It's here! It's out! It's the subject of our post! It's UNCLE SCROOGE AND THE INFINITY DIME (Marvel Comics, Released June 19th, 2024)!
I dub this a "LIMITED Comics Review" for two reasons... ONE: Time and my usual state of being (...all together now) HORRIFICALLY BUSY, which is even more so than usual lately. TWO: My status as a member of the Fantagraphics team that handles these very same characters finds me in the unlikely position of discussing the wares of a larger and... um, more influential "competitor"!
So, I'll tread lightly, fairly, honestly... and with some (unusual for me) degree of brevity.
First and foremost, I think that everyone would agree that it's great to see a new Uncle Scrooge story even partially produced in the USA! I add "partially" because it seems to be a collaboration between Marvel and Disney Italy. ...And, if (Disney owned) Marvel doesn't have the resources to do this, then who does?
The story itself was good. An epic, sweeping, universe-shaking tale that is common today. Structurally reminiscent of "Scrooge's Last Adventure" - seen in the USA in IDW's UNCLE SCROOGE #13 (legacy #417) thru #16 (legacy #420). If you liked that, you'll like this.
And while I DID like both "Scrooge's Last Adventure" and "The Infinity Dime", I find myself sorta burned-out on epic, sweeping, universe-shaking tales from other publishers. Early Scrooge adventures with a more tightly-focused and specific scope, such as Carl Barks' great "Back to the Klondike", "Tralla La", and somewhat later ones like "The Twenty-Four Carat Moon" and "The Flying Dutchman" were more than stirring enough to make them forever classics without the now-seemingly-requisite universe-shaking.
That said, "The Infinity Dime", works well on a number of levels, including at least one that "strictly Disney" fans may or may not get.
Writer Jason Aaron is to be commented for his efforts. I personally felt better about this project upon learning that he was its writer - having enjoyed his work on the limited series BATMAN OFF-WORLD (DC Comics, 2024) a series whose most notable flaw is the extraordinary gap between issues!
(DIGRESSION: Issues 1-3 were cover-dated January, February, and March , 2024. Issue 4 was cover-dated JUNE, 2024... and Issue 5 is still... still "Off-World", I guess! I bought # 1-3 in one purchase, waited a very long time for #4 and expect to wait another good while for #5! I read # 1-3 in one sitting, but will need to review the WHOLE THING before resuming! END OF DIGRESSION)
Jason Aaron clearly loves the character of Scrooge McDuck, as is evidenced by his foreword - literally titled "Why I Love This Duck"...particularly as characterized by Don Rosa. Thus, "his" Scrooge falls squarely into the "mythically invincible hero" mold of Rosa, more so than the "classically adventurous hero" of Carl Barks. Given this, Aaron, quite effectively, takes his tale to a level even Rosa might not have imagined.
You might expect Rosa's "Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck" to permeate Aaron's epic, and indeed it does - spreading itself thickly throughout "Infinity Dime's" 30 pages... but there is another influence decidedly at work here (as hinted at above), Marvel's six-issue limited series of 1991, "The Infinity Gauntlet" , with an alternate universe's version of Scrooge taking on the role of "Infinity Gauntlet's" villain Thanos and substituting alternate universe versions of "The Number One Dime" for the "infinity gems" of the original.
I'm not a fan of post Silver Age Marvel Comics, and have never read "The Infinity Gauntlet" , but the obvious title homage was enough to tip off even me.
One unexpected - and impressively clever - additional influence, a reference to Carl Barks' "Christmas on Bear Mountain", occurs on page one and sets the events of Aaron's story in motion.
Brimming with enough oversized or full-page panels, and Jack Kirby-esque, cinematic two page spreads to satisfy even Marvel movie fans!
Why, there's even a nice little nod to RICK AND MORTY's Council of Ricks...
27 comments:
I liked it. I wasn’t expecting to, but after reading that introduction and seeing it set as yet another alternate take on Christmas on Bear Mountain, I was impressed. Being a Marvel story, of course the focus is on action and the multiverse idea, but to readers of Gemstone’s comics, alternate universe stories aren’t necessarily a new thing. Donald, Gyro and Scrooge have all met alternate universe or future versions of themselves in those books. It wasn’t until the second reading of this story that it hit me: this could have made a fantastic multi-part story. How did Scrooge-Above-All defeat Magica, get the mirror and acquire all of the Number One Dimes of the multiple Scrooges? How did McDuck gather them all together to defeat Scrooge-Above-All? How did the writer miss calling them “The League of Extraordinary Scrooges” (or “McDucks”)? And why would you conclude this story here? Scrooge-Above-All has the potential to be a fun reoccurring villain, and an excuse to get all of the alternate dimension McDucks together again (within reason…if it happens too often, people will get tired of it. Although…with multiple dimensions and Scrooges, who’s to say that Scrooge-Above-All has to be the SAME Scrooge every time? The League of Extraordinary McDucks could reunite to defeat him another time. Okay, I’m getting carried away now.
As for “What if Donald Duck was Thor?” and “What if Donald Duck was Wolverine?”, I’m inclined to look at them more like the Italian literary, movie and TV parodies as opposed to the Duck Avenger: New Adventures stories. Much like the “War and Peace” and “Les Miserables” book, Donald is playing a part in a story rather than shoehorning a superhero identity into his daily life.
As I noted privately to you, Joe, I haven't seen this yet. But based on your review and Debbie Anne's comments above, I am curious to see more of how Jason has tread the fine line between the traditional and non-conformist camps. (Or for someone like me who, while I value traditional more, can find enjoyment in both camps - I'm sure that may strike some as sheer Duck heresy. But variety is the spice, as they say. Plus, frankly, I'm too old to care. LOL.) I am also curious to see where Debbie Anne's questions spring from. By the way, I absolutely, whole-heartedly want to advance the title "The League of Extraordinary Scrooges." That was a master stroke, Debbie Anne. In a multiverse setting it is entirely appropriate and of course has that old-fashioned, dare I say Steampunk vibe, which can, in my humble opinion, still belong in the aforementioned traditional camp.
Deb:
“The League of Extraordinary Scrooges” is PURE GOLD! I, and I’ll wager ALL of us “Core Four”, could not have done better ourselves! Consider yourself well and truly complemented!
Aside from my brief but pleasing prior exposure to writer Jason Aaron, my “like” of it was also locked-in by the same two factors that prompted yours – Aaron’ s intro and his clever use of “Christmas on Bear Mountain” as the basis for his story. The latter was really “good writing” and you *know* how much I appreciate and respect “good writing”!
All in all, though, I’d prefer my memories of “Infinity Dime” to remain as a good one-shot. To do all the (admittedly intriguing) sequels and prequels you propose would place it squarely within the territory of “that which I’ve chosen to escape from”!
DC’s “Crisis on Infinite Earths” and Marvel’s “Secret Wars” were amazing when they occurred in the mid-later eighties. But it was their UNIQUENESS among other such comics that went a long way toward achieving that “amazingness”.
Since then, and all the way up to the present day, it’s just been one “Big Event” after another and, by the time we reached the early 2000’s, I’d grown well weary of it all. And, to you and Chuck, I’d rather not see that sort of thing proliferate here. But, given that one of the two “main proliferators” has chosen to take some of our favorite characters and comic concepts under its all-encompassing, mighty wings, it seems likely that such a now-tired (at least to me – having been fed too many years of it) direction may be inevitable. …When EVERYTHING is a Big Event, NOTHING is a Big Event!
But, hey… Good story by Jason Aaron! With “The Infinity Gauntlet” being still more of an influence on the proceedings than “Christmas on Bear Mountain”, he manages to brush-up against a degree of “Marvel Specificity” that this Dell/Gold Key/ Gladstone/Gemstone, etc. veteran reader is not entirely comfortable with… but finds to be an acceptable (and realistic) level of concession to the publisher of this book and it’s relationship (dare I say “synergy”) with Disney.
However, the Wolverine and Thor issues to come (as well as the “What if…?” concept itself) are simply too steeped in that “Marvel Specificity” for my tastes. Not being written by Jason Aaron is another strike-against. But, as Don and Maggie Thompson of THE COMICS BUYER’S GUIDE used to say (and I clearly admit to appropriating on occasion – as in this post): “Your Mileage May Vary!”
Scrooge has met Thor, but a Carl Barks version of Thor… as well as a DuckTales version. Various versions of Thor have appeared in TV shows such as LOST IN SPACE and STARGATE SG-1. Perhaps one day, even *I* might meet Thor (…or “save Christmas”, or sumpthin’)!
It’s the expected, though understandable, (…all together now) “Marvel Specificity” of Thor that separates this from the “War and Peace” and “Les Mis” epic parody tributes. And that’s a boundary I intend to leave intact between myself and the comics I spend actual money on.
Do enjoy them, if they work for you… and maybe let us know your thoughts once reading.
Thank you for sharing so many interesting thoughts and reactions with this humble Blog! ...We could sure USE IT around here! :-)
Chuck:
I was preparing my response to Deb when your comments arrived, so I think I say most of what I would have said to you in that reply.
Oh, and remember that I’m seven years older than you – and “I’m NOT too old to care!” You’re NEVER “too old to care!” Got it? Good!
Read my comments (which apply just as much to you as they do to Deb), and let us know if you have any additional thoughts. And, of course, do come back once you’ve read the book. I want as many reactions from those who’ve experienced it, as we can post here.
One thing I didn’t play-up enough was what I felt were Aaron’s possible tributes to RICK AND MORTY as a secondary aspect to the story. Anyone familiar with the show will know what I mean… and perpetual thanks to Thad and Sam for turning me on to it!
What's good: (1) A new American-made Scrooge comic, which relates in some recognizable ways to some of the Scrooge comics I love!
(2) The direct tie-in with Rosa's explanation of how Scrooge's reconnection with his family redeemed him and brought him out of bitter seclusion. As you note, that's a good use of Rosa's L&T framework to create an evil Scrooge whose greed is unbridled. Thinking of Barks's approach to Scrooge's character, one might have to kill off Goldie in that universe in addition to derailing Donald on the way to Bear Mountain, to seal the deal on a thoroughly heartless Scrooge....
(3) Fine dialoguing here and there: I particularly liked (spoiler alert!) "I am Scrooge...uncle to no one!" That beautifully sums up the whole Rosa-inspired difference between Thanos-Scrooge and the other Scrooges. Also, the response of the other Scrooges to reformed-Thanos-Scrooge on the fifth panel of the next-to-last page is priceless.
(4) The art: my favorite is the two-page spread which shows the Scrooges back in their home universes.
To be continued!
What's disappointing: (1) It all comes down to physical fighting. Presumably our Scrooge had to use some cleverness and power of persuasion to get all the other Scrooges onboard, but we don't see that--we only see the fighting. The assembled Scrooges *talk* about the necessity of the joy of adventure and the importance of real human connection, but they don't use those elements to defeat Thanos-Scrooge in any perceptible way, aside from telling him he has nothing but a heap of cold metal.. They just "fight like Scrooges" and Donald also simply fights physically. Rosa casts Scrooge as a superhero/fighter in the Blackjack Saloon, but there's an element of over-the-top humor to that (and perhaps Scrooge's own mythologizing?)...and it's certainly not the main way Scrooge succeeds. He's tougher--not just a better fighter, but tough in his determination and in what he is willing to endure. He's smarter! Gyro's not the only clever one in Duckburg!
(2) On this same issue of fisticuffs, some of the writing of character falls apart. I particularly felt that child-Scrooge saying "I'll chew his kneecaps off" and responding to the question "How do we finish this?" with "That's easy. We'll beat him senseless." did not suit the character. Not that child-Scrooge wouldn't be willing to fight, but those lines are just ugly.
(3) Like you I am weary of multiverse stories...but if we're going to go there, the whole fun of a multiverse story is the differences between the parallel characters. Apart from the untrammeled greed and inner emptiness of Thanos-Scrooge, this story doesn't play with these differences at all. The closest it comes is in the artistic depiction of a few different money bins, and the inclusion of a few signature phrases ("Hooo-weee! It's a stampede!" "Hoots mon."). Maybe part of the problem here is that the different Scrooges are mostly based on different chapters in the L&T, so different points in the same character's life. My favorite Duck multiverse story is "Amelia e le due numero 1" (Magica and the two Number Ones) by Antonella Pandini. Magica gets the bright idea to steal Scrooge's Number One Dimes from two parallel universes. In one, Magica is wicked but has never figured out that an amulet made from Number One would enrich her, so Scrooge doesn't feel he needs to protect it. In the other, Magica and Scrooge are friends, and he’s willing to let her borrow his dime! I loved the chance to imagine how Magica might live a life not dominated by the obsession with Scrooge's dime. And how that would change Scrooge's life, as well! In The Infinity Dime there's no development of different life paths, aside from Thanos-Scrooge's turn to evil. The non-Thanos Scrooges are all the same Scrooge. Maybe if Jason Aaron had had more pages to work with, he could have developed their differences in some interesting ways.
Elaine:
In terms of “pure structure”, I like the way you broke your comments into two separate entries dividing “What's good” from “What's disappointing”. It gives one (well, ME, anyway) more of an opportunity to reflect on each co-existing viewpoint individually. To that end, I’m with you on all four “What's goods”!
As for the “What's disappointings”…
“It all comes down to physical fighting”. It’s MARVEL… it ALWAYS comes down to physical fighting!
From its Silver Age beginnings, to the repulsively over-rendered late ’80s-‘90s stuff that led to the just as repulsively over-rendered Image Comics – when those same creators left Marvel. ...And, presumably, beyond...
In the Silver Age, when Marvel was a game-changing industry innovator, it STILL always came down to physical fighting, but Stan Lee dressed it up with a dash of characterization – giving Peter Parker some high school problems, and having the members of The Fantastic Four bicker – and PRESTO instant “innovation”!
While, in retrospect, I thought (…and still do think) that Marvel was pretty good then (especially FANTASTIC FOUR, my overall favorite Marvel series)… before the one-time, self-proclaimed “House of Ideas” later descended in a hellish spiral of impossibly muscled, hyper-rendered characters with impossibly huge guns, and nauseatingly repulsive characters like Venom and Carnage…
…It was DC that I vastly preferred both then and until the early 21st century when they became both repetitive and more like the Marvel and Image that I so disdained! While Stan Lee should be forever lauded for what he brought to his comics, DC gets too little credit for also being quite clever and innovative!
Rather than an overreliance on (…all together now) “physical fighting” – and despite being the publisher most associated with the iconic pop-culture sound effects “POW!”, “BAM!”, and “BIFF!” – DC’s Silver Age heroes, more often than “civilians” might realize, thought (or even tricked) their way out problems. Sure, there was plenty of (…all together now, again) “physical fighting”, as any superhero saga is expected to have, but it was hardly as… as… well, inevitable as it was in their Marvel counterparts, where it often felt like just one fight after another (though pepped-up with some good dialogue by Lee).
DC also arguably introduced more true (and often oddball) innovative concepts to its Silver Age lineup (The Bizarro World, Gorilla City, a plethora of weird transformations happening to its characters, the “Imaginary Tale”, and even the universe-spanning Green Lantern Corps – to name but a few), and was adept at pulling the old bait-and-switch at the climax of stories, in a way that left readers simultaneously “cheated” and impressed! Heck, DC even ushered-in the WHOLE SILVER AGE with its bold reimagining of dormant, former Golden Age heroes like The Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, and The Atom.
…But it’s always Marvel that hailed as the innovator – while, in reality, DC and Marvel share in that honor!
Since I’ve said so much here, I’ll follow Elaine’s lead and give you a (perhaps welcome) bit of separation. See you in my next comment…
Welcome back!
If there is one overall fault to this story, it’s that it takes us a bit too far from Barks’ Scrooge! Oh, sure, there are loads of Barks-spawned details (as given “life” by Rosa), but I can’t ever imagine any Dell or Gold Key era Scrooge in a story like this!
It actually NEEDS Rosa as an intermediate “building block” in order to succeed and, to that end, Jason Aaron does a fine job in using Barks – and, more critically, Rosa – as his foundation. But that (…all together now) “Marvel Specificity” is always lurking in the background (“It all comes down to physical fighting” ) that continues to separate it from Barks and Rosa in a not-damning-but-noticeable way!
I also agree with you on some of the dialogue… though perhaps on the world this “child-Scrooge” hails from, children are more feral and beast-like, with child-Scrooge being still more of an extreme case than his “mates on the moors”. “Uglier” lines than those are probably uttered every day at the school lunch table.
To personalize the matter just a tad, there were several examples of lines of dialogue and narration that I, as a fellow writer for Disney comic book material, would not be able to use, or get away with even if I cared to try. I count at least six more story-wide, beyond those examples Elaine sites as uttered by the (presumably feral) child-Scrooge.
I’m not objecting to any of it, to be sure, as it fits well the story being told. Just noting the possible advantage in working for Disney’s Marvel, as opposed to an “ordinary licensee.”
“In The Infinity Dime there's no development of different life paths, aside from Thanos-Scrooge's turn to evil. The non-Thanos Scrooges are all the same Scrooge. Maybe if Jason Aaron had had more pages to work with, he could have developed their differences in some interesting ways.”
While that would indeed have been nice to see, I feel Aaron made the most of the 30 pages allotted to him, ultimately resulting in a reasonable and satisfying length for the tale – keeping it from becoming an overlong trip to Tedious-ville as was “Scrooge’s Last Adventure”, which overstayed its welcome by about two issues. Or 1990’s “Scrooge’s Quest”, which overstayed ITS welcome by ALL SEVEN of its issues!
…Besides, some room had to be left for all that (…all together now) “physical fighting”!
Here's an interesting thought... I can't help but wonder what Don Rosa, himself, would think of this story!
Before I put my two cents in, a quick question, Joe... with regard to DC's Silver Age, did you happen to read "The New Frontier" by Darwyn Cooke? This is one of my favorite DC comics... and I can only imagine that for a person who read scores of Silver Age comics it could be an ever more enjoyable read.
Absolutely did... and absolutely was! Also enjoyed the DVD animated version! Something special indeed!
Having the same wariness (and weariness) of self-serious crossovery Duck epics as yourself, and if anything less of a taste for the physical-fighting-based superhero comics this is tying in with, I was leery of bothering with this one. But if there's enough there for you to give it a reasonably positive review, perhaps I'll give it a glance… I have to concur that it seems strangely muddled to use a "Spider-Verse", multiverse-team-up scenario on Scrooge but restrict yourself to Don-Rosa-based "Scrooges through the ages". For all my preference towards viewing the vast majority of Duck media as being in continuity with one another insofar as it matters, it does seem to me, from an outside view, that the 'obvious' thing would have been comics-Scrooge teaming up with NewDuckTales!Scrooge, ClassicDuckTales!Scrooge, and so forth… Or, of course, they could have made up more zany what-ifs in the vein of that Thanos-Scrooge. Odd. But I'll reserve final judgement until I've read the thing. Thank you very much for the view, Joe, and sorry I've been scarce! Been fairly Horrifically Busy myself lately — but I am at last on holiday for the summer, so expect to see more of me in the coming months!
I remember a lettercol, back in the days when lettercols were a thing, in which a writer wrote in to inquire if there was a Disney Universe, and the editor replied no, there wasn't I don't recall if this was during Gladstone I, Disney, Gladstone II, or Gemstone, but I questioned the editorial response then and I do so now. There most definitely IS a Disney Universe, and a story like Uncle Scrooge and the Infinity Dime proves it. While my appreciation of epics such as DC's Crisis on Infinite Earths or Marvel's Super Secret Wars is strong, I, like the other commenters in this thread, prefer this stuff in smaller doses. For the record, I also am a huge fan of DC's All Star Squadron, which I consider one of the best-written comic book series ever, and certainly that one fits into this mold.
However, that said, I ain't a huge fan of applying this same concept to the Disney Universe, though of course it's been going on for decades. I have a coffee mug that has Steamboat Willie Mickey painting 30's color Mickey painting Sorcerer's Apprentice Mickey and so forth. There is the Mickey X series from Papercutz which also employs parallel universes, to say nothing of several other examples from comics or cartoon series (Blotman, for one). But all the same this is a highly engaging Uncle Scrooge story, very well-written and clearly in homage to the great Uncle Scrooge writers/artists of the past.
It's a little startling to find that "our" Scrooge is not the "main" Scrooge in this story. Yet the point is deftly made that "our" Scrooge is kindlier and gentler than his rogue counterpart. That makes us like and root for him all the more, once that recognition has been established.
One reason I tend to object somewhat to "derivative" stories like this one--stories that depend to some degree on one's knowledge of an earlier story or stories--is that without that foundational knowledge of the source material the meaning can sometimes be lost. The reader who is familiar with the writings of Barks and Rosa definitely has an advantage over the reader who does not. And one more quibble is that by either adding onto or taking away from an earlier story like Christmas on Bear Mountain can sometimes undermine the delight in future re-readings of the original. It's kind of like what was done with Cinderella in "A Twist in Time" where the original story gets a complete overhaul--it makes for an engaging present story, but renders re-watching the original a little problematic once an alternate reality has been visited upon it. And the film "Saving Mr. Banks" really doesn't mean a lot without a prior familiarity with the film "Mary Poppins," yet does one need "Banks" in order to appreciate "Poppins"?
However, I commend and applaud Mr. Jason for his efforts! I appreciate his appreciation, as expressed in that cover page, and I'm sure he has the capacity to present many more Scrooge stories in future. It was very readable and very enjoyable! My reservations listed above notwithstanding, there is a time and place occasionally for this type of story, and it looks like Uncle Scrooge is in very capable hands.
WOW! When I asked you folks to LIGHT IT UP, you sure took me seriously! Thank you, all! Let's get into more replies...
Achille:
Welcome back! Always glad to see you haunt these hallowed halls!
A “reasonably positive review” is probably the best way to describe my reaction to this addition to the life and times of Scrooge McDuck (lower case “l” and “t”, and with no surrounding quotes indicating a story title). A lot to like, but with just enough to view it askance. If Barks’ great and forever classic “Back to the Klondike” - a story with its own share of (…all together now) “physical fighting”, even if most of it was excised from its original printing and its earlier American reprints – is a TEN, this would be, my particular sensibilities considered, a solid SEVEN! …Again, as I’ve become so fond of saying, "your mileage may vary."
The important takeaway here is that, where Don Rosa largely based his career on tributing Carl Barks, Jason Aaron based his story on tributing Don Rosa (…with a little Marvel thrown in)! And I’m glad that we’ve actually reached that type of “Generational Homage” in America, when it comes to Disney Comics! It’s something I never thought I’d see among Americans!
Yeah, sure, my Core Four colleagues and I tribute the great Disney comics of the past – and their creators – quite regularly in our American English scripts, but the original stories THEMSELVES were not necessarily written to BE homages to those stories and creators. I’ve lost count of how many “lost chapters” of Don Rosa’s “Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck” I’ve peppered my scripts with, but Jason Aaron has created a FULL STORY to be such a homage to Rosa’s “Life and Times”! That IS to be admired!
And, hey… as long as multiversal crossovers are now an “official Disney thing”, why NOT (as you suggest) have Scrooge team up with his DuckTales counterparts (both “new” and “classic”) to defeat “Mega-Magica” (a melding of all three Magicas) or something!
Back about 1981-82, when the American Whitman Comics were entering their death throes, I entertained the idea of then present-day Emil Eagle, plucking the 1939 Phantom Blot out of the timestream to be a partner in off-the-charts ultra-crime! Unbeknownst to the pair, the 1939 “Floyd Gottfredson Mickey Mouse” followed the “blank-eyed Blot” to 1981, where he seeks-out and teams up with the then present-day “Paul Murry Mickey” to set things to right – but not before the present-day “Paul Murry Phantom Blot” (eyeballs and all) also becomes involved!
Of course, I said “Naaah! They’d never do a story like this!” …But, now? If CASTY ever wants to take my springboard and turn it into something great, he can have it with my complements! I’m here Casty… drop me a line! …But you must use my original title; “When Mickeys Meet”! Deal?
Do let us know what you think after you read it, and looking forward to “see[ing] more of [you] in the coming months!” Enjoy your summer holiday!
Scarecrow:
Once learning of, and accepting wholeheartedly, the “universe” concept from DC, I’ve been a proponent to the present day!
Back in the days of “When Mickeys Meet”, when I took these things more seriously than I do now, separate universes (…or “univi”, as I would facetiously designate the multiple of “universe”), were the best way to reconcile the conflicting common elements of DC, Marvel, Disney, Warner Bros. (both animation and classic-era films), Hanna-Barbera, Walter Lantz, Popeye, Star Trek, Irwin Allen, Rod Serling, Alfred Hitchcock, Universal Horror, Hammer Horror, and any other area I was into at the time.
This pop-culture compartmentalization would later continue into such properties as Doctor Who, Judge Dredd/2000 AD, The Simpsons, Family Guy, Stargate; Babylon 5, Chucky/Child’s Play, The Walking Dead, and most recently Rick and Morty. Each one neat and cozy in its own tightly-bound universe! How else could a fan view such a myriad of overlapping things and not be driven buggy by the details?
Why, there’s even an issue of COMICS BUYER’S GUIDE somewhere out there where, in the letter column (yes, I miss those too), I went so far as to reconcile the 1966 BATMAN TV SHOW with the ‘80s BATMAN comics I was then reading, by declaring that the TV show took place on Earth-ABC TV, where all master criminals looked remarkably like different celebrities of our Earth Prime, and the only other heroes besides Batman, Robin, and Batgirl were The Green Hornet and Kato! …I wish I had saved my copy of it!
GOOGLE SEZ I GOTTA BREAK HERE TO FIT IT ALL IN, so To Be Continued in the next comment!
We're back, responding to Scarecrow...
I’m surprised and delighted at your being such a fan of ALL STAR SQUADRON! For me, it was always among DC’s best titles of the period. As for being “best-written”, it was by Roy Thomas – who was comics history personified!
Even though I have (literally) not read it since buying it in 1984 (!), I cannot forget ALL STAR SQUADRON ANNUAL #3 and its plot to murder Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941 – and future US presidents (in whatever form or situation they were in during 1941), with a jarring climax future mystery unresolved! Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman; Dwight Eisenhower; John F. Kennedy; Lyndon B. Johnson; Richard Nixon; Gerald Ford; Jimmy Carter; and Ronald Reagan were all depicted – and mentioned by name! Unforgettable… even after spending 40 untouched years in a Mylite and comics long box!
Needless to say, I’m fine with the concept of a Disney Universe, but bristle a bit by its brushing with Marvel’s. Even if “Infinity Dime” minimizes that aspect, the next two releases (“Wolverine” and “Thor”) do not, and will not benefit from the skills of Jason Aaron. The too-close association with Marvel aside, I also fear, based on the preview of (“Wolverine”), that the American English dialogue scripts will be of the Comixology or Erin Brady school… and we had enough of that at the end of IDW’s run!
You write: “One reason I tend to object somewhat to ‘derivative’ stories like this one--stories that depend to some degree on one's knowledge of an earlier story or stories--is that without that foundational knowledge of the source material the meaning can sometimes be lost. The reader who is familiar with the writings of Barks and Rosa definitely has an advantage over the reader who does not.”
Like it or not – and I DON’T – that IS the state of entertainment products today! I’m hard-pressed to name any such product of the 21st century to which this doesn’t apply, to one degree or another.
For instance, I love the WALKING DEAD TV shows (don’t care for the art style of the comics and so never got into them, but that’s another story), but I could never tell even a zombie-loving friend who had not seen “all that has come before” to watch them. He or she would be totally lost! Same goes for modern STAR TREK and even RICK AND MORTY! In the latter case, Thad and Sam (thank you again!) were wise enough to show me two hilariously imaginative early episodes from Season One to get me hooked. Season Six had already completed and was heading toward Season Seven at the time.
A more contemporary episode, being less understandable, would have not overcome my general resistance to modern animated series – BUT THOSE DID! So, now I have all seven seasons on DVD/Blu ray, have rounded up all the Rick and Morty comics (and have read many of them – and am continuing to read them as I go along) and have become the guy in charge of indexing all Rick and Morty comics at GCD! How ‘bout that!
GOOGLE SEZ I GOTTA BREAK ONCE AGAIN TO FIT IT ALL IN, so To Be Continued Once Again in the next comment!
We're back, ONCE AGAIN, responding to Scarecrow... Thanks, Google!
But, yes… anyone without the Barks and (especially) Rosa back-knowledge is at a disadvantage when reading this story, but can still get enough enjoyment from it in stand-alone mode! It’s not really different from reading the great Casty Mickey Mouse story “Trapped in the Shadow Dimension”, without first reading both Floyd Gottfredson’s “Island in the Sky” and Romano Scarpa’s “Mickey Mouse in the Delta Dimension”. …Talk about “Generational Homages”!
I did the translation and dialogue for “Trapped in the Shadow Dimension” as it appeared in Fantagraphics’ DISNEY MASTERS #19 (2022), and believe me I could not have done anywhere near as good a job as I did without being steeped in the preceding Gottfredson and Scarpa stories! I even re-read both of 'em before beginning the script, just to be sure of things! I wouldn't be surprised if it were the same for Casty when he originally wrote it!
As with “Infinity Dime”, I firmly believe that a reader’s enjoyment of “Trapped in the Shadow Dimension” is significantly heightened by a prior knowledge of the Gottfredson and Scarpa stories, but it’s not impossible to enjoy it as a stand-alone – especially when as much “backstory” as is (minimally) necessary can be found in the dialogue and captions! …Yep, I’ve always gotcher back, folks!
You also write: “And one more quibble is that by either adding onto or taking away from an earlier story like Christmas on Bear Mountain can sometimes undermine the delight in future re-readings of the original. It's kind of like what was done with Cinderella in ‘A Twist in Time’ where the original story gets a complete overhaul--it makes for an engaging present story, but renders re-watching the original a little problematic once an alternate reality has been visited upon it. .”
I can see your point, but “Infinity Dime” doesn’t diminish “Christmas on Bear Mountain” for me, as it happened “somewhere else” in a universe far, far, away, if you will! If anything, I’d say it ENHANCES the criticality of “Christmas on Bear Mountain” as a significant foundation block of the… er, um… Disney Comics Universe! …And, for that, I once again salute Jason Aaron.
HA! I BEAT YOU, GOOGLE! YOU TRIED TO INHIBIT ME WITH YOUR ARBITRARY CHARACTER LIMITS, BUT I WILL NOT BE CONTAINED! THE TRUTH WILL ALWAYS PREVAIL! GOT IT, GOOGLE?! DON'T MESS WITH THIS HUMBLE BLOGGER, LEST YOU CHOKE DOWN SOME HUMBLE PIE!
WHEW! Some day, huh?
This may be as much as I've ever written in a single day, without being paid for it! :-)
I LOVE IT! Keep it coming, because tomorrow's always another day!
The old Blog's got some life left in it, eh? Color me "energized"... that is if "energy" could be considered as a color!
Thanks to all who participated - and will (hopefully) continue to do so! Great stuff!
Having seen a synopsis for it, The Donald Duck Thor one-shot sounds a little bit better than the Wolverine story. https://www.marvel.com/articles/comics/marvel-disney-what-if-donald-duck-became-thor
As for your question, I don’t think Don Rosa would like this. Rosa sometimes seems more than a little bit bitter when anyone else takes his ideas and runs with them. He might appreciate the introduction page. Rosa is a Barks fan and not necessarily a Disney fan.
Unfortunately, I had more to do this weekend than I planned, so my longer comment will probably appear in a couple of days, when I find some time to write it... but before that I need to ask a question, Joe: is the Gyro talking to Scrooges on the page you uploaded meant to be our regular Gyro? His clothes would indicate that, but I can't imagine the main universe version of Gyro addressing Scrooge (or any other person, for that matter) as "idiot".
Even here in Poland, where - per a translation traditon - he is on a first-name basis with Scrooge rather than calling him "Mr McDuck", he virtually never uses such aggressive words in conversations and remains civil and polite, so that "idiots" quote really strikes me as out of character. Could that be some influence from new "Duck Tales", where, as I understand, he is portrayed as crankier and more abrasive?
A few days after I got the Marvel book, the newest Disney Masters volume, “Uncle Scrooge: World Wide Witch” by Daniel Branca arrived in my mailbox. As much as I liked Marvel’s Uncle Scrooge, THIS is the good stuff. Branca’s art is really lively and he managed to stick with a traditional page layout, which in some ways, really helps the pacing of these stories compared to the Marvel book. I also think that he drew a fantastic Magica DeSpell! These stories also have more of something that Marvel’s book was light on…humor. Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge may have gotten into a lot of fantastic adventures, but even the most serious Don Rosa story would still have something funny in there. That is one of the main reasons that I like Disney comics, they remind us that there’s always something funny to any situation. Looking at The Infinity Dime, there’s really only one real laugh in the whole story, when the Beagle Boys are confronted with an army of angry Donalds. The rest is all references to Rosa and Marvel Comics. (The Council of Gyros is a reference to The Council of Reeds, which may have been what inspired the Rick and Morty gag of The Concil of Ricks. I didn’t know that until this article pointed it out: https://comicbook.com/comics/news/disney-uncle-scrooge-mcduck-infinity-dime-marvel-comic-thanos-multiverse-ducktales/). I still liked Marvel’s book, but a steady diet of them would get old after awhile.
SO MANY COMMENTS SO FAR! THANK YOU! BUT PLEASE CONTINUE TO SEND YOUR THOUGHTS RIGHT HERE! I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE MORE OF THEM!
...I wonder how my Blogs are doing in those other universes ("univi")?
I hear that "1990s-Letterhack Joe's Blog" is getting even more feedback than mine!
...We can't have that, can we?
Of course we're beating the polyester pants off of "1970s-Hiatus-from-Comics Joe's Blog"! Poor guy! Can you blame him with so much Kay Wright and Bob Gregory Duck art to slog through?
Deb (you write):
“I don’t think Don Rosa would like this. Rosa sometimes seems more than a little bit bitter when anyone else takes his ideas and runs with them. He might appreciate the introduction page.”
That’s why I wondered about this… Would Rosa be possessive over his unique concepts that have solidly become canon, or would he be flattered by their use? I’d lean toward the former, but I don’t believe the latter is entirely out of the question.
“A few days after I got the Marvel book, the newest Disney Masters volume, ‘Uncle Scrooge: World Wide Witch’ by Daniel Branca arrived in my mailbox. As much as I liked Marvel’s Uncle Scrooge, THIS is the good stuff. ”
I COULDN’T AGREE WITH YOU MORE, DEB!
This is exactly what I mean when I refer to “MY Donald”, “MY Scrooge”, “MY Mickey”, etc.!
“MY Donald” wouldn’t… Urk!... “become Wolverine” (or Thor) even to win a bet with Gladstone! As noted, I don’t even care for him as Duck Avenger! These are just a misguided someone’s idea of pushing the envelope and making a great character something that character is not! Sheer exploitation for exploitation’s sake. Just because you CAN do something (because you’re Marvel) doesn’t mean you SHOULD!
While, on a good day, I MIGHT accept Scarpa’s ORIGINAL interpretation of Donald as Duck Avenger, it’s still over the boundaries of Barks – unless it was strictly a one-shot deal, and not an ongoing barnacle on the Duck’s continuity – and, even then, the character is stretched beyond the norms that caused me to love the character in the first place!
The more recent (non-Scarpa) Duck Avenger that was published toward the end of IDW’s run is “totally off the charts” – but not in the “good way” we generally associate with that phrase. Talk about making a character something he’s not! …Totally unrecognizable to anyone steeped in Barks and the talents who emulated him. THAT “Duck Avenger” belongs in some sequestered universe with “Feral-Child-Scrooge”!
Same for Wolverine and Thor… blatant exploitation of Disney’s acquisition of Marvel that (in my admittedly knee-jerk reaction) hits enough conceptually wrong notes that, unlike “Infinity Dime” - which also embraced a relationship with Marvel, though far less blatantly exploitive – I will pass on those next two… and hope they don’t become an ongoing series of such one-shots.
Though, if they are ever clever enough to try “What If…? DONALD DUCK Became HOWARD THE DUCK”, I’d be first on line for that one!
GOTTA BREAK AGAIN... THANKS, GOOGLE!
HERE WE GO AGAIN, DEB... SPRING BREAK - YAY! ...GOOGLE BREAK - BOOO!
Your observation about HUMOR is spot on! Humor is exactly was needed to temper the expected Mighty Marvel Angst and the abundance of (…all together now) “physical fighting”! While it certainly WAS there, there just wasn’t quite enough “there” there!
In the new Disney Masters volume, “Uncle Scrooge: World Wide Witch”, it’s “there” to the degree it should be. As the scripter of “That’s…Entertainment?!”, I made sure to keep the humor quotient high. Multiple stories in the volume are scripted by the great Geoffrey Blum – the Parton Saint of those of us who write such scripts today! Also included (in story printing order) are Byron Erickson, Gary Leach, Thad Komorowski, John Lustig, David Gerstein, and Jonathan Gray – all reliable hands who know a thing-or-twenty about peppering Duck scripts with humor! It’s just part of the game… a critical part!
The Council of Reeds, being a gathering of different versions of the Fantastic Four’s REED RICHARDS, may be more influential on The Council of Gyros simply because of it being a Marvel concept… BUT, if I read the linked – and additional one-level-deeper-linked – article correctly, The Council of Reeds dates back to 2019 while RICK AND MORTY’S Council of Ricks made its debut in a TV episode of 2014! So, despite Reed Richards being one of my most favorite Marvel characters, and barring any additional “Council of Reeds” evidence to the contrary, I’ll throw this one to Rick! …He’d like that!
HERE’S Deb’s link for your deep diving pleasure!
Note the one commonality uniting all three Councils… They are made of many alternate universe versions of “one really smart guy”… Rick Sanchez, Reed Richards, and now Gyro Gearloose… gotta love that!
T.:
You’re quite right that “Our Gyro” would not address Scrooge - ANY Scrooge – like that! Perhaps he’s having an off day, or maybe the psyche-trauma of coming beak-to-beak with so many alternate versions of himself is responsible for his unusual behavior.
Or maybe the Gyro AT THE RIGHT OF THE PANEL is “Our Gyro”, and the one speaking was pulled from “Scrooge-Above-All’s” universe, where manners and decorum are simply less of a societal priority… sorta like the way the United States has been heading these last few presidential cycles.
Come to think of it, the Gyro’s don’t seem all that different, do they?
To have done this more in line with the different Scrooges, you might have had Fulton Gearloose, Newton Gearloose, “Paul Murry Gyro” (whose occasional appearances in Mickey Mouse serials always looked different from Barks and Tony Strobl’s versions), “Original DuckTales Gyro”… and most glaringly absent of all… “Fat Gyro” from early 1950s Barks!
…And why don’t they all have (differently designed?) Helpers? …Or even Thinking Caps full of different types of birds?
I’m not sufficiently steeped in the realm of “New DuckTales” to comment on its Gyro… mostly because Disney has only released a tiny fraction of the episodes on DVD/Blu-ray! C’mon, Big “D”, what’s up with THAT??!
I’ll close by wondering if I’m “smart” enough for there to be a “Council of Joes”! I’ll stop there, just in case I don’t like the answer! Looking forward to your coming comments!
Gotta admit, we’re sure HAVING FUN with this stuff, aren’t we?
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