The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 413: Mighty Mouse #1, October 1990 ("Hey Kids! Comics!" Week, Day 1)

In an effort to move away from the angst of Alpha Flight, the turmoil of BIONICLE, and the outright Warren Ellis-ness of Doktor Sleepless, we're going to have a week of comics specifically geared toward children. This, of course, is not to say that they don't have anything to offer to the, um....older readers amongst us, but as far as marketing, these comics were all aimed at a very specific demographic.

Case in point, the first issue of Marvel's revival of Mighty Mouse. Recognize the cover? A scant four or so years prior, Frank Miller's Batman opus shook superhero comics to their foundations. Brilliant as that story might have been, however, it opened the door to a decade of grim'n'gritty comics that have since become something of a joke in the industry. I'm not sure you can read it, but in the indicia box at the top, it urges people to buy numerous copies, and proclaims that this comic is "from the people who do that McFarlane stuff." Obviously a pre-Image Comics publication, but still from the era of tiny feet, gritted teeth, and women with rubber spines.

The present, and recent past, aren't the only things addressed in this comic, though. Perennial MM villain Oil Can Harry (whom I remember from the Mighty Mouse cartoons of my youth) is the featured villain here, kidnapping a newly-90s assertive Pearl Pureheart, as he has so many times before, and coming replete with his 1920s villain mustache. Gallagher and Colon do a lovely job of acknowledging where Mighty Mouse has been, and where he is now. The 90s, that is. And in doing so, they acknowledge that their readership for this comic might just be more than children. It might be the people who cut their teeth on superheroes through the lens of Mighty Mouse, be it through his Terrytoons cartoons (subtly referenced a few times in the issue), or the various comics series that have been in print since the 1940s. Of course, according to the GCD, this is the last series to feature Mighty Mouse - can a revival be far away?

More "children's" comics tomorrow.