In December of 1987, our visit to family in Phoenix, Arizona included a memorable day trip to Nogales, Mexico. I was thrilled to find a store selling Mexican Disney comic books. As a Disney fan, my mind exploded when I discovered that Pato Donald (Donald Duck) and Copete (Fethry) were two different characters.
The source of the confusion was this book, Disney's Wonderful World Of Knowledge.
This was a popular series in the United States. The books originated in Italy
In the book, we are greeted by our "friend Donald Duck."
Our friend Donald doesn't look like himself in this book.
Donald's wardrobe changes in The Wonderful World of Knowledge seemed very peculiar to me.
Really, really strange costume changes for Donald. Batman?!?
As I would find out, this wasn't Donald Duck at all. This was an international Disney comic book character named Copete (AKA Fethry) dressed as his superhero character, the Red Bat. Disney's Wonderful World of Knowledge was an Italian book series, and this particular book starred a character that was not well known in the United States. So the publishers just called him Donald.
I was really fascinated with the Mexican Disney comics in Nogales.
The comics I found were small, Digest-sized books.
Copete, I discovered, was a major player in Pato Donald comics.
Though Copete has been very popular outside the United States, apparently the character has been very polarizing in the Disney Comics world. Count me as a fan of Copete.
Tio Rico (Uncle Scrooge) keeps Pato Donald and Copete's feathers ruffled.
Copete eventually starred in his own comic books. He even has a nephew (I believe he is playing the newsboy in this particular comic).
Eventually, stories featuring Copete appeared in the United States. But he is still not well known in America like he is in other countries.
The Pato Donald comic book turned out to be a fantastic souvenir of my trip to Mexico. I especially love the ads.
This bird mascot is still being used today, though he has been redesigned.
Muy Bueno! It's the Mexican Quik bunny!
Wow, a tombstone in a Nestle Quik ad. Things got dark and real.
On the drive from Phoenix to Nogales in 1987, we stopped at a Burger King. They were selling those Rodney Reindeer Hallmark plush toys. I wanted one, but did not get one.
A few weeks ago, I was visiting my Mom in Venice, Florida. We went to Goodwill and I found a Burger King Rodney with the tag. He was only 57 cents. This time, I got him.