It is one thing to adapt lesser stories or write new adventures for the Mouse, but distilling the most famous and arguably greatest Mickey story into a children’s book requires some stones. Yet, Lee Nordling’s edition of “Blot” perfectly represents Gottfredson’s finest moment.
A little history lesson first. Back in the early 1990s, the Disney company realized that Mickey was turning into an icon that didn't do anything and plotted a series of campaigns designed to return the Mouse to his action-packed roots. Thus, "The Perils of Mickey" branding was born. Drawing upon several of Gottfredson's serials, a vast array of merchandise was heaped upon the public. A surplus of goods can be found on eBay.
(Jim Korkis' great article: https://www.mouseplanet.com/12763/The_Perils_of_Mickey_Mouse)
The success of the campaign is debatable. It, unfortunately, didn't launch a Mickey TV series, but it raised some awareness of a Mickey with more than a cheerful smile and an easy-going attitude. Beyond the "Perils" scene, a series of children's books were launched around the same timeframe. The writers and artists weren't fly-by-the-night journeymen. The series landed one Disney Legend in Floyd Norman and noted comic figure, Lee Nordling. The investment in quality paid off as we will see here.
The artwork screams atmosphere. The Blot retains the foreboding menace that characterized his debut story. His mannerisms in stalking haven’t been equaled by any other family media except the ghosts in Scooby-Doo Where Are You. And those monsters had the blessing of animation and music to enhance their horror. The Blot had no soundtrack, just Floyd’s artwork. Nordling keeps the atmosphere of a grim affair intact.
To expand the Scooby Doo parallel, the story's opening scene has the Blot’s shadow creeping along the wall like the Phantom Shadow. Now this adaptation was written decades after the Scooby episode came out. Perhaps, Nordling was influenced. The Blot certainly moves like a Scooby villain, a lurking specter seeking to corral our hero.
In the original version, Mickey doesn’t have a personal stake in the outcome. He is hired to track down the camera-smashing culprit by the police commission. In this rendition, Mickey’s shattered camera launches his quest for justice. I do love how overdramatic the narration is about the crime. Mickey hadn’t even taken a single photo yet but the loss of the camera fills him with rage!
So the Mouse heads to the police station and Chief O’Hara (who, as of the book’s creation, was still waiting for his animated debut with Mickey) explains about the crazy crimes of cracked cameras.
Since Idol was on hiatus, Mickey decides to take the case. O’Hara hands him a pristine camera to study. While on the way home, the Blot appears to follow Mickey. He swipes the camera, breaks it, leaves the item behind, and disappears. The artwork is impressive. The Blot’s cloak blends perfectly with the puddles.
The next day Mickey reads the paper (not the Daily Wardrum*, just the Daily). It turns out that more cameras were broken and there was a jewel theft in Japan. To Mickey, the description of the mysterious thief sounds like the Blot. (That is profiling, Mickey.).
* OGs will understand this reference.
Mickey hits the docks and stores trying to track down information on the cameras. While at Sam’s Camera Shop, he runs into the Blot (you think the police would have been stationed there!) and is captured. The story is full of choice descriptions, but this one takes the cake, “but he was soon tied up tighter than one of Minnie’s birthday presents.”
The Phantom Blot takes Mickey to an abandoned warehouse. Now anyone who has read the original story knows it is deathtrap time. And this method of death was to be by hanging. This story slightly bowdlerizes it. The setup with the heights and framework is kept the same but this time if Mickey falls asleep he won’t be left with a broken neck but buried in wet cement. Fer gosh sakes, that is brutal. Sleep well, Mousekeeters!
His escape is kept virtually the same. Mickey uses the nail to break free and swing to safety. He heads back to the police station and compares notes with O’Hara. They realize that only one camera remains from the original shipment. O’Hara reveals he purchased the final camera to replace his grandson’s broken one. The Blot appears and steals the camera while leaving behind a three-dimensional photo of one. The photograph clicks the final piece for Mickey.
The next day, he and O’Hara head to the museum to see the Faith Diamond (an obvious parody of the Hope Diamond, Mousekeeters). O’Hara is confused about what the Blot plans to do, but Mickey has it figured out.
He sees a bearded man moving towards the diamond and immediately tackles the man. Mickey demands the diamond which confuses everyone. The diamond is still on the stand, after all. Performing a legally dubious search and seizure, Mickey reaches into the unmasked Blot’s pocket and pulls out the goods.
It turns out that the Blot planned to use the 3-D photograph to trick everyone into thinking the diamond was still there while he made his getaway. He needed the special 3D camera to pull off his heist, but he lost the camera in the shipment. Thus, he had to check every available camera. In a great twist of the original tale, the Blot is locked up in his costume fully masked. While in the original ending, his unmasking is the conclusion. By the way, his mustache in the original version resembles Walt’s and mine!
“Outwits the Phantom Blot” has stood the time for a reason. The atmosphere was terrific, the villain lurked, and the mystery was amazing. Despite being a version for grade school children, the original chills and sense of adventure still shine through. Mickey remains the determined hero and the Phantom Blot stands resolute as the master thief. You can tell that Lee Nordling knew his craft and respected what Gottfredson and Maris created.
Two Ears Up!
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