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For nearly 40 years, Manuel Gonzales brought Mickey Mouse to newspapers nationwide. At its peak, his Mickey Mouse-starring comic strips appeared in 120 newspapers around the world with a collective circulation of more than 20 million readers each week.

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In 1936, The Walt Disney Studio was in great need of new artists to work on its first feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Open auditions for artists were held at Rockefeller Center in New York, and Manuel was one of 33 selected from thousands of applicants to join the Disney ranks. In 1938, Manuel took over penciling duties on the Sunday Mickey Mouse comic strip from Disney Legend Floyd Gottfredson. After taking a three-year break for Army service, Manuel began to pencil and ink the strip in 1946, a role he continued to occupy until 1981.

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As a Disney comic artist, Manuel helped to expose the world to the off-screen adventures of Mickey Mouse and his pals Goofy and Pluto, and also drew nine-week promotional comic strips that helped introduce films such as Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, and Lady and the Tramp. He later penciled and inked the popular daily newspaper strip featuring Scamp, the mischievous son of Lady and Tramp, from 1956–1981. Occasionally stepping in to pencil the daily Donald Duck strip, Manuel contributed to various Disney comic books and publications throughout his lengthy career, and was known for tackling each project with a masterful sense of artistry.

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