Lead On, McDuck.

Was Ducktor Who foreseen? Nah, but I want to play along and assume it was.

In 2008, BBC Books published a Doctor Who tie-in novel by Lance Parkin called The Eyeless. It's a grim story set during the waning years of The 10th Doctor's tenure as "The Doctor" as he wanders through an urban dystopian landscape, seeking out an unusual power source sought after by a race of eyeless, ethereal, transparent aliens. It's a gloomy affair, but he gets the job done. It's certainly readable - I recommend you check it out; I recall it's available to download in E-book format, or just hunt for a carbon copy to buy online.

What's this got to do with Ducktales? Well, the 10th Doctor was played by David Tennant, the actor who succeeded the late Alan Young as the voice of Scrooge McDuck in the new revival of the 80's cartoon. The announcement of his casting inspired a slew of Doctor Who + Ducktales ="Ducktor Who" fanart. His casting was a huge surprise to me and the rest of the world; he simply wasn't on anyone's betting pool for the part, but when he was revealed, nobody cried foul. In fact, if there's one thing that old fans seem amicable about in the steady buildup to the big premiere, it that's the new actors seem okay. It's the new character designs/personalities for the nephews and new look of the show that's got fans' feathers ruffled..

Ah, the irony. I can recall that, for decades, Ducktales was often judged harshly by so-called "purists" as a crass deformation of the Carl Barks material. Now the new revival is being looked down in terms of fidelity to that same cartoon! It's all humbug, to me. I'm still amazed we're getting new episodes at all. I want to see this new series - I'm looking forward to it.

In the final 1/3 of The Eyeless, The Doctor drops a reference to Scrooge McDuck as Ebenezer Scrooge in Mickey's Christmas Carol, with the line, "Lead on, McDuck." The character/companion whom he's dropping this line to doesn't really get the nod...and the Doctor's way of explaining why he said it - that the nature of the short trips to the past, present and future of his companion's timeline/lifespan is reminiscent of the Ghosts of Christmas Spirit accompanying Scrooge in Mickey's Christmas Carol and has repercussive effects felt on the traveler - is so offhand that it's really oddly put; I had to read those passages several times to understand it.

So...I thought that was a fun bon-bon to chew on among the other Ducktales bon-bons we've been fed. We were shown hints that the crew knows who these characters are, knows about the old comics, knows about the new comics, remembers the lyrics to the theme song, has a tie-in comic book coming to coincide with the premiere..there was even a life-size replica of the inside of Scrooge's bin as a photo-op booth at the Disney23 convention... They KNOW. We just have to watch. We've been assured we're not getting a journeyman effort from this team.

...confidentially...I DO wish they had kept Scrooge's coat blue with the red collar, cuffs and matching spats. Was that so much to keep?

#Top5ComicBooks of 2015 - #2 : #DisneyComics from IDW Publishing

When I attend comic book shows/conventions, I wear a button that says "I read Disney Comics", depicting Mickey Mouse riding a rocket through Outer Space, a la Calvin as 'Spaceman Spiff' from Calvin & Hobbes. And now that IDW Publishing has been offering comics with the stock Disney staples in their stable, it's not just a matter of recommending people to search Ebay and grimey back-issue bins; you can read new comics, available at retail, alongside new issues of your favorite incarnation of Doctor Who or Spider-Man or Spider-Woman or Green Lantern or Superman or Deadpool or Batman or whichever superhero has multiple incarnations existing concurrently on shelves.

The Disney Comics by Carl Barks and Don Rosa are available in handsome hardcover editions published by Fantagraphics; Joe Books has the license to comics featuring characters from Disney Feature Films and Television shows (a new Darkwing Duck ongoing series will debut in April); Disney's common-law wife, Marvel Comics, has The Muppets, Star Wars and comics based on Disney Park rides; IDW has Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy (aka Goofus D. Dawg, aka, George Geef, aka, Dippy Dawg), Pluto (when will HE get his own book?), Huey, Dewey, Louie, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Ludwig Von Drake, Daisy Duck, Peg-Leg-Pete, The Beagle Boys, Super Goof, Gladstone Gander, Gus Goose, the Duck Avenger and...big fanfare...Scrooge McDuck. IDW won.

The bulk of the material featured in IDW's lineup consists of reprinted material originally published outside the U.S...one of the advantages of this is a larger page count than most of the comics carrying a $3.99 price tag, plus the stories are densely plotted. The scripts are translated into English with a strong flavor to make them more palatable to readers old & new; kudos to the roundtable of scripters (Joe Torcivia, David Gerstein, Thad Komorowski, Gary Leach and Jonathan Gray, to name a few) for keeping the characterization of these characters consistent while skillfully indulging in many inside jokes and pop culture nods, never once ringing any false notes. I'm positive Gray made a very subtle reference to the Transformers character Ultra Magnus in one Mickey story, and an obvious reference to Jem and The Holograms in a duck tale (not coincidently, both properties appear in comic books published by IDW).

As for the stories featured..these are not the "safe" pastiches of Barks and Floyd Gottfredson that were favored by past licensees like Bruce Hamilton (Gladstone Comics) and Steve Geppi (Gemstone Comics). We're being re-introduced to storytellers like Romano Scarpa, Giorgio Cavazzano, Andrea Castellan, Massimo DeVita and Giovani Batista Carpi. These guys love big concepts that venture into plots with a 1960s-1980s Saturday Morning cartoon air to them, often at risk of defying established character logic, challenging the reader to buy into what's happening: Duck Avenger's initial conception as a trickster allows for a fanwank scenario in which the original author can imagine Donald setting his cousin up as a thief AND trapping him in a decrepit mansion rigged to explode; secret agent Daisy Duck opts to disguise herself as a hapless ratchet tourist, wearing an outfit resembling Carol Burnett's "Charwoman" character; Scrooge tries to pass the buck after losing a wager that results in having to marry a character that exists entirely off-panel (!)...That's where the scripters come in. I'm waiting for that one script that acknowledges Donald concurrently works as a secret agent for three different agencies: the M.I.A. (McDuck Intelligence Agency, run by Donald's uncle), the T.N.T. (partnered with his cousin, Fethry Duck to solve paranormal mysteries) and the Cloak and Dagger (from the DoubleDuck series). Also keep in mind that he also runs around in superhero guise as the Duck Avenger And appears in new tales as the traditional Barksian "Everyman", and this is a very busy drake.

I also noticed a series of stories currently in Topolino featuring the Beagle Boys recalling their days as teenagers in High School; I would love to see Joe Torcivia's take on that, given that his Americanized scripts for solo-stories featuring the Beagles have a lot of fun bringing out the comedic sides to the longtime villains, particularly in "Love Is Never Having To Say You're Sentenced " (Uncle Scrooge #10).

By comparison, Mickey and Scrooge keep a simple status quo in their respective titles: "Detective-Adventure" tales for the mouse, "Comedy-Adventure" tales with Scrooge. Relatively obscure, fanciful, Smurf-like characters like Eega Beva and Atomo Blip-Blip oftentimes serve as Mickey's sidekick in some stories; Scarpa's "The Chirikawa Necklace" is a somewhat routine battle of wits with Peg-Leg-Pete made notable for two milestones: the introduction of Pete's girlfriend Trudy Van Tub, and an awesome scene depicting a traumatic experience in which Mickey recalls himself being kidnapped as an infant. Who needs Geronimo Stilton when you've got Mickey Mouse?

Next to Richie Rich and Bruce Wayne, Scrooge continues to be the most likable tycoon antihero in fiction, this time contending with manic rival John D. Rockerduck ( a character Barks created and used once, but was redesigned and used A LOT by Scarpa, Cavazzano, Carpi and others, even moreso than Flintheart Glomgold, it seems ).

One suggestion: when the current "Zodiac Stone" arc wraps up in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories ( that's a 12-part arc featuring loosely-connected stories with Mickey, Donald & Scrooge built around a quest for twelve pendants corresponding to zodiac symbols building up to a finale and inevitable showdown with Mickey's perennial archfoe, The Phantom Blot; not unlike a storyline from a season of Jackie Chan Adventures ), the book should try to showcase popular characters who don't carry their own books: Pluto, Scamp, Li'l Wolf, Bucky Bug, Super Goof, Oswald, Ludwig, Fethry, Moby Duck ( anyone remember HIM? ) and Ellesworth. A short tale by William Van Horn featuring Donald would be a familiar anchor of sorts, but I suspect Pluto's a safe bet as a big draw; that Pirates of The Caribbean-themed cover to Uncle Scrooge #10 had Pluto prominently. I'm actually surprised Disney Television Animation never thought of a Scooby-Doo-esque series starring Pluto for The Disney Afternoon..or for DisneyXD. Make it in CG, why not?

Honestly, I look forward to these books more than a lot of comic books offered right now. It's good stuff, don't miss ANY of it.

The Apocryphal Scrooge McDuck, Part 3

In this installment, I recall Donald and His Friends, which sounds like a serviceable title for a Disney coloring book marked $1.49 at a 99 cent store, but is actually the title of an oversize, fully-illustrated storybook from 1988. I suspect this book is a reprint and the original title was "Happy Birthday, Donald Duck!" or "Donald's Amazing Birthday Party" to coincide with the character's 50th birthday a few years prior. I still own a copy of "Happy Birthday, Bugs!", an oversize storybook published to coincide with Bugs Bunny's 50th birthday, but I don't know if that was ever reprinted as "Bugs and His Friends", which would be darkly ironic, since the "surprise party" depicted in that book devolved into a revenge plot after all the guests (all made up of Bugs' antagonists) recalled the many times the Wabbit had made fools of them.

Anyway...you didn't click on this article to read about Bugs Bunny - you want to know what makes Donald and His Friends count as an "apocryphal" Scrooge McDuck duck-tale. Okay. This book was special because it featured an all-star cast of Disney characters from the films and comic books, including an unnamed character who resembles Ellsworth the crow, who is virtually unknown to audiences in the USA, but audiences overseas might've recognized him, which led me to believe this book was indeed a reprint,  yet I wasn't able to prove that when I did an online search.

The plot could've been adapted as an episode of Disney's House of Mouse. It begins with Donald alone in his house,  dozing off on the couch after completing household chores,  when a knock on the door wakes him up. The guests begin to arrive. First Daisy shows up. Huey, Dewey and Louie show up. Goofy shows up (dressed as Donald's present - less messy than jumping out of a cake, I presume), then Pluto, Mickey and Minnie Mouse arrive. Mickey's "gift" is a magic show featuring a magic top hat that functions like a backwards nesting doll - characters from the Disney films appear from inside and begin to pop out: Alice, Peter Pan, then Merlin the wizard, who magically makes an enormous gift box appear, which has a massive birthday cake inside, from which two of the Disney Princesses appear - Snow White and Cinderella. Cinderelly's gift is a pumpkin that turns into a roadster that resembles Donald's Belchfire Runabout car that Carl Barks created for the comics, but with the color scheme resembling the "flying" version used by Donald in the Paperinik/Duck Avenger stories. I particularly liked the interesting, surreal, Dr. Seuss-ian escalation in the presentation of the characters and gifts - this wouldn't have been impressive as a teensy Little Golden Book, but works better with this format, which resembles the size presented for Seuss's longer stories, like Happy Birthday To You! and And To Think I Saw It On Mulberry Street, but it's inspiration most likely came from the Disney film The Three Caballeros, which also featured a birthday celebration for Donald Duck with a similar display of flamboyant character entrances.

The tone shifts when Scrooge arrives, unfashionably late, claiming to have been mugged, his "gift" for Donald stolen. Once it appears everyone present at the party would rather believe McDuck came to wolf down some free birthday cake...the most unforgettable moment in the book happens: Scrooge throws a fit.

Actually, the book describes him flying into "a rage", but I'm inclined to believe this was Scrooge's aria: he starts to trash Donald's house! Throwing gifts and anything not nailed down! The unfortunate thing about this book is that the destructive rampage is illustrated sparingly within the space of a few pages, offering ONE tantalizing image of the destruction capturing my imagination and staying in my head from the moment I first read it...A group of party crashers wind up bearing the brunt of McDuck's quack attack...and this group is made up of a sampling of the finest representatives of evil in the Disney films: Maleficent, Mad Madam Mim, Cruella de Vil, Medusa and the queen from Snow White, who was unnamed,  but because of the Disney-owned TV series Once Upon A Time is now known as Regina Mills or Queen Regina. It is truly a beautiful illustration, which brings up the sad point that the artist and writer of this book were uncredited and are unknown.

After the crones flee, the seven dwarves entertain rhe partygoers with music. Donald dances with Snow White.  Goofy and Clarabelle Cow dance the tango. Huey, Dewey and Louie follow up on the entertainment by showing a short cartoon  about Pluto chasing Ellsworth, who leads him to a surprise party held for the dog.

Then Gladstone Gander shows up. I think this is the first of only two appearances Gladstone has made in any of the Disney storybooks - the other appearance was in Donald Duck: Some Ducks Have All The Luck, a Little Golden Book. After presenting Donald with a gift that resembles an enormous perfume bottle (with an assist from an unnamed valet bearing a canny resemblance to Timothy Mouse from "Dumbo"), Gladstone recalls the bizarre gift he received from Scrooge on his birthday: a tiny, malfunctioning hourglass.  Gladstone gets revenge by claiming the hourglass was a lucky talisman, which makes Scrooge insist on buying it back, only to learn the hard way that he'd been had by his nephew. Then Chip & Dale show up at Donald's house with a surprise: they found Scrooge's gift for Donald - the hourglass he had bought back from Gladstone!  It's not implied in the text that Scrooge might have thought twice about his re-gifting strategy while on his way to Donald's house, decided it was a bad idea and ditched the hourglass while offering the story about being mugged as a cover for showing up empty-handed, but the artist's rendition of his face immediately after the denouement could imply that was what happened.

After that punchline, Donald offers his surprise for the guests: a fireworks show in his backyard, which becomes calamitous after Goify's pants catch fire from some stray sparks and is left standing in his boxers, but otherwise the party ends with everyone enjoying the festivities and Donald looking forward to next year's birthday party.

This book stood out because it was the only original story among a series of books that featured storybook adaptations of classic Disney animated films. The endpapers of the book show Scrooge in character as Ebeneezer Scrooge in Mickey's Christmas Carol amongst a large display of Disney characters, so a book adaptation of that film was also offered at some point. I remember they were displayed on a large table at Barnes & Noble - not unlike the way books featuring Disney characters are often displayed at bookstores,  though I've never seen this book offered again, which is sad, because it was very good. The uncredited illustrator didn't take advantage of the format to do anything ambitious (perhaps there was a plan to keep this book in print on various size formats at one point), which hints this was something cranked out, albeit well done, since the uncredited writer was clearly having fun dreaming up a surreal experience. Both contributors rose to the occasion with that cameo by the Disney villains.  It's definitely worth looking out for.

Here's a clue about the next installment of The Apocryphal Scrooge McDuck:

When is a "cameo guest star" not guest-starring at all? :)

The Apocryphal Scrooge McDuck, Part 2

As you can tell by the gap between installments, Scrooge McDuck's career as a character in children's books is pretty slight. Adaptations of Mickey's Christmas Carol notwithstanding, the bulk of his appearances beyond Scrooge and The Magic Fish are a series of cameos in various stories featuring the Disney stock company. He appears in two of the three books I'm covering in this post.

Mickey Mouse and The Marvelous Smell Machine was printed in 1979 and reprinted as Mickey Mouse Scratch and Sniff Book in 1990. The author and illustrator are uncredited. The plot, in one sentence,  involves Gyro Gearloose's latest invention: a deodorizing/air freshening "smell machine" that he gives to Mickey Mouse without telling him how to turn it off, so the machine creates havoc by generating random odors that cannot be controlled. Complicating matters is Goofy, who, thinking the device was intended as a donation to an antique fair, sells it to Scrooge, who apparently wasn't bothered by the clouds of pepper scent created by the machine but is highly perturbed when it spreads smoke fumes on the cash in his money bin and firefighters soak the greenbacks in water by mistake.

The drawback to "Scratch and Sniff" books is that there's clearly a limited palette to the fragrance labels available: lavender, clover, black pepper, smoke, mothballs and candied apple to name a few. I also recall popcorn, strawberries and honey fragrances,  but as the years go by...only smoke and pepper last the longest. None of these odors are particularly foul - in fact, the only time I recall an attempt at "air fouling" was the "Air Fouler" packed with the first issue of the Ren and Stimpy comic book. Anyway, these are classic Disney characters and they're supposed to be above that sort of funky thing, so this is moot.

For me, the real highlight of the book wasn't really the scratching and sniffing, but the detailed pen & ink artwork. The story is set in motion by "Gay Nineties Day" (I kid you not) an event within the unspecified town (it's implied that this story is set within Main Street at Disneyland or Walt Disney World and that Main Street is a town itself) where everyone is dressed in the style of the "Nifty" 1890s.  So the book has the illusion of being a period piece,  allowing the artist to draw Mickey and the gang in elaborate garb and not their standard outfits. I think the same artist worked on The Haunted House, a book where Mickey,  Donald and Pluto explore a deserted old house inhabited by a bank robber disguised as a ghost. Both were published around the same time.

Scrooge is not a bit player in Donald's Attic Adventure, but as with the last book, he does seem to have limits as a character in this sort of thing. He's a fully-realized, complete character;  you could do a story where he teaches kids about money, as they did in the cartoon, Scrooge McDuck and Money, or a story where he explores a cave and teaches you about precious stones and metals (they never did, to my knowledge)...but how would he fit in a story about his nephew searching the attic for stuff to sell at a yard sale? The author, Cindy West, answers that question by presenting Scrooge as a yard sale expert of sorts, not really helping Donald get rid of anything, but taking a fancy to a garish, oversize robe (who could that have possibly belonged to?), watching a parrot escape from being neglected in a cage in the attic (if the coloring of the plumage had been all green, he could've been the 'Pixelated Parrot' from Carl Barks' story) and join in on the street parade wearing (I'll hazard a guess) Goofy's nightrobe. Since this was published in 1990, he's in his Ducktales coat, too, which is actually a refreshing improvement over the bizarre color patterns attributed to his coat over the years. I always preferred this blue-with-red-collar frock coat over the Santa Claus red one with the grey collar, which has become uniform in the comics (when he appears in the Disney parks, it's in his blue coat as well). I guess Daisy Duck is wearing her Totally Minnie outfit - people forget the early-1990s still had some outrageous fashions hungover from the late-1980s,  as witnessed by TV shows like Saved By The Bell , Full House and Step By Step.

I included Huey, Dewey and Louie's Campfire Surprise because it was the first children's book I'd ever seen that was clearly illustrated with a computer. I thought it had a 3-D look to it when I first read it, but it's actually the use of computer coloring and shading, as well as the clock display and the font of the numbers showing the time...it almost resembled animation cels.

I have a BIG  book (literally and figuratively) waiting in the wings for the next installment. It's so big...I'll need to set up a stand to take pictures of it's cover and the pages!

To be continued....and enjoy the gallery!