This time around I decided to shake things up a bit by adding two additional Disney characters, well-known but seldom-seen. Usually Mickey would be joined by his old pal, Goofy. Looking back, I can't help but think how foolish I was. A storyline I hoped would please my bosses. I remember spending a whole weekend worrying about a compelling storyline. However, I still lacked confidence as a storyteller, yet I wanted this story to be special. I eagerly embraced the new assignment and set about crafting a new Mickey story, much like those I had read as a kid. JK: I remember you telling me about a famous 'lost' Mickey Mouse comic strip continuity that you did.įN: I guess someone liked my idea of continuities, so I was given the opportunity to write a nine-week continuity that would take Mickey and his friends on an adventure in Europe. I trusted Roman to complete the strips in a way that would do the job and please our bosses.

If he had not, I doubt I would have cared. Naturally, I did thumbnails while writing Mickey, and Roman followed my thumbnails. Our collaboration on the Mickey Mouse comic strip was a perfect marriage and we got along famously. JK: You wrote the strip but Roman Arambula drew it.įN: I knew Roman having already worked with him at Hanna-Barbera on Saturday Morning Cartoons. I suppose it's the influence film has had on me. Words on paper really don't do it for me. Seeing the story played out visually was also an asset. Eventually I moved to larger sketches and the drawings became more refined. I liked working this way because I could move through my story and layouts quickly. As my old pal and colleague Bob Foster would say, 'drawing is writing.' It's a great way to work out ideas and it allows me to quickly build a narrative. These are small, rough sketches that detail the continuity. What method did you use to write the strip?įloyd Norman: My personal scripting process and the one that I am always most comfortable using creating a story is thumbnails.

Jim Korkis: You worked on the Mickey Mouse comic strip starting in 1983 for about a decade. He also illustrated composer Richard Sherman's book A Kiss Goodnight (Disney Editions 2017)įloyd Norman worked on several projects for the Disney Studios, including the Mickey film: The Three Musketeers. A collection of his cartoons Son of Faster Cheaper (Theme Park Press 2015) that includes his time at Disney is also available. In today's column we continue talking with him about his work on the comic strip and all things Mickey.įloyd's book chronicling his career is titled Animated Life: A lifetime of tips, tricks, techniques and stories from an Animation Legend (Focal Press 2012) and he was the subject of the documentary Floyd Norman: An Animated Life. Last week, in Part One, Floyd Norman gave some of his impressions about Mickey Mouse and how he started writing the Mickey Mouse comic strip.

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