Donald and Mickey #1

Writers: Kari Korhonen, Frank Jonker, Andrea Castellan
Artists: Daniel Branca, Bas Heymans, Lorenzo Pastrovicchio

Donald and Mickey continue IDW’s re-introduction of classic Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse stories that were first published in Europe, in this case roughly a decade ago, to a North American audience. One thing that many may not realize in our current comic market is that the Walt Disney properties, namely our titular heroes Donald and Mickey as well as Uncle Scrooge, are widely popular in Europe and have had continuous publication for decades now. I thoroughly enjoy that IDW has sought to rectify this issue in the North American market and are now republishing many of the classic European stories.

In our first story, The Saucerer’s a Menace, we are treated to a story wherein Donald Duck is Duckburg’s preeminent hot dog vendor and it is all thanks to his secret sauce. However, when Donald decides to take the day off, he sets off a string of mishaps when his loyal customers can’t get their hands on the deliciousness that is Donald’s hot dogs.

In our second story, Mickey Mouse and the Big Fat Flat Blot Plot, Mickey and the police of Mouseton are perplexed by the recent string of robberies by the Phantom Blot: how is he getting in, out, and escaping without anyone ever noticing? Mickey is joined by Goofy who plays an integral part in not only solving the previous questions, but also in the apprehension of the Phantom Blot.

Finally, Donald Duck and his nephews star in the short Yard Wars. After a string of pranks between Donald and his neighbour, the nephews decide to have them go on “Barking Neighbors Don’t Bite”, a TV show that helps neighbours settle their differences. The results unfortunately are nothing like the nephews could have predicted.

In all, this new quarterly anthology by IDW is a welcome addition to today’s comic landscape. It is always fun to have a comic like Donald and Mickey that gives us classic Disney stories that can be easily enjoyed by young and old. The art is pure Disney as well, sticking closely to the house-style, which is not a bad thing whatsoever. For most, when they read about Donald and Mickey, they want classic Donald and Mickey and that is exactly what you get here.