Disney Weirdness

Monday, February 15, 2010

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Disney Weirdness Review: Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #703

WDC&S #703 is the first part of the story "Mickey Mouse and the World to Come," by Andrea "Casty" Castellan. In interviews Casty professes to be a huge fan of Gottfredson and Scarpa, and this issue is very much in that classic Mickey Mouse tradition. Story-wise this issue is all setup...there's very little action (except for a cool scene with a giant robot) but there is a lot of exposition. Casty's art style is very reminiscent of 1940's Gottfredson with some more modern elements in the mix. It's too early for me to pass judgment on the story, but this was a really solid opening chapter. I have high hopes for this arc. There's also a backup feature with Pegleg Pete that didn't do much for me, but it's also chapter one of a longer story so maybe it will improve.

I've always thought that Mickey must be a tough character to write- you need to strike a balance between a relatable everyman and a courageous detective/adventurer. The best MM stories find that sweet spot between the two extremes; too far in either direction and the reader loses interest. I can't buy Mickey Mouse as a two-fisted tough guy, but at the same time I don't want to read the Adventures of Mickey the Suburban Dad. So far Casty seems to have a good handle on the character (he even compares him to Jimmy Stewart in the letter column interview), but we'll have to wait until the plot really kicks in to know for sure.

I've been impressed with almost all of Boom! Studio's Disney comics offerings so far. The editors are bringing some really interesting European books to the American audience. I like the classics as much as anybody (I grew up on Gladstone), but I'm really digging the more "non-traditional" stuff like Ultraheroes and Double Duck. Boom! is doing some great work with the Disney comics license, and I hope this Disney/Marvel merger thing allows them to keep on keepin' on with minimum interference.