A good list, though I guess it's skewed by what has actually been released in English. I think most Europeans would also include some Cavazzano, De Vita, maybe also an Ubezio or Asteriti story
Something that I mentioned on another thread and that gets a bit overlooked is that Murry also had his fans in Italy. One of them is Massimo De Vita. Giorgio Cavazzano also lauded Murry in an interview I read recently. In fact, I think a lot of the Italian detective stories from the 70s and 80s strike a pretty good balance between the Gottfredson/Scarpa line of things and the Murry type of story. One quintessential example is this one: inducks.org/story.php?c=I+TL+1302-AP
There are times in the story where Mickey really veers on the edge of arrogance, even driving the mayor and O'Hara crazy because he has a inkling of what's happening while the two are basically risking their careers and reputations. Also, Goofy is kind of dumb and only provides some gags (although him sabotaging Mickey's fishing is almost post-modern and strangely appropriate considering how fishing has now become taboo due to internal restrictions). Still, there is a bit more playfulness than in a lot of "Murry type" stories.
I like this story, I really do. It has lot of good moments. But it's still endlessly amusing how a mystery story that has Mickey complain about how obvious the solution to the mystery in his mystery novel is itself has a mystery with an immediately obvious solution.
Brand new blog post. Life has been rather turbulent lately so what better way to find stability but to celebrate my favorite Mickey Mouse comics?
I just caught up with your blog posts, very good stuff! - I like how you started with the Disney Comics Mickey Mouse Adventures. Those comics were fascinating to me when I first got into collecting because they seemed so much different than the Gladstones I read as a kid.
A bit late for Mickey's birthday but here is my review of River of Time.
A good reading. I agree that the frenemy relationship between Mickey and Pete doesn't feel totally fitting to me. However, it was not a standalone exception; Pete had generally slowly been humanized in Italian comics. One name who sadly gets forgotten about all too often is Silvano Mezzavilla [just published in the US for the first time with "The Case of the Cut-Off Calls"], not the most prolific Disney writer but one of the few with an extremely high standard (probably as high as Casty, who tossed off a couple of short stories). It was him who wrote the most important stories starring Pete in the early 90s, thereby setting a precedent for what Faraci would then explore further.
inducks.org/story.php?c=I+TL+1862-A "The Return to Legcity" - Pete reunited with his old school friends inducks.org/story.php?c=I+TL+1967-A "Big Freeze" - Pete gains control of all electrical things with an experimental device and terrorizes the city. This is arguably more important because it puts Casey and O'Hara in the foreground, which was a precursor to Faraci's Mouseton Police strand of stories. inducks.org/story.php?c=I+TL+2056-1 Pete witnesses the kidnapping of Mickey and tries to unravel the mystery. Masterpiece! inducks.org/story.php?c=I+TL+2173-5 Pete, Trudy and a gang of other criminals are trying to steal something that's supposed to be extremely valuable, but they're being played.
Faraci also did several stories with Pete before "The River of Time", of which "On the wrong side" is probably the most important: inducks.org/story.php?c=I+TL+2227-5 More than "The River of Time", it deals with morality and Mickey being confronted with 'shades of gray'. Basically, Trudy asks Mickey for help as Pete was incarcerated in Mexico, and she's convinced he didn't commit any crime, while the guys who framed him are deeply corrupt.
I really liked your list of favorite Mickey stories, as at least half would match my own. And thanks for the refresher on "River of Time", which would be on my own top ten list, coincidentally.
I really liked your list of favorite Mickey stories, as at least half would match my own. And thanks for the refresher on "River of Time", which would be on my own top ten list, coincidentally.
Thank you Thad for your kind words and all your work on Disney comics. It has provided me with much entertainment.
"River of Time" is definitely in my top 15. Which is always revising as I continually read more and more Mickey comics.
A bit late for Mickey's birthday but here is my review of River of Time.
A good reading. I agree that the frenemy relationship between Mickey and Pete doesn't feel totally fitting to me. However, it was not a standalone exception; Pete had generally slowly been humanized in Italian comics. One name who sadly gets forgotten about all too often is Silvano Mezzavilla [just published in the US for the first time with "The Case of the Cut-Off Calls"], not the most prolific Disney writer but one of the few with an extremely high standard (probably as high as Casty, who tossed off a couple of short stories). It was him who wrote the most important stories starring Pete in the early 90s, thereby setting a precedent for what Faraci would then explore further.
inducks.org/story.php?c=I+TL+1862-A "The Return to Legcity" - Pete reunited with his old school friends inducks.org/story.php?c=I+TL+1967-A "Big Freeze" - Pete gains control of all electrical things with an experimental device and terrorizes the city. This is arguably more important because it puts Casey and O'Hara in the foreground, which was a precursor to Faraci's Mouseton Police strand of stories. inducks.org/story.php?c=I+TL+2056-1 Pete witnesses the kidnapping of Mickey and tries to unravel the mystery. Masterpiece! inducks.org/story.php?c=I+TL+2173-5 Pete, Trudy and a gang of other criminals are trying to steal something that's supposed to be extremely valuable, but they're being played.
Faraci also did several stories with Pete before "The River of Time", of which "On the wrong side" is probably the most important: inducks.org/story.php?c=I+TL+2227-5 More than "The River of Time", it deals with morality and Mickey being confronted with 'shades of gray'. Basically, Trudy asks Mickey for help as Pete was incarcerated in Mexico, and she's convinced he didn't commit any crime, while the guys who framed him are deeply corrupt.
I have heard great things about "The Case of the Cut-Off Calls."
Thank you for the recommendations. I will check those stories out.
The frenemy relationship is an interesting way to go. I imagine acceptance of the ideal relies a great deal on what stories were first read by someone. As I said, my baptism with Mickey comics came via Gottfredson so it is hard to reconcile Mickey and Pete being cordial.
Great post!! I agree with the assessment on the mediocre story. Even with a translation with more American character and flair, the plotholes with the dolphins operating Neo would still be out in the open and evident; though I agree the saving grace here is Cavazzano’s gorgeous cartooning.
What I love most about early Casty is his abundance of gags. "Let's set course for... achoo!"
I had completely forgotten about that awesome expression on Mickey's face when De Bolt talks about Capalmundo. Cavazzano was a great coupling for Casty, I love how likable he made both Estrella Marina and Eurasia Tost. That said, his backgrounds were a bit empty and simple in this period. Not in the sea scenes, though!
I gave the story a 7/10, which is decent, but a bit below Casty's later standard. Remember this was only his seventh published Disney story. Not bad at all - of the other earlier stories I know, only "The Lost Explorers' Trail" and "Topolino e l'isola nefausta" are clearly better than this one.
That's a excellent run-down of Zombie Coffee! I have one slight nitpick, maybe superfluous, but you wrote Pete was an 'adversity' where it should have said adversary.