It’s pretty disappointing when a character enters the public domain, and the first thought is “What if they killed people?” No shade to the geniuses behind Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey or anything, but it’s the lowest of low-hanging fruit. On the opposite end of the spectrum? Uncanny Valley #6 from BOOM! Studios, which brings in the character of Steamboat Willie, aka Mickey Mouse, for a bold and poignant reinvention of the book’s own mythology.
Spoilers past this point, but in the previous issue Oliver, our hero — who is part cartoon — jumped into some white paint, seemingly erasing himself. We eventually loop back there in with a wild series of panels that seem straight out of the classic “Duck Amuck.” But before that happens, we get the whole parallel history of the cartoon world, and our world, and how they’re intrinsically tied together.
In the middle of all of this? Steamboat Willie, who eventually becomes the villain known as “The First.” While the antagonist looks different than the whistling Disney cartoon in the present, you get to see how and why Willie ended up where we first encountered him several issues back. The logic is expertly laid out by writer Tony Fleecs, who draws a line between the creation of Mickey Mouse, the development of cartoons, and what is happening in our real world while never forgoing crafting an entertaining comic book.
It’s also pretty jaw-dropping to see what artist Dave Wachter continues to do in this book, particularly in pages that contrast the old-school cartoon characters with more realistic pencils of the “real” world. Throughout this issue are visual references to classic cartoons that map out the history of the world in fluid ways. There’s more here than Wachter simply referencing the extinction of the dinosaurs section in Fantasia, or touching on everything from Looney Tunes to “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” (also from Fantasia). There’s an emotion he infuses into the characters that you don’t see from simple reproduction.
And overall, to loop back to what I was saying up top, this shows what releasing characters in the public domain should be about. It’s about finding new ways to use them that recontextualize their place in pop culture history, not having them slash up nubile co-eds. You can do that too, I guess. But here Fleecs and Wachter are laying out the history of animation and pointing to how it intersects with our own world, as readers. It’s fantasy of the highest order, noting that we need cartoons, and they need us — they’re not just entertainment, they’re a vital part of our lives.
And that’s something to whistle about.
Uncanny Valley #6 Rating:
Uncanny Valley #6 Official Synopsis:
Dive into the cartoonist’s desk for a look back at the origins of the cartoon world (and its connection to the real world), in this lore-expanding issue of prehistoric and biblical proportions!
Beyond steamboats and cartoon dinosaurs lies the First in her castle, but what is her place in all of this? What is Olivers’s?
Comic Book Club Live Info:
Discover more from Comic Book Club
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.