"Pluto Saves the Ship" is a 51-page black-and-white comic book story scripted by writers Carl Barks, Jack Hannah and Nick George from a plot devised possibly by a publisher, and drawn by Disney animation layout artist Bruce Bushman.[1] It was originally printed in Dell Comics' Large Feature Comics #7 in July 1942, and is one of the first American Disney comics ever made that was not reprinted from newspaper comic strips.[2] It is Barks' first comic book work, and Pluto's first comic book adventure. This was followed in October 1942 by Donald Duck Finds Pirate Gold, the Disney characters' first entry in Dell's Four Color anthology series.

"Pluto Saves the Ship"
Story codeW LFC 7-01
StoryCarl Barks, Jack Hannah, Nick George
Inkunknown
DateJuly 1942
HeroPluto
Pages51
Layout3 rows per page
AppearancesPluto
First publicationLarge Feature Comics #7

In the story, Pluto foils Nazi saboteurs on a Navy cruiser.[3] Barks said later that "it was only a one-shot special designed to take advantage of the wartime jitters."[2]

Barks wrote the story with Jack Hannah and Nick George, fellow animators at the Disney Studio. The story was partly inspired by two Pluto cartoons that Barks worked on, Bone Trouble (1940) and The Army Mascot (1942).[4]

Barks only produced two stories that took place in the Mickey Mouse universe; the other is "The Riddle of the Red Hat" (Four Color #79, published August 1945).

"Pluto Saves the Ship" has been reprinted in many European countries over the last few decades. The only time it's been reprinted in English was in The Carl Barks Library black and white hardcover collection, in 1988.[5] It has not yet been revealed whether the story will be included in the Fantagraphics Books collection The Complete Carl Barks Disney Library.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Becattini, Alberto (2019). "Disney Beyond Mickey". American Funny Animal Comics in the 20th Century: Volume One. Seattle, WA: Theme Park Press. ISBN 168390186X.
  2. ^ a b Barrier, Michael (2014). "Carl Barks Makes His Break". Funnybooks: The Improbable Glories of the Best American Comic Books. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0520283909.
  3. ^ Mitchell, Kurt; Thomas, Roy (2019). American Comic Book Chronicles: 1940-1944. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 172. ISBN 978-1605490892.
  4. ^ Andrae, Thomas (2006). Carl Barks and the Disney Comic Book: Unmasking the Myth of Modernity. University Press of Mississippi. p. 292. ISBN 978-1578068586.
  5. ^ "Pluto Saves the Ship". Inducks. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
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