WALT DISNEY'S COMICS AND STORIES #673 REVIEW

[Blake Petit]

Review by: Blake M. Petit Blake@comixtreme.com
Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Kid Stuff and other stories

Is Donald painting a haunted house?

Writers: William Van Horn, Pat & Carol McGreal, Janet Gilbert
Art: William Van Horn, Al Hubbard, Vicar, Jack Bradbury, Wanda Gattino, Cesar Ferioli
Colors: Susan Daigle-Leach, Marie Javins, Egmont, Barry Grossman, Kneon Transitt
Letters: Willie Schubert, Jon Babcock, Susie Lee
Cover Art: William Van Horn
Publisher: Gemstone Comics

Like this month’s Uncle Scrooge #358, Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories #673 is the sort of semi-Halloween-themed issue you see a lot this time of year, full of stories appropriate for the season without mentioning it outright.

A William Van Horn tale from 1991 leads the issue. In “Kid Stuff,” Donald sets up a home business painting houses, telling the boys he doesn’t need their help. When he’s hired by a realtor to paint the abandoned house at 131313 Gloomy Terrace, his nephews decide to fake a haunting to teach him a lesson. When they get there, though, they find they may not be the only spirits haunting the house. This is a fun, relatively short story that kids will gobble up in one sitting.

Up next is a Scamp reprint from 1957, “Boo to You Too.” Scamp and Speedy decide to play hide-and-seek in an old abandoned house that Trusty is afraid may be haunted (yep – two haunted house stories this month). As the dogs enter the house, the things they find may scare the dickens out of ‘em.

“Dimes are Forever,” by Pat and Carol McGreal with art by Vicar, is part one of “The Orb Saga,” an unusual multi-part storyline that promises to bring the “duck” and “mouse” corners of the Disney Universe together. In this tale, the terrible witch Magica DeSpell gets her hands on a teleportation spell that she hopes will get her hands on Scrooge’s number one dime once and for all. The “orb” in question is just a minor plot point in this issue, coming in at the end of what would otherwise be an ordinary Scrooge/Magica story.

“The Broom Boom” is a Three Little Pigs story from 1958. The pigs pay a visit to a fortune teller (who resembles a certain classic Disney witch), only to find out that her powers may not be all they’re cracked up to be. Then, in the two-part “Hotel Transylvania,” Donald gets a job as a concierge (the duck has had more jobs than I can count), and does such a good job he winds up being transferred to the Hotel Transylvania. The new hotel’s monstrous guests have some special needs, though, and Donald has to rise to the challenge. This story really is a lot of fun, one of the best in the issue.

“A Kidnapping in Yubet,” by the McGreals and Cesar Ferioli, is part two of “The Orb Saga.” Mickey and Goofy have taken a trip to the country of Yubet to witness a famous wise man who purports to have the power to levitate. As they get there, though, the Dama falls prey to a kidnapping attempt by Mickey’s old foe, the Phantom Blot. Like part one, the Orb in this story is just a minor plot point at the end. The question remains how they’ll come together in future installments.

Another fun issue, with a nice dash of seasonal spookiness.

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