Friday, January 29, 2016

On Sale January 06, 2016: UNCLE SCROOGE # 10 from IDW.



Why would anyone want to choke a duck, point derisively, or stare at a diamond ring (Ya gotta admit, a lot's happening on that cover!) when they could be reading UNCLE SCROOGE # 10 (Legacy Numbering # 414) from IDW!

In it, you’ll find "The Eternal Knota story from the Italian TOPOLINO # 355 (1962) and “New to the USA”, written by Abramo and Giampaolo Barosso, penciled by Romano Scarpa, inked by Rodolo Cimino, with Translation and Dialogue by the Archduke of Archival Editing David Gerstein.   



We begin in 1902, which is only possible because our story takes place in 1962...



Snowed-in gold miner Scrooge gets cabin fever.  Say, does his official biographer Don Rosa know about "Aunt Molly" and "Cousin Clem"?  



...Or, Uncle Rumpus and Uncle Gideon, for that matter? 


I'm STILL waiting to learn what "Bone-Tractor" is! 
His mining partners take it in stride... 


Did they say "CHILL OUT" in 1902?
Until...



I dunno... Does "Bafflewitz" remind you of "Wolowitz" from THE BIG BANG THEORY?  Either way, lets not go losing our... "witz" over it!  (Pardon!) 




They each kick in a large sum of gold, and here's the kicker...


I wasn't around in 1902 to get in on that action, though I was around in 1962 to see the start of Gold Key Comics...



...But, if I was, I would have certainly - and happily - lost the bet!  


From MICKEY MOUSE # 2, some folks you may know...
So, now it's 1962, we've made the transition from Dell Comics to Gold Key Comics...




...THE FLINTSTONES and THE JETSONS are on TV in Prime Time...



...And Scrooge McDuck suddenly falls in love and wants to get married!  A chapter clearly omitted from his "Life and Times" biography!   

Not to Glittering Goldie...



Brigitta MacBridge...



Or even Millionaria Vanderbucks, mind you...



But to...



Gotta love this next panel...



So, in order to get hitched, and not lose the bet, Scrooge checks-up on the whereabouts of his former partners, and finds most of them have met their maker (...and I don't mean Romano Scarpa), such as in THIS MAGNIFICENT PUN on the part of Mr. Gerstein!



The one remaining survivor is a bachelor cave-hermit who causes no small amount of trouble for Donald.  



Don't ya love that EVEN HE wears the standard-issue "White Gloves"!

Where we go from from here I'll not spoil, but I will say that - very oddly - the problems resolve themselves OFF-PANEL, and are conveyed to the reader through exposition!  Quite unusual! 

  
A Grandma and Gus gag comes before our second feature...



The Beagle Boys in "Love is Never Having to Say You're Sentenced" from Danish publisher Egmont and “New to the USA”, written by the great Gorm Transgaard, Art by Maximino Tortajada Aguilar - with Title and Dialogue by Yours Truly!  




The Beagle Boys can be released from their prison term. if they prove themselves capable of holding an "honest job"


And, so they get an "honest job" courtesy of original writer Transgard - and names courtesy of li'l old me!  


After all, thought I, how could they function properly in the working world being addressed by their prison numbers?  I doubt I need to elaborate on the influences for their names...


For our befuddled Beagles, getting used to names isn't easy...


Workplace romance complications ensue.  


How 'bout that, a Carl Barks AND a Romano Scarpa reference in one li'l ol' dialogue balloon!  Giggle!  



Um, complications SURE DO ensue...


Yup, ensue they do... 


Well, I'll not give you the lowdown on the caper here, but suffice it to say there's trouble ahead!  

Unlike some of those Carl Barks stories that were finished decades later by Don Rosa or Daan Jippes...


..."Love is Never Having to Say You're Sentenced" may have one of the longest-ever gestation periods in the hands of a single creator.  I scripted the first page and a half of this story in 2009 intended for Gemstone - and completed it in the latter part of 2015 for IDW!  

In fact, here's the exact point at which I resumed in 2015 - now with TWO Beagle Boys "Robot Robber" stories to reference, instead of only Barks' 1965 original!  


I also set out to write the "Gold Key Beagle Boys", as seen in their own title.  


Meaning that they were somewhat "dim", but smart enough to know it... as exemplified by this panel!  


As I often say, you won't find stuff like this anywhere else on the Internet, folks!  

So, don't let any "First Dates From Heck" deter you from picking up a copy of UNCLE SCROOGE # 10 (Legacy Numbering # 414) from IDW!  


And NEVER hold a contest to see who among your friends will be the LAST ONE to read it, because the "winner" of such a contest will truly be the "loser"!  


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.

Then, let's all meet back here in the Comments Section to discuss another great issue from IDW - and try to keep our names straight when we do!