Gemstone’s Disney Comics love celebrating the holidays. But there are
holidays, and there are holidays! Take Easter — with its eggs and bunnies, it’s
one revered by many, and Gemstone begins its commemoration with this week’s
$2.95, 32-page Donald and Mickey Mouse titles. But then there are those holidays
few of us know about… the International Cheese Festival, say. Here’s where
Disney Comics really shine, shining the spotlight on holiday customs you’d
otherwise never be aware of. (What? You think our comics writers and artists
made up the Cheese Festival themselves? >Snort!< How dare you >ahem!< uh...) The thrills of holiday excitement begin in Donald
Duck and Friends #338, with Carl Barks’ classic “The Easter
Election.” When Donald competes with lucky Cousin Gladstone to become
Grand Marshall of the Easter Parade, the tricks are rottener than the eggs. The
only question is whether either duck would still want to be Grand Marshall if
they knew exactly what the job involved! Then, in “Guru Goofy,” a
prime Sarah Kinney-written backup story, it’s Goofy’s turn to attain a
prestigious position when he travels to the mountains of Ubet… and returns
home a sage!
Then things really get going with the holiday you really came
to read about: the International Cheese Festival, as heralded by Gorm Transgaard
and Vicar in “Master of Mice!” Thousands of gourmets descend on
Duckburg; every city block boasts fromage-oriented snack stands. And it’s now
that Donald Duck, the world’s greatest exterminator, must keep the city free of
mice and rats — the world’s greatest threat to cheese! He expertly removes them
from a home… from a ship… from a governor’s dining room, and then– What?
You think we’re going to spoil the climax? Chase down Donald Duck #338
and watch our big cheese do his stuff!

Mickey Mouse and Friends
#287 isn’t all a holiday issue, but any book featuring a mouse is, in its
special way, a tribute to the International Cheese Festival. That said, it’s on
to our cover feature… the much-requested 1948 adventure “The World Under
the Sea,” featuring art by Bill Wright! When Goofy builds a multipurpose
military vehicle that can fly and travel underwater, it leads Mickey to a
submerged Atlantis that’s still in medieval times — and faces danger from Count
Drakova, a classic medieval villain. Mickey must battle Drakova… or be blamed
for his crimes himself!
Our backup stories get back into holiday gear with
“For the Birds,” Sarah Kinney and Paco Rodriguez’s tribute to Spring
Equinox. When buds bloom and birdies chirp in Mouseton, Mickey feeds the birds a
special “power feed” that he’s brewed himself. Woe to him, though…
when it seems the special chow transforms the birds into wolf-sized monsters!
Following that, Donald Duck pursues “That Darn Hat” for Daisy in a
Daan Jippes short dialogued by Tony Isabella (Black Lightning). We’re not
sure that this story commemorates a holiday, but if you’d like to declare Wear A
Ludicrous Hat Day, here’s your ammunition!

Gemstone is your source for
new and vintage Disney greats. Order our titles online at http://www.gemstonepub.com/disney
or http://www.walmart.com. Find
them at Rite Aid or your local comics shop. And if you can’t find a comic shop,
don’t assume it’s changed into a cheese store for the Cheese Festival. Call
Diamond Comics’ Comic Shop Locator Service at 1-888-COMIC-BOOK.