See Mickey Mouse as he was want meant to be seen: Solving mysteries, fighting off pirates, and just generally saving the day. Some classic stories that comprise a Greatest Hits of sorts for the mouse. Featuring a rare Mickey Mouse story by seminal artist Carl Barks.

Reviews

Kindergarten-Grade 5 A selection of vintage comics reprinted, recolored, and anthologized provides a view back to some of the origins and traditions of the famous rodent. Sometimes considered to be the straight man to a series of more overtly humorous foils, Mickey Mouse has long been the hero of crime and mystery stories, which are gently referenced here. The central stories involve a forgery scheme and some fanciful sci-fi, as well as an homage to The Hound of the Baskervilles. Of interest is a mistaken-identity story by Carl Barks, whose work on Donald Duck is legendary in comics circles, but who rarely worked with Mickey. The best tale is a 1931 reprint from the daily comic strip by Floyd Gottfredson, which begins the collection and introduces Mickey as a rough-and-tumble, brash Popeye-esque character, full of vim, vinegar, and conflict. This is an interesting curiosity that most younger kids will be able to read and enjoy, even if they unintentionally bypass the alterations to the character over time, and the historical survey this volume provides. Benjamin Russell, Belmont High School, NH
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Although Disney’s iconic mouse is most renowned for his big-screen appearances (and, to a lesser extent, TV’s Mickey Mouse Club), he’s had a long career in comic books, as well. This attractively produced volume gathers a representative sampling of those stories. It opens with a 1931 tale featuring the earliest version of the character—sporting pupilless eyes and a mischievous streak—by Floyd Gottfredson, who drew Mickey’s newspaper strip for 45 years. The other comics artist most closely associated with Mickey is Paul Murray, who drew the adventure-oriented serials that appeared in Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories in the 1950s and ’60s; he’s represented by an episode in which Mickey and Goofy vie with Black Pete in a pirate pageant. The collector’s item here is “The Riddle of the Red Hat,” the only Mickey story ever drawn by Carl Barks, the auteur behind the celebrated Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge comic books. The volume is rounded out by lesser strips produced by publishers overseas, where Disney characters remain far more popular than they are in their birthplace. --Gordon Flagg

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