Comics UK

August 2016 saw the publication of the excellent book Disney Comics: the whole story by Italian writer, Disney scholar and researcher Alberto Becattini. In this monumental referencebook (450+ pages!) the reader will learn (almost) everything he/she ever wanted to know about Disney comics from all over the world.
Most relevant to British collectors is chapter 4: 'God save the Mouse - Disney in Britain'. In 20 pages Becattini relates the story of the British comics and annuals, from the first weekly pages of reprinted American material in Modern Boy (1933) to the more recent publications from Panini (2011).
The author gives a lot of detailed information on my personal favourite: Mickey Mouse Weekly, which first saw the light of day in 1936. The exhaustive 'who-was-who' (editors, artists, writers, printer, et cetera) and a survey of home-grown stories by British artists is imho compulsory reading matter.
More information on Alberto's book can be found at http://themeparkpress.com/books/disney-comics.htm.

John Wigmans
(Netherlands)

It’s a pity that no in-depth study of Mickey Mouse Weekly by a British authority on the matter has been published. Is Bill Lofts’ article on this comic in Collectors’ Digest, No 337, January 1975, really all there is? See attached scans.
Any suggestions for further reading?

John

Thanks for sharing that interesting article by Bill Lofts John. I agree that Mickey Mouse Weekly really deserves its own in-depth study - preferably including the fascinating Bristol Boys' and Girls' Own Evening World which was very much its precursor, employing several of the same artists like Stanley White and the legendary Reg Perrott (who Lofts doesn't even mention).