The Gottfredson Guessing Game!

In the Comments Section of our last post, our great friend Mouse Maestro announced plans for a series of Gottfredson posts for Unca Floyd's birthday month at his Blog!  

You all know the drill... go over there and read them once they're up! I will certainly do the same! 

As part of that exchange, I hoped he would do my favorite Gottfredson story - and I asked him to GUESS which one that might be... but why not open it up to ALL of you!  

Especially for those who know me long and well... What IS my favorite Gottfredson story?  

Cast your best-guess votes right here! It'll be fun to see what results!

 See ya real soon! 

Ripples in Time Redux!

What better way to "re-do" a "Ripples in Time Redux" post than by leading off with the "B" Cover of MICKEY MOUSE #3 / Legacy Number #333 (Fantagraphics Books, Non-Displayed Cover Date: April, 2026)!

Worry not because here's the "A" Cover for "Ripples in Time", right on its time-traversing heels!  

...And, speaking of "time-traversing heels"... The Rhyming Man bids a fond adieu, to our heroic two! 

So, why "re-do" a "Ripples in Time Redux"?  

Because our new and much-valued friend "Mouse Maestro" has written a great piece on his Blog on "Ripples in Time: Part Two", and we feel that it deserves a linking post of its own in addition to simply leaving it buried in depths of the Comments Section of our previous post!  

So GO READ IT - RIGHT NOW! 

And if, like Mickey, Uma, Goofy, and ol' Slimy Rhymey, you have the ability to travel in time, go back 30 minutes or so and ENJOY IT AGAIN -- for the FIRST TIME!  Repeat until done to a fine golden brown!  

And, if you get caught in an infinite time-loop of reading Mouse Maestro's piece again-and-again-and-again... well there are many worse ways to spend eternity!  

LIKE THIS ONE!

AND THIS ONE!

Naw, don't do that... Better to concentrate on FAR SUPERIOR THINGS... like THESE...

"Ripples in Time" Part One!

                    

Kari Korhonen's magnificent "McDuck Journals" series!

...And the fine works of Mouse Maestro! 

 ..."Casty and BEYOND", anyone?  

It's OUT and We're IN!

MICKEY MOUSE #3 (Legacy Number #333 - funny how that works out, eh?) from Fantagraphics,  concluding the "Ripples In Time" / Rhyming Man and Uma adventure, is OUT as of March 18, 2026. 

We are (finally) IN our new house and the literal construction dust is finally beginning to settle (...mostly onto the floors and furniture - necessitating more and more clean up) but, at last, we can begin discussing both - or any topic of your choice once again.  

Hopefully, more MICKEY than HOUSE... just to keep me from more sobbing!  

On Sale January 14, 2026: MICKEY MOUSE (Fantagraphics) #2 - Legacy No. 332!

EVERYBODY: Up an' At 'Em, Out an' Buy 'Em!!!

THE DATE: Wednesday, January 14, 2026.

THE PLACE: Your Local Comic Shop - or the Online Provider of Your Choice. 

THE THING TO BUY (Without Fail): MICKEY MOUSE (Fantagraphics) #2 - Legacy No. 332!

Here it is, just so we're "on the same page"... or COVER, as it were! ...And WHAT A COVER IT IS!  

Accept no substitutes... Unless you somehow failed to get MICKEY MOUSE (Fantagraphics) #1 - Legacy No. 331 back in November!

Then, it's okay to get 'em both! 

BUT THIS ONE'S GONNA BE A GOODY!  (...and, as the translator and dialogue writer for this great Italian story, I oughta know!) 

A perfect melding of three of the comics Mickey Mouse's greatest creators: Bill Walsh and Floyd Gottfredson, and Casty! 

Walsh and Gottfredson, of course, for The Rhyming Man from the amazing newspaper strip continuity "The Atombrella and the Rhyming Man"  ... and Casty for his time-exploring documentarian Uma as seen in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories 713-714 (2010)!  And writer Francesco Vacca does a fantastic job of bringing those two worlds of different eras together! 

When writing the American English script for this special story, and in order to lend authenticity to the story and fidelity to the original creators, I read both original stories by Walsh and Gottfredson and by Casty and studied them carefully before proceeding.  

I wanted to get everything right and, once you read The Rhyming Man's first line, you'll *know* I did my homework!  It's truly an HONOR to work with these characters and, especially as we have a (hopefully friendly) competition with other publishers, editor David Gerstein (the "Secret Weapon" that those "other guys" don't have) and I do everything we can to make these the best Disney comics they can be!  

We hope you'll all agree, once you read MICKEY MOUSE (Fantagraphics) #2 - Legacy No. 332!

Oh, The Rhyming Man, he has a plan, 

To throw the whole world a curve.

With sinister rhyme, he'll wreak havoc with time.

Does this villain ever have nerve!

Mickey, Goofy, and Uma, they know it's no rumor, 

And set out to stop this fiend cold.

Will they succeed, or will he do the deed? 

Let's hope it's the Rhymer who'll fold! 

...Sorry, Mr. Rhyming Man... I just couldn't help myself!  Are you a FAN, or giving it a PAN?  ...Heh! Nothing personal about that "folding stuff" up above, eh? ...Um, just hyperbole, you know "exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally" ...Heh? 

...Oh, and do ya think could I call you "Rhymey"?  ...No?  Oh, well...

BLOT (is) OUT!

On sale today, November 19, 2025, the FIRST ISSUE of MICKEY MOUSE from Fantagraphics' new standard comics line - #1 Legacy Number 331!

It's MICKEY!  It's GOOFY!  It's THE PHANTOM BLOT ...perhaps more than one! It's CASTY! ...and, finally, it's merely me! 

It's also me on the SUPER GOOF backup!  

All this and a two-page Floyd Gottfredson old-timey Sunday strip from 1933!

  BUT WAIT... THERE'S MORE!  

David Gerstein's extremely informative CROSSTALK column on Mickey and The Phantom Blot!

 SO, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!   

Blot out to your favorite comics retailer (...as I did today), and have yourself a Blot-ing Good Time (...as I *also* did today) with MICKEY MOUSE (FANTAGRAPHICS) #1 LEGACY NUMBER 331!

Unlike Mickey, I can't quite promise that you won't "have a care in the world" but, like that legendary "spoonful of sugar", it will definitely "make the medicine go down" much sweeter!  

...or maybe scarier?  

 ...See ya in the Comments Section! 

Now It Can Be Told!

 The time has come, the Walrus said... 

...To speak of many things!  

...Of why this Blog was left for dead...

...Despite your many "pings"! 

My sincerest apologies to all you wonderful friends (friends both to me and to this humble Blog) for your concern - and especially your continued contact with comments - and it's time I finally shared the long, long story.  

Frankly, from mid-summer until very recently, it's been a bad time for us.  

To those brave solus that inquired, my stock reply was "It's not health! It's not divorce! Anything else can work itself out!" 

And, after a long series of unpleasant experiences that brought us unprecedented levels of stress, things did - actually, and in total - work themselves out!  

I'll not go into details, as living through it once was difficult enough, but neither Esther nor I were at fault... and, paradoxically, we also both were!  

BUT, IT'S OVER NOW!  HOORAY! 

The end result is that we are moving! But a mere 6.30 miles from our present address. There were reasons having to do with the neighborhood - one that I've lived in (or around) since I was 14 (with only some small breaks) - but, having spent some time at our future address just this very day, we both love it, and can't wait until our closing date.  

So, I thank you for sticking with us, lo these many blog-barren months - and especially for all the comments, which kept coming in despite my lack of response.  I WILL (hopefully) GET TO THEM ALL IN THE NEAR FUTURE, among and around the herculean task of packing for the move!   

The comments actually meant a great deal to me as (...if you've followed some squarely-dropped hints) I was - and, to some degree, still am - considering ending this Blog.  I will do a post as to WHY at some point, but you're welcome to drop an opinion of your own!  

TO HAPPIER THINGS:  My work with Fantagraphics and Gold Key continues with great stuff coming from both publishers... and then there's THIS... 

YES!!!  IT'S MICKEY!!!  IT'S THE PHANTOM BLOT!!! ...and I'm there, too! 

I must have turned this in close to two years ago, but IT'S FINALLY HERE!  

And, if I've got the schedule right, Issues 2 and 3 will have an amazing story by Casty (...with me as a hanger-on... of the "for dear life" variety) using another villain from the Gottfredson/Walsh era who has been too seldom seen - and, as a writer, I can say - with good reason!  GREAT VILLAIN, but very hard to write.  Some of you should guess it pretty quickly, with THAT hint! 

It WAS the most difficult and effort-intensive task I ever performed for Fantagraphics (...and all those drop-out Disney publishers that preceded them)... but I did it for our esteemed editor David Gerstein, for Mickey, for the Very-Hard-To-Write-Villain... and especially for YOU!   

Gold Key is way too early to talk about, but I've taken on some interesting duties there as well.  

See you in the Comments Section (...I hope?) 

There's Just Something About a Pink Bow...

A universal shorthand technique in creating a female counterpart to a male character - in animation and in comics - is to give that counterpart a HAIR BOW... usually pink!  

But, how would that play out in real life?  Well, Cici's here to show you!  

...And doesn't she look CUTE?  With or without the bow!  

Adventures in Comic-Boxing: Disney Mini (not Minnie) Giveaway Comics!

From the pages of BLONDIE #32 (Harvey Comics, Cover Date (July, 1951), we find this interesting promotion for Wheaties breakfast cereal... 

Now I wasn't an athlete by any stretch of the imagination, but even *I* would "eat my Wheaties" to get my hands on these!

...Alas, not being alive in 1951, I had to do it the hard way! 

BTW, that's Paul Murry doing the cover for "Mickey Mouse and the Magic Mountain", as well as the interior art for "Donald Duck and the Inca Idol" the latter of which I wrote of an amazing fact about my particular copy HERE!

Harvey Eisenberg also did the interior for "Mickey Mouse and the Stagecoach Bandits", so there are lots of unexpected pleasures to be found among these little gems. 

And there were FOUR SETS of these (with eight mini-comics per set) released between 1950 and 1951. A worthy pursuit for any Disney comics completist!  

EXTRA ADDED ILLUSTRATION:

In my response to our great friend Sergio's comments, I added the following illustration! ...To see why, go to the Comments Section and and soak-up some '60's cereal pop (...with no "snap" or "crackle") culture! 

Just for the record: I hung all of those Pooh toys on the rim of my cereal bowl, as pictured on the box front!  I did not, however, attach them to my pencils, as pictured on the box side!  ...That just seemed too painful a thing to do to a beloved Bear of Little Brain!

Happy New Year 2025!

 Happy New Year 2025!  

...Or should I, as that famous TV game show goes, phrase it in the form of a question?  

 ...Happy New Year 2025?  

As far as my answer goes... I DUNNO!  

I see some very bad things (or, at the very least, norm-shattering, chaotic things) ahead for 2025 for both our country and the world as a whole! Most of you can probably guess what, as I nonchalantly sidestep the specifics of a topic that is out-of-bounds at this humble Blog.   

Of course, I'm referring to the sudden and unexpected cancelation of THE BATMAN & SCOOBY-DOO MYSTERIES...

...An unfortunate occurrence not to be confused with, or mistaken for, any "real world" events of a political nature - though some of those could stand to be suddenly and unexpectedly canceled too! ...Batman and Scooby, we need your team-ups now, more than ever!  ...There, was that nonchalantly-sidestepping enough for you?  If not, I can try again... Oh, you just want me to move on?  Yeah, I think I should too!  

On the other hand, looking inward (as opposed to the increasingly ominous view "outside", with no more BATMAN & SCOOBY-DOO MYSTERIES to enjoy every month), things are looking very bright - and that's where I will tend to keep my attentions focused!  

Like HERE! 

And HERE!

And the all-great, all-new, all-exciting things comics-wise that are coming in 2025... that, darn it all, I STILL can't talk about!  ...Sorry (at least for now!) 

Happy New Year 2025!  ...For Real!  

TIAHBlog at 16 Presents 16 Covers -- Number Six: M-I-C-K-E- WHY?

C'mon, sing it with me... "Who's the leader of the club that's made for you and me?  M-I-C-K-E-Y  M-O-U-S-E!"  

Yes, MICKEY MOUSE... M-I-C-K-E-Y  M-O-U-S-E!  I daresay the most oft spelled character name in animation and comics history!  ...Agreed?  ...Sure!

Then how do you explain the cover of MICKEY MOUSE #159 (Gold Key Comics, Cover Date: October, 1975) and its unforgivably-flawed story-describing caption?  

 "MICKY explores an undersea pirate stronghold..." 

Well, I'm not quite sure who "MICKY" is, but I hope "MICKEY", along with GOOFY, is close behind to rescue him if needed!  Who knows, they might have to rescue "GOFY" as well!   

A most uncharacteristic front-cover-faux-pas from a publisher not known for making "Charlton-esque" errors!   

I can't just let Gold Key sit out there with such a blunder to its credit, so let's find reasons to get it off the hook...

Being underwater, the "E" that should have been in "MICKY" dissolved in the salty brine, or imploded from the intense undersea pressure?  Maybe it even drowned!  

 BLUB! BLUB! BLUB! ...Eerie silence!  

Perhaps the caption was the work of a German-born copy-writer, from where they spell the character's name as "MICKY MAUS"?  

 Ah, I've got it... It was the first manifestation of the REBELLIOUS SENTIENT COMIC BOOK CAPTIONS from Casty's magnificent sci-fi/horror send-up "Night of the Living Text"... My personal favorite of every Duck and Mouse story I've ever worked on!  

It would seem that, as far back as 1975, these evil expeditors of exposition were plotting their eventual all out assault on Mouseton and our hero - and the unthinkable misspelling of his name on a cover was but a test run for something big that finally broke in WALT DISNEY'S COMICS AND STORIES #733 (IDW, Cover Date: July 2016)!  

Since 1975, the captions were dormant "Sleeper Agents" just waiting for the right time to strike... and when CAPTIONS are "Sleeper Agents", they are literally  LETTERED... "ZZZZZ!"

 YEAH! THAT'S IT... and I'm STICKIN' WITH IT!  

So, one more cover "in the books"! ...Cover?  ...Books?  ...Get it?  Cover Number Six: MICKEY MOUSE #159...

...With just a smidgeon of sabotage from a stray sentient caption, that accomplished the deed with... (wait for it)... the Greatest of "E"s! 

Come back again tomorrow for... who the heck knows!  Not me, and I run the joint!  

TIAHBlog at 16 Presents 16 Covers -- Number Five: Desert Awesomeness!

If you were to describe the cover of BATMAN #244 (DC Comics, Cover Date: September, 1972) to someone who's never seen it, based strictly on what it looks like...

...You could honestly say "A unconscious Batman lies out in the desert, stripped of his costume - but still wearing his mask" and that "still wearing his mask" part would have it sound ridiculous!  I daresay it would conjure up images of  "Batman surfing, costumed in full cape and cowl". 

So much so that when I created a synopsis for this cover at GCD, I played it safe by simply writing: "Batman is left for dead in the desert by Ra's Al Ghul". 

Not that I don't LOVE "Surfing Batman and Joker" (I do!), but this amazing cover image by the great Neal Adams is ANYTHING BUT THAT!  

So, awesome is this cover, that I would put it in my Top Three - and would be hard pressed to name the other two... even in a Blog series like this that features covers that I like!  

I didn't have this issue at a teen-reader. I had made the conscious (albeit reluctant) choice to give up comic books earlier in the year... because, in those less-enlightened days, you just couldn't get girls if you were still reading comics!  ANY type of comics, not just "kids' comics"!  

I still remember the day that fateful decision was made...I remember a lot of things, don't I?  I had a girl over the house, and had carelessly left THIS COMIC out where it could be plainly seen!  

With retroactive apologies to both Cecil Beard and Jack Manning, who produced a typically good story for the time (with an unexpectedly oddball ending, I might add), I awkwardly went through an almost sit-com-y series of moves to distract "Doreen" (There, I said her name - hope she never reads this!) from seeing this book containing their work!  

I was successful in keeping both my reputation and relationship intact, but I solemnly vowed to never go through this again - so good bye, old friends... your sacrifice was for the greater good! 

Comics were easier to give up than I thought, thanks in large part to the Hanna-Barbera license going to Charlton in 1970, and the slow, inexorable decline that had begun infecting Gold Key since 1969. 

Where old favorites once looked like this...

...Sadly, they now looked like THIS!  

THESE THINGS or GIRLS?  Can ya BLAME ME? 

Batman had NOT gone into such decline by 1972, quite to the contrary, producing such fine issues as these during the previous year...

 

 Is that a "Legendary Super-Pickax" (Hi, Sergio!), or are you just "glad to see Batman"?  

...But, with my typically bad timing, Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams were literally revolutionizing Batman at the time, and would come up with their best work in introducing Ra's Al Ghul...

...And I JUST MISSED IT! 

Comics would start inching their way back into my life in 1980-1981, and would come full-roaring back before the end of the decade!  We were on our way toward a new world where guys no longer felt self-conscious about reading comics.  Heck, gals were now reading them too!  Vive La (lack of) Difference! 

If only this had happened sooner, when I could have kept buying them new at 15-35 cents each, instead of retroactively chasing those ghosts at dealer prices!  (Groan!)  

So there you have Cover Number Five: BATMAN #244 in all its (as the post title says) "Desert Awesomeness"!  A cover so nice I bought it twice!  My original mid-80s purchase...

...And another one to be autographed (on separate occasions - close to the turn of the century) by writer Denny O' Neil, artist Neal Adams, and interior story inker (later editor) Dick Giordano!  

 Denny O' Neil and Dick Giordano 

 Neal Adams 

...Where will we go for Number SIX?  Come back and find out!