Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #721

(July 2015)

The Search for the Zodiac Stone, Chapter 1: The Secret Society (Table of Contents: 1)

Mickey Mouse / comic story / 29 pages (report information)

Script

Bruno Sarda (credited); Jonathan H. Gray (credited as Jonathan Gray) (translation and dialogue)

Pencils

Massimo De Vita (credited)

Inks

Massimo De Vita (credited)

Colors

Nea Aktina A. E. (credited); Digikore Studios (credited); Tom B. Long (credited)

Letters

Tom B. Long (credited)

First Line of Dialogue or Text

The lives of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck intertwine when heroes and villains set off on... The Search for the Zodiac Stone!

Genre

adventure; anthropomorphic-funny animals; humor

Characters

Mickey Mouse; Goofy; Prof. Zachary Zapotec; Dr. Spike Marlin; Pegleg Pete

Synopsis

Pete steals a list of owners of pieces of the legendary Zodiac Stone. Mickey and Goofy must track him down and stop him from assembling the stone.

Reprints

• from Topolino (Disney Italia, 1988 series) #1780

Keywords

"Fantastic Time Machine" sub-series; historical setting; retcon; time travel

Indexer Notes

Story continues thru issue #732 (June 2016).

Translator and American English dialogue provider Jonathan Gray linked this issue’s Italian-produced Mickey Mouse installment to the "Fantastic Time Machine" Mickey Mouse sub-series of stories from the later 1960s. This sub-series, by creators Carl Fallberg and Paul Murry, allowed Mickey and Goofy to have adventures in various time historical periods via said time machine. Gray’s script reveals the individuals behind Mickey and Goofy’s journeys through time, which was never addressed in the Fallberg and Murry stories.

Other entries in the "Fantastic Time Machine" sub-series included the Mickey Mouse serials in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories (Western, 1962 series) #333-335 and #336-338 (1968), as well as Mickey Mouse (Western, 1962 series) issues #114 (1967) and 116 (1968).

[Bee-Wildered Banquet] (Table of Contents: 2)

Bucky Bug / comic story / 1 page (report information)

Script

Merrill De Maris (credited)

Pencils

Al Taliaferro (credited)

Inks

Al Taliaferro (credited)

Colors

Digikore Studios (credited)

Letters

Al Taliaferro (credited)

Editing

King Features Syndicate (editing of original comic strip)

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Those bees are so busy I'm getting quite dizzy!

Feature Logo

Bucky Bug

Genre

anthropomorphic-funny animals

Characters

Bucky Bug; bees; hungry cow

Synopsis

Bucky gorges himself on nectar, then gets stuck in the flower - just as a hungry cow comes along.

Reprints

• in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories Vault (IDW, 2018 series) #1 (August 2018)
• from Silly Symphonies Sunday (King Features Syndicate) 33-04-?

Keywords

bees; bugs; cow; flowers; narrow escape

Indexer Notes

Title taken from contents page.

Bet You Didn't (Table of Contents: 3)

Donald Duck / comic story / 10 pages (report information)

Script

Ben Verhagen (credited); Daan Jippes (credited); Freddy Milton (credited); Thad Komorowski (credited) (translation and dialogue)

Pencils

Daan Jippes (credited) (layouts); Freddy Milton (credited)

Inks

Freddy Milton (credited)

Colors

Disney Italia (credited)

Letters

Tom B. Long (credited)

Job Number

H-8006

First Line of Dialogue or Text

But what does a bookmaker's runner do, Unca Donald?

Feature Logo

Walt Disney Presents Donald Duck [Carl Barks Dell Logo 1]

Genre

humor; anthropomorphic-funny animals

Characters

Donald Duck; Huey; Dewey; Louie; Mrs. Honker; Mr. Sockerpuss (boxer); other boxers; Mr. Plugg; quiz show host; construction worker; truck drivers; purse snatcher; old lady; train engineers; airline pilots; Mr. Ruffstuff; vicious dog

Synopsis

Working as a runner for a bookie, Donald neglects to turn in a betting slip. When the bet hits, he must dodge a gym full of irate boxers, wreaking all sorts of havoc while on the run.

Reprints

• from Donald Duck (Oberon, 1972 series) #27/1982 (1982)
• in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories Vault (IDW, 2018 series) #1 (August 2018)
• in Disney Masters (Fantagraphics, 2018 series) #4 - Walt Disney's Donald Duck: The Great Survival Test (2018)

Keywords

best of intentions; boxing; reversal of fortunes; wager; wreaking havoc

Indexer Notes

The boxers' training site, the "Fightin' Pals Boxing Club", was named after the 1940 Fleischer Studios Popeye theatrical cartoon "Fightin' Pals"( https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032466 ), per indexer's conversation with the translation and dialogue provider (2015).

Gremlin Gus and the Widgets (Table of Contents: 4)

Gremlin Gus and the Widgets / comic story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

Walt Kelly (credited)

Pencils

Walt Kelly (credited)

Inks

Walt Kelly (credited)

Colors

David Gerstein (credited); Disney Italia (credited)

Letters

Walt Kelly ? (signs, sound effects, etc.)

Editing

Carl Buettner (original editor); Alice Nielsen Cobb ? (original editor); Eleanor Packer ? (original editor)

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Attention, enemy pilots!

Genre

humor; war; fantasy-supernatural

Characters

Gremlin Gus, widgets (two little gremlins)

Synopsis

A gremlin tries to sabotage a plane, but is hampered by two over-eager assistants.

Reprints

• from Walt Disney's Comics and Stories (Dell, 1940 series) #v3#10 (34) (July 1943)

Keywords

drill; oil can; plane; sabotage; World War II

Indexer Notes

Pantomime.

Crosstalk (Table of Contents: 5) (Expand) /

Crosstalk / in-house column / 1 page (report information)