Topolino 3089: The Censored Issue Dedicated to Charlie Hebdo

On January 7, 2015, a tragic event shook the entire world: a terrorist attack against the editorial offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo caused the death of twelve people. This act of violence against freedom of the press provoked a strong reaction all over the world, including the editorial staff of Topolino . As a symbolic gesture, in the issue of the week following the attack, Topolino left a completely blank page.

But the editorial staff, led by director Valentina De Poli , decided to do even more. For issue 3089 of February 4, 2015, a special cover dedicated to freedom of the press was designed: Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters held a pencil, a symbol of resistance and freedom of expression, in homage to fallen journalists. This cover was officially announced on social media and other information channels.

However, something went wrong. The parent company, Disney , did not approve the use of the characters for such a direct and strong message. Although the cover had already been included in the preview of the previous issue and the copies printed, Disney decided to block its distribution and replace the cover with a more neutral one: Goofy Reporter .

Panini , the publisher of the weekly, issued a short statement explaining the decision:

"The cover of the weekly magazine Topolino, which has been circulating on the Internet in recent days on the main news sites and attributed to issue no. 3089 of February 4, 2015, does not correspond to the final image selected... The choice not to publish the creativity that was erroneously circulated was determined by the ways in which the characters in the weekly magazine were used."

Despite the announcement, the copies already printed with the original cover were sent to the pulper, with the exception of one copy kept by the director Valentina De Poli. That censored cover became a Holy Grail for collectors.

But the story doesn't end here.
Seven years later, in 2022, a copy that had escaped the pulping mysteriously reappeared. This copy was sold privately for €2,500, after the auction house Little Nemo in Turin, which had put it up for auction, decided to withdraw it shortly before the sale.

"Following careful consideration, Little Nemo Casa d'Aste has decided to officially withdraw the unpublished Topolino n. 3089 from the 67th Auction," the officials declared. The copy was considered one of the rarest in circulation, one of only two in existence: one owned by De Poli and the other that appeared at the auction.

The album, with a splendid cover designed by Stefano Turconi , portrayed Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and characters of different ethnicities who, with a pencil in hand, paid homage to the editorial staff of Charlie Hebdo . The print run was destroyed shortly before its release by decision of Disney, and this made it one of the rarest and most discussed collector's items in the world of comics.