"Pete"-stories by Tito Faraci [and Scarpa]

[Michiel Prior]

Considering a possible "Life and Times of Pete"-series:

Yes, I'd certainly like to see that!

I'm not very familiar with the Mouse-universe, but I was in Italy 
(Napoli) last June and I bought a copy of a book called "Topolino 
Noir" which contains ten stories written by Tito Faraci and drawn by 
different artists (Cavazzano, Scarpa, Celoni, Mastantonuo and 
more). Pete's character as portrayed in these stories in very likeable 
and human. It seems like he really cares for his girlfriend Trudy.

The last story, "Topolino e il fiume del tempo", shows how Mickey 
and Pete retrieve the sunken wreck of 'Steamboat Willie'. They're 
forced to work as a team (I don't know why, my Italian isn't that 
good) and they seem to get to like each other. Or rather, Pete seems 
anxious to become Mickey's friend and Mickey is rather reluctant.

I really like this story, both for the artwork and the way it's told. 
The writer even found an excuse why Mickey didn't wear any shirt at 
the time of Steamboat Willie (1928): "It was a very hot summer, so 
hot that I only wore shorts." :)

What I'm trying to say: This is probably the way I'd like to see such a 
"Life of Pete" being written: tying together various 'facts' given in 
classic stories and cartoons and portraying Pete as a rounder 
character than the 'evil villain' he used to be. And maybe Tito Faraci 
could be the right man on such a job. 

I'd even suggest we need an Italian artist to draw it, and rather 
Cavazzano, Mastantonuo or Celoni than Scarpa, but that's only my 
personal preference, and I'm not familiar with other Italian artists 
than those represented in this book. Those first three artists make 
drawings with an excellent balance in black and white, while 
Scarpa's work needs probably to be coloured to look better. 

The characters Scarpa draws display a sort of 'elasticity' and they 
'overact' a bit. Not that I don't think he's a good artist, but I'm curious 
what his fans like about his work. Maybe we could discuss this a bit?

Another Pete-problem: as there have been stories with Pete (and 
Mickey!) for 75 years now, needs there a timeline to be constructed? 
Do we want Pete to interact with real historical circumstances? 

Also in "Topolino Noir": four stories by Cavazzano and Faraci 
featuring ''l'ispettore Manetta'' (detective Casey). I really liked them 
and I'd want to see more stories like these. (I guess I should check 
out the Dutch pockets-series.) Cavazzano's artwork is great, and in 
these stories, Manetta is a rounder character. There's another story 
in this book ("Topolino e il genio nell'ombra") by Faraci and Ziche 
and here Manetta is just a dimwitted klutz. In Cavazzano's stories, 
Manetta is also not very bright, but at least he has self-esteem and 
self-confidence, which makes these stories more attractive to me.

Michiel Prior.

P.S. to Gary Leach: Thank you for pointing out those 'few items'.