Chapter 65: Growing Sales
Author: Yue Shang Xintou
By now, the film studio had successfully made a name for itself with Mickey Mouse.
However, that experience in New York was still unforgettable for Walt Disney.
Shaking off his memories, he turned his attention back to the newspaper in his brother Roy's hands.
"The Messenger Newspaper?"
Taking the newspaper, much to Walt Disney's surprise, the one said to be in high demand wasn't a major paper he was familiar with, like the World Daily News or the New York Journal. Instead, it was an obscure tabloid.
Looking at the name on the newspaper, Walt Disney couldn't help but look up at Roy, as if asking if he'd made a mistake.
"You'll understand if you keep reading."
Roy motioned for Walt Disney to read on.
Dubiously, Walt Disney averted his gaze and continued reading The Messenger Newspaper in his hands.
Flipping open the newspaper, he found there wasn't much other content, nor were there any of the familiar news sections. Instead, it was taken up by a large 'comic section' with a serialized story.
"Superman?"
Staring at the serialized comic on the newspaper's page layout, Walt Disney's confusion deepened.
He followed the page layout downwards, and soon his entire attention was captivated by the Superman story in the newspaper.
The comic's plot wasn't complicated; it mainly told the story of the protagonist, Superman, helping others and saving Metropolis.
But the concept of a Superhero undoubtedly shattered Walt Disney's traditional understanding of comics. This brand-new genre offered readers a fresh experience, and the design of Metropolis in the story gave an inexplicable sense of immersion. In this regard, Superman and Walt Disney's Disney Studios could be said to have two completely different creative approaches.
The animation works from Walt Disney's Disney Studios mostly focused on creating fairy tales, a fact evident in the design of Mickey Mouse and the content of the Silly Symphonies series of animated short films. In the Silly Symphonies animation, one could see all sorts of anthropomorphic stories, involving everything from insects to even plants.
The Superman comic in The Messenger Newspaper, however, clearly took a more modern route, grounding the story's theme in reality. Moreover, having been to New York, Walt Disney recognized at a glance that Metropolis, the story's background, was clearly a reflection of New York City.
"A very excellent work."
Flipping through the newspaper, he reached the end of the last page of the serialized Superman story.
Walt Disney nodded and remarked with admiration.
"Now I understand why it's selling out."
After finishing the serialized Superman story in the newspaper, inspiration sparked in Walt Disney's mind, and a vague idea began to form.
"It's not just The Messenger Newspaper that's selling well. In fact, the Messenger Comics they launched is also selling astonishingly well. I heard it's already sold over three hundred thousand copies in New York."
Roy had clearly done some research on Colin's Messenger Newspaper. He not only knew about The Messenger Newspaper but had also heard about the recently launched Messenger Comics magazine.
In this era, news traveled far less conveniently than in later times.
Unless it was a major incident like the "Detroit Anti-Hunger March," newspapers rarely published news from other states.
"Messenger Comics."
Hearing his brother Roy's introduction, Walt Disney glanced down again at The Messenger Newspaper in his hand.
"I admit, the serialized Superman in The Messenger Newspaper is an excellent work, but that doesn't seem to have much to do with our film studio."
Averting his gaze, Walt Disney said, still puzzled.
"It seems you haven't noticed."
Facing his younger brother's doubt, Roy's lips curved into a slight smile. "If Mickey knew about this, he'd probably cry."
The teasing tone in Roy's voice clearly hinted at a surprise.
Hearing this, Walt Disney picked up The Messenger Newspaper again. Sure enough, a few minutes later, he spotted a familiar figure on one of the serialized comic pages.
"It's Steamboat Willie!"
In the comic, the figure holding the ship's helm and wearing a sailor's hat was undoubtedly a reproduction of the character from the animation Steamboat Willie.
Although the image of this Mickey Mouse wasn't very clear due to the limitations of comic printing technology, Walt Disney, being particularly observant and especially as Mickey's creator, recognized it in a single glance.
"So, the reason you brought this newspaper was just to tell me that Mickey appeared in the Superman comic?"
After the initial excitement, a calmed-down Walt Disney looked at Roy with renewed confusion.
"Or are you planning to sue The Messenger Newspaper for infringement over the Mickey in the newspaper?"
Because of their previous experience with Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Walt Disney's Disney Studios had put a great deal of effort into Mickey's copyright, clearly unwilling to repeat the same mistakes.
"If it's a lawsuit, I don't think we have a high chance of success."
His gaze fell on the Mickey in the comic, and Walt Disney said hesitantly, "After all, in this kind of black and white printing comic, besides the main characters, the other figures are exceptionally blurry. It would be difficult to sue them based on this."
After all, judging from the comic's plot, Mickey's appearance was clearly meant as a little surprise. Perhaps the comic's creator simply liked the Steamboat Willie animation. Even if Mickey were removed from the comic, it wouldn't affect the overall plot in the slightest.
"A few days ago, sales for Mickey Mouse dolls in New York City rose by about ten percent."
Taking in Walt Disney's reaction, Roy suddenly spoke.
Hearing his brother's words, Walt Disney's expression was initially puzzled, not understanding why he would suddenly bring this up. But he quickly realized, looking down at the crude drawing of Mickey in The Messenger Newspaper and then back up at his brother.
"Are you saying...?"
To this, Roy gave a noncommittal nod and replied.
"Clearly, the serialized comic in The Messenger Newspaper played a role."
In the industry, Walt Disney's Disney Studios had achieved a certain level of success with Steamboat Willie and had even received recognition from the Oscars. Commercially, however, the expansion of the Mickey brand had run into a small problem, especially with the sale of toy products.
Initially, the licensed Mickey and Minnie dolls from Disney had shown promising momentum.
But under the impact of The Great Depression, the worsening economic situation also affected the sales of Mickey merchandise.
According to news from Bybo Land, the publishing company the film studio partnered with in New York.
It seemed people were no longer as fond of Mickey Mouse as before, and merchandise sales had begun to show a downward trend.
(end of chapter)