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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>One of the peak of the Mickey's detective story by
Gottfredson is 'The Gleam'; first of all, this is an another example of the
allergy of Goofy for the supernatural; Goofy in this story has brains, this is
not the kind of idiot that we meet in other stories (Mickey contre le roi des
voleurs - Topolino e la grande impresa di 'Lascia o t'accoppo - 1956); he has
here the attitude of an intelligent poor guy, clumsy, brilliant from time to
time; here, in background, his wits are the undercurrent trend which permit
Mickey to unravel the mystery; yes, there is some flaws in the plot (but i think
this is inevitable for keeping the suspense on a high level): we don't
understand for example why the villain keeps on stealing jewels in the same town
such a long time with the increasing risk of being caught by both Mickey and
Chief O' Hara; Minnie in this story is the feminine character, kind like always,
but awfully snobbish (this trait of her character appears also in the unglia di
Kali - Romano Scarpa - where her snobbery leads her to claim that an old
broom is an ancient relic), a satire of the snobbish behaviour also appears at
the end of the excellent story 'Picsou contre Lord Hambard - Zio Paperone e il
clavicembalo scrivano 1962 - where the mission of Donald is to sell old
typewriters as it was the new indispensable fashionable object to possess in a
house; in The Gleam an important part of the story happens during the night
parties; another similarity with the story of Romano Scarpa 'Kali' is the
discovery of the identity of the villain, the story is different of the Scarpa's
one of course but, like in Kali, the villain, even if we don't know him yet, is
present at the beginning of the story and moves about around our heroes who
haven't the slightly clue in their head that this is him; so this story, its
midnight dramas, revolver and dramatic parties, elegant and sophisticated robber
with a lot of skills enhance this adventure lived like a very good film noir;
according to the inducks database, the character of the gleam, rarely used in
the Mickey's stories, seems to have been used again in the italian story with
Mickey called 'The Inferno'.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Eega Beeva in Wonderland (about the story Mickey
l'écumeur des mers - the reluctant pirate - topolino e il terrore dei mari -
1953): there is not a lot of information about this english story in the inducks
database, the name of Ronald Neilson is credited for the story but i don't know
exactly in what proportion; surreal masterpiece, the story leads mickey in a
fantasy land where Eega Beeva travels on the wings of a plane (a steward
opens the door of the plane during the travel, he is worried about Eega and ask
him if he has not too much wind and air, Eega answer that this is sure and if he
can close the door), takes the attitude of statues in some big gardens; there is
two holes in the plot: there is no exaplantion how the important leaves in the
book about the ancestor of Mickey has been cut, how Sam Fémal (i don't know the
name in English, this is the competitor of Mickey in the story) goes back to the
past without the help of the magic powers of time traveler of Eega Beeva; this
is naive, sometimes clumsy, imaginative, and very refreshing; for the time
travels, wonderfully done, Eega change the vignettes of the story and we are
changing of time, the dummies of a travel agency, in a setting of Caribbean
sea, start moving around Mickey thanks to Eega, and we are back a long time ago;
there is an another story of Ronald Neilson mentioned in the inducks
database about Eega Beeva called 'Eega Beeva Once Upon a Time', but i haven't
more information about, if someone have, in particular where it can be found
(particularly in what issue § comics), that would be a good
thing. </FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>