I think we're all familiar with the popularity of Scrooge.  Sure he was a popular 
character among Disney comic fans long before Rosa took ahold of him and began a 
very fine job of solidifying his background and "fleshing him out" as an even more 
understood character than ever before, hence, probably even increasing Scrooge's 
popularity more as a result.

I would think that this sort of enhancement could not have been done for Mickey, 
Goofy, Minnie or Donald, considering they are much closer identified with Walt and 
the Disney Company as marketing icons than Scrooge was/is when Rosa decided to 
create the rich tapestry of Scrooge's background.  Personally, I'm surprised the 
Disney Company allowed that much detail to be given to Scrooge, but I still doubt 
the same type of detail could be mapped out on the Company icons.  

However, I'm willing to bet that such detail COULD be constructed around such a 
character as Pete!  Sure, Pete's history definitely weaves into Mickey's, but, so 
does Scrooge's into Donald's.  So, I wonder if such an intricate detailing of the 
Life & Times of Pete could also be accomplished and hence turn a relatively 
unpopular character into one of Disney's bigger stars, much the way that such 
companies as Marvel & DC have taken their villains and made them extremely popular 
among fans of Super-Hero comics.  Doctor Doom, Catwoman, The Joker and others have 
all been given such treatment and have a large fan following.

I think there is enough bits-and-pieces available to pull together a very 
interesting and exciting backstory for Pete, and weaving the various popular 
Disney icons and other characters into his life would certainly only HELP bolster 
his identity among readers.  Pete is the ONE villain who has indeed penetrated the 
lives of nearly evey other character in Mouseton/Duckburg, so his presence is even 
more universal than Scrooge, in fact.  He's also worked with nearly every other 
villain in the Disney universe at one time or another.  Plus his life is full of 
failures, which makes him the extreme opposite karmically to Scrooge, but probably 
makes him much more "human" and identifiable to readers than Scrooge does.

What do you think of such an endeavor.  Would a series featuring Pete be 
marketable if approached in this manner?

Thanks,

Rich Bellacera
xephyr@cwnet.com




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