Mickey Mouse and Friends #296
Reviewed by David O' Leary
Story
by: Stefano Ambrosio
Art by: Lorenzo Pastrovicchio & Roberto Santillo & Marco Ghiglione
Translation by: Saida Temofonte
Letters by: Troy Peteri
Cover by: Marco Ghiglione
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Cover Price: $2.99
Book Summary:
First BOOM! Kids issue! One of the longest-lived, most- successful comic book series in the industry's history comes to BOOM! and brings a little magic -- presenting Wizards of Mickey! Student of the great wizard Grandalf, Mickey Mouse hails from the humble village of Miceland. Allying himself with Donald Duck (who has a pet dragon named Fafnir) and team mate Goofy, Mickey's come to the great tournament to get his revenge on Peg Leg Pete, who has stolen the Rain Crystal from Miceland! Join Mickey Mouse and his friends on an epic tale of magic and wonder! Join BOOM! Kids for a whole new epoch in Disney publishing!
Reviewer's Comments:
From veteran Disney writer, Stefano Ambrosio who wrote the Pirates of the Caribbean comic among others comes an English translation of Mickey Mouse to BOOM! for the first time with their BOOM! Kids imprint. The book transfers over from Gemstone Publishing and the first issue in almost a year. You would have to wonder where these licenses are going to be in the next year. I haven't seen any statement from BOOM! that I know of when it comes to the Disney/ Marvel acquisition. But in the mean time, we are treated to what on the face of it is a kids title but what ends up being a thoroughly enjoyable read for all involved.
All too often a reader can get invested in the next ';serious' issue of the next ';serious' comic and it can be very easy to forget that comics can be a fun if brief escape to a world where you can enjoy the book for what it is. Written in the vain of Roger Langridge of The Muppet Show fame, the story is laden with enough depth and character to engage readers both young and old. The story follows Mickey as a Wizard in training who is left in charge of the town until his master comes home. In the meantime, the townsfolk are worried about the lack of rain and ask Mickey to do something about it. He can't, as he isn't adept at controlling his spells yet. Pete dupes him into letting him do the spell and Pete absconds with an important crystal. Mickey, in an attempt get the crystal back gathers a team that can enter a competition to win the crystal and other crystals back. The story is fairly linear and nothing groundbreaking, but it is the frequent one liners and situations that are injected that make it a good read.
The art is done in the classic style of Disney. You can't say weather it is good or not as you tend to find that it conforms with the company line. Unlike the Muppet Show, where Langridge does his own take on the characters, Pastrovicchio stays true to the likenesses of the characters that everyone knows. He presents the characters in a unoffending world, full of light and airy backgrounds and nothing that wouldn't be seen on any of the other media presentations of them.
This is as a safe comic as you will ever see. It fits perfectly into BOOM!'s kids line as well as any of the others. It will have an immediate built in audience and it is an astute addition to the line. If you have a few minutes to spare why not give it a try, you might surprise yourself.Rating the Issue
| Story Story: Overall 7 Concept - 7 out of 10 Plot - 7 out of 10 Dialogue - 7 out of 10 |
Art Art: Overall 7 Style - 7 out of 10 Storytelling - 7 out of 10 Colour/Tones - 7 out of 10 |
Importance Importance: Overall 7 To the Title - 7 out of 10 To the Company - 7 out of 10 To the Medium - 7 out of 10 |
Take a Look Inside
Reviewer Bio
Name: David O' Leary
email: idwfan@yahoo.co.uk
Been reading comics: for about 12 years now.
Review Bio: I am a 26-year-old Hotel Manager from the west coast of the Republic of Ireland and think this is a great way to talk to others about this cool medium. I am a husband to one wife and father to one girl (so far).
Favorites: ONI's Whiteout, Vertigo's Scalped and Garth Ennis Preacher and Punisher in Trades. In comic form I am reading a lot of Marvel and a bit of IDW, Dark Horse & WildStorm among others.
Website: Sorry, I don't have one!
blog comments powered by Disqus