Disney comics in Italy have always been quite popular, Italian Disney authors have enjoyed great critical and public acclaim with stories also translated abroad since the foundation of “The Walt Disney Company Italy” in 1938, the first branch of the Walt Disney Company outside the United States.
After Pearl Harbour and the subsequent war declarations by the Axis powers these comics were subjected to a rebrand under the directive of the “Minculpop” (Minister of Culture of the Fascist Government): the titular character Mickey Mouse (which has been translated in Italian as “Topolino” both before and after the war) is renamed “Tuffolino”, this also becomes the new name of the comic book series. A similar fate is met by the other characters which were also subjected by a change in artstyle, antropomorphic animal figures were ditched in favour of more “human” like features.
Here are some examples below.
