Disney Comics (company)

:"This article is about Disney Comics, a publisher of comic books. For comics starring Disney characters, see Disney comics."

Disney Comics

Disney Comics was a comic book publishing company operated by The Walt Disney Company which ran from 1990 to 1993. In the USA, Disney only licensed their comic books to other publishers prior to 1990, and since 1994 the only publication containing comics and published by Disney themselves in the USA is "Disney Adventures" (which ended in 2007), as well as some Hyperion-published publications such as W.I.T.C.H.. Prior to 1990, the only Disney-published Disney comics were the ones published in Italy, after Disney Italia took over from Mondadori in 1988.

Initial titles

In its first year and a half, Disney Comics published:

*"Walt Disney's Comics and Stories" (issues #548-585)
*"Uncle Scrooge" (issues #243-280)
*"Donald Duck Adventures" (38 issues)
*"DuckTales" (18 issues)
*"Mickey Mouse Adventures" (18 issues)
*"Goofy Adventures" (17 issues)
*"Roger Rabbit (comic book)" (18 issues)
*"Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers" (19 issues)
*"Tale Spin" (7 issues)
*"Roger Rabbit's Toontown" (5 issues)

Initial collections

Additionally, during the company's first year, eight trade paperbacks called "Disney Comic Albums" were published. These mainly featured older stories too big for the regular titles.

# "Donald Duck and Gyro Gearloose"
# "Uncle Scrooge and the Phantom of Notre Duck"
# Donald Duck in "Dangerous Disguise"
# "Mickey Mouse Outwits the Phantom Blot"
# "Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers: The Secret Casebook"
# Uncle Scrooge in "Tralla-La"
# Donald Duck in "Too Many Pets!"
# Super Goof - The World's Silliest Super-Hero!

Giant-sized seasonal specials included two issues of Holiday Parade and one issue of Summer Fun.

Planned expansion

In this period plans for expansion were announced. At one Comic Con panel slides of a realistic European barbarian strip were previewed as part of a new line of books that would also include superheroes. In addition, a second imprint, Touchmark Comics, was announced, with former DC editor Art Young at its head. Among the scripts Touchmark acquired was "Enigma" by Peter Milligan and "Sebastian O" by Grant Morrison.

Editor-in-Chief Len Wein's Marvel Comics-esque approach to the Disney characters was criticized by many older Disney fans. The hiring of Wein has been championed by the comic book creative community as an alternative to the much disliked former Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter, who had made a favorable impression when interviewed by Disney management. Prior to the launch of the comics division, Disney management proclaimed their intention to quickly become a dominant presence in the comic book market, competing with industry leaders DC and Marvel.

The "Disney Implosion"

These unreasonable expectations, coupled with poor sales, led to a mass cancellation in 1991. Echoing what had been called the DC Implosion of the 1970s, "Duckburg Times" editor Dana Gabbard dubbed this the Disney Implosion. "Walt Disney's Comics and Stories", "Uncle Scrooge", and "Donald Duck Adventures" were the only surviving titles. (No indication has been given whether or not the fact that they survived had anything to do with Donald Duck being a starring character in all three.)

Remaining titles

Following the implosion, the three titles continued being published along with an occasional mini-series based on a TV show or a movie. These included:

*"Junior Woodchucks"
*"Darkwing Duck"
*"The Little Mermaid"
*"Disney's Comics in 3-D"
*"Sebastian"
*"Beauty and the Beast"
*"Dinosaurs"
*"Aladdin"

All plans for expansion, however, were cancelled. Art Young moved back to DC, and many of the unpublished Touchmark titles were published as part of its new Vertigo imprint. Wein left and Marv Wolfman concentrated on being comics editor of "Disney Adventures". In a mini-renaissance, editors Bob Foster, Cris Palomino, and David Seidman brought an appreciation of the classic Disney characters to the three continuing titles. Foster especially after a lifetime of involvement with Disney comic books and strips specialized in reprinting rarities even seasoned fans were unaware of. The Disney Studio finally decided to shut down its comic book publishing division in 1993.

Licenses

In 1990, Gladstone Publishing was granted a new license to publish a series of softcover albums aimed at the collectors market, reprinting in color the stories of Carl Barks. After Disney Comics shut down in 1993, Gladstone regained the comics license for the classic Disney characters, which they resumed publishing until 1998, while Marvel Comics obtained the license for the modern Disney characters in 1994 and published them until they sold their rights to Acclaim in 1997.