Mickey Mouse 75 years

[Olivier]

Hi everyone!

Nils:

>>> Apparently, Mickey was "created" November 18, 1928.
>>> Has this been discussed on the list? I made a brief
>>> check but couldn't see this topic raised.

It was mentioned briefly  about a month ago.


>>> When was Mickey's first appearance in a comic book?

First animated short produced (thus, actual birth of  Mickey, sketches
excluded): "Plane Crazy"-- first (private) screening on May 15, 1928
First animation short released: Steamboat Willie (November 18, 1928)
First daily comis strip: January 13, 1930
First Sunday comic strip: January; 1932


There were several Mickey Mouse books in the early '30s.
Portions of  the "Mickey Mouse Book" (published by Bibo and Lang in 1930)
were reprinted in WDC&S 604 (Aug '96) (Bruce Hamilton's "The Year That Was
1930: Mouse Number Thirteen") :
"Mickey Mouse Book was the first licensed publication using Disney
characters."
There were four printings, with variations.
Not a comic book yet, but it did feature in its second printing Mickey Mouse
strips-- from the reprint, the strip of  April 15, 1930, drawn by Win Smith.
Another strip was featured on the back cover-- that of  April 17.

Walt Disney's Comics and Stories # 601 (Feb '96) featured "The One and Only
Genuine Original Number One", by Bruce Hamilton (in the "The Year That Was"
series-- 1933) :
"Mickey Mouse Magazine, printed with a 2-color cover and black and white
interiors, was thus born in the third week of  January, 1933".
( The feature reprints the whole 16p (covers included) magazine )

WDC&S 602 (April '96) considers "The Year That Was 1940", asking "Will the
Real #1 Please Stand Up?"
Bruce Hamilton explains that the last issue of  Mickey Mouse Magazine (Vol 5
# 12, 1940) "had been turned into a comic book before the next month's
release, wchich was Volume 1, Number 1 of  Walt Disney's Comics and
Stories".

Mickey's first appearance in a "real" comic book may thus considered to have
been in MMM Vol 5 #12, which reprinted the "Robinson Crusoe" adventure
(well, not all of  it; two pages worth of  strips, and the story was wrapped
up in WDC&S 1).

However, these being reprints from newspaper strips, you may now want to
search for the first Mickey Mouse story published in a comic book and
written specifically for a comic book. Sorry, I don't know.




I have prepared a little something, but my host's server sin't working ! ! !
It has been behaving oddly these past few days, and tonight it isn't
working! I have only part of  my 75th Anniversary Special Feature uploaded
and can't connect to the server!  :(

I hope I can upload it tomorrow.



Wishing you better luck with the Web,


Olivier