Working with Opera Mundi, Hachette published reprint collections of the Mickey Mouse comic, with prose captions instead of speech balloons, as was customary in French BD.
[3] Winkler later said: Mickey appeared to me designed to be the leader of a newspaper that would apply this formula because his presence on the screens started to attract an audience of all ages who had a common mind: the spirit of youth.
Finally, Robert Meunier du Houssoy of Librarie Hachette agreed to publish the paper, as long as Winkler would become the editor-in-chief.
The black-and-white pages featured two more half-page comics: Jim-la-Jungle (Jungle Jim) by Alex Raymond, and Qu'en Dites-Vous?, a collection of strange facts similar to the Ripley's Believe It or Not!
[6] The first issue also contained two serialized novels -- "Le Secret du Templier" ("The Templar's Secret") by Clade DaViére, and "La Main Qui Frappe" ("The Striking Hand") by Karl May—as well as a crafts column ("Le Petit Bricoleur"), collections of jokes and puns, puzzles, and a brief interview with Mickey Mouse.
[6] An international column, "Dans le Monde Entier" ("In the Whole World"), reported on new technologies around the globe, with much interest in planes, trains and cars.
The "Club Mickey" letters column became an irreplaceable link between the magazine and its readers, and Onc' Léon became a wise dispenser of advice.
In April 1936, Winkler published Robinson (périodique) [fr], a 16-page weekly filled with American adventure comics, and he followed this in December 1937 with Hop-là!
[9] One of the things that set Le Journal de Mickey apart from its competitors was its production, with quality paper and ink and better printing resulting in brighter colours.
[12] In the pre-war era, the comic strips reprinted in Le Journal de Mickey included Les Durondib et leur chien Adolphe (Dinglehoofer und His Dog Adolph) by Harold Knerr, Les Jumeaux (The Tucker Twins) and P'tit Jules (Snorky) by Clarence D. Russell, Pim-Pam-Poum!
(The Captain and the Kids) by Rudolph Dirke, Luc Bradefer (Brick Bradford) by William Ritt and Clarence Gray, Richard le Téméraire (Tim Tyler's Luck) by Lyman Young, Les Petites Fables by Nicolas Anofsky, Cora (Connie) by Frank Godwin, Bernard Tempête (Don Winslow of the Navy) by Frank Victor Martinek and Leon Beroth, Marc Luron (Curley Harper at Lakespur) by Lyman Young, and Prince Vaillant (Prince Valiant) by Hal Foster.
[13] The paper also reprinted two serialized adaptations of Disney animated films from the Silly Symphony strip: Blanche Neige et les Sept Nains (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) in 1938, and Pinocchio in 1940.
As a result, Le Journal de Mickey ceased publication on June 16, 1940 with issue #296, and relocated to Marseille in the unoccupied zone of France.
Winkler, who had published anti-Nazi editorials that attracted the attention of Reich Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels, fled to the United States with his children.
[15] The Disney comics material was not affected by the law, but the other American strips printed in Donald were eventually removed, contributing to the decline of the paper.
Based on the success of Mickey Magazine, Bigle persuaded Winkler to adopt some of his new editorial and graphic concepts, and launch a new French periodical.
Mon Premier Journal de Mickey (2018-on) is a bimonthly magazine aimed at children just starting school, which began in April 2018.
The other volumes include one "Panorama d'Auteur" section per issue spotlighting the work of another Disney creator, and the rest are grouped by theme.
Each section includes several pages on Disney comics history related to the featured creator or theme, and lists the first appearance of each story in its native country and in France.
The magazine is primarily made up of Disney comics from Italy and Scandinavia, with some brief sections of puzzles and Picsou-style articles about teen fads.