on the cover, Gladstone teams with Donald to photograph a rare plant that's about to bloom for the first time in years. With Donald's photography equipment and Gladstone's luck, the pair seems to have the edge over the competition. That is until they meet up with another contestant out to win the large cash prize: Scrooge McDuck!

Donald then gets a chance at being lucky for once when his wish to be as blessed as cousin Gladstone is mysteriously granted. It's a classic episode of blunder, satire and screwball comedy when Donald's luck runs out unknowingly right before he's about to perform the most insane stunt ever imagined!

In the Mickey arena, there's a pair of mystery stories. One involves the Phantom Blot. The other, Peg Leg Pete. Both co-star Horace Horsecollar, which is kinda odd, since Goofy tends to be the sidekick in those stories. Instead, Goofy have been saved for an adorable story in which he creates a series of mysteries for Mickey to solve in order for the busy amateur sleuth to finally have an exciting day of fun.

Stories starring some of the more lesser known characters of the Disney Universe include the Big Bad Wolf and the Three Little Pigs, Bucky Bug and his insect friends, Brer Rabbit and his country-time enemies, and an adorable one-pager starring Chip n' Dale. Plus, there's plenty of fun with Donald's nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie, including an epic sized riverboat adventure starring a character called Garvey Gull. A brand-new character to me, the jury is still out as to whether I find this little guy to be charming or annoying.

The love for the international Disney comics keeps growing within me. I think I have Don Rosa to thank for that. But IDW should get a little bit of the credit as well.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Walt Disney Comics and Stories #556

A trio of stories from years gone by, helps to make this holiday season bright. 

The first adventure takes place in Duckburg. A surprise blizzard on Christmas Eve throws the city into chaos. Being unseasonably warm, none of the stores stocked up on sleds and skis which are suddenly in huge supply. Scrooge McDuck has promised to provide Duckburg with those needed supplies. However, his inventory is several towns over. With the snow piling up and travel options running thin, it's up to Donald and his nephews to save Christmas and bring those toys to Duckburg!

Up next is Silly Symphonies newspaper strip character Bucky Bug. It's Christmas Eve and the local metal-smith is stuck in bed with a bad back. His injury means that the holiday chimes won't be assembled in time for the Christmas festivities. But there is a plan B. The craftsman's son has the talents to install the bells. But he's gone travelling. So it's up to Bucky and his BFF Bo to find him before it's too late!

This issue wraps up in sunny, arid Arizona. Mickey and Goofy are on vacation when their jalopy breaks down. A dust up with the dastardly Pete draws Mickey into a plan to save a ranch from being lost in a lopsided bet against the big bully. Not one to let Pete get away with his antics, Mickey has become the newest ranch hand in a rodeo competition. Only Mickey doesn't have any experience in busting cattle and the contest is just a couple of days away!

It's not Christmas without at least 1 holiday story starring Uncle Scrooge and Donald. I'm not sure who crafted this story as the author and artist credits are unknown. It's not Carl Barks and the eyes are right for it to be Don Rosa. Regardless, the opening story was great. I just wish that the comedic twist to this story wasn't given away by the cover!

When I saw that Bucky Bug was one of the features in this issue, my heart jumped for joy. I just love those old school Christmas touches to these Disney holiday books. I finally learned why Bucky and friends always speak in rhymes. It's cause of Bucky being the star of Disney's Silly Symphonies strip. The rhyming is actually singing. Only there's no music notes to be seen.

I really wish that the Mickey and Goofy story was Christmas themed too. Maybe the pair went out west for Christmas to escape the bitter cold. It was a very exciting story and having Pete involved was the next best thing to be expected if you can't have the Phantom Blot as the antagonist. This is not the first issue I've come across where the capper isn't Christmas themed. Was it so hard for Gladstone and Disney to produce an all-holiday issue? At least I got my Uncle Scrooge and Bucky Bug!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars. 

Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #568

Great cover- but it's also a bit of a spoiler.

It's time once again for holiday fun with the cast of characters from Disney. This is issue stars my favorite Disney character, Uncle Scrooge. And in the cover story, Scrooge McDuck is in total Scrooge mode!

With just a couple of days until Christmas, Scrooge is singularly focused on one thing- salvaging the lost treasure from a sunken ship. To do this, Uncle Scrooge has drafted Donald and his nephews to captain a submarine. Huey, Dewey & Louie are afraid that Santa won't find them. But they find solace in that Donald mailed a letter to Santa on their behalf. Only Donald forgot to mail it. Uh-oh!

The second story stars a character called Bucky Bug. Based on the appearance of Buck and his friends, this story looks like it might be from the 1930s or 40s. It involves Bucky getting ready for a holiday event for the local children involving a visit from Santa. Unfortunately, the Santa suit is in disrepair and there's not an appropriate substitute suit to be found.

The last story wasn't Christmas themed. It was the first of a 5 part series involving a wondrous invention made by Mickey and his nephew Morty. This adventure was taken from a series of newspaper strips and was lots of fun. I only hate that I don't have the rest of the story!

The Uncle Scrooge story was great. The Bucky Bug story was heartwarming. But the level of rhyming in this story starting to get nauseating. I'm not kidding. At one point, the flow of the narrative was too fluid and I act felt a wave of vertigo. 

Featuring the talents of Carl Barks and William Van Horn, this was a recent find. Well worth the couple of bucks I spent for it. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #579

It's all about Disney in Day 6 of my Thanksgiving reads. Unfortunately, Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #579 isn't 100% Thanksgiving. 

There's 3 stories in this issue. Of the non-Thanksgiving tales we have the son of the Big Bad Wolf having to going on a 3 Little Pig hunt with his pop and Mickey & Goofy playing engineers against some train robbers. The L'il Bad Wolf story was lots of fun. It had a lot of big idea fails like you'd seen in a Road Runner & Coyote cartoon. But something was off with the Mickey & Goofy story. I'm wondering if it was originally printed in a foreign Disney Comic because the syntax in those translated issues are often wonky and the dialogue in this story definitely had some awkward moments.

Let's head to the Thanksgiving adventure now. Just like on the cover, Donald is on the hunt for a wild turkey in full Pilgrim regalia. The reason- he refuses to pay 70 cents per pound for the seasonal bird at his local butcher. (Obviously this was a story from the 40s or 50s cause I couldn't tell you the last time I was able to buy whole turkeys that freakin' cheap!) 

Anyways, with Pilgrim Donald on the hunt, it's the perfect time for Huey, Dewey & Louie to play some tricks on their uncle. But when a turkey actually shows up, it's big, bad and mean (as all turkeys are) and ready for a fight.

Disney is a good go to for holiday comic reads. There's not a ton of Thanksgiving themed comics out there. So for this book to only be a partial Turkey Day issue, I'm not complaining. And L'il Bad Wolf was a laugh riot, as usual. But that Mickey & Goofy story was hard to read. Even the punchline last panel was terrible. It alone is why I am deducting a few points in my rating. 

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #721 (Family Comic Friday)

      Folks, I was really excited about this week's Family Comic Friday selection: Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #721 . I had just gotten the issue in a grab bag and with it being IDW Publishing's first issue since obtaining the Disney license from Gladstone/Gemstone, I was excited to see what new blood the company would add to a group of Disney books that had become rather stale. There hadn't been any new stories done by the folks at Gladstone/Gemstone for a while and the Disney titles had become nothing more than a collection of reprints. Plus, IDW has done such a fantastic job with licensed products like Star Trek, Doctor Who, and Transformers that I had actually been looking forward to reading this for quite some time. 
    Plus, the spooky Mickey Mouse villain, the Phantom Blot, was on the cover! I love reading stories of Detective Mickey taking on the Blot! I always thought of those stories were perfectly suited for fall reading in anticipation for Halloween. So, I waited a bit longer to read it.
    Well, last night was the night! I got home from working a double shift and I was ready to read this all-new Disney comic. So imagine my disappointment to learn that this book was A) nothing but reprints B) contains a story with my biggest comic book pet peeve, an unanticipated cliffhanger (spaced out into 12 parts no less) and C) the Phantom Blot, despite being on the cover, was nowhere to be found!!!
    I muddled through it anyways . The first tale was sorta new. Published in the 90s in an Italian comic, this English version story had never been published in the States. This adventure involved Mickey and Goofy going back in time to learn the mystery of the Lost Colony (which I assumed was published by Gemstone just before the license switch.) While back in time, the guys learn of a mysterious amulet that was divided between 12 astrologers. Back in the present, Mickey and Goofy set out to find the 12 missing pieces before their arch-enemy Peg-leg Pete (who has 2 perfectly fine legs in this story) can get to them first and become a powerful villain! This story was the one that ended in a cliffhanger.
     The second story was from a Swedish Disney Comic from 1990. I don't know if it was ever published prior to this book but it stars Donald and his nephews. Donald Duck has taken on a job as a bookkeeper, taking off site racing bets from the residents of Duckburg. Poor Donald accidentally forgets to submit one of the slips and when that bet comes through, the hapless Duck is in the hole for $2,000. And the guys whose bet got misplaced sure aren't happy. 
   Both stories were a comedy of errors and they were funny. But the art of the Mickey story just looked wrong and the translation of the Donald story seemed oft mismatched. There were also a couple of short stories featuring some unknown Disney characters from the 30s and 40s, which were okay but not great.
    Before writing this review, I decided to check out my favorite LCS to do a little more research on this title. I thought maybe IDW Publishing didn't have enough time to produce any new work thus all the reprints. But upon checking a couple of issue published in the last 3 months, those books too are nothing but reprints!
    I'm wondering whether to blame Disney on this. They own Marvel and have for sometime. I think it weird that Marvel doesn't have the rights to produce Mickey and Donald comics since the publisher has produced books based on Disney World rides like Thunder Mountain Railroad and other Disney properties like Star Wars. So what gives? Why isn't Walt Disney's Comics and Stories along with other titles like Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge putting out new material? Why stick with the reprints?
     While the classic Walt Disney books are a cult classic among adults, there seems to be a disconnect with them and young readers. So before you splurge on a bunch of these for your child, maybe try just one to see if it strikes their fancy. It couldn't hurt. It's just disappointing to not get what you expected.

   Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.