Monday, February 9, 2015

Playlist: Songs of Comic Strips

Newspaper Comic Strips Were Adapted Into Other Entertainment Media Such as Radio, Movies, Television and Records
Image Courtesy of Blaine's Puzzle Blog

This round of playlist suggestions has a set of rules: the songs are inspired by properties that began as comic strips. So any characters that originated in animation or comic books that were subsequently featured in comic strips (such as Felix the Cat, Mickey Mouse, Superman or Archie) are excluded! Sometime down the line, we'll shine a light on music inspired by comic book characters, and other variations… for today, let's get some printer's ink on our fingers.

There's Plenty of Links at the End of the Post to Start Up Your Own Comic Strip Playlist
Image Courtesy of Karl Tryggvason
Artwork by Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts © Peanuts Worldwide, LLC

I'm also happy to tell you that beyond the usual links to Amazon and iTunes albums, this playlist offers FOUR free MP3 downloads, with links to several more free tracks to get your own comic strip playlist going.

Sunday Funnies
During the 20th century, a significant highlight of the American weekend occurred each Sunday morning. Often procured by a trip to the corner drugstore as a thick bundle held snugly under the arm, or as a thunderous THUMP on the front porch. Either delivery method meant that much-anticipated token, the Sunday edition of the local newspaper, had arrived.

An Example of a 1939 Sunday Comics Page
Scan Courtesy of Animation Resources

Of all the expanded features within, the section ranking highest desirability was the large, full-color comic section. The Sunday comics were most often exposed as the front-facing layer cradling the bulky strata of the entire Sunday edition, like tempting and colorful Christmas wrapping paper. The Sunday comics were lovingly referred to early on as "The Funny Papers" or simply "The Funnies."

Government Worker Reads the Sunday Comics on the Back Porch at Arlington Farms, VA Residence for Women (1943)
Image Courtesy of History in Photos

It was here that the latest chapter of favorite serialized adventures such as Chester Gould's Dick Tracy and Milton Caniff's Terry and the Pirates were found, leaving another cliffhanger for next week's not-to-be-missed installment. Laughs could be had from Frank King's Gasoline Alley and Al Capp's Li'l Abner, while Walt Kelly's Pogo brought hilarious social and political through the eyes of the "critters" of Okefenokee Swamp.

Whether in crisp black and white daily strips or in full color on Sundays, it's easy to see why "The Funnies" became the most coveted section for every member of the household. This was an especially important (and affordable) diversion during the era of the Great Depression.

Appointment Reading
How popular were the continuing adventures of newspaper comics? A 1945 New York City newspaper delivery strike left readers and subscribers frustrated that their households were missing out on the latest installments of their favorite comic strips. So much so, that New York’s Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia solved the problem by reading the Sunday comics over the air during his weekly radio address. Thanks to the archives of WNYC public radio, here's a sample clip of the Mayor's July 8, 1945 broadcast:



Early Comic Strip Songs
From the early part of the 20th century, several comic strips had already stood out in popularity, and became vehicles for other media. Since radio was the most popular form of entertainment within the home, it was a natural conclusion to adapt comic strip characters into music and audio dramatizations.

"Barney Google (Foxtrot)" by Billy Rose Became the First Popular Song Based on a Comic Strip Property
Image Courtesy of museumofplay.org
© King Features Syndicate, Inc.

The first hit song that was birthed from a comic strip was released in 1923: a novelty song titled ”Barney Google (Foxtrot)" (better known as "Barney Google with the Goo-Goo-Googly Eyes") written and performed by Billy Rose. The song was penned in honor of Billy DeBeck's Barney Google and Spark Plug at the peak of the strip's popularity, and performed by several recording stars of the 1920s and 1930s. Though such buzz words didn't exist at the time, these were the beginning days of synergistic multimedia properties.

Time-Traveling Caveman Alley Oop Became the Subject of a No. 1 Pop Single in 1960
Image Courtesy of I Love Comix Archive
Artwork by V.T. Hamlin
Alley Oop © United Features Syndicate

Years later, the trend continued on the pop charts: V.T. Hamlin's comic strip caveman Alley Oop was immortalized by The Hollywood Argyles in 1960 with a number one hit of the same name. The Royal Guardsmen capitalized on the success of the Peanuts craze, with "Snoopy vs. the Red Baron" in 1966 and several follow-ups afterward—but their songs would only be marginally identified with the Peanuts strip.

Comic Strips Become Animated Shorts

Winsor McCay Personally Produced Two Silent Animated Shorts Based on His Comic Strip Masterpiece Little Nemo in Slumberland
Image Courtesy of Dr. Grob's Animation Review
Artwork by Winsor McKay

Theatrical animation became the next logical outlet, around the time Walt Disney began his ascent to fame due to the smashing popularity of Mickey Mouse. Winsor McCay had already created silent animated shorts of his Little Nemo in Slumberland strip, while Max Fleischer made an important addition to his own Studio: Fleischer had obtained the rights to produce a series of animated theatrical shorts starring the breakout character Popeye the Sailor from Elzie Segar's Thimble Theater.

The Well-Known Tune "I'm Popeye the Sailor Man" Made Its Debut With Popeye's First Theatrical Cartoon in 1933
Image Courtesy of Heritage Auctions
© King Features Syndicate, Inc.

Popeye's memorable theme song "I'm Popeye the Sailor Man" was penned by Fleischer Studio composer Sammy Lerner, and became as popular as the one-eyed sailor himself. Early merchandising efforts beyond audio and animation were also beginning to surface: George Herriman's Krazy Kat, Sidney Smith's The Gumps and other popular strips began to surface on products such as toys, rag dolls, writing tablets, and children’s savings banks.

Comic Strips Come to Life

Album Art for the 1945 Command Performance of Dick Tracy in B-Flat
Design by Dan Cunningham
Dick Tracy © TMS News & Features, LLC

It wasn't long before weekly radio broadcasts with actors portraying the comic strip characters would begin to appear as regular series: Harold Gray's Little Orphan Annie became a major hit over the airwaves, just as it had on newspaper pages. During War Time, a particularly star-studded radio broadcast of a Dick Tracy musical was performed on the February 15, 1945 episode of Command Performance for The Armed Forces Radio Service. 

Bing Crosby, Dinah Shore, Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland Perform Dick Tracy in B-Flat for The Armed Forces Radio Service Broadcast

Dick Tracy in B-Flat (or For Goodness Sakes Isn’t He Ever Going to Marry Tess Trueheart?!) featured talent no less than Bing Crosby, Jimmy Durante, Judy Garland, Bob Hope, Dinah Shore, and Frank Sinatra, with an orchestra conducted by Meredith Wilson of The Music Man fame! Though played for laughs rather than action or drama, the musical is filled with original songs and parodies of many other popular tunes of the day.

Chic Young's Blondie Became an Ongoing Series of 28 Films For Columbia Pictures From 1938 to 1950
Image Courtesy of Kirby McDaniel Movie Art
© Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.

On the silver screen, animated shorts continued to adapt strips such as Otto Soglow's The Little King and Rudolph Dirks's The Captain and the Kids. Chic Young's Blondie became a successful series of live-action films for Columbia Pictures, followed up by an intended series of live-action films based on Frank King's Gasoline Alley.

An Ever-Lovin' Blue-Eyed Record

Songs of the Pogo Was an Original Album Based on the Famous Comic Strip
Image Courtesy of Whirled of Kelly
Artwork by Walt Kelly, © Pogo Possum, Inc.

Moving beyond a single recording, another tactic was to compile an entire album based upon a comic strip—an early example of this is Songs of the Pogo from 1956. Walt Kelly chose several of the cleverly-worded doggerel poems sprinkled throughout paperback collections of his Pogo strips, and let composer Norman Monath construct tunes around them.

Walt Kelly Himself Performed a Few Selections for Songs of the Pogo
Image Courtesy of Flickr User VCU Libraries
Artwork by Walt Kelly, © Pogo Possum, Inc.

Those unfamiliar with the strip's Lewis Carroll flavored nonsense might grouse that most of the songs from the original LP have little to do with the Pogo characters, but the result is an excellent listening experience that is pure Walt Kelly. So pure, in fact, that Kelly himself, performs a few tracks on the album: his rendition of "Go-Go Pogo" is in the best style of a lively, tongue-twisting, vaudevillian opening act.

Comics Strips on the Small Screen
When television proved a success, a whole new landscape of opportunity opened up for comic strip adaptations. Limited or "planned" animation shorts featuring King Features strips such as Beetle Bailey and Snuffy Smith were created for modest budgets to insert into local kiddie TV programs. Meanwhile, entire blocks of new Popeye television shorts were created for both local and syndicated television packages.

The Addams Family Became a Success in Rerun Syndication For Decades
Image Courtesy of Mashable.com
© MGM Television/Sony Pictures Television

Hank Ketcham's Dennis the Menace became a memorable live-action family sitcom. A popular "slice of life" cartoon series in The New Yorker depicting a macabre clan also found its way to television: the single-panel gags created by Charles Addams turned into a monster success when The Addams Family premiered in 1964. The show's memorable music by Green Acres composer Vic Mizzy became an iconic TV theme song. The famous finger-snapping tune continues to be utilized each time The Addams Family is revived in various media.

Charles Schulz's Peanuts Became the First Animated Television Special Based on a Comic Strip
Image Courtesy of Red Carpet Report
Peanuts © Peanuts Worldwide, LLC

Television also became the perfect platform for an entirely new format of animating comic strip characters, beginning in 1965. A Charlie Brown Christmas premiered as a half-hour special on CBS, launching over fifty television specials, an animated series, and four feature films starring the Peanuts characters created by Charles M. Schulz. The television specials turned the already popular strip into a cultural phenomenon, the success of which continues to this day.

Vince Guaraldi Created the Unmistakable Jazz Stylings Identified With Animated Peanuts Projects
Image Courtesy of Jazz Profiles
Photo © Ray Avery/CTSImages

A tremendous part of the unique charm of the original Peanuts specials was the jazz underscore written and performed by San Francisco Bay Area musician Vince Guaraldi. After fifty years, his original composition "Linus and Lucy" stands out as the best-known music based on a comic strip, and has since become an American standard.

A Boom in the 1970s & 1980s
The unmistakable success of the Peanuts specials led to many other strips attempting to make the jump into television specials from the 1970s onward. These projects were received with varying degrees of success, but only a few landed ratings high enough for the network to order a series of special, such as Bil Keane's The Family Circus.

1977's A Doonesbury Special Featured Several Original Songs
Image Courtesy of VHS Collector
Doonesbury © G.B. Trudeau

One notable special was an adaptation of Garry Trudeau's topical strip Doonesbury, produced by animation veterans John and Faith Hubley for 1977's A Doonesbury Special. The special boasted full, personality-driven animation techniques (a rarity by the 1970s) and original pop songs that reflected the mindset of the upcoming generation. The songs were "performed" by the strip's resident pop star Jimmy Thudpucker, which were later collected on an LP featuring additional music by the fictional star.

Zonker Briefs Jimmy Thudpucker on Ginny Slade's Social Stances in Preparation for "Ginny's Song"
Image Courtesy of Streetlaughter
Doonesbury © G.B. Trudeau

The album also included a song that appeared as a 45" single two years earlier: "Ginny's Song" was a Thudpucker campaign song that tied directly into a strip storyline, in which law student Ginny Slade made a bold run for Congress.

The Garfield Television Specials Featured Original Songs With Vocals by Lou Rawls and Desiree Goyette
Image Courtesy of Pinterest User Jewel Harmon
Garfield © Paws, Inc.

The next big comic strip-to-television success arrived in the form of a lazy, fat, dry-witted house cat created by Jim Davis. In fact, Davis's Garfield became the first strong competitor to Schulz's Peanuts, as 1982 brought the CBS special Here Comes Garfield.

Album Art for the Here Comes Garfield Soundtrack LP
Garfield © Paws, Inc.

Perfectly voiced by Lorenzo Music, the sleepy-eyed cat struck a significant chord with the "Me" generation, leading to a series of annual TV specials and a top-rated Saturday morning animated series. A significant stamp of the original Garfield specials were the original songs performed by Low Rawls and Desiree Goyette—like Guaraldi's jazz score, the cool R&B vocals of Rawls was a unique element which gave the animated Garfield shows an identity.

Comic Strips on Broadway

Li'l Abner Heralded the Start of Broadway Musicals Based on Comic Strips
Image Courtesy of New Line Theater
Li'l Abner © Capp Enterprises, Inc.

Al Capp's Li'l Abner had made it's way to the Great White Way in 1956, packed full of songs with lyrics by the legendary Johnny Mercer. The musical Li'l Abner had respectable run on Broadway, but quickly became the darling of community theaters and school plays for decades to come—it is continually mounted across the country thanks to the value of simple sets and a large cast. A film version was produced by Paramount Pictures in 1959.

The Original Broadway Production of Annie Ran From 1977 to 1983
Pictured: Sandy Faison as Grace, Reid Shelton as Daddy Warbucks, Andrea McArdle as Annie
Image Courtesy of The New York Public Library
Photograph by Martha Swope
© The New York Public Library

Trudeau's Doonesbury experienced a brief run on Broadway, as did the Peanuts gang in several revivals of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. But the heaviest hitter was 1977's Annie, the Broadway musical version of Little Orphan Annie, which brought the world the well-known anthem "Tomorrow." The original Broadway production won a whopping seven Tony awards, and ran for nearly six years. Like Li'l Abner, Annie was adapted into a feature film by Columbia Pictures in 1982.

I'm a Boinger

Bloom County's Resident Heavy Metal Band "Deathtöngue" Became "Billy and the Boingers" Under the Pressure of a Senate Hearing Within the Strip
Image Courtesy of DeviantArt User MikeWeasel
Bloom County © Berkeley Breathed

Berkeley Breathed’s Bloom County also caught on quickly in the early 1980s, due in large part to Opus, the naive but outspoken penguin. Breathed’s humorous response to Garfield was Bill the Cat: a repulsive and near-comatose feline whose sole purpose was to generate sales of T-shirts, coffee mugs and plush dolls. Bill and Opus soon become the heart of the strip: for example, the pair ran for U.S. presidency on “The Meadow Ticket” on several occasions.

Album Art for Billy and the Boingers: Bootleg
Artwork by Berkeley Breathed
Bloom County © Berkeley Breathed

One of the most famous storylines centered around loudmouth lawyer Steve Dallas forming a heavy metal band headlined by Bill the Cat—their head-banging band Deathtöngue, was re-christened Billy and the Boingers during a series of daily strips featuring an accusatory Senate hearing on the negative effects of rock music. A 1987 Sunday comic invited actual bands to submit Boingers songs to be released on a flexi-disc record in the Bloom County collection, Billy and the Boingers: Bootleg.

Closing the 20th Century

Baby Blues Became an Animated Sitcom on the WB Network
Image Courtesy of Wikipedia
Baby Blues © Baby Blues Partnership

The mega-budget live-action Dick Tracy feature (which we discussed HERE) failed to spark the interest of film-goers. While the 1990s saw some new comic strips debut in newspapers, only a few made the transition to animation: in particular, Dilbert by Scott Adams, and Baby Blues by Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott premiered as prime time animated television series. The latter featured the hit song "Its All Been Done" by Barenaked Ladies as the opening theme. Culling comic book properties or developing new, wholly-owned properties such as Spongebob Squarepants became the industry standard for most animation studios.

Aaron McGruder's The Boondocks Became a Popular Animated Series on Cartoon Network's [adult swim] Progamming Block in 2005
Image Courtesy of LeSean Thomas
The Boondocks © Aaron McGruder

One exception to this was Aaron McGruder's groundbreaking strip The Boondocks, which was developed as a series for Cartoon Network's [adult swim] block of evening programming. In line with the strip, the animated series took a slicing satirical view through the eyes of McGruder's adolescent protagonist Huey Freeman, who retains a harsh view of modern society in contrast to the extreme beliefs of the characters who surround him. The Boondocks animated series ran for four seasons, garnering critical acclaim for its sharp writing and hilarious, but brutal honesty.

A Vanishing Breed
With the ever-shrinking page count and newspaper circulation of the 21st Century, comic strips have taken a back seat to their successors of comic books. But there may be promise for new comic strips to thrive thanks to online publishing. Not to mention, each year an increasing number of publishers release hardcover editions of comprehensive, archived editions of classic newspaper strips. Though the delivery methods may change, the art of comic strip storytelling has a future for generations to come.

With some background fleshed out, let's have some music...

Album Art for Songs of Comic Strips Playlist Suggestions

There's a nice variety in this list of suggestions, which I've put together in order of the original appearance of each strip, rather than the projects that featured them. They flow nicely, with the capper of the full 48-minute broadcast of Dick Tracy in B-Flat, courtesy of our friends at archive.org.

Each song listed below is available on Amazon.com and iTunes. As usual, direct links to albums for both stores are provided below the description of each song, where you can listen to audio samples and purchase those that you might like to create your own Comic Strip inspired playlist. Please note: I don't get a piece of the profits if you make a purchase—the links are there to make things easy. While sampling, you might discover some new favorites!

Barney Google 
Artist: The Mellomen (Featuring Thurl Ravenscroft)
Album: Barbershop Melodies Vol. 3
Amazon  |  iTunes

You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile
Artist: Donald Craig, Laurie Beechman, Edie Cowan and Penny Worth
Album: Annie (Original 1977 Broadway Cast Recording)
Amazon  |  iTunes

I'm Popeye the Sailor Man
Artist: Billy Costello
Album: I'm Popeye the Sailor Man
Amazon  |  iTunes

Sooner or Later (From 1990's Feature Film Dick Tracy)
Artist: Bernadette Peters
Album: Bernadette Peters: Sondheim, Etc (Live at Carnegie Hall)
Amazon  |  iTunes

Alley Oop
Artist: The Hollywood Argyles
Album: Alley Oop / Hully Gully
Amazon  |  iTunes

Jubilation T. Cornpone
Artist: Stubby Kaye and Cast
Album: Li'l Abner Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Amazon  |  iTunes

The Addams Family
Artist: Victor Mizzy and His Orchestra
Album: Original Music From The Addams Family
Amazon  |  iTunes
 
Go-Go Pogo
Artist: Waly Kelly (with Norman Monath)
Album: Songs of the Pogo
Amazon  |  iTunes

Linus and Lucy
Artist: The Vince Guraraldi Trio
Album: The Definitive Vince Guaraldi
Amazon  |  iTunes

Ginny's Song
Artist: Jimmy Thudpucker and the Walden West Rhythm Section
Album: Doonesbury's Jimmy Thudpucker Greatest Hits
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FREE MP3

Here Comes Garfield
Artist: Lou Rawls
Album: Here Comes Garfield (45 rpm Single)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FREE MP3

I'm a Boinger
Artist: Billy and the Boingers
Album: Billy and the Boingers: Bootleg
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FREE MP3

It's All Been Done
Artist: Barenaked Ladies
Album: Stunt
Amazon  |  iTunes

The Boondocks (Main Title)
Artist: Asheru
Album: The Boondocks (Music From the Animated Series)
Amazon  |  iTunes

Dick Tracy in B-Flat
Artist: Armed Forces Radio Service
Command Performance (February 15, 1945 Broadcast)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FREE MP3

ADDITIONAL MUSIC:

Doonesbury's Jimmy Thudpucker Greatest Hits
Complete Album with Artwork and Liner Notes
Courtesy of Taylor Jessen's Fuji Puzzle Box

Billy and the Boingers flexi-disc "B" side
"U Stink But I Love U"
Courtesy of firmland.com


NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Monday, January 5, 2015

Postage Stamps of EPCOT Center

Caribbean Stamp Set Commemorating Wat Disney World's EPCOT Center
Stamp Art © Disney

Welcome back and Happy 2015! Sincere apologies for a noticeable lapse of activity here since October—but with an unexpectedly busy Holiday season tucked away, things are finally gearing back up for new content around these parts. Thanks to all the returning readers for your outstanding feedback last year, and thanks to all new visitors who've found their way here, many through a recent sponsorship via The Season Pass Podcast (more on that show at the end of this post.)

A Special Welcome to Listeners of The Season Pass Podcast
Logo © The Season Pass Podcast

Since we're looking to the future, this first post of 2015 takes a glimpse back at a theme park that looked ahead. Cleaning up an old bedroom set, I discovered a small wax envelope underneath a bookcase for many years containing about 125 Walt Disney themed postage stamps from around the world in the early-to-mid 1980s.

WAK! A Caribbean Stamp Featuring a Donald Duck Stamp Gag by Carl Barks
Image Courtesy of Flickr User Gianfranco Goria
Stamp Art © Disney

Many of the stamps featured unique illustrations, each focused on a general or specific theme. Two stand-out themes found within were selections of an "American Legends" series with the animated depiction of Johnny Appleseed from Melody Time (1948) and John Henry (twelve years prior to the release of Walt Disney Feature Animation's animated short John Henry).

The First U.S. Walt Disney Postage Stamp Was Walt Himself
Image Courtesy of Yesterland
Artwork © Disney

Despite the focus on American Legends, all of the stamps within the envelope were issued outside of the United States. Following Walt Disney's death in 1966, a commemorative stamp was issued featuring his portrait, less than two years later, bucking the Post Office policy of a 10-year wait between an individual's passing and their image appearing on a stamp. While postage stamps featuring animated characters are commonplace in the 21st Century, they were non-existent in the United States prior to the mid-1990s. In fact, Mickey Mouse was pretty late to the game: he didn't actually show up on a U.S. postage stamp until 2004!

A Spectacular View From Shirley Heights, a Popular Perch on the Island of Antigua
Image © & Courtesy of Gosita.com

The second stand-out was a series of stamps focused on the original attractions found in the Future World section of Walt Disney World's EPCOT Center—the images immediately stood out in that they were the only stamps in the envelope to feature a theme park setting and the only designs to utilized character art with actual photographs. The EPCOT Center stamps were issued in the Eastern Caribbean dual-island state of Antigua and Barbuda in 1988.

Here are nice-quality scans of the six EPCOT Center stamps found within (click on each to enlarge)—the designers used the space nicely, fitting in not only the original EPCOT Center logo, but the icons and titles for each individual pavilion!

Spaceship Earth Stamp
Stamp Art © Disney

Universe of Energy Stamp
Stamp Art © Disney

World of Motion Stamp
Stamp Art © Disney

The Living Seas Stamp
Stamp Art © Disney

 The Land Stamp
Stamp Art © Disney

Journey Into Imagination Stamp
Stamp Art © Disney

Upon posting a quick photo of one of the stamps, Twitter user @MrProjectionist pointed out a link to Ken Polsson's comprehensive site, providing a small JPEG mosaic of the entire series (see image below). Interestingly, several images were repeated for higher postage rates... and the $5.00 stamp actually depicts a traveling Mickey Mouse heading towards the Contemporary Resort* six miles north of EPCOT Center!

The Entire 1988 Antigua and Barbuda EPCOT Center Series of Stamps
Screengrab From Topics on Stamps

Should I come across the remaining four stamps in the series offered for sale, I'll scan and add them in as an addendum. In the meantime, I'd like to welcome new visitors who arrived via The Season Pass Podcast. I Can Break Away is a co-sponsor of their most recent episode #292, the subject of which is sure to please fans of theme parks and EPCOT Center in particular: Part IV an exclusive interview with Walt Disney Imagineering's Tony Baxter.

Enjoy an Intelligent and Informative 4-Part Interview with Tony Baxter via The Season Pass Podcast
Image © & Courtesy of Disney Insider

You can listen to the new episode directly on the TSPP website HERE or subscribe via iTunes. The hosts are cordial and honest while covering a wide range of topics from all levels: creative, executive, and in-park employees. The full four-part interview with Tony Baxter can downloaded in the following episode links:





As I mentioned, episode #292 was co-sponsored by myself and another sponsor which deserves a look: the O-Zell Soda Company, which produces delicious natural sodas with a twist of real Walt Disney history! Please visit the link to their site and support The Walt Disney Birthplace Project in Chicago, IL: O-Zell Soda Company

Hey, Even Tony likes O-Zell!
Image © & Courtesy of O-Zell
* For our Walt Disney comic book sleuths: I believe that Contemporary Resort Mickey looks very much like he was drawn by Italian comic book legend Romano Scarpa. Thoughts?

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

The Disney Comics Story (1990-1993): The End of the Line

1993 Was the End of The Line for Disney's Self-Published Comic Books
Panel Detail From Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #250 (May 1961)
"Boxed-In" Story and Art by Carl Barks
© Disney

The story up to now...
Our PROLOGUE recounted the the comic collecting craze of the 1980s, due to the growing popularity of graphic novels, TV and cinematic adaptions of comic book properties in tandem with a growing speculation market. During this time, Walt Disney Productions was revived with the incoming leadership of Michael Eisner and Frank Wells. The reinvigorated Walt Disney Company decided to bring their comic book publishing in-house, reclaiming the U.S. Walt Disney comic book license from Another Rainbow Publishing's Gladstone imprint.

CHAPTER 1 revealed a corporate culture engulfing The Walt Disney Company, and the formation of their new in-house comic book line under W.D. Publications, Inc. The initial offerings of Roger Rabbit and Dick Tracy specials led to the April 1990 launch of eight monthly Walt Disney comic book titles under the imprint Disney Comics. The new line was the seeds of an ambitious plan for growth within the first year of publishing, with goal of becoming a major contender in the comic book industry.

CHAPTER 2 showcased the "Disney Explosion": launching Disney Adventures digest, specials and annuals in addition to monthly books during the first year of Disney Comics. New material tied to then-current television series, films and anniversaries was developed alongside aggressive plans for expansion to new imprints to present broader content. The original business plan was so aggressive that self-inflicted market saturation had begun to settle in, and the Disney Comics Album Series were discontinued after the first eight months of publishing.

CHAPTER 3 captured the effects of the "Disney Implosion": as the comic book craze was about to crest in 1991, Disney's accountants took a hard look at the numbers Disney Comics pulled in during it's first year of publishing. Economics dictated a severe slashing of monthly titles and the removal of Editor-in-Chief Len Wein, along with other members of the staff. Bob Foster was put in place as Managing Editor for the Disney Comics line, with a greater emphasis on classic material, to mimic the content Gladstone had published a few years prior.

1992: A New Mission in a New Year

Having trimmed the publishing schedule down to three monthly titles and a Limited Series under rotating themes, 1992 kicked off the second era of the Disney Comics line. Their goals were passive in contrast to the bombast of the April 1990 launch, as efforts were now to split the focus of their publications, catering either directly to the fan base or directly to kids. There remained an optimistic possibility of nurturing some kind of overlap between the two demographics.

The Scaled-Back Disney Comics Monthly Schedule as of January 1992
© Disney

Reactions to The Disney Implosion

Following the departure of Len Wein, Managing Editor Bob Foster assumed drafting the "Between the Lines" column and kept monthly messages to Disney Comics readers refreshingly direct. Foster openly acknowledged the changes that had taken place in late 1991, rightfully citing economics as the cause for the severe cancellation of titles.

Disney Comics Managing Editor Bob Foster and Legendary Comics Book Artist Russ Heath (Seated) at the 1991 San Diego Comic Con
Image © and Courtesy of Bob Foster

Reader feedback following the "Disney Implosion" was fairly limited in the letter columns of the three monthly titles, the correspondence largely continued to focus on the content and artists in previous issues.

Fans Openly Reacted to the Disney Comics Line Beyond the Pages of the Comic Books Themselves
© Comic Buyers Guide Cover Courtesy of All Things Valiant

Elsewhere, opinions were voiced loud, clear and unfiltered. In the days before online comments sections and message boards, there was another outlet for comics fans to cast their opinions: the weekly tabloid newspaper, Comics Buyers Guide.

The succeeding months brought sour reactions to the Disney Comics line, especially in contrast to the quality of the Gladstone books that preceded them. Negative views were submitted not only from fans, but from creatives involved in the comic book industry, and several who had worked directly on Disney Comics publications.

These comments carried enough weight to elicit a reply in Comics Buyers Guide from a Disney marketing executive, reassuring that the comics line would move forward, having learned real-time lessons from their tumultuous first eighteen months of publishing.

The Increasing Numbers of Disney Stores Across the Country Never Carried Disney Comics Beyond the Collectible Set of #1 Issues

The executive's reply was lengthy and laced with corporate buzz words, but especially insulting in the following claim:
"We're finding new places to sell comics, in addition to both the Disney theme parks and the Disney Stores which have sold selected comic book product since we began publishing...."
That statement may read like it was meant in good faith, but it was a flat-out lie.

If by "selected" they meant the premium-priced Collectible #1 Issue Box Set mentioned in Chapter 1 of this series, no one had ever seen any of the Disney Comics line offered in Disney's theme parks, nor in Disney Stores that continued to pop up in malls across America.

After all, wouldn't those have been the most logical places to find Disney comic books?

The 1992 Walt Disney Pictures Film Slate

Over in Burbank, the disappointing performance of The Rocketeer was quickly overcome by the tremendous success of Beauty and the Beast at the close of 1991. Walt Disney Pictures had plenty more up their sleeves for 1992 with high hopes for a variety of projects: the original live-action musical Newsies, a Honey, I Shrunk the Kids sequel, the original family comedy The Mighty Ducks, and a holiday season release for Feature Animation's next project: Aladdin.

The 1992 Release of Aladdin Would Score Another Big Hit for Feature Animation, and Fuel Upcoming Comic Books
© Disney

Of these films, only Aladdin would receive the graphic novel adaptation treatment from Disney Comics. The first eight pages of the adaptation were previewed in the December 1992 issue of Disney Adventuresadditional new Aladdin stories would later appear in the digest, as well.

Disney Comics Ad for Aladdin: The Official Movie Adaptation
Graphic Novel Cover Art by Xavier Vives Mateu
© Disney

Meanwhile, another family film was set to release that Christmas, featuring some familiar friends who were new to the Disney fold. This points us to a slight detour which will merge back onto the road of The Disney Comics Story and comic books overall...

Growing the Identity
 
George Lucas's Star Wars Saga Changed the Way Audiences, Filmmakers and Studios Looked at the Execution and Marketing of Films
Image Courtesy of Star Wars Legacy
© Lucasfilm, Ltd.

Under Michael Eisner's creative leadership, The Walt Disney Company had begun to make gestures in expanding their identity, by way of licensing or full acquisition of outside properties. The trend actually began as a result of projects a few years prior to Eisner's arrival: in particular, the Studio's unsuccessful efforts in the early 1980s to develop hit science-fiction/action properties to compete with the mega-blockbuster Star Wars films from 20th Century Fox and the built-in fan base of Paramount's new Star Trek theatrical series.

Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) and Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) Signaled a Profitable New Era of Science-Fiction Films
Poster Art © Lucasfilm, Ltd. & CBS Studios, Inc.

Walt Disney Productions had produced two films as a response to these cinematic sci-fi sagas: The Black Hole (1979) and TRON (1982). Both films created lush worlds with dynamic art direction and state-of-the-art special effects. They were also costly, and failed to strike a chord with a wide audience, despite significant promotion during their theatrical releases.

The Black Hole (1979) and TRON (1982): Big Budget Science-Fiction Films From Walt Disney Productions Didn't Fare as Well With Audiences
Poster Art © Disney

The Black Hole was considered especially uneven, unable to bear fruit as a film franchise, merchandise or a theme park attraction.TRON fared slightly better, having spawned a popular video arcade game and aspects of the film were folded into segments of Disneyland's PeopleMover track.

The deflated returns of those films combined with the high costs of developing unproved properties led to Eisner cannily forging deals with outside companies to utilize their I.P and talent under Disney-led projects.

The Walt Disney Company Began to Seek Outside Talent to Develop New Properties Starting With Captain EO for the Theme Parks
(Left to Right: Francis Ford Coppola, Michael Jackson, George Lucas)
Photo Courtesy of "F" This Movie

The first big outside licensing deal was negotiated with George Lucas's visual effects company Industrial Light and Magic to produce the cutting-edge 3-D film Captain EO, starring Michael Jackson and Angelica Houston. Following the completion of the third installment of the original Star Wars trilogy, Lucas was already committed to other film projects: his colleague Francis Ford Coppola stepped in as Director for the high-profile short film.

The Success of Captain EO Proved That Not All Creative Innovation Had to Come From Within the Halls of The Walt Disney Company
© Disney

Industrial Light and Magic created innovative 3-D effects especially for Captain EO in tandem with Jackson's equally innovative music and dance choreography. The scope and names attached to the 17-minute film was an expensive endeavor, but a portion of the costs were covered through the sponsorship by Kodak. Not to mention, the drawing power of Michael Jackson in the mid-1980s was basically the equivalent of printing your own money.

With the immediate success of Captain EO and dealings with George Lucas proving amicable, Disney was able to acquire the Star Wars license for exclusive use in their theme park attractions. A motion simulator attraction was already in development at Walt Disney Imagineering in Glendale, Californiait was simple to re-skin the concept to adapt it into the world of Star Wars as commercial galactic space travel, resulting in the opening of Star Tours in 1987.

Flanked by Familiar Friends, Michael Eisner and George Lucas Attend the Ribbon Cutting for Disneyland's Star Tours in 1987
Photo From Starlog #118 (May 1987)
Image Courtesy of The RPF

Both Captain EO and Star Tours came online within a year of each other at parks on both coasts, bringing new life and cultural relevance to the Disney name. This relationship benefited all parties, and lured in another colleague of George Lucas: Steven Spielberg, resulting in licensing the Indiana Jones franchise for Disney's theme parks.

The Outside I.P. Fit Well Into Disney's Theme Parks, Attracting Both Longtime and Brand New Guests
Poster Art © Disney/Lucasfillm, Ltd.

The Disney/Lucasfilm relationship became the tip of the iceberg for integrating content developed and established outside of The Walt Disney Company. The work of another media phenomenon had the attention of Mickey's new CEO for some time...

It's Time to Meet the Muppets

During Eisner's time heading television programming, he forged a relationship with the gentle creative force that was Jim Henson. Upon a remarkable rise in exposure during the 1960s, Henson's work was seen everywhere the following decade via commercials, television specials, thanks in large part to the strength of Sesame Street on PBS and eventually, The Muppet Show.

 In fact, Henson was widely considered as the creative successor to Walt Disney.

Due to His Creative Nature, Jim Henson Was Considered "The Next Walt Disney"
Image Courtesy of Zillion Arts

Michael Eisner recognized this trait early in his own career, and had attempted for several years to bring Henson's work into the Disney fold. In 1989 a deal was finally struck to acquire Henson and his core group of Muppet characters into the Disney portfolio, as well as multiple development deals for television, films and theme park attractions. Sadly, Henson's involvement was limited beyond a few initial projects, due to his untimely death in May of 1990.

Almost immediately after Henson's passing, the original Disney/Muppets deal fell apart. But a few projects came to fruition, including the 1992 holiday season release from Walt Disney Pictures: The Muppet Christmas Carol, a re-telling of the classic Charles Dickens tale starring Michael Caine as Ebeneezer Scrooge alongside the quirky Muppet cast.

The Muppet Christmas Carol Was the First Muppets Film After Jim Henson's Passing
Poster Art Courtesy of Music for a Mid-Life Geek
© Henson/Disney

Prior to the Disney acquisition, the comic book license for the wholly-owned Henson properties had been granted to Marvel starting in 1982. Marvel had produced comic book adaptations of Henson feature films The Dark Crystal, The Muppets Take Manhattan, Labryinth, and ongoing series of Fraggle Rock and Muppet Babies titles (both the animated Muppet Babies and Fraggle Rock Saturday morning series were co-produced by Marvel Productions Ltd.)

Not surprisingly, Marvel's Henson license was not renewed beyond 1989, right around the time of Disney's initial dealings with Henson and the decision to self-publish the Disney Comics line.

Throughout the 1980s, Marvel Comics Produced Several Comic Book Adaptations of Jim Henson's Film and Animation Projects
Cover Art © Henson/Marvel

Disney's increasingly brittle dealings with the Henson family showed in the lack of acknowledgement in the comic books, which would have been a proper vehicle for synergistic promotion. Though it seemed a likely candidate, there's no indication of Disney Comics preparing a graphic novel adaptation of A Muppet Christmas Carol or any other comic offerings with the famous Muppet characters.

The Studio's apathy towards the Muppets brand became even more telling in April of 1992, when the license to reprint the Marvel-produced stories from Muppet Babies was granted to Harvey Comics.

Everything Old is New Again

Rare and Restored Classic Content Began to Show Up in Disney Comics
Cover Art by Walt Kelly and Larry Mayer, Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #571 (March 1992)
Image Courtesy of COA I.N.D.U.C.K.S.
© Disney

The promise of the Disney Comics editorial staff proved true: traditionally-styled foreign reprints continued to appear as vintage gems were restored and recolored for upcoming issues, much of which had never been reprinted before. Some of the most unique material was found in the pages of Walt Disney's Comics and Stories, which experienced a doubling of page count with several 64-page issues in 1992.

Several Well-Crafted Foreign Stories Were Reprinted in the Style of Carl Barks
Panel Details From "The Money Ocean" Art by Marco Rota, Uncle Scrooge #266 (March 1992)
© Disney

The foreign stories had merit, as they were originally written for Denmark's The Gutenberghus Group in the tradition of Carl Barks stories. Several tales by Vicar and "The Money Ocean" by Marco Rota evoked the spirit and pacing of the 1950s work by Barks.

Creative Erosion

Due to the creative management policies of W.D. Publications, Inc., Gutenberghus also had indirectly attracted some new talent from the United States: management stated that original art would not be returned to the artists, which became a growing point of contention. Many artists negotiate to receive some or all of their original art to be returned in order to sell the work at comic conventions or through galleries and auction houses. Doing so provides a much-needed source of income for those under freelance or project-to-project contracts.

Don Rosa Receives an Award from Swedish Journalist Sture Hegerfors
Photo Courtesy of Introduc(k)tion to Don Rosa

During the end of the Gladstone era, fan favorite Don Rosa had been vocal in his disapproval on this policy, and made the transition to providing stories for Gutenberghus, his latest works would appear in overseas publications long before seeing print in the U.S. By 1992, some of Rosa's new work was beginning to trickle over into issues of Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge, providing a much-needed shot in the arm for Disney Comics.

In 1991 John Lustig and William Van Horn Also Began Producing Stories for The Gutenberghus Group
(Left to Right: John Lustig, William Van Horn, Garé Barks, Carl Barks)
Photo © & Courtesy of The Lustig and Van Horn Families

Immediately following the Disney Implosion, the "no new stories" mandate put in place for the Disney Comics line was quietly intended for the classic characters like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, leaving some North American comic creators to find work elsewhere. Both John Lustig and William Van Horn found a more stable home for their talents at Gutenberghus. Disney Comics could still use their workbut had no real editorial control over it, and had to go through the Danish company to acquire the stories.

Premiums and Promotions

Classic reprints and new stories by Don Rosa and William Van Horn were a good way to keep fans and collectors coming back for the next issue. There was enough cash left in the coffers to swing a few promotions to promote incentive for new readership, and to bolster consumers purchase of the monthly titles.

Valentines Are Flying

The 1992 Valentine's Day Poster Was an Elegant Premium
© Disney

February 1992 brought reprints of two Valentine's Day stories by Carl Barks and an exclusive centerfold poster in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #570. The centerfold was on glossy paper featuring a nicely rendered illustration of Mickey and Minnie based on the 1941 Mickey Mouse short The Nifty Nineties flanked by two of the cherubs from Fantasia.

While the centerfold poster made for a nice bonus, a bigger premium promotion was at hand: something Editors hoped would guarantee purchase of Donald Duck Adventures, Uncle Scrooge, and Walt Disney's Comics and Stories, across a three-month span!

The Duckburg Map

 The Duckburg Map Promotion Ran Across the Standard Disney Comics Titles Over the Course of Three Months 
© Disney

The months of April to June brought forth The Duckburg Map promotion, in which one full-page piece of nine were printed in each issue of the monthly titles to form a large 26" x 33" map of the town. The goal was for the readers to collect all nine pieces, and mail in proofs of purchase: in exchange, they would receive a set of electrostatic stickers (like vinyl Colorforms®) to place on the map, and a chance to win a piece of original Donald Duck newspaper comic strip art.

The promotion had several drawbacks: the map pieces were printed on actual pages within the comic, not as a high-quality insert like the February centerfold. Because of this, the printed ink on the reverse side was visible, and cutting out a map piece led to a loose or untethered adjoining page in the comic.

All Nine Duckburg Map Pieces Combined Into a Giant 26" x 33" Poster
Map Art by Joe Pearson and Larry Mayer
Image Courtesy of Calisota Online
© Disney

The bigger problem was that the map pieces were placed in the three titles geared to collectors, yet the map really keyed directly off the animated series DuckTales, not the traditional, Barks-style stories. The promotion may have been a desire to develop that overlap between sales demographics, but it wasn't properly executed, and came across as more youth-driven than collector-minded.

Flaws aside, the promotion was met with contestants: Disney Comics sent out the sticker sets to all those who entered, and there were three winners of comic strip art, and two winners of a print of the Duck Family Tree by William Van Horn.

Euro Disneyland

The Euro Disney Resort Opened in 1992 Among Controversy
Image Courtesy of Jenny RTW
© Disney

The Euro Disney Resort (now Disneyland Paris) had opened earlier in the year, 20 miles outside of the city of Paris. The project was plagued early on with local resistance, construction issues, and considered an under-performing endeavor due to a European recession that summer. Despite the public setbacks, Disney's marketing made sure to promote their newest destination through every possible channel of the company.

The Special "Passport to Disneyland Adventures" Disney Comics I.D. Box
© Disney

June featured a theme of "Passport to Disneyland Adventures" as a way to cross-promote the opening of the Euro Disney Resort. The three monthly titles eschewed their usual I.D. box at the top left for an "admission ticket" bearing the promotion, and (oddly) an illustration of the Anaheim, California Disneyland castle.

June 1992 Disney Comics Titles Featured Theme Park Inspired Stories
Panel Details From "Plunkett's Emporium" Art by Vicar, Uncle Scrooge #269 (June 1992)
© Disney

Translated stories from Gutenberghus opened on the streets of Euro Disney and transitioned into yarns based on locations within the parks: a medieval adventure in Fantasyland in Donald Duck Adventures, and a pair of nostalgic Main Street U.S.A. stories in Uncle Scrooge. Walt Disney's Comics and Stories, reprinted "Mastering the Matterhorn" a classic 1959 Carl Barks tale set on the slopes of the famous mountain.

The Original French Cover For "The Euro Disneyland Adventure"
Cover Art by Romano Scarpa, Hors Collection: Aventures à Euro Disney #1 (March 1992)
Image Courtesy of COA I.N.D.U.C.K.S.
© Disney

Disney's Colossal Comics Collection #9 reprinted a 40-page tale set within the new park, drawn by Romano Scarpa: "The Euro Disneyland Adventure." This was another story that would have likely been released as a stand-alone graphic novel, prior to the Disney Implosionthe cover art depicted above is surely what would have been used in that case.

The 1992 Summer Olympics

Another big event that summer was the Olympic games of 1992, in Barcelona, Spain. There were prominent associations and sponsorships by large corporations such as Coca-Cola, Nike and Visa. Walt Disney Productions had previously played a significant role sponsoring the 1984 Summer Olympics, which took place in Los Angelesan especially wise association, considering that the 30-mile proximity of Disneyland to the Olympic game sites would surely benefit attendance.

Disney Artist Bob Moore Designed 1984 Olympic Mascot, Sam the Olympic Eagle
Image Courtesy of Heavy Newz
© Disney

Longtime Disney artist Bob Moore even designed the 1984 Olympic mascot, Sam the Olympic Eagle (no relation to Henson's Muppet character, nor the host of the Disneyland attraction, America Sings.) That year, Sam showed up on everything from programs, posters, toys and T-Shirts to soda cans and packages of film.

Disney Comics Celebrated the Summer Olympic Games in July 1992
Cover Art by Jim Franzen, Donald Duck Adventures #28 (July 1992)
Image Courtesy of COA I.N.D.U.C.K.S.
© Disney

Disney had a stake in the the 1992 Summer Olympic games as well: that July, the three Disney Comics titles featured Olympic themes, with lead stories of each book found the ducks participating in Olympic games and trials.

Official permission to use the famous five-ringed symbol within the books.and the I.D. box declared the books as an "Official Licensed Product of  the U.S. Olympic Committee"... so it's quite possible those particular books found their way to Barcelona to be distributed to participants and attendees!

3-D Thrills

Disney Comics Ad Announcing Disney Comics in 3-D
© Disney

As we've covered earlier in this series, format variations became popular during the comic book craze of the 1980s and 1990s. A throwback gimmick from the 1950s had found its way back into the mainstream: comic books in 3-D.

3-D movies had become the craze of both theater-goers and movie studios in the early 1950s. The application of the technique to comic books was developed in 1953 by cartoonist Norman Maurer, son-in-law to Moe Howard of The Three Stooges. Maurer created the first 3-D comic book in tandem with his brother Leonard and their Managing Editor at St. John Publishing: comics legend Joe Kubert. Three Dimension Comics #1 was released in July of 1953, headlined by another famous cartoon rodent: Mighty Mouse of Terrytoons fame.

The First 3-D Comic Was Published in 1953, Starring Paul Terry's Mighty Mouse
Images Courtesy of Daily What Not & Comicartville
Mighty Mouse © Viacom

The experiment turned out to be a financial success: a 25¢ cover price was decided upon to cover the cost of the special 3-D "space goggles" included within. Despite the higher price amid a sea of 10¢ comics, Three Dimension Comics #1 sold over 1,200,000 copies. and opened the floodgates for plenty of publishers looking to cash in on 3-D comics.

Disney's Comics in 3-D #1 
© Disney

Disney Comics recognized that it was relatively easy to format previously published stories for the 3-D format. With this novelty in mind, Disney's Comics in 3-D #1 was released polybagged with glasses to present stories in an extra dimension. The title had a 48-page count, justifying the higher cover price of $2.95.

 
Back-Up Stories From the Cancelled Roger Rabbit Title Were Formatted for Dimensional Treatment in Roger Rabbit in 3-D #1
Image Courtesy of COA I.N.D.U.C.K.S.
© Disney

A stand-alone Roger Rabbit in 3-D comic soon followed in the same format, with a 32-page count and a $2.50 cover price. Beyond the cover art, neither issue featured new content. Future issues of either title failed to materialize.

Don Rosa Collected

A monthly title containing new duck material from Don Rosa assured good sales figures for that issue, so a special book dedicated to Rosa's work was logical project to greenlight. A 100-page, prestige format album simply titled Donald and Scrooge was released in 1992 compiling Rosa stories that appeared in Disney Comics over their first two years of publishing. The collection contained strictly reprints, but Don Rosa was commissioned to create a new cover for the special.

The Donald and Scrooge Special Compiled All of Don Rosa's Stories for Disney Comics Up to That Time
Cover Art by Don Rosa for Donald and Scrooge Album #1 (1992)
Image Courtesy of COA I.N.D.U.C.K.S.
© Disney

The contents of the Don Rosa special was later broken into three standard format issues of Donald and Scrooge, sold both individually and as a polybagged package containing all three issues—marking the third time the same material was made available in less than two years. This level of hyper-reprinting was becoming a common practice in the comics industry at the time, but became a factor in diluting the value of the original comic books within the collector's market.

To Maximize Rosa's Popularity, the Same Material Quickly Appeared Again in Three Standard Format Issues of Donald and Scrooge 
© Disney

Bob Foster Departs

The three monthly titles in May 1992 were the final books under the Editorship of Bob Foster, who also departed for Denmark to work for Gutenberghus as a script editor. Foster had become the guiding light of the Disney Comics line, and a great champion of getting both new and classic material "out there"an example of Foster's dedicated contributions was preparing vintage Pinocchio material for Walt Disney's Comics and Stories to coincide with the classic film's Summer 1992 re-release.

Bob Foster Researched and Prepared Rare Material to Appear in Disney Comics, Such as this Vintage Pinocchio Story
Panel Detail From an Untitled Pinocchio Story by Carl Buettner,
Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #575 (July 1992)
© Disney

It was a harsh blow to the already anemic Disney Comics line. Not only was Foster's experience and history in the animation and comics field a significant asset, he had provided a personal voice and the only honest connection to loyal readers who had "hung in there."

Foster's Legacy Continued Via Planned Future Issues and Rough Layouts For Cover Designs
Cover Art For Donald Duck Adventures #35 (February 1993)
Concept by Bob Foster, Penciled by Jim Franzen, Inked by Bruce Patterson
Image Courtesy of COA I.N.D.U.C.K.S.
© Disney

Fortunately, comic books are prepared and planned far ahead of printing, so plenty of Foster's concept sketches and materials were left to inspire upcoming books. Editor Cris Palomino and Senior Editor David Seidman quietly took the reins, overseeing a small, but dedicated staff.

More Fan Pushback

Foster's departure signaled a collective groan for fans who understood his value and contribution. The 1992 issue of the well-circulated fanzine The Duckburg Times offered a hard, honest editorial on the remaining embers of the Disney Comics line, the text of which is transcribed below:

An Editorial in the 1992 Issue of The Duckburg Times Captured the Frustrations of Walt Disney Comic Book Fans
Cover Art by William Van Horn
The Duckburg Times © Dana & Frank Gabbard
"[T]here is more to the recent shake-up at Disney Comics than meets the eye. It is a symptom of pervasive problems with Disney's approach to doing business during the [Michael] Eisner era.

Disney's near miraculous turn-around since the new management took over in 1984 could turn most anyone's head. In its aftermath hubris, what Michael Eisner terms the 'masters of the universe' syndrome, has infected Team Disney. They behave as if they know more about anything than anyone else and can do no wrong. Prince of the Magic Kingdom contains an illuminating anecdote about Disney executives behaving arrogantly during meetings with network television executives despite at that time having had very little success producing TV programs.

Arrogant presumption of this sort explains why Disney, with no experience publishing comics, could decide not to renew Gladstone's license in the belief that they could more successfully produce and market the comics themselves. Before a single issue of the new Disney Comics line had even been distributed, Disney executives were rumored to be confidently predicting that in a short time they would be competing on an equal footing with industry leaders Marvel and DC. After all, they were Disney–how could they go wrong?

Given Disney's reputation for synergy and marketing savvy, the litany of mistakes, gaffes and blunders that bedeviled Disney Comics is surprising and embarrassing: the $1.50 cover price cripples sales to their target audience of kids and parents. The refusal to return original art or pay royalties alienated talent. The line of graphic albums was mishandled and sputtered to a halt. Promised publicity on The Disney Channel and The Disney Afternoon never materialized; plans to sell the comics at K-Marts, the theme parks and Disney Stores went nowhere. Some of the new material was dismal (most pointedly, the Roger Rabbit titles and early issues of DuckTales) and foreign licensees refused to reprint it (a significant source of revenue for the studio.) Favoritism in hiring created cliques and tension among the staff.

Disney never had a commitment to publishing comics beyond a desire for profit. When it became clear marketing Disney Comics would require more than just publishing the books and hope they sold, it was decided to scrap the line except for the Duck titles. Len Wein and his associates were sacked, indirectly scapegoating them for the whole mess.

Wein et al. bear quite a bit of blame, but the chief culprit was Disney's management and its lack of strategic planning in starting this venture. With Bob Foster gone, Disney Comics is at a crossroad. Hopefully this lull will give Disney a change to reflect upon its mistakes and perhaps profit from them. Please?"
– The Duckburg Times Fanzine Editorial (1992)
The rear cover of the same issue offered a column of recent news, called "DISNEYDOM"a paragraph featuring an update on the Disney Comics line suggested that perhaps the feelings expressed in the editorial were shared in Burbank as well. Click the image below to enlarge:

"WAK!!!"
As Quickly as The Walt Disney Company Wanted to Get Into the Business of Publishing Comic Books, They Wanted to Get Out of It
The Duckburg Times © Dana & Frank Gabbard
Character Art by Carl Barks, © Disney

The end was near, but there were a few projects that would find their way to the racks, most notably including properties and associations mentioned at the beginning of this chapter...

Pre-Hysteria 

Though the full acquisition of the Jim Henson properties failed to gel, The Walt Disney Company retained development deals with Henson Associates for features, home video releases and television shows.

The Henson-Created Dinosaurs Ran Several Seasons on ABC's Prime-time Schedule
© Henson/Disney

The first original project that found it's way through the pipeline was an original television series debuting mid-season on abc's 1991 prime-time line up: Dinosaurs was a sitcom featuring the Sinclairs, a prehistoric family of domestic dinosaurs, presented in the usual Henson style of sly satire and social commentary.

Dinosaurs was heavily promoted during the premiere season, and gained decent ratings thanks to the sharp writing and cross-generation appeal. The antics of precocious Baby Sinclair proved something of a marketing bonanza, which led to dolls, stickers, a CD recording and of course, comic books.

Original Dinosaurs Comic Stories Debuted Through Disney's Hollywood Comics Imprint
© Henson/Disney

Two Dinosaurs comic books were released in late 1992 and early 1993 in the graphic novel format through the Hollywood Comics imprint. Other new stories featuring the Sinclair family characters appeared in Disney Adventures, and several were reprinted in Colossal Comics Collection and a volume of Cartoon Tales

Comic Sequels and Prequels

The Goof Troop Limited Series promised the year before never came to pass, but Goofy and son Max were not completely forsaken on the comic pages: new stories based his The Disney Afternoon show were featured monthly in Disney Adventures.

Peter David Remained "Under the Sea" to Write Both Issues of a Sebastian Mini-Series for Disney Comics
© Disney

Having completed the 4-issue runs on both The Little Mermaid and Darkwing Duck Limited Series, there was no problem mining the Disney library for the next theme of upcoming titles... Peter David remained "under the sea" to write stories for a two-issue Mini-Series focusing on the breakout calypso crab character from Mermaid. His two-part Sebastian story surfaced in July and August of 1992.

The phenomenal box office success of Beauty and the Beast meant it was a natural to bring the property to the comics page beyond a movie adaptation. Like the premise of The Little Mermaid Limited Series, the next two-issue Mini-Series from Disney Comics appeared: The New Adventures of Beauty and the Beast, again taking on the setting of a prequel.

Like The Little Mermaid Comics, The New Adventures of Beauty and the Beast Also Took Place Before the Events of the Film
© Disney

The Mini-Series featured beautiful art by Jorge Sanchez and the Jamie Diaz Studios, an advanced color technique provided soft gradients and colored line work, which gave the book a feel that was close to the film's look.

 Colored Line and Soft Backgrounds in The New Adventures of Beauty and the Beast Stories Helped Evoke the Feel of the Animated Film
© Disney

The Cartoon Tales series continued to reprint film adaptations and content from previous issues of Disney Comics. Cartoon Tales #13 featuring Uncle Scrooge was scheduled but never published, leaving a head-scratching gap for collectors and completists.

The last few in the run of the series were formatted the same, but deviated from the animation-centric content and dropped the Cartoon Tales banner. This is where another George Lucas license comes into play...

The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles Also Appeared on ABC's Prime-Time Line-Up
Image Courtesy of pipocatv
© Lucasfilm, Ltd.

In 1992 Amblin Entertainment and Lucasfilm produced a big-budget prequel to their blockbuster Indiana Jones film trilogy, a weekly television series for abc's prime-time line-up: The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. Each episode in the series jumped to different points in Indy's formative years, providing a nice complement to the films.

Disney Comics Obtained the Reprint Rights to The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles Comic Book Stories
© Disney/Lucasfilm, Ltd.

Dark Horse Comics had obtained the Indiana Jones license from Marvel in 1990. Upon the debut of the television series, Dark Horse published 12 issues of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, adapting six early TV episodes into two parts.

Having established a good working relationship with Amblin and Lucasfilm, Disney negotiated the reprint rights to those comic book stories: the first six Dark Horse issues of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles were compiled and reprinted as three complete stories in the Cartoon Tales format: The Curse of the Jackal, The Search for the Oryx, and The Peril of the Fort.

Another Arabian Night

In an interesting turn, the final months of Disney Comics actually foreshadowed the upcoming trend of the Studio's direct-to-video sequels: The Return of Aladdin was released as a two-issue Mini-Series in early 1993, bucking the prequel trend by setting the stage for the Aladdin characters in a sequel setting.

The Return of Aladdin Would Be the Final Mini-Series From Disney Comics
© Disney

The comic book Mini-Series appeared one year ahead of Disney TV animation's release of their first original project exclusive to home media: The Return of Jafar. The project was not just a VHS sequel to Aladdin, it was a new way to monetize the TV movies used to set the stage for the upcoming Aladdin animated series on both The Disney Afternoon and CBS Saturday morning in 1994. Instead of blocking 60-90 minutes as a one-time TV special for prime time viewing, each unit retailed for $29.95. This was the beginning of a new trend in home entertainment, and a new type of profit center that would prove to be pure gold.

Released One Year Apart, The Return of Aladdin Comic Book Closely Mirrored Direct-to-Video Presentation The Return of Jafar, Right Down to the Cover Art
© Disney

The Return of Jafar had a premise resembling the plot of the Disney Comics Mini-Series, yet each held significant enough contradictions to each other. Unfortunately, contradictory content between comic book tie-ins and animated projects would no longer be a concern by the end of April 1993: The Return of Aladdin would be the final Disney Comics Mini-Series.

Walking With Giants

Each Aladdin sequel project was developed independently, but it wasn't too surprising... The Walt Disney Company had grown so large, that two branches of the company were completely unaware of each other's handling of the same I.P. 

The growth strategies set in place by Michael Eisner and Frank Wells had worked well with minimal growing pains: the humble Walt Disney Productions of old had been remade into a media giant in just under a decade.

In Less Than Ten Years, Michael Eisner and Frank Wells Turned the Walt Disney Company Into a Media Giant
(Left to Right: Frank Wells, Roy E. Disney, Michael Eisner)
© Disney

Naturally, larger financial and P.R. stumbling blocks such as Euro Disney took precedenceissues like a branch of publishing struggling with $1.50 comic books couldn't garner much personal attention from the heads of the company.

If it had, perhaps the ship could have righted itself... both Eisner, Wells and Walt's nephew Roy E. Disney understood the value of their company's rich history. It was Michael Eisner himself who appointed the formation of Walt Disney Television Animation, and planted the seeds for DuckTales.

The End of the Line

Some telling signs regarding of the end of Disney Comics showed in the lack of information within the "Between the Lines" and letter columns during the last few months of publishing. No real information was leaked as to the future of the comics line until May of 1993, the final month of publishing.

Whether it was coincidental or intentional, perhaps the most symbolic of their last gasp was the cover art chosen for the final Disney Comics issue of Uncle Scrooge:

The Final Disney Comics Issue of Uncle Scrooge Appropriately Featured a Weathered, Sunken Ship Against a Solid Black Background
Cover Art For Uncle Scrooge #280 (May 1993)
Concept by Bob Foster, Art by Don Rosa
© Disney

"Between the Lines" appeared for the final time, assuring readers their favorites will not be dormant long... click the image below to read the farewell message from the Disney Comics staff:

The May 1993 "Between the Lines" Farewell Column
© Disney

The text assured that contemporary content would continue on a monthly basis in the pages of Disney Adventures. The comic book license for classic content was restored to the publisher who had handled them best: Another Rainbow's Gladstone comic book imprint.

Best of all, the Walt Disney comic books would have no lapse in release... Gladstone would resume their publishing schedule the following month.

This news was further verified with a two-page subscription form that showed the familiar logos and titles, which picked up right where Gladstone had left off. Preview images of the upcoming Gladstone cover art suggested a different tone than the past three years of Disney Comics.

The New Gladstone Series II Subscription Ad Officially Brought Walt Disney Comic Books Back to the Publisher That Had Handled Them Best
© Disney

(Nearly) The End!

This chapter concludes The Disney Comics Story from inception to cancellation... but if you remember where we started last November, this all began with a Prologue. With every Prologue there needs to be an Epilogue, right?

So there's one more installment to go! After all, we need to cover:
  • What events heralded the end of the comic book craze of the 1990s?
  • What happened to Walt Disney comic books since Gladstone resumed the license?
  • What became of the creative talent that supplied work to the Disney Comics line?
Those who follow the business side of entertainment probably recognized a pattern in this chapter, with The Walt Disney Company, abc Television, Marvel Comics, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and the Muppets. We'll see just how those roads converged in the past twenty years.

Comic Book MarketplaceVol. 3, Issue #103 (May 2003)
Image Courtesy of David Gerstein
Cover © Gemstone Publishing Inc.

The Epilogue to this series will be posted in early 2015, but to satisfy those who'd like to go back further into the history of Walt Disney comic books, Author, Historian and Editor David Gerstein wrote a wonderful 22-page history of the U.S. Walt Disney comic books for Comic Book Marketplace in 2003, titled "Disney Comics: Back to Long Ago!"

This expertly researched article chronicles the books from the original Mickey Mouse comic strip, right up to 2003. David has kindly made the article available online as a PDF which you can view or download for offline reading at the link below:


Special thanks goes to Joe Torcivia of THE ISSUE AT HAND—Joe provided me with some exceptional reference material for this chapter in particular. Be sure to browse his blog for plenty of subjects you're sure to enjoy... and plenty more about comic books of ALL kinds!

 Take It From Me, True Believers: Joe KNOWS His Comics!
Photo © & Courtesy of The Issue at Hand

NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS