Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories #665

January 31, 2006

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: A Fluid Situation and Other Stories

Old-school Disney hijinks and the conclusion of the new Three Caballeros adventure!

Writers: William Van Horn, Donald D. Markstein, Carl Buettner, Dick Moores, Lars Jensen, David Gerstein, Floyd Gottfredson & Don Rosa
Art: William Van Horn, Francisco Rodriquez Peinado, Carl Buettner, Dick Moores, Daniels, Floyd Gottfredson, Earl Duvall & Don Rosa
Colors: Susan Daigle-Leach, Egmont, Kneon Transitt, Scott Rockwell, Terry Letterman, Rick Keane
Letters: Willie Schubert & Susie Lee
Cover Art: Carl Barks
Publisher: Gemstone Comics

I don’t know if it was a conscious decision, but every story in this month’s Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories has a really classic, old-school Disney feel. Some of them are reprints of old stories, some just feel that way, but all in all, it makes for quite a nice little package.

First up is “A Fluid Situation” by William Van Horn, in which Donald Duck and his nephews get into a battle of epic proportions with a minor leaky faucet. As always seems to be the case with Donald, things blow completely out of proportion. Although the story is different, it reminds me of the classic cartoon where a struggle with a faucet costs Donald a night’s sleep. This time out, the consequences get even more dire.

In “Easy Work” by Markstein and Peinado, Mickey Mouse encounters the operator of a construction robot whose abrasive attitude spurs the mild-mannered mouse to try to beat him at his own game. The story is cute enough, if nothing special, but Peinado’s artwork is quite good, particularly the more old-fashioned style in which he renders Mickey and Goofy.

“Moving Day” is a Carl Buettner classic from back in 1945. The Big Bad Wolf’s newest plot to snare the Three Little Pigs? Buy their house and throw them out. Unfortunately for the wolf, a little thing like an eviction isn’t going to keep the pigs and his own son from outsmarting him yet again.

Dick Moore’s “Robert the Robot” is another reprint, this one from 1953. While on a fishing trip, Donald and the boys wind up having to spend the night in a mansion owned by a screwy mad scientist who uses his technology to simulate magic and monsters. Donald winds up in an unwitting duel with a robot, and laughter ensues.

“Just Like Pop,” by Jensen and Daniel with dialogue by Gerstein, is a new story as far as I can tell (most likely a European story being printed here in the states for the first time), but it’s got an old-fashioned feel as it stars Scamp, a character we haven’t seen much of in the most recent incarnation of the Disney comics. Although he was once a bigger star (he even had his own series for a while). Scamp is the only boy in the litter of pups born to Lady and the Tramp, and this issue he sets out to become an adventurer like his father. Unfortunately, the puppy winds up falling in with a less-than-admirable older dog. This is the kind of story you used to see in the Disney comics much more often. It’s definitely aimed at a younger reader even than most of the stories in the book, but that’s okay. It’s a good one.

“The Picnic” is a real blast from the past – a short story culled from Floyd Gottfredson’s Mickey Mouse newspaper strip from 1931. As Mickey tries to take Minnie out for a picnic date, one thing goes wrong after another. It’s really great to see this sort of classic material reprinted, great to see how far the characters have come in the 75 years since this story first saw print.

And finally, there’s the epic conclusion to Don Rosa’s “The Magnificent Seven (Minus Four) Caballeros.” Last issue, Donald, Jose and Panchito escaped the unscrupulous tribal chief who has forced his tribe to capture and sell exotic animals, only to find the entrance to the fables Lost City of Crystals. The level of research and detail that Rosa puts into his work is always staggering. He weaves in a pretty realistic version of Brazil for this story, and his attention to detail on the lost city is remarkable.

The greatest thing about any Rosa story is how magically he manages to intertwine adventure and comedy. What’s more, he gets real characterization, not just gags. Donald, even while terrified, is bolstered in this story by being with two friends who consider him equals instead of subordinates or a father-figure. The slightly elevated opinion Jose and Panchito have of him as an adventurer doesn’t hurt, of course, but if anything, it just makes Donald stronger. As amusing he is in those stories where he’s usually the butt of the joke (and Rosa still gets more than one at his expense in this story as well), I almost think this version of Donald is even better, more relatable, and considerably more inspiring.

A solid issue overall, but the conclusion of Rosa’s three-part story pushes it over the top for me. I hope that he’s got more Three Caballeros tales in him, because the two three-part serials he’s done have been some of my favorite Disney comics since Gemstone brought them back to the US three years ago.

Rating: 8/10