I grew up reading Disney's comics, and one thing I like about how Disney handles their comic authors - although they may not write down their names or sign their work - is that the authors have the freedom of depicting Disney's characters quite freely. In the case of Uncle Scrooge, there are some authors who portray him as a real evil, greedy capitalist; while some others take another approach, showing Scrooge as a kindhearted duck who doesn't want to show his generosity, afraid of people taking advantages of him.

The authors are also free to write down the kind of story they like best and employ their own style; thus we have dark, psychological stories of Mickey; lighthearted, family-mouse Mickey; private eye Mickey; adventurous Mickey, etc.

With this liberty, Eisner Award-winner Don Rosa could create a masterpiece, a work that will always be remembered: an effort not only to construct Uncle Scrooge's past, but also the long history of the McDuck family, leading all the way to Donald and his nephews.

Blending history and pure fiction, featuring the likes of Theodore Roosevelt, Geronimo and other real-life characters, this book accompanies us through a journey as a witness to the making of modern America and the rise of capitalism there in the 19th and early 20th century - and how the piles of money don't really make Scrooge really happy in the end. So in the twelfth episode, the closing chapter of the epic, a clever take on The Christmas Carol (you know, Scrooge and all that...), the last of the McDucks learns once again of how important family is to him.

This is an ambitious work, diving deep into the characters of Scrooge and his family, but the results leave you ultra-satisfied yet craving for more. Even Mickey, the icon of the Disney kingdom, doesn't have a family history as complete as this.

It is one of the funniest comics I have read in my life. Moreover it is well documented, it has some deep thoughts and it shows Scrooge McDuck to be a very complex character. It is a comic which surprises the reader.

A grand and well crafted view of Scrooge McDucks life and adventures.

I've never been much of an "all ages" type of book reader. Sure, every now and again Ill pick up something that is more funny or light in tone, but I wouldn't say that that is my "go to" type of story. So when I saw this was next on my list of stuff to read, I hesitated... and maybe even rolled my eyes a bit.

But I was very wrong to judge a book by its cover. What this book is, besides a remarkably well written and very lively and interesting biography of fictional character, is a masterclass in execution of comics as a medium. I was impressed not only by the writing and art of Don Rosa, but also of how well he handles the comics format to flawlessly tell this story. Each scene transitions into the other beautifully, there are moments where no dialogue is used but instead Rosa lets the art tell the story, and the attention to detail heighten the overall quality of the book tremendously. From the background gags, to the "callbacks" to earlier stories, to the well rounded and well earned "to be continued" implied at the end, it all is a testament to a master of his craft, Don Rosa.

And yes, there are times where the story gets into some pretty cartoon level of comedy, which is definitely funny, but the book is about so much more. It touches on historical events, and takes us through a timeline of not only Scrooge McDuck, but also of the world as well... well loosely anyways. The art at times is breathtaking as well, which I was not at all ready for.

I think this was a wonderfully fun book that has constant surprises around every corner. From the art to the pacing, to the plot, its all done really, really well and I'm glad to have given this a shot.
Highly recommended for fans of adventure books written and drawn by one of comics great creators.

Farbror Joakims liv är en serieroman som inte bara fördjupar Disneys älskade ankliv, utan också lyfter fram Don Rosa som en av de främsta serieskaparna i sin genre.
Det här är en enormt älskad serie både för mig personligen men också allmänt.


Genom tolv sammanlänkade kapitel ger Rosa oss en episk biografi över Joakim von Anka, en karaktär vi trodde att vi kände, men som visar sig ha ett mycket rikare och mer komplext liv än vi kunnat ana.

Historien följer Joakim från hans fattiga uppväxt i Skottland till hans äventyr som ung vuxen och hans framgångar som världens rikaste anka. Rosa bygger skickligt vidare på Carl Barks skapelse och fyller berättelsen med både humor och hjärtskärande ögonblick. Joakim är inte bara en girig affärsman; han är också en karaktär fylld av drömmar, ambition och en vilja att aldrig ge upp, vilket gör honom otroligt mänsklig och relaterbar.

Jag ska erkänna att boken faktiskt slår på mina känslosträngar.

Don Rosas detaljrika teckningar är en fröjd att betrakta. Varje ruta är fylld med små detaljer och referenser som gör att man ständigt upptäcker något nytt vid varje omläsning. Hans förmåga att fånga känslor och atmosfär, från Skottlands karga landskap till Amazonas djungler, gör berättelsen levande och engagerande.

Nu är jag en 40 plus gubbe som på fullaste allvar påstår att serien har en känslomässiga tyngd. Joakims kamp mot ensamhet, förlust och hans egen besatthet med rikedom ger en oväntad djupdimension till hans karaktär. Det var kanske inte något man väntade sig första gången man läste den.

Den här serieromanen är en triumf för alla som vill se vad seriemediet verkligen kan åstadkomma.

Det är Kalle Anka. Det är för barn. Det är en väldigt kommersiell produkt.

Men det är också en berättelse om äventyr, ambition och mänsklighet tecknad av en av våra absolut duktigaste serieskapare.

"Life is like a hurricane, here in Duckburg. Race cars, lasers, aeroplanes - it's a duck blur!"

If you have no idea what I'm talking about then YOU HAVE NOT LIVED!! DuckTales happened to be my THE most favourite show on TV as a kid. I loved it then and I love it now. So you can imagine my delight when I found this little treasure.

This book focuses more on Scrooge McDuck and gives us a detailed insight into his past by telling the tale of how Scrooge came to be the richest duck in the world (his wealth amounts to five multiplujillion, nine impossibidillion, seven fantasticatrillion dollars and sixteen cents)

It's beautifully illustrated and a complete laugh-riot. Keep an eye out for Scrooge's sister, Hortense - Donald's mum - later on in the book. You can definitely see the family resemblance there! You'll run into many familiar characters like Donald and the triplets, Glomgold, Goldie, Magica De Spell and even the Beagle Boys(or their ancestors, at least)!. The book leaves you begging for the good ol' 90's again.

A MUST-READ for any hardcore DuckTales fan!

One of the great juvenile comics, Don Rosa's "The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck" shows what is possible with established intellectual property like Disney characters if artists are allowed to be bold and creative.

Update, June 21, 2023: In February 2023, Disney ruled that future reprints will omit two chapters with racially problematic imagery. I agree that the chapters in question have problematic content, but I think that omitting them from future editions is a mistake. "Life and Times" is an award-winning graphic novel from the 1990s. It was a massive international hit (far more so in Europe than in the U.S.). It's worth teaching in comics classes, and I'm pretty confident that it will be taught in future comics classes. By removing the problematic chapters, Disney is making it harder for future comics scholars to assess the work, including the parts of it that haven't aged well. An alternative would be for Disney to print the chapters with disclaimers and additional, contextual essays.

"Life and Times" is an interesting case study. Don Rosa tried to rehabilitate a clearly racist African caricature from a 1940s Disney comic by having the character fight against European imperialism (represented in Rosa's book by Scrooge McDuck). However, Rosa's attempt didn't work. The character's appearance and some of his activities were still rooted in racist African stereotypes. Rosa may have meant well, but he would have been better to omit the character entirely. Some literary figures resist anti-racist revisions and simply cannot be rehabilitated.

The question, then, is what to do with an already-written, influential comic book that contains challenging content. Should we teach the book in its entirety? I say yes, but that yes is conditional. It depends on the purpose of the course, the purpose of the lesson in question, and the contextual materials that are paired with the two problematic chapters.

Should we reprint the book in its entirety? I again say yes, but that is conditional, too. Critical commentary should be added to future editions of "Life and Times." Rosa wrote behind-the-scenes essays for each chapter; perhaps he would write another essay about the recent controversy. Indeed, he has publicly endorsed adding disclaimers to the book and revising some of the artwork where possible.

There is an opportunity to use the next reprint of "Life and Times" to demonstrate how to present dated material and racist imagery. I think that would be better than removing chapters wholesale. To scrub racially insensitive material from existence, instead of contextualizing it, also opens the door to far-right claims that racism isn't real or is overstated.

I could be wrong! Disney comics are marketed primarily to children, and the things to which we expose our kids matter. I do not think the stereotyped character from Life and Times should appear in any new Disney comics. Maybe Disney’s youth-oriented imprints should not reprint "Life and Times."

On the other hand, the most recent edition of "Life and Times" is oriented toward adult collectors. If a grown-up shells out $60 for a reprinted comic book from a nostalgia press like Fantagraphics, then you would think that reader would be open to the presence of critical essays next to the original drawings. I imagine that Disney has little interest in educational editions of niche comic books, though. It has an image to maintain and money to make in the family entertainment space.

Ο Ντον Ρόσα, πήρε τις παιδικές ιστορίες με τα παπιά και τις ανέβασε σε άλλο επίπεδο. Με προσεκτική μελέτη στο έργο του δημιουργού Καρλ Μπαρκς, ανέλαβε να συνεχίσει ίσως ξεπερνώντας ακόμη και τον δάσκαλό του. Οι ιστορίες του είναι μία και μία και το πιο χαρακτηριστικό δείγμα της δουλειάς του συγκεντρώνεται στον βραβευμένο τόμο "Ο Βίος και η Πολιτεία του Σκρουτζ Μακ Ντακ".

Διαβάστε τη συνέχεια εδώ:
n  All time favorite Don Rosan

La storia definitiva di Zio Paperone.



Divertente, appassionante e commovente.



Un capolavoro assoluto che ora ha anche una degna colonna sonora:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHb3O...

Don Rosa's masterpiece and probably one of the greatest comics of all time. Based on the work of Carl Barks, Rosa uses every detail and reference of Barks' work to create a twelve-episode story about Scrooge McDuck's Life before the events of his first appearance in the story "Christmas on Bear Mountain".

This is not simply a comic book - it's a graphic novel. Don Rosa's masterpiece brings joy, tears and laughter. I highly recommend this to children and adults alike.

Per aspera ad astra

"Se fosse davvero oro, tutto questo finirebbe. Sarei ricco, ma non sarei mai più lo stesso. L'aria fresca avrà un profumo migliore? I giorni di sole saranno più luminosi? Le notti stellate nasconderanno altri segreti? O perderò tutto questo?"

"Perché mai dovrei essere l'unico onesto del pianeta?"

Perennemente in bilico tra il confermarsi come l'eroe ultimo di una dinastia al termine o il cattivo che lui stesso promise di non diventare mai, Paperone rammenta a tutti noi l'importanza di vivere la vita senza dimenticare il luogo da cui si è partiti né abbandonare quella forza capace di poter cambiare il mondo prima che il mondo possa farlo su di te.
Un cammino sul filo del rasoio senza accettare che gli anni trascorsi accatastino occasioni mancate e silenzi in cui erigere muri: come si potrebbe vivere con il rimpianto per ciò che non si è fatto e il rimorso per quello che abbiamo compiuto?

Scrooge McDuck, n  tougher than the toughies, and sharper than the sharpiesn, is the best duck of them all. Don Rosa tells the epic story of his adventurous life, and manages to create a determined, honest (most of the time), well-crafted character, who can in many ways be an inspiration. Try hard and fail, and then try harder and fail again and again, but never give up, until you are the richest man in the world. Nah, just kidding. But Scrooge’s journey is indeed a reminder that we should believe in our dreams and chase them, even when they seem impossible to catch. Sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking, Don Rosa’s take on the life of this iconic duck, has a lot more to offer than just a few laughs.