Disney Masters

Fantagraphics launched the Disney Masters Series with Vol. 1: The Delta Dimension in May 2018. Since then they have published a few new volumes in the Disney Masters series each year. Volumes have been alternating between the central character and story being Mickey Mouse related or Donald Duck/Uncle Scrooge.

Fantagraphics presents Disney Masters – acclaimed artists from around the world working in the grand Walt Disney tradition. Many of these stories are new to American readers and appear here for the first time in English. Fresh new artwork, fresh new adventures, and fresh new laughs!

Disney Masters Vol. 25: Mickey Mouse: The River of Time

Book Description:

Who sank Steamboat Willie? Mickey and Peg Leg Pete declare a truce to solve an ancient mystery―but an older enemy hopes they go down with the ship!

How did Peg Leg Pete become Mickey’s arch-enemy? Sail into the past aboard that infamous riverboat Steamboat Willie… and see how a standoff between Mickey, Pete, and jewel thief Jeb Fishbone sank the ship―and lost Mouseton’s biggest gem in the roaring rapids! Can Mickey and Pete raise Steamboat Willie today? Or will they destroy each other trying? The adventures continue as Donald and Gyro Gearloose battle their brassy new neighbor, one-duck disaster area Boomer Buff, in “The Case of the Amazing Brain.” And then Mickey is back for round two―and maybe three?―when a “Mouse in the Mirror” turns real, and Mickey faces off with Ricky Rodent, an evil twin who’s also a better detective!

Disney Masters Vol. 25: Mickey Mouse: The River of Time was published by Fantagraphics in August 2024.

This volume of the Disney Masters series is 200 pages and features Disney Master Corrado Mastantuono. This is the first Disney Masters volume to feature Corrado Mastantuono.

A short biography on Corrado Mastantuono is included in the back of the book.

Disney Masters Vol. 25: Mickey Mouse: The River of Time is available in hardcover and Kindle\Comixology versions. A link to buy this book can be found at the end of this review.

Included Stories

There are 6 stories included in Disney Masters Vol. 25:

• The River of Time
• Boomer Buff’s Big Boost
• Birthday Bad Guys
• The Explorers of Tomorrow
• Mouse in the Mirror
• Once Upon a Pastry

In The River of Time, Pete and Mickey team up to find and salvage the legendary Steamboat Willie boat that sank to the bottom of the river many decades ago. Mickey feels a lot of guilt since Mickey was restocking the boiler with coal, and it was believed to be a boiler explosion that took Steamboat Willie down to Davey Jones. Pete may have another motive to salvaging and being reunited with a boat that he so famously captained.

We get two Donald Duck stories in this Mickey Mouse volume with Boomer Buff’s Big Boost and Once Upon a Pastry. These stories introduced me to the character Boomer Buff. Donald has a rivalry with Boomer Buff in Boomer Buff’s Big Boost. Boomer gets that boost from one of Gyro Gearloose’s inventions, the Skill-Skimmed. This invention can transfer knowledge and skills from one person to another.

In Once Upon a Pastry, Donald recommends pastry making as a hobby to Boomer. They both attend the Pastry Chef Apprentice course at the rec center. Boomer puts all sorts of crazy combinations in his desserts. Boomwr is accused of cheating in the National Nom-Nom’s competition when his dessert actually looks and tastes like the winning dessert.

Birthday Bad Guys is a four panel one pager that our featured Disney Master artist, Corrado Mastantuono, drew for Mickey Mouse’s 90th birthday. Pete and his weasel sidekick, Scuttle, with the Phantom Blot celebrate the birthday of their captive audience, Mickey Mouse. who is tied up dangling above a pool of sharks. I love me some Phantom Blot content.

Mickey goes back in time to prevent an invention that is before its time from being used for bad intentions in The Explorers of Tomorrow. This story had a surprise fan favorite villain revealed in the epilogue.

Mickey has a derpy doopleganger named Ricky Rodent that is making him and everyone else see double in Mouse in the Mirror. Mickey is going to need to expose the imposter and solve his missing loot case at the same time. I didn’t realize how much I would love derpy drawn versions of Disney characters.

My Review

The River of Time story was originally created for Mickey Mouse’s 70th birthday in 1998. This story was the highlight of this Disney Masters volume for me as I really enjoyed the expanded backstory of one of my favorite Mickey Mouse animated shorts. I thought it was well done with the black and white flashbacks mixed in with modern day Mickey and Pete. With so many lame uses of Mickey from Steamboat Willie used since he entered the public domain, it was nice to read something more creative with the character that had been out a while that I had never had a chance to read with The River of Time.

I love the Disney Masters series because we get treated to stories and illustrations from more great Disney comic creators besides the legendary Barks and Rosa. We may have never had a chance to read these stories outside of Fantagraphics’ Disney Masters series.

I am definitely looking forward to reading future volumes of Fantagraphics’ Disney Masters series. A big thank you to Fantagraphics for sending us this book to review so that we can continue our education and journey through the history of Disney Comics.

You can purchase Disney Masters Vol. 25 at the link below:

Order: Disney Masters Vol. 25: Mickey Mouse: The River of Time

The next new release volume in the Disney Masters series has already been announced and is available for preorder:

Order: Disney Masters Vol. 26: Donald Duck: Tales of Andold Wild Duck

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