Mickey And The Phantom Blot!

My favorite Disney villain is without question The Phantom Blot. The enigmatic Blot is the very essence of mystery, a mere shape of a character, an animated blackness. The simple elegance of the design is at once compelling and incredibly effective on a comics page. The Blot stands out by fading into the background, ideal for a thieving menace with an ego. 

The Phantom Blot first appears in the Mickey Mouse comic strip beginning on May 22nd, 1939 and the story ran until September 9th, 1939. So for the entire summer of that year Mickey fans were treated to one of the Mouse's best mysteries and my favorite Disney villain. There is something frightening about how Floyd Gottredson drew the Phantom Blot, despite the character being no more than what the name suggests, a black shape. 

The plot of the story was lifted from a venerable source -- Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. In particular it is a story very similar in many respects to "The Six Napoleons". Mickey is called in by Chief O'Hara to assist with a crimewave in which only a particular brand of camera is being stolen. The cameras are broken open and left behind and that seems to be all the mysterious Phantom Blot wants. Mickey gets on the case and is captured by the Blot several times and subjected to some wild Rube Goldberg style methods to kill him off. But of course, he outwits the trap and uses disguises to get to the bottom of the mystery. The story ends with a wild chase and the Blot is even unmasked, though no name is  provided. 

The Phantom Blot returns in the May 1964 issue of Walt Disney Comics and Stories for a four-part tale. I've never read this yarn but it reintroduced the character and must have done quite well despite only rating a single cover of the four. Gold Key and Disney saw fit to revive the character in his own comic book. And that's main focus of today's post. 

The Phantom Blot gets his own comic book, a rarity for a villain. In the debut issue fear of the Blot, who is in jail, causes Mickey to hypnotize Goofy into becoming a decoy Blot when the Mysterious Mr. X reveals his plan to enlist the imprisoned Blot in his world-conquering schemes. The real Phantom Blot doesn't show up until half-way through the story. 

The Blot goes out West to become the greatest of the mounted outlaws and is confronted by Mickey and Gyro Gearloose as well as Goofy. Goofy gets hold of some of Gyro's secret formula and drinks it by mistake and becomes Super-Goof for the very first time.  Remember when Wolverine debuted in the Hulk? It's like that but funnier. 

The Beagle Boys look up to the Phantom Blot and want to join him in his lootings. So, they team up and it takes all that Mickey can do to keep them from pillaging Uncle Scrooge's riches. He has the help of Donald Duck this time as well as a returning Gyro Gearloose. 

The Phantom Blot woos Madam Mim and gets her to use her magic to whisk him in and out of jail which thoroughly befuddles Mickey and Chief O'Hara. But it's all the Blot can do to keep Mim on the chain as he steals, something she's not keen on. 

Mickey and Donald travel to Tasbah and find that the Phantom Blot is up to no good. It's even more dangerous for our heroes when it turns out the Blot has kidnapped the Maharaja and is pretending to be him to gain access to the incredible wealth of Tasbah. It's all Mickey can do to outwit the Blot this time. 

In the penultimate issue the Phantom Blot turns pirate and enlists the Beagle Boys to be his crew. Harvesting a special wood from an isolated island he builds a flying ship which can speed across the ocean. Uncle Scrooge's ship carrying his wealth comes under direct attack as Mickey and Donald try to help. 

In the seventh and final issue the Phantom Blot uses a heinous liquid to make blots of others as well as himself making it difficult to catch him. Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and even Pluto are enlisted by the F.I.B. (Federal Intrigue Bureau) and trained as agents and given special equipment to help stop the Blot from stealing diamonds from King Max E. Mouse. 

The Phantom Blot stories by Paul Murray are tremendous fun. He might not have the chops of  Gottfredson, but he spins a fast-paced adventure yarn full of fun and frolic. I've long wanted to read the Phantom Blot stories and now I have. They weren't exactly what I expected, but each issue offers up its own special surprises. 

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The Sunday Funnies - House Of The Seven Haunts!

 By the time we reach the strips in this fourth Fantagraphics volume of Mickey Mouse's comic strip run by Floyd Gottredson, the strip has hit its zenith. The adventures are at once both exciting and funny and the cast is well developed. Goofy joins the cast, replacing his earlier incarnation of Dippy Dog. The strip was under mandate to reflect the animation and did that for the most part, at least in terms of casting. But whereas the Mickey of the cartoons was becoming increasingly a somewhat bland adult, the Mickey of the strip was still full of wild vigor and easily talked into many a bizarre misadventure.

But the volume begins with "Oscar the Ostrich" which once again sees our hero encumbered with a bizarre animal for a pet such as he was in the earlier escapades with Bobo the Elephant. Oscar though is a great deal more wantonly destructive, and it puts Mickey in a hard way facing both fines and potential jail before he is able to wriggle free of this latest mishap. 

"Mickey Mouse Joins the Foreign Legion" is a full-blown adventure with Mickey called upon to protect state military secrets. He chases a spy across the world, and when that chap joins the Foreign Legion to meet his partner in crime, Mickey must also join. He finds himself under the thumb of Pegleg Pete for some of this yarn, but as we all know Mickey prevails in the end. 

"House of the Seven Haunts" is one of my all-time favorite Mickey outings. This ghostly outing was inspired by flicks like The Bat Whispers and such, features Mickey and Goofy and Donald Duck also are a detective agency who hire out to investigate the haunted mansion of a local rich fellow who seems less bothered by the supernatural aspects of the "ghosts" and more upset at their dreadful manners. It doesn't take Mickey with the minor aid of his two allies to plumb the bottom of this mystery. 

"Island in the Sky" is a full-blown science fiction adventure. Mickey takes to the air once again to find out the secret of a strange flying car and finds much much more when he encounters a scientist who has mastered gravity. Pegleg Pete is back once again to try and wrangle this secret to sell to the highest bidder but neither the scientist named "Einmug", nor Mickey think this is a good idea. 

"In Search of Jungle Treasure" is exactly what it seems. Mickey and his friends head out once again to find treasure on a remote island led there by his old friend the gorilla "Spooks" who it turns out is a homing gorilla. There are some decidedly non-PC cannibals, a sign of a less enlightened era. For all that, this a wild and funny adventures. 

This Fantagraphics collection ends with "Monarch of Medioka", perhaps Mickey's greatest adventure based on The Prisoner of Zenda. Mickey is an exact match for the wasteful King Michael XIV who is spending his nation into ruin. He is convinced to go and party abroad while Mickey tries to do his level best to get the nation on a better financial footing. He is not helped by the antique traditions of the country which is more law than justice. 

And that wraps this month-long review of the earliest Mickey Mouse strips. I have more but we'll save for those for another day. Floyd Gottfredson created in his Mickey Mouse strips with the help of many other artists and writers an adventurous daily with panache and style. Inspired by but not limited by the cartoons which were becoming increasingly humdrum, the stip was able to do things that the shorter cartoons were not able to capture. 

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The Sunday Funnies - High Noon At Inferno Gulch!

One of the main reasons I prefer Mickey Mouse comics to Mickey Mouse cartoons is that I've always been a bit annoyed at the high-pitched whine that passes for his voice in the cartoons. Visually Mickey is a clever and vital creation but when he speaks, I lose interest. When I read the comic strips by Floyd Gottfredson, I can imagine Mickey talking any way I like. 

The first two Mickey stories in this volume are "The Captive Castaways" which sees Mickey rejoin the Air Mail Service once again, this time to make sure a little town in the far North called Rock Ledge gets some much-needed supplies during a blizzard. He finds the towns resources are being stolen by a familiar pirate -- Peg-Leg Pete. After some stunning derring-do Mickey saves the town and the day. When he returns to Mouseton, he's called upon to save Pluto from the dog catcher in "Pluto's Rival". 

Then for the sake of continuity it's necessary to jump over to the Sunday color Mickey Mouse strips where Mickey and Minnie head out west again to help Minnie's Uncle Mortimer who is running a large ranch now. It's there that we first encounter this ranch and its denizens and in an odd move that continuity then is picked up in the daily strip. 

"The Bat Bandit of Inferno Gulch" is one of the best Mickey Mouse comic stories and has Mickey and Minnie battling the hooded figure of the aforementioned Bat Bandit. The villain is striking terror into the local townsfolk and as we learn the threat is closer to Mickey and Minnie than they suspect for some time. 

The cover of the Big Little Book adventure of this story was the inspiration for the second of the Air Pirates Funnies books by Bobby London and friends. It's a good imitation with a satirical edge, too good thought the mavens at Disney, so they sued over it. 

This is also the first Mickey Mouse comic strip I ever read when I got hold of it in the Golden Special The Best of Walt Disney Comics series from the folks at Gold Key. I still have this handsome edition from 1974 in my collection. 

After cleaning up the West, Mickey then finds himself having to deal with the hardships of pet ownership in "Bobo the Elephant". This pachyderm is hard to care for to say the least and causes no end of trouble until Mickey finds a happy solution. 

"The Sacred Jewel" has Mickey helping out Captain Churchmouse who is in trouble when a great gem is stolen on his watch and he is under threat of death unless Mickey can find the villains and return the jewel. Mickey and Minnie take to air in a bizarre blimp to try and save the day and their friend as they explore the deserts of the Middle East. 

"Pluto the Racer" showcases Mickey's famous pet and Mickey's naivete about gambling when he tries to enter Pluto in the dog races. As usual there is a great deal of trouble for Mickey and his friends unless Pluto can win the great race and the prize money. 

"Editor-in-Grief" is a story that co-stars the old-style Donald Duck along with Horace Horsecollar and Dippy Dog. They along with Mickey take on newspaper publishing, in particular the kind of investigative journalism which can prove fatal when they try to uncover the corruption in the city. I love the name of the paper which is "The Daily War-Drum". 

"Race for the Riches" has Mickey teaming up with Horace for a final time as a main character when the pair head out West once again to find treasure which will save Clarabelle Cow's house and home from the mortage holder, who this time is also the villain of the piece. 

This collection closes out with "The Pirate Submarine" which has Mickey in the skies once again, this time aboard the experimental "Submarplane" built by his old ally Gloomy the Mechanic. With this machine which will go over and beneath the watery waves Mickey is able to battle the ruthless Dr. Vultur,  a villain very much in the tradition of Jules Verne's Captain Nemo, but with a nasty streak. 

The volume closes with the usual collection of vintage covers and bio sketches and a wild and weird Donald Duck story from Europe about going to Mars. Strange, very strange. 

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The Sunday Funnies - Trapped On Treasure Island!

 By the time we get to these Mickey Mouse comic strips from 1932 to 1934 in the second volume of Fantagraphics' series titled Trapped on Treasure Island the series has momentum and is well on its way to becoming a sleek comedy-adventure comic. The strip under the care of Floyd Gottfredson is still very different from the hectic cartoons which promote Mickey's fame and the stories in the strip often take their inspiration from the cartoons to maintain that synthesis which is good in a quality product. But the future of the series can be seen and some of the older aspects of the strip will begin to be shaken off by the end of this book. 

"The Great Orphanage Robbery" opens the book and gives us a Mickey story which is equal parts humor and adventure. It's a pretty revealing title as we see Mickey arrange to gather funds for the local orphanage only to see those monies stolen and himself accused of that theft. Mickey's personality is still fluid enough that his community seems all to ready to accuse him of such a crime. His accused collaborator in the crime is Horace Horsecollar who is on trial for the crime and even threatened with lynching as we also follow Mickey as he races to the frozen North to recover the stolen loot. There's an actual tension as the strip cuts back and forth between its two narratives. 

"Micky Mouse Sails for Treasure Island" has our hero and his take up a classic treasure hunt complete with maps, ships, mutinous crews, cannibals, crazed gorillas and long-lost sailors. Robert Louis Stevenson would possibly be pleased that his works had been so fondly remembered and mined for comic strip adventure. 

"Blaggard Castle" is my favorite story on this tome and it's an intentional homage to the then quite popular comedy-horror movies of the era such as Dr..X. Mickey and Horace go to what seems a haunted castle but is in fact the booby-trapped lair of three mad scientists named Ecks, Dubblex, and Triplex. 

They are presented as evil apes and their gruff and sunken-eyed look was inspired by Boris Karloff in his role as the dangerous muttering butler in The Old Dark House. There is a great deal of wild action in this one and this Fantagraphics volume even offers up a color sequel to the story from decades later in the supplement section of the book. 

"Pluto and the Dogcatcher" is a quick little sequence that features Mickey's mutt and is a breather of sorts between the heavy adventures. 

Those adventures kick off again with "The Mail Pilot" which sees Mickey becoming a member of the Air Mail Service. Those brave souls who risked life and limb to see that the mail got through are given a nod before Mickey learns his new craft and then almost immediately becomes embroiled in a plot by some familiar villains to hijack the mails using an extremely high-tech zeppelin. There's lots of derring-do in this sci-fic adventure story. One thing which amused me is that while Mickey saves the day by capturing the villains, he never actually gets around to delivering any mail. 

The Big Little Book cover fo this adventure when it was collected inspired the remarkable cover for Air Pirates Funnies #1 which got its creators Bobby London and others into so much legal trouble with Disney. 

"Mickey Mouse and his horse Tanglefoot" gets Mickey involved in horse racing and shows some of the weaker aspects of both his and Minnie's personalities as they spend their money rather carelessly and only a win at the track will let them stay whole. Since it's a comic strip we can imagine what happens, but the real-world equivalent of this dilemma often ended up with tragedy indeed. 

"The Crime Wave" features Mickey becoming a detective formally for the first time as he partners with Dippy Dog. Dippy will seem really familiar since he will soon become known as Goofy. These two novice sleuths are not really good at their trade, especially the careless Dippy but nonetheless they end up taking on a counter-fitting ring which also just so happens to be stealing all the hair and long underwear in town. 

We get lots of grand supplements, nifty essays and lots of classic images of vintage covers. This is a very entertaining package from the folks from Fantagraphics. 

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The Sunday Funnies - Race To Death Valley!

I love spelunking in the deep caverns and catacombs of pop culture and much of what we know of modern pop culture has its beginnings in the Depression Era of the 1930's. None more than my subject today and for the next several Sundays, the might Mickey Mouse. Mickey Mouse was the creation they say of Walt Disney and that's true to a degree though we all know that Ub Iwerks designed the character and many other artists and animators helped define his personality in cartoons and ultimately in comic strips. The Disney behemoth pushes the myth relentlessly that it is largely the product of one man's imagination. Not all unlike the Star Wars franchise and the Marvel Comics franchise, both of which have been consumed by the Disney corporate leviathan. Star Wars always pushes that George Lucas was the brains and while he was the inspiration and guiding hand, he hardly did it alone nor could he have done. Likewise, people foolishly believe that Stan Lee manufactured the Marvel Universe which we know is not the case, at least on his own. Both of these stalwart brands thrive because of the work of thousands of other talents but the myth of singular creation lurks at their base, and that's true of the Walt Disney myth as well. Walt has been dead for over half a century and the Disney monster has shambled well past his wildest imaginings. But it did start with a Mouse, or that's what they'd like you to believe.

 

Actually, it started with a rabbit -- one Oswald Rabbit. But Disney was scammed out of his creation and so thunk up another critter named ultimately Mickey Mouse. Mickey became a sensation, timed perfectly to seize the day when sound motion pictures were ascendant. 

Then it was success on success and the public wanted more and King Features demanded more when they said give us a comic strip. And it was made so. Now the strip in its beginnings was indeed written to some degree by Disney and drawn by Iwerks among others, but it found its footing and its ultimate success in the capable hands of Floyd Gottfredson who took the wheel and didn't let go for forty-five years, some of those years after Mr. Disney himself had shaken off this mortal coil. 

In the early years of the strip there was a logical connection of the strip to the cartoons and so it's logical that the first strip by folks other than Gottfredson used Plane Crazy as a template or at least a spur for the more developed comic story. Some of these earliest strips are included in this debut volume from Fantagraphics in the supplements section which is quite impressive. We get a good look at the art by Ub Iwerks for the story on which Walt Disney himself did contribute. But their involvement only lasted a few weeks. 

The artist who begins our first big story arc is Win Smith, but Smith was not long for the series. He was nearly twice the age of most of the creators in Disney's outfit and the generational friction was too much for the experienced cartoonist who left when his work was questioned. Anther artist who worked on a few of the strips included in the first continuity was James Patton King. Other artists involved in those early strips as assistants were Roy Nelson and Hardy Gramatky. These early strips are decent but lack the verve that will come when Gottfredson makes his mark. 

A number of diverse hands worked to make the strip happen and eventually Gottfredson was brought along out of his cartooning work to lend a hand and eventually take control, doing the layouts and so telling the story. The first few yarns feature a Mickey Mouse still in the formative stages. I've never been much of a Mickey fan because by the time I was first getting a glimpse of him, he was the venerable centerpiece of the Disney empire and so was largely forbidden to be anything but a stalwart upstanding element of society. In these early tales Mickey is much more the youthful instigator, at times even a downright miscreant. We are introduced to some important colleagues of Mickey's in these earliest strips such as Pluto, Horace Horsecollar, and Clarabelle Cow. The latter two are like Mickey himself, designed in an era where realism was less important. Pluto was part of the future with a more realistic presentation. It's remarkable that Gottfredson and his fellows were able to make these two different styles work together. 

The stories deal with all sorts of things and have both Mickey and Minnie traveling far and wide. The opening tale has Minnie and Mickey trying to find a gold mine which Minnie has inherited. They helped by a mysterious figure called "The Fox" (a precursor of "The Blot") and are hindered by mainstay villains Mr. Shyster and Pegleg Pete. When that's cleared up Mickey finds himself in a struggle for Minnie's affections when a unscrupulous fellow named "Mr. Slicker" shows up. At one point Mickey is so forlorn about the matter that he attempts suicide. The stirp spends many days exploring the various ways Mickey might off himself -- a gun, jumping off a bridge, and others. It's startling stuff today, but much of these earlies Mickey's would make modern fans cringe. Mickey is often accused of crimes in these early tales suggesting his reputation is not very well established. All of this only makes him more interesting to me as he's an undefined character and not all unlike Tom Sawer in many ways. When he gets into a feud with a tough fellow named "Kat Nipp" I found that Mickey was more the bully than the reverse, not perhaps what the creators intended. 

These Fantagraphic volumes have a wonderful number of supplementary features and expect my reports on these to focus attention there to no small degree. I gathered up the first several volumes of these some years back and it's nice to finally at last be getting around to savoring these vintage Disney classics. 

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Kachinas In Komics!

These are the only two comics that I'm aware of that feature Kachnia dolls, or more properly characters using Kachina doll design as their inspiration. Is anyone aware of others?

And while I'm at it, here's a link for more on Kachinas.

And here's a link to Jack Kirby's creation Tomazooma, based on a Kachina for the Fantastic Four.

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