If you’re looking for a “No Tricks Halloween Treat”, look no
further than UNCLE SCROOGE # 7 (Legacy Numbering: 411) from IDW!
In it, you’ll find the New-to-the-USA “Mummy Fearest”, from Topolino 1109 (1977), by the
great Romano Scarpa – translated from the Italian and dialogued by yours
truly.
As a means of safeguarding his money for the ages, Scrooge refashions his Money Bin into the form of an ancient Egyptian pyramid.
But, arch rival John D. Rockerduck wants the bin out of his sight
and out of his way…
…And decides the best way to accomplish this is to dress up as a ghostly mummy! Gotta love his reasoning…
…Though I think these popular animated characters might take issue with his statement above!
Um, yes they WOULD!
Here’s what happens when Mummy meets McDuck! Dig the mummy’s name, classic horror fans!
It’s all fun and games until somebody gets hopelessly lost in the pyramid’s catacombs!
What happens next? And how do the Junior Woodchucks figure into this? Read the story and find out! I’m no spoiler!
The issue is rounded out by “Of Mice and Magic”, a New-to-the-USA Dutch story from 1980, nicely
drawn by Mark De Jonge, translated and dialogued by our own Thad Komorowski.
A typical “short encounter” with Magica De Spell, to which Thad adds some very nice touches!
If only all “Color Coded Threat Warnings” were as explicitly
fun as this!
Speaking of fiery fun...
And how about this reference to the DuckTales episode “Duck to the Future”!
Why, even the TITLE recalls this valuable animation reference work by the great film and animation historian Leonard Maltin!
So, let neither Magica Mouse nor Mocking Mummy deter you from getting to your local comic book shop and picking up a copy of UNCLE SCROOGE # 7 (Legacy Numbering: 411) from IDW!
…And steer clear of Mummies wearing glasses along the
way!
As always, once you’ve read the issue, please come back and join the discussion in our Comments Section!
Just don't get so "wrapped-up" in the issue, that you'll forget to leave comments!
As always, once you’ve read the issue, please come back and join the discussion in our Comments Section!
Just remember, I do not speak for IDW, or anyone in its employ. I speak strictly for myself as both a long-time fan and as a dialogue creator – and those opinions are strictly my own.
I’ll meet you back here for another lively comment thread!
I’ll meet you back here for another lively comment thread!
Just don't get so "wrapped-up" in the issue, that you'll forget to leave comments!
73 comments:
Hi Joe i've been reading your blog for quite a while but this is the first time i'm commenting. I have just read Scrooge #7 and enjoyed it as i have with most IDW Disney comics so far. It was nice to Rockerduck in a good story considering his Boom! appearences were 'Around The World In 80 Bucks' and that Ducktales story. I also enjoyed 'Of Mice And Magic' mostly because of Thad's dialogue. I also noticed this trade paperback listing on Amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/Donald-Duck-Tycoonraker-Torcivia/dp/1631405535/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1445170219&sr=8-1. You said in this comment that Tycoonraker was a story you and David dialogued for Boom but didn't get published: http://duckcomicsrevue.blogspot.nl/2011/07/ducktargnan-and-three-musketeers.html?showComment=1312589796040#c8995284607744550056. Does that mean we can expect that story in the January issue of Donald. Sorry for going Off-topic i just got a bit curious when i saw that.
Mark:
Thank you for the kind words on both my story and Thad’s! And, if I’ve made Rockerduck a more enjoyable character for you, or anyone out there, I’m gratified – because my opinion of those earlier appearances you mention is not dissimilar to yours. I’m presently working on another Scrooge adventure featuring Rockerduck, and I’m carrying the same qualities for Scrooge’s freer-spending, more aesthetically-aware rival forward into that one, as I did for “Mummy Fearest”
That listing is a total surprise to me! This was, as you note, a story David and I worked on in 2011 that never got published by Boom!. There were a few such stories that I expect will eventually turn up at IDW. That might also mean that “Tycoonraker” (notice that I was going for “James Bond parody titles” in that series of stories) might also be headed for an issue of DONALD DUCK before it goes to trade. Though I notice it’s for Amazon.co.uk.
HERE’S the link, if anyone cares to take a peak. Too bad there’s no cover image to go with the listing.
Please do come back again. Especially if you're delivering good news like this! :-)
On the subject of Thad’s fine work, I neglected to mention the name he employed for the cat! A nice, now-obscure piece of trivia on his part!
How many of you got that?
And, as long as I’m commenting on my own thread, I should point out that “Mummy Fearest” is probably the only lead story, over the IDW Disney line, to not have at least one version of the issue’s cover illustrating it.
…Even SCOOBY-DOO got TWO “Mummy covers!
I loved this story! It was a lot of fun, despite how silly it was. It reminded me a lot of one of Tony Strobl's post-Barks Uncle Scrooge stories. Your scripting really made what could be a pretty flat story a lot of fun. When I have the comic in front of me, I will write more. I also have an idea of what a cover could look like for this story, but I would need more time (and a bigger sheet of paper) to do it justice, so I will post that when I finish it.
Normally I wait until I arrive at home I read the issue, but I could prevent myself from glancing at it when I was on the C-train. I read it later that night and it was a perfect capper to a good day.
To borrow an old pun from you there was no “de-niling” about it that I was wrapped up in stitches in this fun-filled story of yours. As always the puns you crept in made me smile, among them: the “Andy-Man” can or when the nephews who have contempt for their uncle refers to his establishment as - Pyramid of ”El-Geezer”.
Part of the fun is seeing what pop-culture references you, Jonathan, David, and Thad allude to. My face lit up when you referenced the catchphrases from H-B characters and our antagonist revealing “Oh agony!” Oddly when the architect walks in to the police station to report the mummy it reminded of the numerous times that Fred Flintstone entered to report a bizarre incident.
I could hear Bill Scott using his voice for Gruffi Gummy for my vocal audition of John D. Rockerduck. It’s a whole lot of fun when you can cast these great voice actors from: Alan Young, Russi Taylor, Daws Butler, Don Messick, June Foray, Doug Young, Bill Scott, Paul Frees, John Candy, Gary Owens, Jonathan Winters, Elizabeth Montgomery, and many others in my head. It goes to show how tremendous their vocal talents are that they stay with you.
From the first panel I liked how the nephew’s enthusiastic attitudes in inspecting the interior of the money bin. An interesting dynamic was Uncle Scrooge being bitter to the nephews, as their relationship is on a solid platform. It was extremely protective of Donald to stand up to Scrooge after he hurt their feelings. The payoff line after Uncle Scrooge cut Donald midstream of him insulting him was nice.
Sandro Zemelin inking Romana Scarpa’s art had a bounce (for lack of a better term) to it. The slash panel of them rigging tractors to rip the plastic pyramid pieces was impressive. The subsequent panel showing Rockerduck and Scrooge on different levels added to the detailed artwork. I am curious if that scene in Scarpa’s script or if it was an invention of Zemelin.
I noticed a difference in the quality of the paper from the cover to the inside pages, could David Gerstein or anyone else at IDW shed light on the subject in regards to that. By no means is it a decline in quality. I am extremely curious about the grade of paper that IDW has switched to. It’s neat how inventive the money related gags for the covers are. Just when you think that it’s all been covered you find an artist who creates a new idea.
Joe knows my opinion of DuckTales, and it's on public record in Sick Little Monkeys. So if I made a reference to it in my script, it was inadvertently!
Thad:
“Inadvertently clever” is still “clever”!
For those who may not know, “Sick Little Monkeys – The Unauthorized Ren & Stimpy Story” is Thad’s 2013 book on that particular landmark animated series. And, even though R&S has never been a particular favorite of mine, the book is still a must read for anyone who has any interest in the overall animation scene of the period – not to mention as a wealth of information for R&S fans.
I’ll assume, knowing you, that the cat’s name is anything but “inadvertent”.
…Besides, who the heck would name a cat “inadvertent”? That’s just plain silly. :-)
Deb:
There WAS a late ‘60s sort of Tony Strobl and Vic Lockman vibe to “Mummy Fearest”, at that! Though I don’t think it would have come across anywhere near as “vital and alive” as “Mummy Fearest” did, as a 1968 Gold Key tale. Indeed it MIGHT have been ”pretty flat” in other hands, so thank you for the kind words.
Looking forward to your more detailed comments – and particularly your cover sketch, as I didn’t get one (Alas!) – when they come!
Magica de Spell on that cover looks a lot more curvaceous than usual, and there appears to be more electricity between Magica and her nemesis than can be accounted for by that bolt of lightning behind them. That artwork is amazingly adult for a medium supposedly aimed squarely at kids (of course, we know that there are adult readers of Disney comics, but it surprises me when this ever gets acknowledged by the Disney folks, even in somewhat subtle ways as in this instance). I like Scrooge's expression...it speaks volumes. I actually like this cover a lot.
Looking forward to reading this issue!
Adel:
So glad you enjoyed “Mummy Fearest”, and the PUNS in particular.
Some pun-ny scraps from the cutting room floor, from that very same opening that gave you "de-nile", included:
“Has Scrooge gone from ‘Making it Square-o’ to ‘Making it Pharaoh’? Is something really ‘Rotten in Duckburg’, or should we say that it ‘just plain Sphinx’?”
You, of course, can decide how meritorious all that business might have been, but there’s just never enough room for everything I’d like to do.
I often “voice” characters in comics using actual voice actors or “real actors”, but I haven’t yet considered a “voice” for Rockerduck. I will say that I differ form you on the “Gruffi Gummi” voice, but that’s what makes the world go ‘round.
Anyone got some suggestions as to who might voice Rockerduck, and how?
Notice that one nephew paraphrases Shakespeare on Page 2, Panel 4. And it WAS a little bit of an effort to “direct” Scrooge and Donald's argument, on Pages 7-8 to eventually arrive at the “pyramid and mummy” conclusion.
The WHOLE “tractor pull” sequence was dramatic and dynamic on the part of Scarpa and Zemolin. Since Scarpa both wrote and penciled the original story, I’d suspect having Scrooge and Rockerduck in different places was Scarpa’s own touch. …And, to circle back to the exchange with Deb (above) would never have been done this way as a Gold Key!
I’m looking at the paper used in both UNCLE SCROOGE # 7 and August’s DONALD DUCK # 4 as I write this, and I can’t say I see much of a difference. The paper and printing is of extremely high quality in both cases. Just as I’ve come to expect from IDW. Perhaps others can discuss this in more detail.
I believe we have several different printers at IDW—and I'm never sure who's going to take which issue, so exact paper source and texture may vary a bit. (Sometimes the printers' needs may determine whether a given issue is 44 pages including covers or 48 pages including covers, with a few more ads...)
Scarecrow:
I love that cover too, but couldn't they have found room for a MUMMY somewhere on it? :-)
David:
All the printers for IDW do a superlative job!
...Now, about that Mummy...
I chuckled at the puns that were left in the "waste bin". It took a moment for it to register but I got it. That was an interesting point Scarcrow brought up about that cover. It does spell or Magica De Spell even a matureness with how curvaceous her body is. The use of lighting and shadows brings out a great expression of both Magica and Scrooge. I don't mean to drag this thread to the gutter but I am curious if Disney minds if the feminine characters are drawn with a busts. I have seen mostly Don Rosa and some European artists draw the female characters with those features. (Not that it is bad mind you.)
When I looked at the year of publication I was thinking how the art over here looked tame and lacked the energy. The worst point in terms of inferior art work was that Kay Wright panel from "Bird Bothered Hero". You could say he [Wright] drew up a lot of wrongs.
I don't understand why Western Publishing could not have maintained the quality circa (1963-66) for all there issues. If you leave it up to talented people the results should show. As discussed in a earlier post earlier post it is intriguing how Europe and Italy had trained talented artists who had this vibrancy; Whereas over here it looks as if the art editor or whoever was in charge of the covers went to sleep. Don't get me started on how bizarre the colouring choices were on the Whitman issues. Thanks David for answering my mundane quiery! I was extremely curious about the paper.
I like to say it's like being the Joe Barbera or Mark Evanier of voice casting directors, where you can bring in these great character actors.
Adel:
…And, like Joe Barbera, you can fire Howard Morris, and recast the roles of Atom Ant and Mr. Peebles for the short 1966 season!
I’ll best leave the “cover discussion” to others, but will say that I will forever be dismayed at how Western Publishing could let its once great comics go into such steep and dramatic decline – especially when such great material was being produced in other countries.
http://debbie.fluffyandmervin.com/75/
Looks like Mummy Rockerduck is haunting my sketchbooks as well!
For everyone like me, who wishes “Mummy Fearest” had gotten IT’S OWN ILLUSTRATIVE COVER, our friend Deb has come to the rescue!
HERE is Deb’s link for greater ease of access!
Go there, as she has at least one other Halloween surprise waiting for you, along with the Scrooge cover!
It's best to "cover" that conversation for now.
I agree with you it's best to avoid that topic over here. I can be on the firing end when Howie told me to preform an "anatomically impossible" task. On the plus side I can look very suave with my sunglasses, monogrammed shirt cuffs, and to top it off I have a fondness for women. Speaking of Atom Ant I should pick up the DVD set one of these days. I love 'em Hillbilly Bears.
Yes, Adel, you *really should* pick up Atom Ant on Warner Archive DVD!
Because, then it would lead to their releasing Secret Squirrel – and maybe even Peter Potamus! Hanna-Barbera fans like us (particularly fans of the prime ‘50s and ‘60s product) should ALWAYS show our support for such releases – and as soon as possible upon release – so that there might be more!
Another great cover Deb! And Joe (yet again) good job on the dialogue. I really enjoyed the lead story in this issue. I feel that U$ has been in a bit of a slump lately (with the overlong German story in U$#4-5 and the ok italian story in #6) and I think that this story has lifted it out.
Happy to oblige, Clapton.
For what it’s worth, I feel the story in UNCLE SCROOGE # 4-5 did not benefit by being broken up over two issues. Though, I’m not certain how else it could have been presented – going “directly to trade” does not seem to be an option. I liked # 6, quite a bit more, and that “blueprint cover” was amazing. …And, I’ll always “give it all I got”, as seen in # 7. So, glad you enjoyed it!
And, Deb sure does great work, doesn’t she!
I liked #6 more than #4-5, although it was fun seeing Donald and his nephews going through Disneyland. It would have made a good story for a Disneyland Giant, if IDW wanted to do one of those. The Bigger Operator story was a bit understated, but still fun. It was a bit of a weird coincidence, considering the original publication date of the story, that the main antagonist of the issue looks a little like Don Rosa (at least to me) in the story more than on the cover. Especially when you consider that Rosa worked in construction before drawing Uncle Scrooge comic books, and he also drew up a blueprint of Scrooge's Money Bin. Weird, huh?
Wow, Deb!
I never noticed the Don Rosa / Bigger Operator connection until you mentioned it… but, yeah!
If you asked me to rank them, and take it with a huge grain of salt, I’d start with 2, 3, and 7 in a virtual tie, then 6, and 1, with 4 and 5 bringing up the rear.
Despite being beautifully drawn, I think the story in 4 and 5 works less for me because of the previously-mentioned “two-issue” thing, and that it was (frankly) chock full of elements we’ve seen before. That’s not to say that other issues weren’t full of previously seen elements as well – but I think those elements were “dressed-up” better in other issues (“Captain Retro-Duck” and “I-Don’t -Kharis”, to use two examples of my own – and certainly all that wonderful stuff Jonathan put into issue # 2!) Thad also nicely “dressed-up” the backup in # 7, making it a much better read than it might have been!
And a story that is primarily a “long chase” is not the easiest thing to pull off in a comic book. Oh, and don’t think for a moment that I’m faulting Gary’s dialogue for any of this. Not at all! I just feel there was some sort of “spirit” (for complete lack of better descriptive word) that I didn’t “get” from that long and drawn out story.
Oh, but that’s just my opinion and it doesn’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world!
The IDW Disney comics are ALL great – and that’s just that!
Okay if I were to rate IDW's issues of Uncle Scrooge from least good to best it would be: 4,5,6,1,7,2,3. That said I enjoyed them all to a certain extent. IDW is doing a great job.
Not much differently ranked than me. What say the rest of you?
While were ranking the disney title... I'll hold off on Donald since the next issue is coming out tomorrow. Each issue of WDC&S has gotten progressively better. (And WDC&S started out pretty damn good so that's sayin something). I'd rate MM in this order: 4,3,1,2,5.
Clapton:
Is that “worst to first”, or “first to worst”?
I already know where I’d rank the yet-unpublished # 6! Absolutely first!
I think EVERY issue of MICKEY MOUSE has been outstanding - more so overall than any of the other "Core Four" titles!
I'd rank 'em: 6, 2, 1, 5, 4, 3 - and I do this as a HUGE Paul Murry fan, so imagine how highly I must think of the other issues, if *I* rank Murry's issue last!
I would say "least good to best" over "worst to first" but yeah its worst to first. And damn, I'm looking forward to that Casty story. Until then here's an interview of the modern mouse maestro to tide us over. https://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&nv=1&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://chutinosaco.blogspot.it/2015/10/casty-in-italiano.html%3Fm%3D1&usg=ALkJrhjfE_iawcv6uyWOLG715Qr-gjlMiw
Mark made a comment about "Tycoonraker" and a trade paperback earlier.
The November Previews list was just published online, and "Tycoonraker" is confirmed for Donald Duck #9.
I don't know if I could rate individual issues, but so far, I think my favorite of the four titles has been Donald Duck, mostly because of the variety in the material we've gotten. Mickey Mouse is usually either an adventurer or a detective, and Uncle Scrooge is usually either a treasure hunter or defending his fortune, but Donald has greater flexibility in the roles he can play. We've seen him as a wanna-be investigative reporter, a troubleshooter for Uncle Scrooge, a blissed-out seeker of "the Perfect Calm", and a costumed vigilante in the next issue. (Admittedly, The Diabolical Duck Avenger seems to be playing up most of Donald's worst qualities so far, but it is interesting to get to read it in English.) And that doesn't even count the back-up stories!
Deb:
Nice analysis of the different characters and the tendencies of their particular “story types”! So, true… Donald DOES indeed have the “greater flexibility”, story-wise – precisely because he is not defined by one or two specific story genres or personal characteristics.
He can be (as a Gold Key cover once described him) “a stooge for Scrooge”, a “master at some task or field of endeavor”, an (often reluctant) adventurer, a concerned or frustrated “parent figure”, a wise guy (as particularly seen in early Al Taliaferro strips), and comfortably slip into a wide variety of genres such as “superhero”, “secret agent” (see Hex’s link above), “western”, and in the “TNT” series even “paranormal investigator”!
And, yes… the IDW DONALD DUCK series has – and certainly will continue – to reflect all of that!
Hex:
Well, well… Thank you for that news!
It’s nice to know some of that unpublished work left over from the Boom! days will finally see print!
This was, for those who may not know, the sequel (or “next in series”) to “Moldfinger”, a story that appeared back in the 2010 hardcover collection “Donald Duck Classics: Quack Up”.
Please take Hex’s link above, for greater detail.
Clapton:
Great link! TRY IT HERE!
We can all stand to know more about a great creator like Casty!
Even if you're not crazy about the Duck Avenger storyline, Donald Duck #6 has something to recommend itself...an American published story from the 1970's that embodies qualities you've wished other Disney Duck stories of that time did...care and thought went into it: Harry Gladstone's Birthday Bugaboo!
Joe: https://m.facebook.com/pages/Casty/133535668837 This is a link to Casty's facebook page. If there was ever a reason for you to social media, this is it. Heck, I'm going to set up a facebook account to follow this man! Since he did an interview for a Brazilian fan blog maybe he'd do one for you. It would be a fascinating interview, especially since you've "worked" with his work, if you catch my drift. I dunno I might be overstepping my bounds here, figured I'd just give ya a suggestion.
I enjoyed "Mummy Fearest" a lot. I liked the labyrinth Scarpa had Scrooge put in between the pyramid walls and the bin: that made the structure much more interesting in the imagination and on the page. Nice visuals of Scrooge and Rockerduck lost in the maze. Like Adel, I appreciated how Donald stood up to Scrooge in defense of the boys. Enjoyed the role of HDL-as-JWs in the plot. I like how you are giving Rockerduck the distinguishing characteristics of being a big spender and an aesthete. Enjoyed lots of your puns: the pyramid of geezer (the kind of insult I believe the boys *would* come up with, if they were mad enough to insult someone), honor among Thebes. And speaking of honor among Thebes, I liked the byplay about royalties in that and the following panel. That's solid (and funny) characterization for Scrooge himself.
I also enjoyed "Of Mice and Magic"--particularly liked Magica's dialogue as she first walked through the money in the bin. Liked the sorceress detector, and also Gyro's calm self-confidence. The coloring of the cat, though, was pretty bad. Don't think I've ever seen a cat that shade of brown (more a dog color, isn't it?), and what's with the beige areas that changed from panel to panel (toes, face around eyes, upper chest)?
Here are my most-to-least-favorite rankings, primarily ranking the lead stories:
U$ 2, 7, 3, 4/5, 6, 1
DD 4, 3, 1/2, 5/6
MM 1, 4, 2, 5, 3 (obvious preference for Eurasia Toft!)
Overall, I've enjoyed Uncle Scrooge the most, but that's typical for me.
Deb:
Being frightfully busy, I did not get to the comic shop this week and may not see DONALD DUCK # 6 until next week – or maybe even a week beyond that. But I hope that “Duck Avenger Part Two” rallies and ends up being better than Part One.
Still, to digress, I feel that Super Goof should be the only “ongoing” superhero character in this universe – but that could change over time… and with some good Duck Avenger stories. Surely, it’s because of the relative time of my first exposure to the Duck Avenger concept – but I can’t help thinking this is something that Plucky Duck (of TINY TOON ADVENTURES) should be doing, more than Donald. C’mon… Can’t you all just hear Plucky’s voice actor Joe Alaskey saying “Duuuuck Avennnnger!”?
But, oh yes… Do I ever lament the unfortunate fact that Harry Gladstone did not have the opportunity to build up any sizable body of work at Western Publishing in the ‘70s! By that time, with the singular exception of Mark Evanier’s writing, it seemed as if they DID NOT WANT TO IMPROVE on the inferior quality of their product. And, even though the seventies (into the early eighties) was a period of decline for ALL comic book publishers, the art of Kay Wright, Bob Gregory, and a particularly inappropriate artist on the Warner Bros. books (Lee Holley, Joe Masserli, or both?) and the huge overuse and overtaxing of Vic Lockman as a writer only hastened their demise.
Especially now, that we are regularly seeing what was then-contemporary European work to the poor Western product, can we really appreciate just how much we in the USA were shortchanged! “Mummy Fearest” itself falls into that same category of superior product produced by other countries during the seventies – that we could have had here, but did not.
Looking forward to seeing Harry Gladstone’s lone story with IDW’s superior printing! Sorry, but I can’t help saying: “For once, Gladstone’s good luck is also our own!”
Clapton:
Sorry, but even that would not be enough to move me into the realm of Social Media. Thus far, I have purposefully avoided a presence on Social Media, and intend to keep it that way… by cracky!
Twitter, in particular, seems so full of the type of negativity that we (all of us) here successfully and admirably avoid that I have no interest in participating. Anything I’d probably put on Facebook would manifest itself right here, in one form or another. The Blog is here for anyone wishing to “follow” me. And, as many of my regular commenters know, I’m also very happy to engage in “off-the-Blog” e-mail exchanges. To do so, just send a comment with your e-mail address to say “Hello”, ask questions, etc. I will not publish that comment, and will respond to that e-mail address. If you comment with an “alias”, please send a “real name”, with your e-mail, so that I might have a better feel for anyone I’d personally communicate with.
That said, I’d be thrilled if Casty were to somehow find his way to my Blog. Especially, once I post on the upcoming MICKEY MOUSE # 6 next month! Or, if (say) Sholly Fisch were to find my many posts on SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP!
My IDW rankings from favorite to least favorite. (I haven't disliked any of the issues yet.)
Donald(haven't read Issue 6 yet): 1>4>2>3>5
Mickey: 2>1>5>4>3
Scrooge: 3>2>7>6>1>5>4
WDC: 723>721>722
And as for the titles themselves: Donald>Mickey>WDC>Scrooge
Elaine:
Thank you for the kind words on “Mummy Fearest”!
I really tried to distinguish Rockerduck from Glomgold. If they are going to co-exist in the IDW duck-world, I feel they cannot be clones of one another – and, given existing character elements, this seemed to be the best way to distinguish them. You’ll see more of that, pending editing, in an upcoming story, scheduled (I think) for UNCLE SCROOGE # 11, that I’m working on now.
“Honor among Thebes” was one of those puns I’ve been waiting all my life for the proper opportunity to use! I’m really glad you found “Pyramid of Geezer” to be to be appropriate and characteristic for the nephews to use, as I could actually “hear it” spoken in the DuckTales HD&L’s voice!
The “Royalties” and “One for the Money… Two for the Money” bits are precisely why I love to write for Scrooge! It’s the kind of stuff you could do nowhere else, save the unlikely possibility of a “Jack Benny” comic!
As for the Woodchucks, also consigned to the cutting-room floor was their RANK that I created for this story. In keeping with the Carl Barks tradition of the Gold Key HD&L JR. WOODCHUCKS title, I designated them as S.I.D.E.W.I.N.D.E.R.s.
That would stand for: Structural Integrity Determiners and Estimators With Intensive Nit-picking for Damages to Engineering Resplendency.
…There’s never enough room for everything I’d like to do, alas.
I’d be very interested in seeing how you rank the IDW MICKEY MOUSE issues, once you read Casty’s magnificent story in # 6 that I called “Plan Dine from Outer Space”, and are introduced to Casty’s character that I called “Iris-One”! I know I can’t stop talking this one up, but it was such a superb effort by Casty that I’m counting down the weeks until it “blasts off”!
Mark:
Looking over your rankings, I must express my thanks (sincerely) for your appreciation of my work!
…And can’t wait to see where MM # 6 will fall on your scale, as well.
Joe: I kinda figured you wouldn't be intrested in social networking - even for Casty. When we get closer to MM#6's release/ your blog post on it I'll message Casty on facebook and try to get him to stop by here- if that's okay with you.
Deb: Birthday Bugaboo is a fascinating story! Gladstone clearly understood how to construct a Barks-esque ten pager. The plot was well-constructed and the dialogue was very funny. That said I wasn't a fan of the way they made him draw the ducks. It clearly looks like he had to make an effort to draw Donald and the boys worse than he could, as evidente from the preview Western rejected and the beautifally drawn sceneary surrounding them in the story.
I don't think calling it "worse" is fair, but you could notice Gladstone straining to keep the Ducks on-model for 1970's Gold Key when they kept drifting back to the Barks model. Even his lettering in the dialogue balloons looked like Barks' (but not the sound effects lettering). I liked the ending to that one. I read it in its original printing after getting a bunch of Gold Key and Whitman issues from one of the Bruce Hamilton catalogs in the early 90's (looking specifically for non-Barks issues, hoping to find some Tony Strobl stories, as I remembered reading some in the late 70's and early 80's in the three-pack comics. Gladstone's story was a bright spot along with some of the Tony Strobl, Jack Bradbury and Paul Murry reprints in the batch of these comics that I sadly no longer have. (Too much stuff to move from one end of the country to the other...the comics got left behind, thinking I would't miss them...boy, was I wrong! But I digress...)
Deb:
Perhaps the most unfortunate aspect of the ‘70s thru mid-eighties Gold Key and Whitman comics was that the Dell and earlier, prime period Gold Key reprints WERE indeed most often the “brightest spots” of the line. And the European stories that IDW chooses to run, from that same period, continue to show us that it didn’t HAVE to be that way.
I’ll also say that, during my early “comics COLLECTING” (as opposed to merely “reading” in my younger years) period of the early-eighties, I traded away many different comics in order to concentrate on obtaining Carl Barks Duck stories that seemed an impossible dream to otherwise see and read at the time. Enter Gladstone Series One and the other subsequent publishers to make Barks stories relatively “common”. Also, in the process, contributing to an overall lowering of the collectors’ prices on Barks comics in the accepted “reading grades”.
I later, and with no small dose of irony, came to realize that the comics I traded away to help obtain “now common” Barks stories had become much more rare. With Barks now well and truly explored, I turned my interest back toward the other comics, spending the ‘90s and early 2000s buying them back – and at considerably higher prices. So, I very much feel your pain.
MORAL: As a collector and fan, think long and hard before disposing of something – because interests (both general and personal) tend to run in cycles, and you may find yourself again caring about the thing you may regard as “sacrificial” today.
You're right Deb calling the art "worse" isn't exactly fair but... Considering how well Gladstone drew HDL in the test sequence I couldn't think of any other word than "worse". I'm glad were getting highlights of non-Barks western duck material reprinted. I'm looking forward to reading "The Planet X Mystery" by Tony Strobl and the recently depearted Bob Ogle (R.I.P) in January. If IDW plans to reprint more of this stuff I'd love to see "Having a Panic" and some of Bob Gregory's better SCRIPTS reprinted. (for the love of God, don't reprint any of his drawings!)
Clapton:
I, too am looking forward to seeing “The Planet X Mystery” again. Especially as it may have best differentiated the characters of Gyro Gearloose and Ludwig Von Drake – and within the pages of a single story yet! And doubly glad, if this is the same DONALD DUCK issue as “Tycoonraker”, to share a book with one of the favorite stories of my childhood!
Just to keep the record straight, I just checked IMDB on Bob Ogle, and he died a pretty long time ago, on February 25, 1984. I was momentarily shocked, wondering why I would not have done an “R.I.P.” post on such a great, yet unheralded, figure in animation and comic book writing, had it been during the life of this Blog.
And, NOOOOO! No Bob Gregory (or Kay Wright) art in IDW comics, please!
"The Planet X Mystery" is going to be in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #727
Aw, shucks! I would REALLY have liked to see it in the same issue as “Tycoonraker”! I should have known, as “Tycoonraker” is probably too long a story to have that kind of backup.
At your provided link, I see no cover credit for Bob Ogle, and that’s a shame.
Opps... Floyd Norman recently released a blog post "remebering bob ogle" and I guess I failed to realize that he passed a while back. I meant well.
Well, don’t just stand there, Clapton… Provide a link! We all could stand to learn more about Bob Ogle!
…And one thing we know ‘round here is that you certainly mean well! Appreciate it all.
http://floydnormancom.squarespace.com/blog/2015/10/16/remembering-bob-ogle
HERE’S Clapton’s link about Bob Ogle. And, thank you for providing this information on someone about whom far too little is known.
Hi Joe!
It's hard to think that at one point Barks' work was not readily available as it now is.
Your sage advice Joe about keeping your comic books, has prevented me from ever selling my comic books in the future.
Four years ago, my tastes in television and movies were out-dated so I started seeing the current films T.V. shows. I do not know exactly what possessed me to sell the comics, possibly since they had a musty odour to them. It had been years since I had looked at them, I kept the ones that were nostalgic.I acquired a sizeable number of Gold-Key, Whitman, Charlton *shudder* and Gladstone I era comics from a man who had a temporary stall outside my tutors. There were issues of “Hanna-Barbera Fun-In” #4, and “Hanna-Barbera’s Spotlight” #1 (where I was first exposed to Mark Evanier) that my sister picked up for me years ago. I am pretty sure I chucked the Charlton issues of "Top Cat" and "The Flintstones" in the garbage. It's weird that I cannot recall which issues they were maybe on account of how horrid they were.
Outside of the H-B titles from Gold Key and Marvel, “Hewy, Dewy, and Louie Junior Woodchucks” #6 are the only issues that I miss. I understand what Deb has gone through with parting with your collection. Last year when I started my comic book from scratch, the focus is Gold-Key (1963-1967) and to a lesser degree Dell. I have now gotten my collection to a level where I like it, even if it consists of scattered issues. I happened to collect some of the issues that my father had when he sold his collection.
Yes indeed, Adel, when I entered comic book “fandom” in the early ‘80s (as opposed to formerly being a “childhood reader” in the ‘60s), and rediscovered the Whitman comics from the almost “skeletal and ghostly, last gasp remains” of what was once the mighty Western Publishing that gave us Dell and Gold Key comics in their prime (not to mention rediscovering DC Comics), the idea of reading many Carl Barks classics seemed an impossible dream.
It was so inconceivable from today’s perspective, that enterprising folks of the era were even SELLING BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOCOPIES of some of the more rare tales to people who would actually BUY THEM just to read certain stories that had attained (due to their scarcity – and outright QUALITY) legendary status. And, yes… as incredible as it seems, I purchased such photocopies.
I’d venture to guess that, at some point, every collector rids his or herself of SOMETHING (perhaps MANY things) they come to wish they hadn’t. It’s a common activity that I can only warn you all against, from personal experience.
Though there is probably some benefit to either one’s physical – or certainly mental – health to purge one’s memory cells of all recollections of the Charlton Hanna-Barbera comics! Would that I could be as fortunate!
And while were talking about Barks... http://issuu.com/idwpublishing/docs/wdcs_724-pr. I'm a little bummed that Carl isn't getting credited on the cover, I gues it was to make the story a surprise. Does anyone happen to know WHEN Barks orginally wrote the story and WHY he didn't finish it.
The Barks Bear Book is one of those volumes of questionable quality, and I bought that one second hand at a comic shop in Massachusetts back in the 90's. Some of those black and white scans were pretty darn hard to read, but it was a joy to get to see rare work by Carl Barks. A couple years back, Yoe Books reissued the Barney Bear material in The Carl Barks Big Book of Barney Bear. It is still scans of old comics, but nicer color scans. I think that if Barks hadn't done these stories, they probably would just be fading into obscurity like Barney Bear himself.
Clapton:
Perhaps the supplied link is taking me to the wrong place, or perhaps I’m a little too rushed to see it (always possible these days), but I see no obvious reference to Barks. So, do let me know…
Deb:
While the original “Barks Bear Book” was of generally higher quality than the photocopies-for-sale that I’m referring to, it IS several giant steps below what I would expect from a “book”.
And, yes… If Harvey Eisenberg TOM AND JERRYs (as we discussed in a previous post) have unfortunately faded into obscurity, anything “Barney Bear” not by Carl Barks certainly would do so as well.
Check the table of contents (Hint: it's New-To-The-US Barks. Yipeee!)
The back-up story in that issue is The Duck Who Came To Dinner,which according to Inducks the first 7 pages were written by Carl Barks and was finished in 2012 by John Lustig and Daan Jippes. Like Clapton i cant't find information about when Barks originally wrote the story.
Mark:
I actually heard of this story, from John Lustig himself, some years ago, but never saw any actual evidence of it. Another coup for IDW, I’d say!
Clapton:
“Yipeee!” is RIGHT!
In WDC&S#724 David said that the barks story was written (and unfinished) in the 50s. So that leaves the when now all I'd like to know is the WHY (it was unfinished)
*GLOOM* I arrive woefully late to the comment party, yet again—there's but a handful of Chex party mix remaining and a few tepid bottles of club soda behind the bar. Aw, that's OK... because "Mummy Fearest" is best covered late at night, so close to Halloween!
A fun story wrapped up under a wonderful Halloween gag cover by William Van Horn—an artist whose presence I've been missing since IDW began their Walt Disney comic book line. Joe's dialogue shines (as usual) for "Mummy Fearest" with rhyming moments of Gold Key/Vic Lockman flair. There's some smart references to Little Orphan Annie (Scrooge yelps "Leakin' Lizards!") M.C. Escher, and I recall both the name "Kharis" and tana leaves figure prominently in Universal's 1944 Lon Chaney Jr. film The Mummy's Ghost?
This story would make for a cracking good episode of the updated DuckTales series now in development: the sequence on page 12 of Donald and Scrooge roiling respective rages toward each other to meet head-on is just BEGGING to be animated! It's a rare occasion from any publisher to see Scrooge really take out his anger on Huey, Dewey & Louie, so this story packed a punch—I honestly felt bad for the boys.
Now, if this was animated, Rockerduck does indeed need a suitable voice—but I don't quite hear Bill Scott as per Adel's suggestion. We know John D. is a bit younger than Scrooge & Flintheart, plus he's much more of a showman about his wealth. I often hear him as a publicly glad-handing, but easily outraged type: to my ears, John Slattery of Mad Men fame would suit him perfectly!
Thad's "Of Mice and Magic" is certainly a well drawn AND well-dialogued story, the bit of Magica playfully destroying cash reminds me of some hilarious Warner Brothers animated shorts. Towards the conclusion, upon being bitten by Magica in rat form, Uncle Scrooge's cry of pain might *just* be onomatopoeia of Tom's famous shout in the Hanna-Barbera Tom & Jerry shorts (re-read it and see for yourselves!)
All in all, Uncle Scrooge #7/#411 makes for a perfect Halloween read: plus we can always print out Deb's lovely custom "Mummy Fearest" cover and place it inside as a "bonus" supplemental image! – Dan
Dan:
John Slattery is a very inspired out-of-the-animation-box choice for Rockerduck! I’m certainly intrigued! Could he pull off the Mummy disguise? I’d sure like to see him try!
If only UNCLE SCROOGE # 7 / 411 came with one of those “Blank Sketch Covers”, we could have Deb suitably customize them!
Glad you enjoyed the issue! …Now, pass that Chex Mix over here!
And remember, you can still be "on-time" for MICKEY MOUSE # 6! Why, I wouldn't miss it for the (Devourer of) world(s).
http://www.lastkisscomics.com/2011/11/20/my-new-donald-duck-story-with-barks-jippes/
http://sekvenskonst.blogspot.com/2011/10/new-barks-lustig-and-jippes-story-this.html
Here are a couple of links talking about the new Carl Barks/John Lustig/Daan Jippes 10 pager. It's quite a good story, too. Jippes' art looks a bit too wild to be convincing as a Barks story, but it really helps to give the material a visual punch. Makes you wonder if there are any more Barks ideas left to work from.
It goes to show how brilliant Barks was that 10,000 something pages later we are STILL clamoring for more... Sigh, we miss you Carl, we sure do.
I couldn't agree more, Clapton!
Without Carl Barks, would there even BE an UNCLE SCROOGE comic book title for us to discuss here -- and leave 70 (!) comments on?!
I know who would be a great actor for the voice of Rockerduck...Carlos Alazraqui using his Denzel Crocker voice from "The Fairly Oddparents". Considering how Rockerduck's design has more in common with Fethry and Ludwig von Drake than with Barks' initial design, I imagine the character having a more manic edge, and if you've seen any episode of "Fairly Oddparents" with Crocker...I think the casting is perfect.
‘Rehab:
I’ve never seen that show but, if you endorse that particular voice for Rockerduck, I’d expect it to be a worthy contender!
The voice Alazraqui provides for Crocker sounds very...Jackie Gleason as "Reggie Van Gleason"-ish..so yezzzzzzz, I am picturing Rockerduck as an unnerved Reggie Van Gleason. :)
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