“Floyd Gottfredson was to Mickey Mouse what Carl Barks was
to Donald Duck.”
-Talesfromweirdland
For Civil War buffs (like myself), today is the 158th anniversary of the Battle of Wilderness. For Disney comics fans, today is just as pivotal (and less tragic); it is the 117th birthday of Mickey Mouse comics maestro Floyd Gottfredson. If Walt is Mickey’s father, then Floyd is Mickey’s fun uncle or as D23 puts it, “a guardian artist.” In many aspects, Floyd shaped Mickey’s personality more than Walt. It sounds like Disney heresy to the novice, but an overview of Floyd’s career reveals a Mickey Mouse that is more dynamic and rounded than the figure displayed on movie screens.
Floyd’s Mickey battled wannabe world conquerors, dueled air
pirates, enlisted in the Foreign Legion, visited an island in the sky, and even
saved a country from financial disaster. (Mickey Mouse 2024, anyone?) But it
wasn’t just the adventures that placed the comics Mouse apart from his
theatrical counterpart. It was how Mickey reasoned and dealt with those
problems. He had self-confidence in spades but often bet too much on his heart.
He faced overwhelming odds, sometimes panicked but always remained steadfast.
He was a symbol of justice without becoming cloying in his dispensation.
A brief biographical sketch of Floyd. Gottfredson was born May 5, 1905,
in Utah. A hunting accident injured his arm which like many a tragic accident
turned into an unexpected blessing. His injury led to a creative style of drawing,
and he had time to read plenty of pulp material that later inspired many Mickey
stories. He went out to California and landed a job with the Disney Studios as
an in-betweener. Four months later, he was asked by Walt to temporarily take
over the Mickey Mouse comic strip. The temporary assignment started on May 5,
1930 and lasted nearly 45 years until his retirement. Gottfredson passed away on
July 22, 1986.
Fortunately, Gottfredson was “discovered” in the 1960s by earnest
fans and he was properly credited for his accomplishments. Unfortunately, he
wasn’t named a Disney Legend until 2003 long after his death. Interestingly
enough, as recounted in Malcolm Willis’ interview with Floyd, he considered his
earliest Mickey artwork to be archaic compared to his most recent work at the
time! However, as recollection of his work grew, he reconnected with his prime
material. The series of paintings done reflect this philosophical shift. Every
painting was from the pre-1945 serials. Sadly, this meant we missed out on
paintings of the Rhyming Man and Milos. Despite that loss, the paintings remain
today a beautiful encapsulation of Mickey’s daring perils.
I was fortunate enough to grow up in the late 1990s and the
early 2000s when Disney was producing Mickey material unlike previous decades
where often the only proof of Mickey’s existence resided at the parks and store
shelves. I was delighted by the Mickey Mouse Works cartoons, and I still think Mickey,
Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers is one of the funniest films ever. Mickey’s
segment in Once Upon a Christmas never fails to evoke genuine emotion. Yet
for all those renditions of Mickey and the marketing blitz, I was not aware of
Mickey Mouse comics. The comic Mickey for young me was as unknown as the New
World to a 1345 Bavarian peasant!
I have recounted my discovery of Gottfredson here. It was a
pivotal moment in my Mickey fandom. I found some of Mickey’s greatest adventures.
Sure, he, Donald, and Goofy tangled with the Phantom Blot in a fun Mouse Works
episode but Mickey Mouse Outwits the Phantom Blot brought chills down my spine
with its intensity and tone. It startled me to think that all that material was
unrealized and unused by Disney. Fer gosh sakes! Mickey could have a dozen hit
movies and shows based off the black ink content. As of 2022, little of Gottfredson’s
creation has been showcased via animation.
After uncovering Gottfredson, I noticed pieces of Floyd in the
modern animated Mickey, scarps that survived the decades of neglect. In the
European comics Mickey, he has never really left. Yes, there have been periods
where Mickey has become more sedated and sterner. But thanks to Scarpa, Faraci,
Casty, and other artists/writers, he has remained the vibrant heroic figure.
And that figure has returned to American shores with the excellent
translations/dialogue done by David Gerstein and his Core Four team.
When I write my Mickey Mouse comic scripts, I try to channel
Floyd’s Mickey. His bravery in the face of peril. His humanity towards people.
His resourcefulness against overwhelming odds. His self-confidence that can
border on recklessness but not a distasteful cockiness. His zest for adventure.
The box set of Floyd’s Sunday colors have just been
reprinted just in time for the celebration. While the Sundays might not rank up
there with his finest work (those tales are mostly located in Volumes 3/4/5 of
the Floyd Gottfredson Library), they are absolutely worth the purchase! The
link is located here.
I will give Floyd the closing words: “Mickey will always be
alive because he is a symbol, the very trademark of the studio, and because of
the late Walt Disney’s affection for him. One of the main functions of the
comic strip is to keep him alive.”
Thanks to Floyd’s work, both he and Mickey will be forever
alive.
Happy Birthday Floyd and thank you!
