Background
Melinda is a tall old lady with a long nose and she is useful to dress in a very formal way. She wears a pair of earrings, but her ears are covered by hair. The colour of Melinda's hair changes according to the colourists, but in recent stories, they appear blond. In her debut story, young Melinda has black hair.
She lives in a cottage, in a country-side village far from Mousetown (called "Bongo Village" in the story Topolino e il ritorno dello zio Jeremy).
Melinda is a lovely and cheerful person, deeply attached to her nephew Mickey (with whom she shares a passion for mysteries and investigations) but the memory of baby Mickey's kidnapping she developed feelings of guilt and an attitude ... too protective towards his nephew.
Appearance
The Chirikawa Necklace
According to her debut history, Melinda was used to taking care of her nephew during his childhood. But one day, (taking advantage of a moment of distraction by Melinda) a young Big Bad Pete and his girlfriend Trudy Van Tubb kidnapped a baby Mickey Mouse and Melinda was forced to exchange Mickey for her Indian necklace.
Years later, Mickey and his friend Atomo Beep-Beep discovered the truth and retrieved Melinda's necklace to her.
Recent Appearances
After her debut, Melinda was used very few times, mostly in Scarpa's stories created, related to her debut adventure (as Topolino e il diario segreto di zia Topolinda, the sequel of The Chirikawa Necklace, published in 1994). She makes a cameo in the 1985 comic story Mickey Mouse Incredible Adventure in Disneyland and in 2000 she appears in stories dedicated to her brother Jeremy Mouse, but only in flashback.
Only after the 2004 story Macchianera e il buon vicinato (The Bolt and the good neighbourhood) Melinda has become a regular recurring character in Italian Disney Comics. Like Mickey, Melinda is an amateur investigator, and in 2016 she was the main character of the three-episode series I misteri di zia Topolinda (Aunt Melinda's Mysteries)
Trivia
- Melinda was the first character in Italian comics to be related to Mickey.
- Depsite her name in the English translation of The Chirikawa Necklace is Melinda, her official page on Topolino's website report her original name "Topolinda" both as Italian and English name[1].
Notes
- ↑ Melinda official profile on Topolino.it
