Of Mice and Men and Global Domination: Mickey Mouse and the World to Come

I have missed out on a lot of interesting Disney stories because I am not a comic book reader. I’ve been trying to amend that somewhat by scouring my library’s collection of Disney graphic novels. As nearly all of them seem to have been published within the last two years, I’m missing out on anything earlier, but it’s a good way to start, anyway. One intriguing book my search turned up was Mickey Mouse and the World to Come, a futuristic graphic novel whose main story was written and drawn by Casty and whose secondary tale was written by Alberto Savini and Abramo Leghziel. Other contributors include translators David Gerstein, Jonathan Gray, Francesco Spreafico and Stefania Bronzoni, letterers Deron Bennett and Johnny Lowe, designer Erika Terriquez, editor Christopher Meyer and assistant editor Christopher Burns.

In the main tale, which is broken up into four sections but really is just one very long story, Minnie and Mickey Mouse are separately kidnapped and caught up in a sinister plot with global implications. While Minne remains in the custody of the villainous Rhyming Man – so named for his habit of speaking only in rhyme – Mickey soon connects with his old friend Eega Beeva, a human from the 2400s. The two of them undertake a quest to Illusitania, a serene country that has fallen into evil hands. There, they will need to not only rescue Minnie but also foil a doomsday plot that could have catastrophic effects on the whole world.

The oppressive tone of this book surprised me. It reminded me quite a bit of Hayao Miyazaki’s Castle in the Sky, which involves a legendary floating country guarded by gigantic robots capable of both great good and terrible destruction. This, too, has enormous robots that a couple of ambitious villains want to control. Eega Beeva, a character I’d never encountered before but who I later learned was first introduced more than 60 years ago, provides all the exposition we need to get a pretty good handle on what’s going on, though it still seems a bit complex for the “eight & up” designation on the back. It also seems a little dark; he references the 2012 rumors surrounding the Mayan calendar and posits that a similarly dire scenario involving an Aztec myth is unfolding.

In Illusitania, we find the kindly king, who developed an advanced technology in an effort to reshape the world into a more hospitable place, and his sly son, who has been working to undermine him. We also meet the spunky young princess, who soon befriends Mickey and Eega Beeva. Together, they strive to figure out exactly what the prince and the Rhyming Man have planned and how to stop it. It’s an action-packed story loaded with some pretty heavy ideas about the appropriate use of technology and how much power is too much for one person to have.

There’s not much humor in the main story here, so I found Peg-Leg Pete and the Alien Band a relief. At 16 pages, it’s quite short compared to the primary tale, but it makes for a nice dessert after the hearty main course. In this story, a literal band of aliens visits Pete and invites him to be their drummer. Pete, looking out for number one as usual, is reluctant to welcome them, but then he begins to think their offer might not be so bad – provided that they make some special concessions for him. This is really just a silly side-trip that offers an opportunity to laugh at Pete’s mostly harmless bluster. He certainly doesn’t come across as very intimidating after the cruel villains in World to Come. The whole thing builds up to a punch line that I saw coming a mile off, but it made me laugh anyway.

The book also includes sneak previews of Wizards of Mickey: Mouse Magic, Hero Squad: Ultraheroes, Donald Duck: Double Duck , Toy Story: The Return of Buzz Lightyear, The Incredibles: City of Incredibles and Uncle Scrooge: The Hunt for the Old Number One, as well as capsule previews of a couple dozen Disney graphic novels. I was unaware of most of these, so it makes a handy reference as I try to track down others.

Mickey Mouse and the World to Come is highly inventive and ambitious. The main story feels much more adult than the one involving Pete, and its aim seems to be more education than entertainment. It seems that Casty wanted it to serve as a cautionary tale. I also think that a prior familiarity with some of the other books in this series would help; while it is mostly stand-alone, there are a couple of points in the story when the author steps in to recommend reading a previous tale. While I prefer to see Mickey in less harrowing situations, this book certainly offers a thrilling adventure.