Donald Duck and Other Adventures (Italian:Paperino e altre avventure), also known asPaperino giornale, is a 1937–40 weekly ItalianDisney comics magazine published byMondadori. The comic was launched byFederico Pedrocchi, Mondadori's art director, as a companion to the existing weeklyTopolino (Mickey Mouse) magazine.Paperino published 149 issues from 30 December 1937 to 26 October 1940, at which point it was merged withTopolino.[1]
The eight-page newspaper published the first ItalianDonald Duck comic book story, "Paolino Paperino e il mistero di Marte" ("Donald Duck and the Secret of Mars"), which was written and drawn by Pedrocchi, and serialized in 18 one-page installments. Pedrocchi wrote eight serials starring Disney characters for the paper, featuring Donald Duck,Goofy and the characters fromSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs. During the same period, he also wrote two further Disney stories which were printed in Mondadori's biweekly publicationAlbi d'oro.[1]
Paperino also published non-Disney adventure comics from the United States, includingPopeye,Buck Rogers,Ella Cinders andTarzan, along with non-Disney comics created by Pedrocchi and others.[2] In 1938, when the fascistMussolini government ordered publishers to stop publishing American creations,Paperino dropped its American comics, except forDonald Duck; the Ministry's order made an exception for Disney comics.[3]
Pedrocchi, a former novelist and advertising illustrator, joined Mondadori in 1936. At the time,Al Taliaferro'sDonald Duck comic strip was being reprinted in several of Mondadori's publications, includingTopolino,I Tre Porcellini andNel Regno di Topolino, and Pedrocchi thought that Donald was appealing enough to anchor his own magazine.[1]
Pedrocchi's pitch to Mondadori in 1937 said:
"This newspaper is obviously aimed at... kids... who like adventure. It is therefore advisable to give as much space as possible to the adventure stories, leaving only Disney for the comic part, that is PAOLINO PAPERINO which is appreciated by little ones, boys and families. In any case, supporting the newspaper only on PAOLINO PAPERINO as an infallible element of appeal, I do not think it is sufficient: it must be the stories, indeed, it is good that there is even an exceptional story that is advertisable to publicity along with the name PAOLINO PAPERINO, and it is good that it is a story whose title is the name of a character. Example: PAOLINO PAPERINO, the new children's magazine, launches the great hero of the 1000 adventures ZORRO DELLA METROPOLI..."[4]
In each issue, the front page contained either the latest episode of a Donald Duck story, or (for six months in 1938–39) a set of Taliaferro'sDonald Duck daily comic strips. When Pedrocchi started writing comics about Goofy andSnow White characters, they were printed on the back page.
Pedrocchi was influenced by Taliaferro's strip, and some of the character poses in Pedrocchi's stories are copied fromDonald Duck. But the settings were different: Taliaferro's strip takes place in US suburbia, while Pedrocchi's Donald lives in urban Milan, where the magazine was published. "Paperino" also lives on his own, with no sign of three little nephews.[1]
Federico Pedrocchi wrote eight Disney comics stories forPaperino e altre avventure between 1937 and 1940, and two stories forAlbi d'oro in 1938 and 1939. All ten are described below, in chronological order.
Paolino Paperino e il mistero di Marte (Donald Duck and the Secret of Mars) was published in 18 parts, from issue #1 to 18 (Dec. 30, 1937 – April 28, 1938). The story was written and drawn by Federico Pedrocchi.[5] The story was reprinted as a full 17-page story in the biweeklyNel regno di Topolino #57 (April 25, 1938).[6]
While some cite this story as the first-everDonald Duck comic book story,[7] that distinction actually goes to William A. Ward'sDonald and Donna, which premiered seven months earlier in the UK magazineMickey Mouse Weekly in issue #67 (May 15, 1937).[8]
Having lost the key to his house, Donald Duck falls asleep on a park bench. When a policeman wakes him, he inadvertently smacks the cop, and then runs away. Two sinister strangers see him fleeing from the law, and drive him away. Dr. Kraus and his assistant, Baus-Baus, have built a rocket they plan to pilot to Mars, and they need a third person on their voyage. Thinking that the police are on his trail, Donald agrees, and they lift off. After destroying oncoming chunks of ice from a comet's tail, Donald accidentally breaks the helmets of the team's spacesuits, and Baus-Baus locks him up in a storage room. Donald finds a journal written by Captain Bluff, who set off on a journey to Mars forty years earlier. The spaceship lands on Mars, and Donald is sent out first to make sure the air is breathable. He's picked up a group of gangly cat-faced Pindos, who carry him to their leader, Chief Bluff. Thrilled to see another Earthling, Bluff reveals that he was tricked by Dr. Kraus into traveling to Mars decades ago, to discover the secret of the Pindos' power. Dr. Kraus takes charge of the Pindos' big, monkey-faced enemies, the Pondos, who invade the Pindos' stronghold. Donald is thrown down the stairs to the basement, where he finds the "Room of the Sun", the true source of the Martians' power. By standing in a concentration of solar energy, Donald temporarily gains super-strength, and fights off the Pondos single-handedly. He chases Kraus and Baus-Baus into their spaceship, which crashes into Bluff's palace, destroying the Room of the Sun and ending the threat that unscrupulous people would use the Pindos' secret power. Donald's boost of strength wears off, and he and Bluff pilot the ship back to Earth, taking Kraus and Baus-Baus as prisoners. Back on Earth, Donald is given a reward for apprehending the wanted criminals, but gets fined an equal amount for assaulting an officer, leaving him with nothing.[9]
The art in this firstPaperino story was influenced by Taliaferro'sDonald Duck comic strip—in fact, Donald's pose in the fourth panel of the first strip, jumping on the park bench trying to chase away an imaginary mosquito, is taken directly from Taliaferro's first Donald DuckSilly Symphony Sunday comic strip of August 30, 1936.[7][10] Comics historian Alberto Becattini also sees sci-fi influences: "There were also clear references toDick Calkins'Buck Rogers—which was, by the way, one of the regular features inPaperino—and toAlex Raymond'sFlash Gordon, as far as the spaceships and the alien landscapes were concerned. Pedrocchi himself was quite familiar with science fiction plots, having been writing and laying out an s.f. series, "Saturn Against the Earth", since 1936."[7]
Becattini and David Gerstein also point out Pedrocchi's debt toFloyd Gottfredson'sMickey Mouse comic strip, which was running inPaperino's sister paper,Topolino: "Like Mickey in 'His Horse Tanglefoot' (1933), a naïve Donald is tricked into helping the bad guys. As in Gottfredson's 'Island in the Sky' (1937), the villain's quest for a scientific secret ultimately leads to his destruction. And as in 'Mickey Mouse Sails for Treasure Island' (1932), a long-missing sailor is discovered ruling a lost world... As the art director of his country's Disney editions, however, Pedrocchi was professional enough to absorb more than just story details. He also taught himself how Gottfredson structured a Disney adventure: with character-based plot threads that built upon one another, dovetailing together neatly in the end."[11]
"Paolino Paperino inviato speciale" ("Donald Duck, Special Correspondent") was published in 30 parts, from issue #19 to 48 (May 5 – Nov. 24, 1938). The story was written and drawn by Federico Pedrocchi.[12]It was reprinted as a full 30-page story in the monthlyAlbi d'oro #21 (Sept. 1938).[13]
At the start of this story, Donald bumps into an old friend,Peter Pig (called Meo Porcello), from Donald's first cartoon, the 1934Silly Symphony shortThe Wise Little Hen. Peter remains Donald's sidekick through the next adventure as well, "Donald Duck Among the Redskins", and also makes an appearance in "Donald Duck, Fortune Teller".
Leaving the police station at the end of the previous story, Donald is approached by Lucius Linotype (Signor Linotipi), editor of the newspaperAnother World (L'altro mondo). He hires Donald and Peter as reporters and sends them to war-torn Selvania, where they must take a picture of General Sweet (Generale Miele), who's never been photographed. On the road to Selvania, the boys meet another reporter, Bart Caterwaul (Bartolomeo Circonlocuzioni), also known as "the Cat", from rival paperThe Old Globe (Mondo intero). He pretends to befriend them, but when they get to the Selvanian border, the Cat tells a soldier that Donald and Peter are spies from Selvania's enemy, Marinzia. After a disastrous trial, Donald and Peter are sentenced to be executed, but they manage to get a telegram to Mr. Linotype, who arrives in an airplane just in time to explain things to the authorities. The Cat continues to sabotage Donald and Peter's efforts to get to the front lines and photograph General Sweet, but Donald gets in the way of the Cat's photo, and a picture of the duck is printed inThe Old Globe as the general. The rival paper is humiliated, but the Cat uses the opportunity to trick the Marinzians into capturing Donald, thinking that he's General Sweet. Donald pretends to be Sweet, and tricks the Marinzian's General Sour (Generale Fiele) into attacking at a strong point in the Selvanian defenses. Peter hears the real Sweet promising the Cat a photo, and sneaks across enemy lines to tell Donald. Furious, Donald steals a plane, kidnaps Sour, and brings him to Selvania. The war over, Donald and the Cat both rush back to their newspapers with a photograph of the general. The Cat's paper publishes first, but still gets a pic of the wrong man; Donald's paper gets a shot of the real General Sweet, and Linotype rewards Donald and Peter for their service.[14]
"Pippo viaggiatore di commercio" ("Salesman Goofy") was published in 9 parts, from issue #40 to 48 (Sept. 29 – Nov 24, 1938). The story was drawn by Enrico Pinochi.[15] The story was reprinted as a full 17-page story in the biweeklyNel regno di Topolino #72 (December 25, 1938).[16]
In the story, Goofy is hired by the Rosatea perfume company. A jealous rival tries to trick Goofy into switching the normal bottles with bottles made of unbreakable glass, and Goofy ends up breaking all of the bottles to prove they're the right ones.[17]
This "Pippo" (Goofy) story premiered in issue #40, replacing the American stripElla Cinders as the American content was being phased out. Pedrocchi was hoping to produce another comic headlined by a Disney character,Il Giornale di Pippo, and created a dummy mockup of the first issue.[1] The final panel in the last part has the word "Continua..." ("To be continued..."), presumably a lead-in to the proposedPippo paper, which never materialized.[17]
There was a six-month gap fromPaperino #49 to #71 (Nov. 1938 to May 1939) without a Pedrocchi-written Disney story. During this period, Pedrocchi wrote two stories published inAlbi d'Oro—"Donald Duck and the Philosopher's Stone" and "Clarabelle in the Claws of the Black Devil"—while the front page ofPaperino was filled with AmericanDonald Duck comic strips.
"Paperino e la pietra filosofale" ("Donald Duck and the Philosopher's Stone") was published as a 28-page story inAlbi d'oro #22/1938 (Oct. 15, 1938). This story was the first Donald Duck comic story intended as a full-length adventure, rather than for serialization.[18] The story was the third and last Disney story with Pedrocchi as both writer and artist.[19]
Donald inherits a gigantic, complicated machine from his late uncle Paolo Paperis, which is supposed to turn rocks into gold. Uncle Paolo's faithful butler Socrate shows Donald the machine, which is kept in the dungeons of Paolo's mansion. Donald needs to load the machine with rocks, and then use the fabledphilosopher's stone, which is buried in the garden.[20] Donald ultimately discovers that Socrate is actually Paolo in disguise, who wanted to test his nephew.[1]
The ItalianDisney Comic Guide blog comments, "The stock moralistic ending of the so-called Socrate would risk confining the story to the list of stories for the little ones if it were not for the timely Donaldesque reaction to the forced life lesson."[20]
"Clarabella fra gli artigli del diavolo nero" ("Clarabelle in the Black Devil's clutches") was published as a 26-page story inAlbi d'oro #25/1939 (April 15, 1939). The story was drawn by Enrico Pinochi.[21]
Horace Horsecollar (Orazio Cavezza) andClarabelle Cow (Clarabella) work at a luxury hotel, where there's a series of mysterious thefts committed by the "Black Devil". Assisting with the investigation, they end up getting kidnapped by the thief, Fagnocco the cook, and taken on board a smuggling ship. Fagnocco turns out to bePeg-Leg Pete (Pietro Gambadilegno), who was disguised with a fake mustache. Clarabelle saves the day, and at the end of the story, Horace proposes marriage to Clarabelle.[22] While often romantically linked, Horace and Clarabelle have never tied the knot in Disney comics published in any other countries.
Pinochi swiped most of the art for this story from theMickey Mouse adventures "Race for Riches" (1935), "The Pirate Submarine" (1935–36) and "Dr. Oofgay's Secret Serum" (1934).[1]
Original stories returned toPaperino e altre avventure with "Paperino fra i pellirosse" ("Donald Duck Among the Redskins"), published in 29 parts from issue #72 to 100 (May 11 – Nov. 23, 1939). The story was drawn by Enrico Pinochi.[23] The story was reprinted as a full 29-page story in the monthlyAlbi d'oro #33 (Dec. 1939).[24]
Mr. Linotype sends Donald and Peter on another assignment, this time to report on a tribe of Indians who live in a hidden valley. The Cat, now a tax collector trying to collect from the Indians, follows them and tries to take advantage. There are two rival tribes in the valley, and Donald and Peter try to end the war between them.[25]
At the same time that original Donald Duck stories began to appear on the front page ofPaperino, a Pedrocchi-written Snow White story took over the back page.[1] "Biancaneve e il mago Basilisco" ("Snow White and Basilisk the Wizard") was published in 29 parts, from issue #72 to 100 (May 11 – Nov. 23, 1939).[26] The story was "drawn in a baroque, sometimes surreal style" by artist Nino Pagot.[1] It was reprinted as a full 29-page story in the biweeklyNel regno di Topolino #92 (Nov. 25, 1939).[6]
The evil wizard Basilisk (Mago Basilisco) kidnaps the child ofSnow White and Prince Charming. Snow White discovers that the sorcerer is living in the castle that belonged to theEvil Queen, and the prince goes to rescue the child, but he is blinded by Basilisk's magic gaze. The Seven Dwarfs help Snow White to rescue the child from the sorcerer's gorilla servants, and they annihilate the wizard by rolling an avalanche of boulders to crush him. When the wizard dies, his castle crumbles.[27]
This story continues the comics adaptation ofSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs byMerrill De Maris, Hank Porter and Bob Grant, created in the United States for theSilly Symphony Sunday comic strip. The 20-part adaptation was translated into Italian and printed inTopolino #265–284 (Jan. 20 – June 2, 1938), and collected inNel regno di Topolino #66 (Sept. 25, 1938).[28] Pedrocchi's sequel makes reference to the Prince's imprisonment in the Queen's dungeons, a subplot that appeared in the comic strips but not in the original movie.[27]
The ItalianDisney Comic Guide blog comments, "For the Seven Dwarfs, Pagot's models are obviously those already available, in fact the schematism and repetitiveness of their poses is a limit. But the best job is the one on the environments, fully enjoyable only in the first edition: the influences from contemporary déco inspirations can be guessed, as in the initial sequence on the waters of the enchanted lake. The hybrid Mago Basilisco is a completely new authorial creation, devilish and with a body similar to that of a wolf. An unironic incarnation of pure Evil, he literally dies at the end of the story, crushed by an avalanche of boulders so much that his black soul soars in the air for a few seconds before heading to Hell."[27]
Mago Basilisco appeared later inLuciano Bottaro's 1966 story "Paperin Furioso", a parody of the Italian epic poemOrlando Furioso published inTopolino #544–545 (May 1–8, 1966).[29]
"Paperino chiromante" ("Donald Duck, Fortune Teller") was published in 30 parts, from issue #101 to 130 (Nov. 30, 1939 – June 13, 1940). The story was drawn by Enrico Pinochi.[30] The story was reprinted as a full 26-page story in the monthlyAlbi d'oro #37 (April 1940).[31]
In the story, Donald sets up a fortune telling tent, with Goofy as his assistant. Peter Pig and "the Cat" appear in small roles,[32] and the cast also includes Horace, Clarabelle, Peg-Leg Pete andEli Squinch (Eli Squick).[1]
Horace and Clarabelle Cow are depicted in this story as married, following on from his proposal in "Clarabelle in the Claws of the Black Devil".[32]
Disney Comic Guide points out, "The plot anticipates some thirty years, more or less, that of 'Donald Duck, Wizard of Duckburg' ('Paperino stregone di Paperopoli', 1967) of Rodolfo Cimino andGiulio Chierchini, but the latter will be a story of very different depth and foresight."[32]
"I Sette Nani cattivi contro i Sette Nani buoni" ("The Seven Bad Dwarves Against the Seven Good Dwarfs") was published in 21 parts, from issue #101 to 130 (30 Nov. 1939 – 13 June 1940). The story continued theSnow White adventures printed on the magazine's back page, and was drawn by Nino Pagot.[33]
In the story, Dopey (Cucciolo) has disappeared, and Grumpy (Brontolo) and Doc (Dotto) set off to search for him. They're taken prisoner in the realm of King Severo, where they learn that Dopey was kidnapped by the Seven Bad Dwarfs, who want to take the diamond mine from their Good counterparts. The Bad Dwarfs' underground country is accessed through a hollow tree trunk. The Good Dwarfs triumph by diverting water through the Bad Dwarfs' caves, flushing them out and into the sunlight.[34]
This story introduces the Seven Bad Dwarves: Furbicchio, Sibilo, Maligno, Mastiff, Ricino, Spinaccio and Cipiglio.[34] Alberto Becattini translates the names into English as Wily, Hiss, Malicious, Mastiff, Castor Oil, Bramble and Scowl.[1]
Disney Comic Guide comments, "The deformed and memorable Seven Bad Dwarfs... represent the dark side of the mythology of the Dwarfs, so much so that the adventure can be characterized as a sibylline descent into the unconscious of the protagonist Dwarfs, with the congenital muteness of Cucciolo as a further signal of impotence of the protagonists before being able to resurface in the world kissed by light, where the word (= intelligence) has finally, a way to express one's power in the face of the brute forces to be sedated."[34]
The Bad Dwarfs returned to Italian comics in four stories written from 1960 to 1966, often in the service of the Evil Queen. The first was "The Seven Dwarfs and the Christmas Spell" ("I Sette Nani e l'incantesimo di Natale") inAlmanacco Topolino #48 (Dec 1960). The fourth story wasPaperin furioso, Luciano Bottaro's parody ofOrlando Furioso inTopolino #544 (May 1966), which also included the Mago Basilico from Pedrocchi's first Snow White story. They were also revived in the mid-70s to mid-80s in Brazilian comics, in eight stories printed inO Pato Donald,Mickey andTio Patinhas.[35]
"Paperino e il vaso cinese" ("Donald Duck and the Chinese Vase") was published in 19 parts, from issue #131 to 149 (June 27 – Oct. 26, 1940). The story was drawn by Enrico Pinochi.[36]
In the story, Donald reads that Count Baffirossi (Count Red Mustache) is offering ten thousand lire to detectives who can recover his stolen Chinese vase. Donald and Goofy set up a detective agency in front of the Count's house, and Donald puffs enough hot air about being expert detectives that Baffirossi agrees to a hundred thousand lire. They find suspicious fingerprints on the column that held the vase, and discover they belong to the cook, who quit recently. When the investigators go to the cook's house, her fierce husband chases them away. They convince the Count to buy a second vase, to lure the thief into returning—and the thief does, taking the second vase while Donald and Goofy are sleeping nearby. Donald accidentally finds the thief in the cellar the next morning—it's the cook's husband, an alcoholic who stole the vase to drain the Count's wine caskets. Both vases have smashed, and Donald and Goofy try to put them back together. The police lieutenant Sbronzini hears the cook's husband admit that he's the thief, and takes credit for the capture. Donald and Goofy manage to reassemble the vases, as the cook begs the Count for clemency. The Count agrees not to press charges if the cook comes back to work for him, and then gives the hundred thousand lire to Donald and Goofy.
Pinochi's artwork is heavily traced from Gottfredson'sMickey Mouse comic strip story "The Seven Ghosts", with Count Baffirossi as a double for Gottfredson's Colonel Bassett.[37]
These stories also appeared inPaperino e altre avventure:[2]
The 1938 Ministry of Popular Culture decree that magazines had to stop publishing American-created content put pressure on bothTopolino andPaperino, which had to fill the void with more Italian-created content. (After droppingBuck Rogers,Ella Cinders,Ming Foo andPopeye in 1938,Paperino did introduce one American-produced page in February 1940, first presentingTarzan and thenTim Tyler's Luck.) AfterPaperino issue #149 (Oct 26, 1940), the magazine was absorbed intoTopolino.[1]
The three artists that worked onPaperino's Disney-related comics never drew Disney characters again after the paper closed. Federico Pedrocchi continued to write and work as art director forTopolino, but only on non-Disney stories. Enrico Pinochi became a full-time illustrator, and later moved to Argentina. Nino Pagot set up an animation studio with his brother Toni, and left the field.[1]
Rebo, the Saturnian dictator from Pedrocchi'sSaturno contro la Terra (Saturn Conquers the Earth), returned to Disney comics in a March 1960 story byCarlo Chendi andLuciano Bottaro: "Paperino e il razzo interplanetario" ("Donald Duck and the interplanetary rocket"), inTopolino #230-232, in which Donald foils his plans to conquer Jupiter.[38] Bottaro also wrote and drew three more stories featuring Rebo in 1995 and 1997.[39]
As noted above, six of the eightPaperino e altre avventure stories were reprinted shortly after their serialization, as complete stories in the biweeklyNel Regno di Topolino or the monthlyAlbi d'oro. Both magazines ended publication in 1940, so the final twoPaperino stories ("The Seven Bad Dwarfs Against the Seven Good Dwarfs" and "Donald Duck and the Chinese Vase") were not reprinted in the pre-war books.[40]
After the war, most of the stories were reprinted once in the restartedAlbi d'oro between 1947 and 1954. Some were reprinted inSuper Almanacco Paperino in the late 1970s, inPaperino Mese in 1989-1990, and inZio Paperone andLe imperdibili between 2006 and 2008. The apparently unfinished "Salesman Goofy" is the least-reprinted of the Disney stories; it hasn't been published in an Italian comic since 1949. The two Pedrocchi stories fromAlbi d'oro were last reprinted in 1956.[40]
In 1990 and 1991, the entire series ofPaperino e altre avventure was reprinted, including the non-Disney strips, in six volumes by Comic Art asPaperino: Collana Grandi Ristampe.[2]
Only two of thePaperino stories have been reprinted in the United States.
"Donald Duck and the Secret of Mars" was reprinted inGladstone Publishing'sDonald Duck #286 (Sept 1994), translated by Fabio Gadducci, with dialogue by Bruce Hamilton &David Gerstein.[7] It was also reprinted in 2012, with restored art and a new translation, in the Gottfredson collectionWalt Disney's Mickey Mouse volume 3: High Noon at Inferno Gulch.[9]
The second story, "Donald Duck, Special Correspondent", was reprinted in two parts inBoom! Studios'Donald Duck #364 and 365 (March–April 2011), translated by Gerstein.[14]
ThePaperino stories have also been reprinted rarely in other European countries. Some of the stories were reprinted in the Scandinavian countries between 1984 and 1988, "The Secret of Mars" was reprinted in France'sPicsou Magazine in 2004, "Special Correspondent" in India'sDonald Duck and Friends in 2012, and "Chinese Vase" in Germany'sDie tollsten Geschichten von Donald Duck in 2016.[40]
In Portugal, most of thePaperino stories were reprinted between 2015 and 2017 inDisney Big,Disney Hiper andMinnie & Amigos, except for "The Secret of Mars" and "Salesman Goofy". There are two stories that have only been reprinted in Portugal and Italy: "Donald Duck, Fortune Teller" and "The Seven Bad Dwarves Against the Seven Good Dwarfs".[40]
"Donald Duck and the Philosopher's Stone", "Clarabelle in the Claws of the Black Devil" and "Salesman Goofy" have never been seen outside of Italy.[40]