Floyd Gottfredson (1905–1986)

I found this volume to read fast then the previous volume. I still think these are a great read for Mickey Mouse and Disney fans. Taking you back to the early days of Mickey Mouse and his gang. This volume does have what today's standards would be offensive though such as black-face and cannibalistic tribes, but keep in mind this is the 30s still and read it more for historical value. This volume also made me remember how all those people freaked out with Hello Kitty not actually being a cat, well hate to break it to people, Mickey Mouse isn't an actual mouse. There one story in the Horace Horsecaller is standing next to an actual house acting like it's an animal and not the same. Another time native cannibalistic on a possible Africa island call Mickey a "white man." They obvious did this for humor/satire purposes. Keep in mind that this Mickey is different form today's Mickey.… (meer)

Want to know why Mickey Mouse is such a huge icon and why he is so important to the world of cartoons and comics? Read these volumes collecting Floyd Gottfredson's run on the Mickey Mouse comic strips. Not only do these volumes give you about two years worth of stories each, they also give you enough background information. There is plenty of reading material. However, these books are more for adult fans of Mickey Mouse and for the people that enjoy the history of comic strips.

One of the best things about reading the Mickey Mouse strips is that you begin to realized that he has changed over the years. He started out as an adventure and years later became and everyday mouse. Not that is a bad thing because I still love Mickey Mouse, but I found these stories more entertaining than what he has become. I also really appreciate that Gottfredson had a story unlike the cartoons. It made sense back in the 30s not to have a story since they played cartoons before a movie, today however I think it would be a neat idea to have a Mickey Mouse cartoon based on these strips. Some of the characters have appeared in numerous amounts of other cartoons, but after reading these I 'd like story.

Overall, I liked all the stories they featured in this volume. For something to feature Mickey Mouse these were well written I thought. Not too complicated, but not too easy either. Some parts do get a little (shall I say) dark for Disney. One of the early strips we see Mickey Mouse trying to kill himself five times because he thinks Minnie falls for another mouse. How they go about this too is still kind of light and comical. It's in no way insulting people who do kill themselves, but more bringing awareness on the topic and possibly helping other with depression or thoughts of suicide. In another story Gottfredson tackles Roma (gypsies) and how they are exciting people and also not to be trusted. For the times, I understand where Gottfredson is coming from, but out of that story I think the thing that caught me by surprise is Clarabelle Cow calling Horace Horsecollar a "jackass" several times. I'm assuming since this was for kids back in the 30s that "jackass" wasn't a censored word as it is for kids today.

Adult fans of Mickey Mouse I think would enjoy this the most. I only say adult because there is way too much reading material for kids to enjoy, maybe adolescents, but keep in mine this is a mix of comic strips and non-fictional essays. The books themselves are really well put together too. Out of the comic books I own, this one is hands down the best put together volume. Plus, nothing to do with the star rating on here, but I got a box set on Amazon that was surprisingly cheaper then store price.

NOTE: If you liked Art Spiegelman's Maus comic book, I suggest you look up some images of this comic strip. I wouldn't be supersized Maus was influenced on Floyd Gottfredson's art work. Couldn't help but think of Maus while reading this book and I don't get that feeling with other Mickey mouse stuff.… (meer)