From April to September 1930, newspaper readers found themselves deeply involved in a high stakes wild west adventure rivaling the most insane pulps from people like B. Traven and H. Rider Haggard. In addition to helping cement the status of an iconic character, the story was filled with all manner of chases, explosions, gunplay, low humor, and cliffhangers. The world was captivating enough for even the most casual armchair explorer, and the twists came in at twenty thousand miles per second. On its own merits, this would have already been a great story, but with Mickey Mouse added to the mix, ‘Mickey Mouse in Death Valley’ became something spectacular.
Written and Illustrated by Floyd Gottfredson
Today everyone knows Mickey Mouse as Disney’s cheerful ambassador. But back in the 1930s, Mickey gained fame as a rough-and-tumble, two-fisted epic hero! And Mickey’s greatest feats of derring-do were written and drawn by one of the greatest cartoonists of the 20th century – Floyd Gottfredson. The premiere volume, Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse Vol. 1: “Race to Death Valley” features a dozen different adventures starring Mickey, his gal Minnie and her uncle Mortimer (not to be confused with Mickey’s rival in the animates shorts!), his pals Horace Horsecollar and Butch, the villainous Pegleg Pete, and the mysterious and shrouded Fox. Relive Mickey’s race to a gold mine with Pegleg Pete hot on his heels; Mickey’s life on the lam after being framed for bank robbery; even Mickey’s ringside battle with a hulking heavyweight champ! Now it’s time to rediscover the wild, unforgettable personality behind the icon: Floyd Gottfredson’s Mickey Mouse.
In the introduction to “Mickey Mouse: Race to Death Valley,” the first volume of Fantagraphics’s Floyd Gottfredson Library where the strip appears, Thomas Andrae notes there were two radically different Mickeys being put out at the time. Of course, there was the Mouse who appeared in various animated shorts, but there was also the one showing up in the newspaper strips. Where film cartoons tended to be “strips of gags, held together by fairly simple plots and brought to their climax by some concluding joke,” the daily strip — probably one of the purest forms of comicking — had the “time to build complex plots and rounded characters.” For the first time, Mickey Mouse could talk, could really talk rather than deliver a few lines for a gag. In the comics, Mickey was given a leading man personality that eventually made its way over to the animated shorts. And, oboy, does Gottfredson use the medium to its fullest extent while he’s at it. ‘Mickey Mouse in Death Valley’ demonstrates some of the best X-therefore-Y storytelling you will ever see.
Everything kicks off when Minnie learns she’s the heiress to this great mansion, left to her by some forgotten eccentric uncle. Yet, the crooked lawyer, Sylvester Shyster, has an unhealthy fascination with the place and he’s desperately trying to cheat her out of her claim. Luckily, a mysterious figure has been helping Mickey and Minnie out of the various traps and obstacles Shyster tries to tangle them up in. Eventually they stumble upon a treasure map, Shyster enlists the assistance of Peg-Leg Pete, and there’s a desperate race to Death Valley to find treasures unknown.
‘Mickey Mouse in Death Valley’ showcases the talents of a truly great cartoonist. While we’re all drawn to unique and interesting character designs, it takes a special talent to make a licensed project feel distinct and special. Though Gottfredson rarely strays from the Mickey or Minnie model — or more accurately, the Mickey or Minnie model from 1930 — his presentation and delivery is something to behold.
He keeps the pace brisk and snappy. Each scene or situation generally lasts about six strips at most: a week’s worth of material. Because this was a newspaper strip, Gottfredson has to keep his panel designs simple, relying on a four-panel grid. At the same time, he rarely presents an image that isn’t in constant motion. His overall staging and backgrounds might not be as innovative as some of the other lingering Disney artists (Carl Barks), but there’s no denying his ability to generate genuine excitement and tension. Whether it’s a high-octane train chase (a particular favorite image of mine is the train practically rocking off the tracks as it hurtles into Death Valley) or two calvaries charging at each other at full speed on horseback, Gottfredson finds the best way to deliver the action. He brings the same energy and craft to scenes where Mickey’s about to go over a waterfall as the gags where characters are getting kicked in the keyster.
Continued belowOf course, ‘Mickey Mouse in Death Valley’ is a product of its time, and some of its jokes can best be described as antiquated. Shyster’s design, for instance, relies a little too strongly on this Jewish character for comfort. And when Mickey and the crew make it to Death Valley, the Native Americans and Mexicans and miners are depicted in less than ideal fashions. Context is key in a story like this.
Gottfredson also leans a little too heavily on some of the jokes and gags at times. A lot of humor involves people getting kicked in the butt or ending up in an embarrassing predicament with their underwear bared for all the world to see. These punchlines are especially evident when Gottfredson doesn’t seem to know how to end a strip, and it offers an easy enough out. That being said, Walt Disney himself was a big fan of rear-ended humor, so arguably this may have been a way to keep the big boss happy. On top of that, Disney himself wrote the strip for many years and, according to the introduction, had a hand with ‘Mickey Mouse in Death Valley,’ so that could be even further reasoning behind the choice.
There are plenty of defining moments throughout the strips, and Gottfredson (probably in collaboration with Disney) gives the Mouse a real presence. His ornery, stubborn, and determined. His tricks backfire, he gets himself messed up in ridiculously far-fetched situations. He’s witty, he’s smart, and quick-thinking, and that freedom of movement, that freedom of choice makes him more compelling through the entire narrative. He’s so compelling and such a great leading man that we ultimately can look past some of the outdated jokes or structural shortcomings.
‘Mickey Mouse in Death Valley’ is a marvel. Not only of classic newspaper cartooning, but of fantastic adventure storytelling. Floyd Gottfredson generates some strong tension and humor out of the piece, presenting the strips with this confidence and energy barely matched to this day. It’s hard to figure out where the story’s going to go next, but easy to trace back everything to see how it falls into place. It’s a spectacle that will leave you floored with its craft and delivery long after its over.
