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THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER COMICS VOLUME ONE 1932 TO 1935 IDW PUBLISHING San Diego

INTRODUCTION

by J. B. KAUFMAN The early 1930s were an exciting time in the history of the Walt Disney studio: the breakthrough years, marked by one achievement after another. Mickey Mouse, introduced in 1928 in the landmark sound cartoon Steamboat Willie, had scored a success unprecedented for an animated cartoon character, a success that only increased as new Mouse films continued to appear. They were soon joined by a second Disney cartoon series, Silly Symphony. The Symphonies were quite unlike the Mickeys: they were not built around a continuing character, but introduced new characters and stories in each picture. In time they would evolve into the prestige Disney line, winning widespread popularity, rave reviews, and seven Academy Awards.

By the early 1930s the Disney studio was beginning to enjoy a strong dual presence on the movie screens of America and the world. It wasn’t long before this presence was reflected elsewhere in daily life: toys, storybooks, and other licensed products began to appear, bearing the likenesses of Disney characters. Mickey Mouse, in particular, seemed to be everywhere, and early in 1930 he debuted in a daily newspaper comic strip, beginning a popular saga that would continue for decades.

In January 1932 yet another ingredient was added to this phenomenon: the Disney characters began to appear in full color in the Sunday comics. King Features Syndicate simultaneously introduced two Disney Sunday features, one devoted to Mickey Mouse, the other to the Silly Symphonies. Newspapers could publish one or the other independently, but the premium offering was a full page of Disney comics: the Mickey story on the bottom half of the page, the Symphonies at the

top—along with assorted other bonus extras. The net effect of this full page was that of a weekly bonanza for Disney fans, both the young and the not-so-young.

For millions of Americans just entering the worst years of the Depression, this new treasure must have seemed a ray of Technicolor sunshine.

From today’s very different perspective, these comics seem, if anything, more delightful than ever. The Silly Symphony feature, which held pride of place at the top of the page, is a gem of special rarity: this series of reprint volumes, published more than eighty years after the fact, marks the first time the entire series has been collected in English. In the present volume one witnesses the birth of the Symphony page and sees how it progresses through its first three and a half years.

By 1932 King Features had been distributing the Mickey Mouse daily strip for two years and had a standing relationship with the Disney studio. Ordinarily, when inaugurating new comic strips, King’s standard procedure would have been to directly hire writers and artists who produced them. Disney comics were a different story: the Disney studio exercised a tight proprietary control over its characters and insisted on producing the comic strips in-house. The earliest Mickey Mouse dailies had been written and drawn by no less than Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks, respectively. This led to the establishment of a dedicated comic-strip department within the studio. Now, preparing to launch the new Sunday features, that department added new talent to meet the increased workload.

The earliest installments show that concocting a newspaper comic feature, corresponding to the cinematic Silly Symphonies, posed a unique challenge for the Disney artists. What would be the content of this new feature? The hallmark of the

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23 • March 20, 1932

44 • August 14, 1932

57 • November 13, 1932

98 • August 27, 1933

127 • March 11, 1934

145 • July 1, 1934

157 • September 16, 1934

173 • December 23, 1934

183 • February 24, 1935

193 • April 28, 1935