When certain characters, from a mega-corporation who shall remain nameless (it’s not like you don’t know who they are, after all) fell into the public domain recently, it was only a matter of time before they were picked up and used in creative ways by small creators. Disappointingly, the highest profile uses of some characters have been quickly knocked out, shoddy horror movies, which nonetheless gained themselves some notoriety and, one would assume, enough of an audience to secure sequels too.

Yet some creators have loftier goals and uses of characters such as Steamboat Willie in mind. Take, for example, Steppers; the first five chapters of which I was sent to review by its creators (C. Clyde and Henry Miller).

At first I was amusedly nodding to myself, at what a clever metaphor it was to have Mickey Mouse being released from prison, and re-entering a changed world.

Yet that’s to do Steppers a big disservice, as it has much more to offer than just a clever metaphor and commentary on corporate ownership of fictional characters. There’s far more at play; not just on the surface, with its unbelievably tragic recounting of Mickey’s early life, but in terms of the targets of the  commentary – and ire – of the creators.

It’s difficult to talk about the content of Steppers in greater detail, given that so many of its story beats benefit from the shock of the reader discovering them for the first time. Suffice to say that, though it uses the newly available characters in adult and very dark situations, it doesn’t do so in a way that cheapens the characters, or the concept.

The first volume of Steppers will be crowdfunding via Kickstarter in 2025; you can sign up to be notified of its launch here. Many thanks to C. Clyde for sending chapters 1-5 over to me for review purposes.