The first Space Mouse is a comic book character published from 1953 to around 1956 by Avon Publications. Space Mouse is also the name of a 1959 Universal Studios cartoon featuring two mice and a cat named Hickory, Dickory, and Doc. A second Space Mouse character was published by Dell Comics (and later by Gold Key Comics) from 1960 to around 1965. The Dell Comics version was also featured in a 1960 cartoon produced by Walter Lantz, entitled The Secret Weapon.
The original Space Mouse first appeared in Space Mouse #1, cover dated April 1953. He appeared regularly in a number of Avon titles throughout 1953, then only sporadically from 1954 to around 1956.
The introductory story of Space Mouse is entitled "The Great Electro!" A large, brutish cat named Electro calls Earth from Mercury. He informs Space Mouse that a group of Earth's explorers had landed on Mercury, and have been captured and are being held prisoner. They will be held as slaves as a warning to the rest of Earth. Space Mouse and his girlfriend Millie head off to Mercury in the hero's rocket ship. As they approach the planet, Electro shoots bolts of lightning at them, to no effect. Next they are hit with sound waves, and need to pull out of range. They soon learn that the entire city is covered with electrical wiring. The duo try to sneak in, but Electro is watching. They are captured and imprisoned, but Space Mouse spots some loose wires and successfully blows a fuse. The hero short-circuits Electro with his ray gun, causing the cat to become frail. Space Mouse discovers that the explorers have been turned into horses, but he is easily able to turn them back to normal with his ray gun. The hero then escorts the freed explorers back to Earth.
The last story in that first issue, "Atomic Attack!", appears to be the earliest chronological adventure of Space Mouse (the hero shows Millie a rocket ship which he has just built, which is the same rocket ship used in the previous stories). In this tale, Space Mouse and Millie notice a strange growth in the backyard and discover that it is being caused by an atomic ray from Mars. Space Mouse believes that the whole Earth will be covered with the growth, choking off all forms of life. The hero takes Millie to the roof and shows her a new rocket ship that he has built, which they will take to Mars. After landing, they wander around the planet, not finding a soul. However, while they are sleeping, Millie is kidnapped. Space Mouse chases the kidnapper to a strange-looking city, where he discovers a ray machine projecting the atomic growth onto the Earth. He throws a monkey wrench into the machine, destroying it. The hero is captured by canine soldiers and brought before the Great Master, ruler of the planet Mars, a gigantic metallic dog holding Millie in his hand. The soldiers leave Space Mouse with the Master, who explains that the duo have interfered with his plans to invade Earth and turn everyone into slaves. For that crime, he sentences them to death. Space Mouse realizes the Great Master is just a big mechanical man, and discovers an ordinary cat inside. He forces the cat to release Millie, and the two race back to their rocket ship. However, the cat follows, begging Space Mouse to take him with them. The Martian soldiers found out what he is, and are now in pursuit. Back on Earth, after making the cat clean the growth from his yard, Space Mouse hands him over to the police.
In other tales from this issue, Space Mouse visits a moon of Jupiter named ICHI (in "Terry and the Dream-Makers"), and visits both the planets Venus (in "Beauty Contest!") and Jupiter (in "Flying Saucers!") for the first time. Space Mouse is occasionally spelled "Spacemouse", and Millie is also spelled "Milly" in "Atomic Attack!" (in a later issue, she is referred to as "Molly").
In the 1959 "Space Mouse" theatrical short by Universal Studios, a cat named Doc attempts to capture and sell two mice, Hickory and Dickory, to NASA for laboratory tests.[7] Hickory, Dickory, and Doc appeared together in two more shorts. Doc subsequently appeared solo in six more Universal cartoons.
List of cartoons featuring Hickory, Dickory, and Doc:
"Space Mouse" (Prod #U-103, Sep 7, 1959)
"Mouse Trapped" (Prod #U-104, Dec 8, 1959)
"Witty Kitty" (Prod #U-106, Jan 5, 1960 or Feb 2, 1960?)
List of cartoons featuring Doc (solo):
"Freeloading Feline" (Prod #U-116, Jun 15, 1960 or Sep 7, 1960?)
"Tin Can Concert Presents The Cinderella Overture by Rossini" (Prod #U-137, Oct 1, 1961 or Oct 31, 1961?)
"Doc's Last Stand" (Prod #U-139, Dec 19, 1961)
"Pest Of Show" (Prod #U-143, Feb 13, 1962)
"Punchy Pooch" (Prod #U-145, Sep 4, 1962)
"Corny Concerto" (Prod #U-157, Oct 30, 1962)
Walter Lantz' Space Mouse comic book and cartoon character (1960)
Space Mouse (1960)
Four Color #1132 (Dell, Aug–Oct 1960), art by John Carey.
In 1959, Western Publishing Company held the license to produce comics based on the properties of Walter Lantz, such as Woody Woodpecker, Chilly Willy, and Andy Panda. Western realized that they were paying a lot of money to Lantz for the rights to his characters, but they weren't getting as many different titles out of the arrangement as they would have liked. Western's executives instructed their senior editor, Chase Craig, to launch another comic book based on a Lantz property. He looked over the available characters and decided that none of them could sustain their own series.[8]
Chase then spotted a press release from Walter Lantz Productions that indicated they were producing a cartoon short entitled Space Mouse. He imagined a Buck Rogers style strip, starring a mouse in a space suit, and felt it would make a great comic. Chase called Lantz's office and had them send over a copy of the Space Mouse storyboard. It turned out that the cartoon was not what Chase had been expecting at all. It was merely the title of the first cartoon in an intended series, starring Earth-bound characters named Hickory, Dickory, and Doc. Believing that a sci-fi mouse was still a great idea, Chase got together with his writers and artists and began working on the comic book he had in mind.[8]
At that time, Dell Publishing paid Western to prepare and print the contents of their Dell Comics line, while Dell controlled the distribution. Throughout the years of their business arrangement, almost all of their comics featured licensed material. However, a small battle was going on between the two companies over the ownership of properties appearing in the non-licensed comics. Dell claimed to own them because they were financing the books. Western felt that these were creations of their employees, and thus belonged to them.[9] As a result of these squabbles, there were periods when Western decided they would not create any new characters, and Space Mouse was conceived during one of those periods. Not wanting to find himself in the middle of an ownership fight, Chase decided to simply turn the concept over to Walter Lantz. After a few pages of the new strip were completed, Chase took them over to Lantz's office and asked for permission to publish the comic as a Lantz property. Lantz, who would own the copyright, of course agreed.[8]
Following the publication of the initial issue, Four Color, Series II #1132, Walter Lantz produced a Space Mouse pilot entitled The Secret Weapon. The short was directed by Alex Lovy and featured the voice of Johnny Coons as Space Mouse. It was released in theaters in 1960, and was later shown on television in 1963 as part of The Woody Woodpecker Show.[10] The character failed to graduate to a regular animated series, but Space Mouse did continue to appear in a handful of Dell Comics from 1960 through 1962. Then, following a dispute about money, Dell and Western finally parted ways. Afterwards, Western essentially kept the same comic book lines going, now financing the various series themselves, labeling their comics with Gold Key Comics logos. Gold Key continued publishing the adventures of Space Mouse at least into 1965.[9]
The introductory story of the Walter Lantz Space Mouse is "The Secret Weapon". Space Mouse lives on the planet Rodentia, but he prefers to spend his time flying around the galaxy in his Lunar Schooner. The planet is ruled by King Size, who lives in Camembert Castle, located in Miceapolis, the capital of Rodentia. One day, the king receives an urgent message from his secret operator on his super-private inter-cosmic radio. King Size informs his Secretary of Finance, Count de Penny, that he has been warned that the cats on the planet Felinia are planning to invade Rodentia. The king contacts Space Mouse for help. The hero dons a disguise, posing as a Siamese-type cat named Charlie Chin, and lands on the outskirts of Catolina, the capital of Felinia. He soon investigates the headquarters of the dreaded Meow Meows, the gang behind the planned invasion. Inside is Black Tom, the leader, with a beautiful but mysterious girl named Persian Pearl. Space Mouse poses as their waiter, and learns about a fleet of rocket ships at a secret base near the Catnip Works. When his disguise tears at the pants, he is discovered. As Black Tom attempts to capture Space Mouse, he is hit over the head with a chair by Persian Pearl, who then helps Space Mouse escape. She reveals that she is in reality a mouse, King Size's secret agent. Later, when Space Mouse is surrounded by Black Tom and his gang, the hero swallows a pill given to him by the king, which renders him invisible. He makes it to his ship, but has failed in his mission. He radios ahead to Rodentia to warn them that the cats are on their way. The mice go underground and the invading cats soon take over the city. The cats then surround the castle. Inside, King Size receives a call from Space Mouse on his super-private inter-cosmic radio. The hero tells the king that he is coming with his secret weapon. Space Mouse's ship lands and the cats race towards him. The hero whistles, and four ferocious dogs leap out, chasing the cats away. Space Mouse explains to the king that they are his canine friends from the Dog Star.
Other stories in this issue introduce the king's nephew Rodney and Police Chief Cheddar. Villains include the wolves of Sky Raiders, Inc. and the Vermin Brothers. Space Mouse also visits the planet Goofoffus, home of the laziest characters in the universe. Also depicted are Rodentia's Space Rangers.
Publication history (list may not be complete):
Four Color, Series II (Dell Comics)[11] #1132: "Space Mouse" (Aug–Oct 1960)
Comic Album (Dell Comics)[13] #17: "Space Mouse" (Mar–May 1962)
Walter Lantz' Space Mouse (Gold Key Comics)[14] #1 (Nov 1962)
Walter Lantz' Woody Woodpecker (Gold Key Comics)[15] #74 (Dec 1962)
Walter Lantz' Space Mouse (Gold Key Comics) #2 (Feb 1963)
Walter Lantz' Woody Woodpecker (Gold Key Comics) #75 (Mar 1963)
Walter Lantz' Space Mouse (Gold Key Comics) #3 (May 1963)
Walter Lantz' Space Mouse (Gold Key Comics) #4 (Aug 1963)
Walter Lantz' Space Mouse (Gold Key Comics) #5 (Nov 1963)
Walter Lantz' Woody Woodpecker (Gold Key Comics) #85 (Jun 1965)
Golden Comics Digest (Gold Key Comics)[16] #3 (Jul 1969, reprints one story from Walter Lantz' Space Mouse #1)
Golden Comics Digest (Gold Key Comics) #8 (Jan 1970, reprints one story from Walter Lantz' Space Mouse #3)
Golden Comics Digest (Gold Key Comics) #12 (Aug 1970, reprints one story from Walter Lantz' Space Mouse #3)
Golden Comics Digest (Gold Key Comics) #15 (Jan 1971, reprints one story from Walter Lantz' Space Mouse #5)
Golden Comics Digest (Gold Key Comics) #24 (Jul 1972, reprints one story from Four Color #1244)
Golden Comics Digest (Gold Key Comics) #32 (Sep 1973, reprints one story from Four Color #1244)
The plot of Space Mouse's theatrical debut, "The Secret Weapon", is virtually identical to the initial comic book story of the same name. Minor differences between the two include the change of the Secretary of Finance's name from "Count de Penny" to "Count de Pennies" and the secret agent being given the official title of "Agent X".
According to some sources, that wasn't the end of Space Mouse. In 1999, Fox TV aired The New Woody Woodpecker Show, using the traditional format of three segments featuring different characters. Woody's supporting segments starred Chilly Willy and, allegedly, Space Mouse. It was later discovered that Space Mouse got scrapped from the 1999 show due to some executive meddling, although him with his 1999 scrapped show redesign was featured in a comic version at that time, published by the Mexican publisher Editorial Vid in the comic book El Pájaro Loco, illustrated by Alejandro Palomares.[17], Space Mouse also was featured as a unlockable racer in the PS1 game Woody Woodpecker Racing, using his 1999 scrapped show redesign.
List of cartoons featuring Space Mouse:
Space Mouse in "The Secret Weapon" (Prod #SM-1, 1960)[10] - available on "Woody Woodpecker and Friends", Vol. 1 (DVD; Columbia House, Jan 1, 2003?) and "Woody Woodpecker and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection", Vol. 2, Disc 2 (DVD; Universal, Apr 15, 2008)
The Woody Woodpecker Show episode, "Spook-A-Nanny" (Prod #TC-3, Oct 1964)[18] - available on "Woody Woodpecker and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection", Vol. 1, Disc 3 (DVD; Universal, Jul 24, 2007)
A few sources online [19] state that Space Mouse later appeared on The New Woody Woodpecker Show on Fox TV, which began airing in 1999, but no reliable sources could be located to verify that claim, although it, he appears in Woody Woodpecker Racing supposedly using his design that probably would had been made for the show.
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is an animated cartoon character created in 1927 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks for Universal Pictures. He starred in several animated short films released to theaters from 1927 to 1938. Twenty-seven animated Oswald shorts were produced at the Walt Disney Studio. After Universal took control of Oswald's character in 1928, Disney created a new character similar in appearance to Oswald as a replacement: Mickey Mouse, who went on to become one of the most famous cartoon characters in the world.
Woody Woodpecker is a cartoon character that appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz Studio and Universal Animation Studio and distributed by Universal Pictures since 1940. Woody's last Woody Woodpecker was produced by Walter Lantz in 1972.
John Frederick Hannah was an American animator, writer and director of animated shorts.
Walter Benjamin Lantz was an American cartoonist, animator, producer and director best known for founding Walter Lantz Productions and creating Woody Woodpecker.
Carl Robert Fallberg was a writer/cartoonist for animated feature films and TV cartoons for Disney Studios, Hanna-Barbera, and Warner Brothers. He also wrote comic books for Dell Comics, Western Publishing, and Gold Key Comics.
Paul Murry was an American cartoonist and comics artist. He is best known for his Disney comics, which appeared in Dell Comics and Gold Key Comics from 1946 to 1984, particularly the Mickey Mouse and Goofy three-part adventure stories in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories.
Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1973. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium. In 1953, Dell claimed to be the world's largest comics publisher, selling 26 million copies each month.
Barney Bear is an American series of animated cartoon short subjects produced by MGM Cartoons. The title character is an anthropomorphic cartoon character, a sluggish, sleepy bear who often is in pursuit of nothing except for peace and quiet. 26 cartoons were produced between 1939 and 1954.
Chilly Willy is a cartoon character, a diminutive penguin. He was created by director Paul Smith for the Walter Lantz studio in 1953, and developed further by Tex Avery in the two subsequent films following Smith's debut entry. The character soon became the second most popular Lantz/Universal character, behind Woody Woodpecker. Fifty Chilly Willy cartoons were produced between 1953 and 1972.
Andy Panda is a cartoon character who starred in his own series of animated cartoon short subjects produced by Walter Lantz. These "cartunes" were released by Universal Pictures from 1939 to 1947, and United Artists from 1948 to 1949. The title character is an anthropomorphic cartoon character, a cute panda. Andy became the second star of the Walter Lantz cartoons after Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. He achieved considerable popularity until being eventually supplanted by Woody Woodpecker.
Golden Comics Digest was one of three digest size comics published by Gold Key Comics in the early 1970s. The other two were Mystery Comics Digest and Walt Disney Comics Digest.
Alexander Lovy was an American animator. He spent the majority of his career as an animator and director at Walter Lantz Productions. He was later a producer at Hanna-Barbera, and also supervised the cartoon unit at Warner Bros. during its final days.
Wingate Chase Craig was an American writer-cartoonist who worked principally on comic strips and comic books. From the mid-1940s to mid-1970s he was a prolific editor and scripter for Western Publishing's Dell and Gold Key Comics, including the popular Disney comics line.
In the 1959 Universal Pictures theatrical short "Space Mouse", producer Walter Lantz introduced three new cartoon animal characters: a cat named Doc and two mice named Hickory and Dickory. Hickory, Dickory, and Doc appeared together in two more shorts. Doc subsequently appeared solo in six more cartoons.
Homer Pigeon is an animated character created by Walter Lantz, who made his first appearance in the cartoon "Pigeon Patrol" in 1942. His final appearance was in 1964, in The Woody Woodpecker Show episode "Spook-A-Nanny".
Meany, Miny, and Moe are animated characters created by Walter Lantz, who made their first appearance in the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoon Monkey Wretches (1935). Their final animated appearance was in 1937 in The Air Express.
Gilbert H. Turner was an American animator, comic book artist and producer.
Fish Fry is a 1944 Andy Panda cartoon directed by James Culhane and produced by Walter Lantz Productions. The plot centers around a street cats endless attempts to eat Andy's goldfish after ordering it from a pet shop.
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