Friday, April 29, 2022

Walt Disney Comics Digest #6

 

And here we come to the next issue I remember us having, #6 from December 1968. Mom would definitely be back doing the shopping at Baenziger’s. Mike would be in the middle of First Grade, maybe even on Christmas vacation. A splendid opportunity to reward and distract the herd with a little taste of presents to come.

Although this issue’s main features concluded the story of Bambi from (the unpurchased) #5 and began the story of Pinocchio, the big story for me was Scrooge, Donald, and the Nephews voyaging into space so Scrooge could stake a claim to a newly discovered 24-carat gold moon, orbiting on the dark side of the regular moon. After beating their competitors to the finish line, they find a strange little being already in possession, who is ready to make a deal. “Skunk cabbage! I live again!”

                    Other stories have Baloo obtaining an especially delicious looking honeycomb, Madam Mim being crowned as Queen of the Witches during an appearance of Comet Croakus, Mickey having to deal with Pluto’s cowardice, Super Goof being unable to punch his way out of an enormous paper bag, and Ludwig Von Drake and Moby Duck having to deal with the machinations of Emil the Eagle.

Looking back, I would have to say there were two features that may have particularly influenced Mike. One was a “Walt Disney Animal Autobiography”, with a realistically drawn exploration of whales and their lives. Another was “Lotor Takes a Trip” (not a comic strip but a simple short story with a few illustrations), about a raccoon that escapes from the zoo and with the help of a young boy is returned to the wild, where he learns to live in freedom.  


No comments:

Post a Comment