Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse Vol. 8: "The Tomorrow Wars" (DISNEY MICKEY MOUSE HC)

When Gottfredson began work on the Mickey Mouse dailies it was all extended storylines. Starting with volume 7 we see the transition away from storylines towards the gag a day. With volume 8 we get four extended storylines, almost in a row, followed by more than half a year of daily gags and ending with a series of eight short storylines. My impression is that many Gottfredson fans prefer the storylines and may cease collecting the series as it moves towards the gag a day which I consider a shame. As I write this review volume 8 is ranked #72 in sales among Fantagraphics books and #168 among graphic novels and this is less than a week after its release. My review of volume 7 remains the only review of that book and I just don't get the lack of interest. This is one of the greatest comic series of all time by one of Disney's more talented artists. I hope and pray Fantagraphics doesn't pull the plug on this project because there is a whole lot more material left to publish.The cover of volume 8 is ironic, featuring an angry scolding Minnie Mouse. This is a common pose for Mickey's gal pal as our hero has became strangely girl crazy this time around. Whether it be a strange white goddess, a mysterious girl in a walled up room or even a robot Mickey seems incapable of hiding his lust and an angry, jealous Minnie is rarely out of eye shot. Peg-Leg Pete had but a single appearance in volume 7 but we start off with two Peg-Leg Pete stories before he again disappears. In the good old days Pete was the villain in nearly every story. To the dismay of some fans Mickey takes the next evolutionary step away from his original appearances. Previously he's gotten pupils and lost weight and in this volume he replaces his shorts and buttons for a shirt and pants.My one big issue with this book is the fault of Fantagraphics. Although it looks in the product image like the choice of color this time around is pink it's actually a deep maroon. The problem is that the section intros feature black text on a maroon background and they are nearly unreadable. The only way I could read was in the bright light of my bathroom with my reading glasses on. The comics themselves are fine but I always enjoy reading the intros and I'm shocked that Fantagraphics didn't notice this issue.The Pirate Ghostship (Apr 17, 1944 - July 15, 1944, story by Bill Walsh) - A rare adventure of Mickey and Pluto. The two are working on a fishing boat when they are captured by ghost pirates which include a captain who is a dead ringer for Peg-Leg Pete but is in fact Cap'n Greatbeard and they have somehow traveled back to the 17th century. This is a fun story but it's all over the place. There is a deadly island, a sunken treasure, cannibals, a white princess and several sea monsters. It's fun but it really feels like Walsh is making it all up as he goes along.The World of Tomorrow (July 31, 1944 - November 11, 1944, story by Bill Walsh) - Mickey receives a mysterious invisible cloak in the mail and when he puts it on he is simply in the World of Tomorrow, easy as that. In The World of Tomorrow just about everything from milk trucks to baby carriages flies by helicopter. The weird thing is I'm not sure what the World of Tomorrow is supposed to be. I don't get the impression that the invisibility cloak is a time machine and Mickey is unsurprised to find Minnie, who seems right at home in the World of Tomorrow. The story shifts gears and suddenly readers are thrust into a tale of Peg-Leg Pete, a mechanical army and world domination. The ending is disappointingly trite although it does answer why this story seems so strange.The House of Mystery (November 13, 1944 - January 27, 1945, story by Bill Walsh) - Mickey inherits a spooky house from his deceased Uncle Maximillan. He finds a mysterious girl apparently walled up in a room by his Uncle and then all sorts of weird stuff happens. There is a neat twist ending that apparently was borrowed from a popular Hitchcock movie that was showing around the era this story was written.Gag Strips (January 29, 1944 - March 3, 1945, story by Bill Walsh)Billy the Mouse (March 5, 1945 - June 16, 1945, story by Bill Walsh) - Mickey arrives home to find a jive talking Native American named YoYo who has just walked from Arizona with a message from Mickey's cousin Carrie. Mickey travels out west to investigate but is mistaken for a desperado named Billy the Mouse.Gag Strips (June 18, 1945 - February 23, 1946, story by Bill Walsh) - We now have well over half a year solid of gag strips. At this point penciling duties started rotating between Gottfredson, Paul Murry and Manuel Gonzalez. This is where I think a lot of people are losing interest in the series preferring adventures over daily gags. I actually like the mix and the daily gags are pretty. It's rare that a comic strip can cause me to erupt in spontaneous laughter but Bill Walsh managed to do it a handful of times. I encourage readers to give the gags a chance and enjoy them for what they are.Short Stories (February 25, 1946 - July 27, 1946) - A series of 11 short stories, generally just a few weeks long. As with the Gag Strips the penciling is swapping between Gottfredson, Murry and Gonzalez.

My grandsons enjoy these books very much.

I first read some of these stories in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories. I still enjoy them today. The Phantom Blot volume receives my five star rating but I still enjoy this series of tales.

Me parece una buena edición (conseguida a buen precio) de estos clásicos. Se agradece.