Fantagraphics’ ‘Disney Masters’ line begins in May

New line of hardcovers includes work by Romano Scarpa, Luciano Bottaro, Paul Murry, Freddy Milton and Daan Jippes.

Beginning in May, Fantagraphics will publish a new line called “Disney Masters,” building on their already impressive line of classic Disney comics collections. The new line is devoted to “Disney’s greatest cartoonists,” and will include the works of Romano Scarpa, Luciano Bottaro, Paul Murry, Freddy Milton and Daan Jippes.

These will be full-color hardcovers, running about 200 pages each. Many of these stories originated overseas, and this will be their first American appearance.

Here’s the rundown of what you can expect from the first four volumes, which come out later this year:

Disney Masters Vol. 1 Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse: The Delta Dimension by Romano Scarpa
Due out in May

When Mickey’s town is hit by a blizzard of strange glowing snow, everyone thinks it’s a publicity stunt. But genius Dr. Einmug knows better: Pegleg Pete is on the loose with Einmug’s weather-control secrets! Only Mickey and Einmug’s mysterious companion — the odd little Atomo Bleep-Bleep — can save the day before a poison rainstorm wipes Mouseton off the map!

When Disney Legend Floyd Gottfredson stopped creating new Mickey Mouse adventures in 1955, Italian Disney maestro Romano Scarpa (1927–2005) picked up the Mickey mantle — he quickly proved himself a worthy successor, spinning out decades’ worth of new Mickey action epics — most of which have never been available in English!

Now Fantagraphics is translating and anthologizing Scarpa’s best! This volume also reunites Mickey, Atomo, and Pete for Scarpa’s “The Bleep-Bleep 15” and “The Fabulous Kingdom of Shan-Grilla,” two internationally famous tales making their North American debut!

Disney Masters Vol. 2 Walt Disney’s Donald Duck: Uncle Scrooge’s Money Rocket by Luciano Bottaro
Due out in June

Our second entry in the new Disney Masters series spotlights one of the all-time great Disney Duck artists, Luciano Bottaro! When Scrooge rockets his money to the moon to save it from the greedy Beagle Boys, Donald Duck accidentally stows away — and gets stranded on an asteroid! With Rebo, Warlord King of Saturn, suddenly in the picture, can Donald rescue himself and rescue Scrooge’s fortune?

Italian comics maestro Luciano Bottaro (1931–2005), building on the Carl Barks tradition, spun wild, thrilling, and near-psychedelic Duckburg tales for decades! Now Fantagraphics brings Bottaro’s best Disney works to the English-speaking world — starting with Rebo, Bottaro’s great sci-bad guy!

After Rebo’s first feature-length battle with Donald and Scrooge in “Uncle Scrooge’s Money Rocket,” the avaricious alien is back from outer space in “Rebo Reducks,” this volume’s second cosmic epic. Then Bottaro pits Scrooge against Carl Barks’s beloved Witch Hazel in “TV Trickery!” is is the second of our new Disney Masters series, spotlighting one of Disney’s most beloved Italian cartoonists!

Disney Masters Vol. 3 Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse: The Case of the Vanishing Bandit by Paul Murry
Due out in July

The circus is in town — and detective Mickey and “akerbatty” Goofy are up to their elbows in lions, tigers, and scares! A mysterious old lady is following the circus troupe, robbing the cities they visit — and then poof! — she’s gone! Is she an evil clown, trying to frame the showmen? Fearless Mickey vows to find out!

Classic Disney artist Paul Murry, who often teamed with writer Carl Fallberg, created a series of Mickey and Goofy serials for Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories that every Baby Boomer remembers.

Hop onto the circus train — Fantagraphics new Disney Masters collections continue here! Join Mickey on the trail of cops-and-robbers capers — from shady doings at “The Last Resort” to Black Pete’s raucous wrangles with a Rajah in “The Lost Legion!” Murry’s first seven Mickey serials are all here — all newly recolored in the warm colors from the original Dell comic books!

Disney Masters Vol. 4 Walt Disney’s Donald Duck: The Great Survival Test by Daan Jippes and Freddy Milton
Due out in August

Watchful uncle Donald Duck doesn’t want Huey, Dewey, and Louie taking on a daring Junior Woodchuck mission at 20 degrees below zero. But Donald’s “survivalist” nephews insist they can stake out the coldest night of the year in an abandoned trailer in the wilderness — so Unca Donald vows he’s gonna teach them a lesson!

When Disney Legend Carl Barks stopped creating new Disney Duck tales in the early 1970s, the Dutch and Danish team of Daan Jippes and Freddy Milton picked up right where Barks left off. Jippes and Milton were the first to continue Barks’s art and storytelling style in new stories.

Now, by popular demand, Fantagraphics collects Jippes and Milton’s classic teamups — and “The Great Survival Test” is just the start of the mayhem! From Donald’s war with lucky Gladstone in “The Briefcase Case” to Daisy’s race against time in “Coat of Harms,” an amazing collection of Duck Family adventures is here!

Update, May 9: Fantagraphics is offering a subscription to the five volumes on their website.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.