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...
