As Mickey Mouse would tell you from decades of treasure hunting, now and then an exciting “something” turns up when you least expect it! That's surely the case with “The Photonic Muffler,” the world premiere Romano Scarpa adventure leading off Gemstone's 32-page, $2.95 Mickey Mouse and Friends #290!

Scarpa wrote and drew the feature-length “Muffler” in 1984 for Disney's “studio program,” the Burbank-based comics production line aimed at foreign licensees. In an instance of sheer serendipity, however, no licensees picked up the story when it was finished -- so instead of hitting the newsstands, “The Photonic Muffler” went on the shelf. Years later, some “studio program” art was destroyed to save storage space, and it was suspected that the Scarpa straggler might have been lost in the purge.
Lucky for us, it wasn't so! After a long search, photostats of the renegade story recently turned up in Disney's publications archives. The character dialogue was still missing; but longtime Scarpa collaborator Luca Boschi reconstructed it for MMF #290, working from the late Mr. Scarpa's recollections of the story.
And what a story it is! Redolent of earlier Gottfredson and Carl Fallberg yarns, “The Photonic Muffler” pits our two-fisted Mickey against a dynamic and rather sinister Pegleg Pete, here in the role of freelance mercenary. We think you'll agree that this adventure -- full of twists, turns, and outrageous Scarpa science -- didn't deserve to take a twenty-two-year nap.
Further on in this issue you'll find Donald Duck's “A Shot in the Dark,” teaming longtime Duck writer Andreas Pihl with a new-to-Disney artist: Mårdøn Smet. First making his comics mark in the 1980s, Smet is famed in northern Europe for his pantomime gag series Stig and Martha. You won't want to miss his wild work here!

Also on sale this week is another Gemstone 32-pager: Donald Duck and Friends #341. A Carl Barks comedy leads off the book: “Farragut the Falcon!” When Donald receives a trained bird of prey from his uncle Eider, it seems like the ducks will have a short path to birding contest riches. Alas, the “empty-headed eagle” isn't exactly easy to command. Join us to watch the feathers fly!
And then stick around for a new magnum opus, Michael T. Gilbert's “Careless Genie,” illustrated by fan favorite Paco Rodriguez. In the depths of a soda bottle Donald finds Spud... a bona-fide genie, but new on the job. When Donald wishes for a million wishes -- Spud is forced to give them to him! And then it's time to improve the town of Duckburg just like magic... except that Donald has no real idea of what the city needs, and Spud's spells don't do anything as planned!
Rounding out the book is a short Stefan Petrucha Goofy tale: “Monkey See, Monkey Do.” Any comic book fan who's ever seen a Sea Monkeys ad will sympathize with Goofy's assumption that the shrimp must be super-smart humanoids. But wait... Goofy's “Ocean-Monkeys” really are super-smart humanoids! What the...?!

Gemstone is your source for new and vintage Disney greats. Order our titles online at http://www.gemstonepub.com/disney or http://www.walmart.com. Find them at RiteAid or your local comic shop. And if you can't find a comic shop, no need to plunder the Disney archives. Call Diamond Comics' Comic Shop Locator Service at 1-888-COMIC-BOOK.

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