"Super Baloo" and Friends
TaleSpin in France
In 1991 a series of comic magazines was published in
France under the title "Disney Club Vacances".
Issue #2 came with a small pin of Baloo in pilot gear, with his French name "Super
Baloo". Issue #8 came with a pin of Kit Cloudkicker on his airfoil, in front of
a small blue pirate plane. Issue #4 came with a pin of Launchpad (from DuckTales)
and issue #5 came with one of Louie in his TS form. Issue #6 came with a pin of Don Karnage.
(These are the only issues I have been able to get my paws on.)
Here is a scan of some other covers in the series, and here is an enlargement of a cover featuring Kit and Karnage.
Issue No. 2
Pages 31-37 have information on the TS characters. A comic story "Deux
Débiles Á Bord" is included but not scanned, since it appeared in the English
comics as well. It features Trader Moe and his Goons at an air show. Not a
particularly memorable story. There are also comics of DuckTales and Rescue
Rangers in this issue.
Page 31: "TOUT sur Super Baloo" - A little introduction
Page 32: "Une Super Équipe" - Baloo, Kit and "Turbo" (Wildcat)
Page 33: "Une Super Équipe" (cont.) - Rebecca, Molly and Louie
Page 34-35: A 2-page spread of the TS cast. Like the cover, only much larger...and with Karnage! ;) (This is a larger version of the pic seen above. Note that I had to scan it in two pieces and put it together on the computer.)
Page 36: "Attention, Bandits!" - Khan, "Don Carnage", and "Truffe et Nazo" (Mad Dog and Dumptruck)
Page 37: Picture of Dumptruck and the Iron Vulture, a sidebar with series info and (*insert trumpet noises*) a fascinating piece of early concept artwork from Disney! Notice how different (and scruffy) Wildcat looks, the Sea Duck's design, Kit in pants (gasp!), Rebecca with short hair, and Molly with a big hair bow! Very strange to see! Here is a scan of the pic, blown up to twice the normal size.
Issue No. 8
Launchpad is on the cover, so I didn't scan it. The comic story in this one is
"L'Apprenti Pilote", where a young wolf comes to Baloo for flying
lessons before running off to join the Air Pirates...only he isn't welcome. Again,
this story appeared in English comics, so I haven't scanned the entire thing, but here is a page featuring Karnage, so you can see how it looks
in French.
The centerfold is of Baloo in the cockpit of the Sea Duck with headphones on. I had to scan it in two pieces and then put it together, and a line of staples runs through it, but it's still a cool image, and one I haven't seen anywhere else.
Other stories in this issue include a DuckTales comic, a Rescue Rangers one and a Darkwing Duck one. I recognize the DW one as having appeared in America, but I'm not sure about the other two.
Issue No. 5
Scrooge and one of his nephews are on the cover in samurai gear. The first comic is
of the Sorcerer's Apprentice scene from Fantasia, followed by comics of DuckTales and
Rescue Rangers.
The only TaleSpin content in this issue is an advertisement for "Super Baloo" home videos. Here's a close-up view of Rebecca and Molly sitting on the pier by the Sea Duck. It's a great pic of Becky, but Molly got partially cut off the by crack in the middle of the magazine. :-\
Issue No. 4
This issue has comics of Mickey Mouse, DuckTales, and two of the Rescue Rangers. No
TaleSpin.
Here's the cover of Issue 4, featuring Baloo and Scrooge McDuck.
