stories where Horace shines

[Matilda]

Here's Monkey_Feyerabend, from the DuckTales '17 thread, where I fear the request will be lost:

Well, the Horace from the early Gottfredson's strips, let's say from 1930 t 1936, was an awesome character. He could be stubborn, he could be cocky, he could be coward, he could be sarcastic, but in any case he always remained lovable. These aspects of his personality could have been (and could be now) exploited more and better.

Gottfredson himself turned him into a lamer background character. The Italians followed in the footsteps of the late Gottfredson, so they used Horace in the same lame way, as the "good pale Horace". Lovable, but without the original funny cockiness and sarcasm. The Egmont (typically American) writers did the opposite mistake: they tried to recreate the original cocky Horace, but most often they exaggerated, making his loveliness disappear.


Of course, this is a general impression based on my very limited knowledge of both the Italian and the Danish publications. If you know some stories where Horace shines, as a protagonist or sparring partner, then please tell me. I am much interested in the character.

[Matilda]

...and here are my favorite Horace stories:

King of the Bungaloos by Don Markstein

The Joking Champ by Don Markstein

The Bard's Tale by David Gerstein

Whale Watch Blues by Sarah Kinney

These are all Egmont stories by American authors, so perhaps Monkey_F will see their Horace as too cocky and not lovable enough. But the Horace in these stories is an engaging character to me, one I'd like to see more of.

[Monkey_Feyerabend]

Thanks for opening the thread!

Funny to note that none of the stories in your list here made their way into the Italian market.

As concerns the Italian stories, many Italian fans suggested me this one, but I did not found it for now. (It is in this little best of the Italian stories with HH, but the ebay sellers who give it away for a few euros do not ship outside Italy.) Does someone here know this story?
It is weird that after almost 70 years of weekly production that's basically the only Italian story with a relevant use of Horace that they can suggest me.   

[Hyaroo]

I always thought Blaggard Castle -- you know, the first appearance of professors Eks, Doublex and Triplex -- was a good showing for Horace. Not only is he unexpectedly hilarious when under the effects of the hypno-ray, but he's entertaining throughout the story. I think that was the first story I ever read in which Horace really came across as an interesting character.

[Monkey_Feyerabend]

Well Hyaroo , of course as a fan of the character as originally developed in the strips, I do think that Horace shines in every story where Gottfredson used him as a co-protagonist: The Ransom Plot (1931), The Great Orphanage Robbery (1932),  Blaggard Castle (1933), Race for Riches (1935). Even in the other stories of this age, where he is only used in a few gag strips, he is always funny.

[Monkey_Feyerabend]

The famous Canadian artist Loisel recently did a Myckey&Horace strip story set in 1929, within the new French MM albums. Wonderful art, good plot idea, but weak on the comic side (there are gags, but not very clever). I must say that Liosel nailed the original personality of Horace almost perfectly. A bit less the one of Mickey, weirdly portrayed as a bit too angry, or at least aggressive, which is a bit out of character even for the early Mickey.

[Monkey_Feyerabend]

Aug 24, 2018 1:49:51 GMT Matilda said:

 

These are all Egmont stories by American authors, so perhaps Monkey_F will see their Horace as too cocky and not lovable enough. But the Horace in these stories is an engaging character to me, one I'd like to see more of.

An example of the misuse of Horace is in this story by Van Horn son. Very annoying that Horace! Almost a vicious character. 

The story itself is pretty bad. I brought an issue of le Journal de Mickey just to read it and see how this one Van Horn handled Mickey. (Very rare for me to buy le journal, it tends to have the shortest and most childish four-strips stories, because its target age is pretty low.) Well, I was very disappointed. Beside the fact that the story is not that much, I had the unpleasant feeling that the author did not like the characters. Not only Horace, even Mickey. I don't know. When you read stories by people like the Mc Greal's, or Halas, or some Italian writers from the 70's, you may find yourself asking "did this guy know enough about these characters when he wrote this story?" But asking "does this guy hate these characters?" is another league! If Van Horn's is the best Mickey Egmont can provide us with, gosh, long live the Italian comics!  (Wonder if Erickson has done better.)

[crazycatlord]

"Surprise Picnic" - I am not sure if he "shines", but at least is the main character in an adventure.

[Horace]

Aug 24, 2018 16:28:34 GMT Monkey_Feyerabend said:

Aug 24, 2018 1:49:51 GMT Matilda said:

 

These are all Egmont stories by American authors, so perhaps Monkey_F will see their Horace as too cocky and not lovable enough. But the Horace in these stories is an engaging character to me, one I'd like to see more of.

An example of the misuse of Horace is in this story by Van Horn son. Very annoying that Horace! Almost a vicious character. 

The story itself is pretty bad. I brought an issue of le Journal de Mickey just to read it and see how this one Van Horn handled Mickey. (Very rare for me to buy le journal, it tends to have the shortest and most childish four-strips stories, because its target age is pretty low.) Well, I was very disappointed. Beside the fact that the story is not that much, I had the unpleasant feeling that the author did not like the characters. Not only Horace, even Mickey. I don't know. When you read stories by people like the Mc Greal's, or Halas, or some Italian writers from the 70's, you may find yourself asking "did this guy know enough about these characters when he wrote this story?" But asking "does this guy hate these characters?" is another league! If Van Horn's is the best Mickey Egmont can provide us with, gosh, long live the Italian comics!  (Wonder if Erickson has done better.)

While reading the few Noel Van Horn Mickey stories I know I always felt like he didn't like the characters! I mean just look at Mickey's facial expression - he looks really unsympathetic to me when drawn by Van Horn. I really don't get why some people think he's one of the best contemporary Mickey artists.

By the way: Horace is one of my favourite Mickey side characters, too. Mostly due to the early Gottfredson strips but I'm always glad when I spot him in any story if only for a few panels as in most comics after the 30s.

[Monkey_Feyerabend]

Aug 26, 2018 10:17:24 GMT Horace said:

Aug 24, 2018 16:28:34 GMT Monkey_Feyerabend said:

 

  I really don't get why some people think he's one of the best contemporary Mickey artists.

 

It must be someone who has never read any modern (1993-to-date) Italian Mickey. I mean, I do not even need to mention the great writers like Casty, or the geniuses like Faraci: I am sure that any Italian writer from the early 90's to date can give a better MM than that Van Horn story.

[djnyr]

As much as I wanted to like Noel Van Horn's Mickey stories, because of my fondness for his Dad's Donald stories, I couldn't enjoy them. I entirely agree with Monkey and horace here; they have a bitter, nihilistic, disdainful tone that's just wrong for the Mouse's world, and sometimes tend to come off as deliberate deconstructions of traditional Mickey stories.

[Monkey_Feyerabend]

Induced by this topic, I remembered that I hold the only story drawn by Scarpa having Horace as protagonist, so I read it today. By the way, this story is historically important, since it is the last one that Scarpa has done for the Italian Disney publisher, back in 1998. Apparently he was not very happy with the treatment his stories had in those days in Topolino, and as you may know he decided to spend the last years of career working for the French and the Danish editor.

This Horace story is written by Carlo Panaro, the most prolific writer of Italian Disney comics, but far from being the most interesting. The story is 100% representative of how lame the character has become in the Italian tradition. He is good hearted and he is a skilled carpenter/fixed. And that's all. No angry reaction, no clumsiness, no funny stubbornness, no observational irony towards what happens around him. (This latter aspect from the early Gottfredson era is kinda modern, if you think about it.) All that made the character a possible source of gags is gone.