Return of the Gneezles in "Second Childhood at Gneezle Gnob"

Mickey Mouse in Second Childhood at Gneezle Gnob

Do you remember the Gneezles from "Mystery of the Swamp" by Carl Barks? If not, you should go read or re-read this old classic, because now they are back – in a Mickey story!

"Second Childhood at Gneezle Gnob" is written by Ivan Saidenberg and drawn by Roberto O. Fukue, both creators that worked for Brazilian Editora Abril. Originally published in 1981, the story is now finally published in a language I can read, and can be found in this month’s Mickey Mouse #11 (320) from IDW.
 

IDW's Mickey Mouse #11 (320) - regular and subscription covers

The original Brazilian printing of this story also had a dedicated cover. But for some reason the Gneezles are colored blue looking like Smurfs on the cover...

 

Cover of Brazilian Mickey #348 (1981)

According to Ivan Saidenberg’s daughter, the writer was a big fan of Eega Beeva and even got a nickname after the character while at school. But he probably liked Carl Barks’ stories a lot too, because "Second Childhood at Gneezle Gnob" is a real tribute story with a lot of ideas taken from "Mystery of the Swamp". Not only do we get to meet the gnome looking Gneezles again, we also have some of the same gags and scenery as in the original. It’s still a different story though and not a remake of Barks’ story.

The Gneezles still use an alligator skin for hiding.
 

From "Mystery of the Swamp" (left) and "Second Childhood at Gneezle Gnob" (right)

The same traps works just as well as when the ducks were roaming around the swamps.

From "Mystery of the Swamp" (left) and "Second Childhood at Gneezle Gnob" (right)

We see Gnasty Face on top of the temple in Gneezle Gnob.
 

From "Mystery of the Swamp" (left) and "Second Childhood at Gneezle Gnob" (right)

And the swellers are still looking for a fight.

From "Mystery of the Swamp" (left) and "Second Childhood at Gneezle Gnob" (right)

In the original story it sounds like the Gneezles have been living for hundreds of years. If you wonder how, we might actually get the answer to that in "Second Childhood at Gneezle Gnob"!

From "Mystery of the Swamp"

I'm not going to spoil the story by going into more details, but I have to say I enjoyed this story a lot! Yes, there are a lot of similarities and re-used ideas from Carl Barks’ story, but that doesn’t matter. I look at this as a tribute story, and it was fun reading about those pesky swamp dwellers again. As I've said before, I think it’s great that IDW find some of the more uncommon but still interesting stories to publish. Together with the Eurasia story, Mickey Mouse #11 have something for both new and longtime Disney comics fans.