"Perils of Mickey" Gottfredson storybooks

[David A Gerstein]

	Dear Folks,

	Another MM item I have seen lately are two picture books for
children in the 'Perils of Mickey' line.  The reason I thought to note
them here is that they're taken directly from two Gottfredson stories:
"The Mail Pilot" and "The Seven Ghosts".

	These books, paperbacks measuring about 9" by 9" with maybe 24
or 32 pages, do a remarkably good job of telling these rather complex
stories in a style younger kids will find suitable.  They are
illustrated by beautiful blown-up Gottfredson drawings, colored
magnificently.

	To make the stories "safe" for young children, Disney has made
a few changes:  it describes Mickey attempting to punch a ghost, not
shoot him, and it doesn't get into Mickey's target practice lessons
either (making it odd when Mickey suddenly knows how to shoot the
dirigible's engines off).  Also, when Mickey is dropped from the
dirigible, he has no bomb attached, and the panel was retouched to
eliminate that.

	I don't mind these changes when we're dealing with a storybook
to present Gottfredson to young (pre-comic?) readers, a book which
doesn't have the length to include all the details.  What I *do*
mind is that someone felt young readers would not understand Sylvester
Shyster's name, so although it was kept in other "Perils of Mickey"
merchandise (including some giveaway comics in cereal boxes), the
villain is renamed -- RATTY RASCAL, fer th' luvva Mike -- in this "Mail
Pilot" book.  This is an example of "talking down" to kids, and it's
just what I don't like... and what Gottfredson, Barks, and others
never did.  It's irritating, to say the least.

	On the whole, though, these books are an interesting idea
which is largely carried out perfectly.  The overall effect is very
like the Barks "Go Slowly Sands of Time" picture-book story in the
Celestial Arts book.

	But a final note:  sixty years ago, kids this age were exposed
to "storybookized" Gottfredson in the Big Little Books, which were put
together with the feeling that kids could understand more detailed
stories with their original, complete plots.  I'd like to see books
now that recreate the stories with similar depth -- but bigger books,
with graphic design like the two discussed here.  But apparently Disney
feels that today's children lack the intelligence for such more
involved stories.

	I read a lot of Big Little Books during their last hurrah
around 1980.  From those I graduated directly to regular Disney
comics.  Maybe for 90s kids, these books will be a similar stepping
stone.  I can only hope so.

	David Gerstein
	<David.A.Gerstein at Williams.edu>