Popeye artist releases Mousetrapped, a new Mickey Mouse webcomic

With the original 1928 Mickey Mouse cartoon, Steamboat Willie, entering the public domain, many artists have decided to put their own spin on the classic mouse.

While a lot of the creations have leaned towards horror films and games based on the mouse, one creative decided to put a more traditional spin on the character. Popeye artist, Randal Miholland, decided to launch his own web comic that followed Mickey Mouse after the events of Steamboat Willie.

It sees the original version of the character down on his luck as he has just been fired from his job, and sees him set out on a journey.

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Randal Milholland's Mickey Mouse webcomic is an unofficial sequel to Steamboat Willie

A story from the Mousetrapped comic strip (Image via MousetrappedComic.blog)

Steamboat Willie, the classic animated Mickey Mouse short from 1928, finally entered the public domain in 2024. What does that mean?

Well, the copyright to the short expired, which means that people don't need Disney's permission to use that version of the character anymore and can use it in their own original creations. Folks can even screen the film freely now without Disney's permission.

However, while the Steamboat Willie version of Mickey Mouse is free to use, the later versions that followed are still owned by Disney. It means that if folks want to use the modern version of Mickey, they will require Disney's version to do so.

With Steamboat Willie now entering the public domain, the current Popeye comic strip author - Randal Milholland - decided to continue the story of the animated story. Titled Mousetrapped, the daily comic strip follows Mickey Mouse on the events that took place after the boat in Steamboat Willie decided to dock.

The comic strip sees Mickey be fired after the boat captain grows frustrated with him. Now jobless, he's visited by Minnie Mouse who thanks him for letting her on board and asks if he can drop her back as well.

However, as he just lost his job, he can't, which leaves Minnie frustrated, and she walks away from him. The comic then sees him go on a journey as he packs his bag ready to face the world.

Talking about the comic on his blog, Milholland said:

"As of today, the Mickey Mouse cartoon, 'Steamboat Willie' is public domain. While all the trademarks and more recent copyrights remain in tact, I decided to do a comic that follows what happened after the steamboat docked."

He even shared his love for the classic Disney cartoon:

"I’ve loved Disney comics since I was a kid, but as most of them are made in Italy and later translated, I’ve long given up on the dream of writing or drawing them officially. So here’s hoping Disney doesn’t sue me anyway."

This wouldn't be the first adaptation of Mickey to come out in 2024, as a horror film titled Mickey's Mouse Trap is set to release this year, while another film is also in development.

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You can check out Moustrapped by clicking here.