In December of 1987, our visit to family in Phoenix, Arizona included a memorable day trip to Nogales, Mexico. I was thrilled to find a store selling Mexican Disney comic books. As a Disney fan, my mind exploded when I discovered that Pato Donald (Donald Duck) and Copete (Fethry) were two different characters.
The source of the confusion was this book, Disney's Wonderful World Of Knowledge.
This was a popular series in the United States. The books originated in Italy
In the book, we are greeted by our "friend Donald Duck."
Our friend Donald doesn't look like himself in this book.
Donald's wardrobe changes in The Wonderful World of Knowledge seemed very peculiar to me.
Really, really strange costume changes for Donald. Batman?!?
As I would find out, this wasn't Donald Duck at all. This was an international Disney comic book character named Copete (AKA Fethry) dressed as his superhero character, the Red Bat. Disney's Wonderful World of Knowledge was an Italian book series, and this particular book starred a character that was not well known in the United States. So the publishers just called him Donald.
I was really fascinated with the Mexican Disney comics in Nogales.
The comics I found were small, Digest-sized books.
Copete, I discovered, was a major player in Pato Donald comics.
Though Copete has been very popular outside the United States, apparently the character has been very polarizing in the Disney Comics world. Count me as a fan of Copete.
Tio Rico (Uncle Scrooge) keeps Pato Donald and Copete's feathers ruffled.
Copete eventually starred in his own comic books. He even has a nephew (I believe he is playing the newsboy in this particular comic).
Eventually, stories featuring Copete appeared in the United States. But he is still not well known in America like he is in other countries.
The Pato Donald comic book turned out to be a fantastic souvenir of my trip to Mexico. I especially love the ads.
This bird mascot is still being used today, though he has been redesigned.
Muy Bueno! It's the Mexican Quik bunny!
Wow, a tombstone in a Nestle Quik ad. Things got dark and real.
On the drive from Phoenix to Nogales in 1987, we stopped at a Burger King. They were selling those Rodney Reindeer Hallmark plush toys. I wanted one, but did not get one.
A few weeks ago, I was visiting my Mom in Venice, Florida. We went to Goodwill and I found a Burger King Rodney with the tag. He was only 57 cents. This time, I got him.
I too had seen the red-clothed duck before and thought it was Donald. Had no idea there was a completely new character named Copete. Tons of Disney comics have been created over the years in Italy, quite a few of which have never made it to the US. Thanks for sharing Dan!
ReplyDeleteHey Snow White Archive! Had I not seen the Mexican comic, I probably wouldn't have ever connected the dots. It does seem like there is an infinite number of Disney Comics characters, many of which are unknown in America. And many, many different Disney ducks, especially.
ReplyDeleteNice post, Dan! And I learned something new! I had never heard of Fethry before.
ReplyDeleteAt first I thought the Quik Bunny was saying, "Drink Quik or you will end up in an early grave!" But on second glance, I realized the comic was about something completely different. Thank goodness!
Thanks, TokyoMagic! I have seen some obscure American Disney Duck Comics, too (Moby Duck and Dimwitty Duck) that seem to have been famous in the 70s. I like your interpretation of the Quik ad. Maybe there is a series of Day of the Dead Quik Bunny advertisements in Mexico.
ReplyDeleteOh, I have some Moby Duck comic books from the seventies! And the Donald Duck comics from that time would sometimes feature other bird/duck characters like Magica De Spell and Gyro Gearloose. I don't think those two characters had their very own comic books, but I could be wrong.
ReplyDeleteI have a "Moby Duck and Dimwitty" comic book I got a few years ago (because I thought it was so unusual). I did not realize that Moby appeared as an animated character (voiced by Paul Frees) on an episode The Wonderful World of Disney. Moby also appeared (with his pet porpoise) in the "Wonderful World of Knowledge" Animals book---and I found out he was teamed up with Fethry in an Italian comic series.
ReplyDeletePsst—now you can watch "Copete" in action!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPCPcsiT4rM
Oh yes, I have been keeping track of everything related to the new DuckTales.
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