WALT DISNEY'S COMICS AND STORIES #674 REVIEW

[Blake Petit]

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

Donald and the boys tackle a champion frog – plus, “The Orb Saga” continues!

Writers: Daan Jippes, Donald D. Markstein, Gil Turner, Pat & Carol McGreal, Bill Walsh
Art: Daan Jippes, Cesar Ferioli, Gil Turner, Vicar, Paul Murry, Dick Moores, Tino Santanach
Colors: Egmont, Kneon Transitt, Marie Javins, Rick Keene
Letters: Jon Babcock, Susie Lee
Cover Art: Daniel Branca
Publisher: Gemstone Comics

This month’s Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories gives us a dandy dose of crossover comics, with parts three and four of “The Orb Saga,” plus Mickey, Donald and Goofy coming together for a murder(ish) mystery! First up, though, is “Froggy Fortune,” by Daan Jippes. Donald Duck is swimming in debt when he realizes he’s stumbled upon a giant, champion jumping frog – one that jumps well enough to win him a small fortune. The only catch? He and the boys have to find a way to tame the wild amphibian. This is a pretty standard Donald gag story, and it works quite well.

“The Mystery of Feefer Hall,” by Donald D. Markstein and Cesar Ferioli, is next up. The owner of a mansion that Mickey, Donald and Goofy helped out of a jam once before invites them all back for a “murder mystery weekend” – the last before he’s forced to sell his home. As the Disney icons try to enjoy the weekend, a spree of real crimes, real fires, threatens to endanger them all. Although the three of them have appeared in cartoons together almost since the beginning of Disney, it’s quite unusual to see Donald sharing a comic book page with Mickey and Goofy – but it’s fun. Donald seems a little unreasonably hostile towards Mickey (unreasonably hostile even for Donald), but other than that it’s a really good tale, and I really enjoy seeing these three together. I’d like to see that more often.

“Case of the Hovering Wolf” is next, a Gil Turner Lil’ Bad Wolf story from 1951. The wizard Merlin teaches Lil’ Bad a few choice magic tricks, which the eager young wolf wants to show off to his pop – but the Big Bad Wolf tries to find a way to use the magic for personal gain. It’s an okay story, but I always find it a bit disconcerting to see Disney’s animal characters interacting with human characters like Merlin (and a more generic Merlin at that – not the version from the Sword and the Stone movie).

“Ornery Orb”, by the McGreals and Vicar, is part three of the Orb Saga. In parts one and two, Mickey and Donald each found a mysterious orb in seemingly random adventure stories. In this issue, Donald uses the orb as collateral to get a loan from Uncle Scrooge to buy Daisy an anniversary present. But the orb won’t stay put – it keeps chasing after Donald, costing him jobs and his Uncle’s temper. This is a fun story, but the Orb (at this point) still seems like a MacGuffin, incidental to the plot. I really can’t tell where this story is going.

“Cat Catchers,” a Bill Walsh/Paul Murry/Dick Moore reprint from the 40s, features Panchito seeking out the reward for capturing “El Diablo.” It’s a simple one-pager, and it’s just okay.

Finally, the McGreals and Tino Santanach come together for The Orb Saga Part Four, “Sister Sleuths.” Daisy takes her troublesome rolling orb to have a case made, running into Minnie Mouse in the process. It seems both of their boyfriends made a gift of their orbs to them, and both orbs seem to keep rolling off on their own accord, seeking out the original owners. Things get further complicated when the Beagle Boys rob the store, making off with both orbs. It’s nice to see Minnie and Daisy team up to take on the baddies, but it seems a little odd that no one ever pointed out the obvious – the orbs seek out Mickey and Donald. Of their own accord. Why go to all the trouble (and danger) of hunting down the Beagles when the orbs will return to their boyfriends by themselves? But still, it’s fun to see the “Mouse Universe” and the “Duck Universe” cross over.

The crossovers really help make the book – everything else is just okay, but those three stories make it an issue worth reading.

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