One of the most iconic incarnations of Mickey Mouse is as the
mischievous sorcerer's apprentice in the most famous segment of the film
Fantasia (and the only segment repeated in Fantasia 2000). I imagine that this role served as inspiration for the Wizards of Mickey
comic book series, which was compiled into graphic novel form and
published by Boom! Studios. The first part of this originally Italian
saga, Mouse Magic, includes four comic books written by Stefano
Ambrosio, with artwork by Lorenzo Pastrovicchio, Marco Gervasio, Marco
Palazzi and Alessandro Perina.
The story begins with Mickey, who
once again is a sorcerer's apprentice, but this time, he works for a
wizard named Nereus who seems less intimidating and has more faith in
him. Nereus reminds me of Gandalf here, cantankerous but profoundly good
and concerned about the well-being of the common folk. Like Gandalf, he
entrusts Mickey with a magical object, asking him not to use it but to
prevent others from using it. Unfortunately, brawny bullies are about,
which makes Mickey's task much more trying and ultimately leads to his
involvement with a much larger crisis than the drought facing his home
village.
While Mickey is the main character here, classic
villain Pete soon surfaces as a primary antagonist, and before too long,
Mickey meets and befriends Goofy, an aspiring herbalist who distrusts
magic, and Donald, whose consistently nonfunctional spells keep getting
him into trouble. While Pluto does not make an appearance in Mouse Magic,
that void is filled by Fafnir, a "puppy dragon" who adopted Donald and
whose clumsy but lovable ways hinder the trio at times and help at
others. Late in the book, we also encounter spunky sorceress Daisy, who
has a prior history with Donald and is friends with pampered princess
Minnie and clairvoyant Clarabelle. It seems plain that this trio of gals
will soon team up with the fellas to present a united front against the
forces of evil.
The mix of established and new characters works
well, with several fresh faces emerging at the wizards' tournament in
which Mickey and his friends end up competing. Of these, my favorites
are the enormous dragons, who scoff at their "scaleless" competitors and
insist that their ancient magic is far superior to any requiring a wand
or a "diamagic," one of the shards of the crystal where all the magic
in the land was once concentrated. The purpose of the tournament is to
win the diamagics from each other so that the ultimate victor will be
able to unite the crystals and become Sorcerer Supreme. Naturally, with
this degree of power at stake, some competitors will be resorting to
underhanded methods in an effort to emerge triumphant.
The
tournament itself becomes central to the story fairly quickly, but each
of the story's four parts involves time away from the tournament as
well, both with Mickey and with Nereus, who is being held prisoner by an
old enemy. While this is an epic adventure, there is room for some
humor, particularly where Donald and Fafnir are concerned. Some of the
spells that are used have some amusing effects as well. The quality of
the artwork is excellent; while I find the purely white faces of Mickey
and Goofy, not to mention Minnie and Clarabelle, a little strange amidst
all the vibrant color surrounding them, the characters otherwise look
fully themselves, and the panels are filled with intricate detail. While
the story still seems a bit complex for those in early elementary
school, it doesn't feel nearly as dark as Mickey Mouse and the World to Come.
Unlike
other Disney graphic novels I have read, this one includes no sneak
previews at the end, so it's considerably shorter than most, but I can't
say for sure whether the story itself is of significantly different
length. It seems about average, though, at roughly a hundred pages.
That's plenty of time in which to get to know the characters and become
acquainted with their world, with the promise of more installments to
follow. The mouse at the heart of the Magic Kingdom could hardly be a
Muggle; delve into his enchanted side with this first volume in Wizards
of Mickey.
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