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Ah, Don Rosa … He hit the world of Donald Duck/Carl Barks fandom like a thunderbolt in the late 80's. His first story, a rousing Uncle Scrooge adventure (not reprinted in this volume), quickly achieved legendary status. I was fortunate enough to have made the decision to start buying the Gladstone titles--wondering what all the fuss was about this Carl Barks fellow I kept reading about in the Comics Buyer’s Guide--with that very issue, so I was able to get in on the ground floor.
Rosa holds the distinction of being one of the few post-Barks creators whose stories are held in similar esteem amongst the fans. His line isn't quite as delicate, and he gets a lot of mileage out of adding background details to his panels: mainly secondary jokes and/or references to classic Barks stories. I don't remember where I saw the interview--the Comics Journal, most likely--but I recall Rosa mentioning Mad’s Will Elder as a strong influence on his style. The fact that his work compares favorably to both Barks and Elder says much about his talents as a cartoonist.
The whole book is excellent, but it's the two longer stories that loom the largest for me. “Cash Flow” involves a assault by the Beagle Boys on Scrooge’s money bin. They've gotten their hands on some advanced weaponry, and it's only quick thinking on the ducks’ part that saves the day. And the punchline in the last panel always makes me smile: Rosa puts a creative twist on a classic Scrooge line.
“Last Sled to Dawson” features a return to the Klondike, the site of Scrooge’s earliest adventures. He receives a telegram from his bank in Dawson, which prompts a flood of memories, and a desire to return as swiftly as possible. Naturally there are callbacks to Barks’ classic “Back to the Klondike”--the logo on the sign for the airline they fly in on, for instance. And naturally conflict arises as someone from Scrooge’s past has the same goal in mind. There are some glorious sequences in this one, both action and scenic vistas.
Another bit worth mentioning: in “Mythological Menagerie,” the boys are trying out for a Junior Woodchucks wildlife identification badge, and Donald is trying to mess with them. His final gambit is quite impressive, but what really makes the story for me is the boys’ reaction at the top of the following page. Makes me grin simply recalling it. Needless to say, highly recommended!
Rosa holds the distinction of being one of the few post-Barks creators whose stories are held in similar esteem amongst the fans. His line isn't quite as delicate, and he gets a lot of mileage out of adding background details to his panels: mainly secondary jokes and/or references to classic Barks stories. I don't remember where I saw the interview--the Comics Journal, most likely--but I recall Rosa mentioning Mad’s Will Elder as a strong influence on his style. The fact that his work compares favorably to both Barks and Elder says much about his talents as a cartoonist.
The whole book is excellent, but it's the two longer stories that loom the largest for me. “Cash Flow” involves a assault by the Beagle Boys on Scrooge’s money bin. They've gotten their hands on some advanced weaponry, and it's only quick thinking on the ducks’ part that saves the day. And the punchline in the last panel always makes me smile: Rosa puts a creative twist on a classic Scrooge line.
“Last Sled to Dawson” features a return to the Klondike, the site of Scrooge’s earliest adventures. He receives a telegram from his bank in Dawson, which prompts a flood of memories, and a desire to return as swiftly as possible. Naturally there are callbacks to Barks’ classic “Back to the Klondike”--the logo on the sign for the airline they fly in on, for instance. And naturally conflict arises as someone from Scrooge’s past has the same goal in mind. There are some glorious sequences in this one, both action and scenic vistas.
Another bit worth mentioning: in “Mythological Menagerie,” the boys are trying out for a Junior Woodchucks wildlife identification badge, and Donald is trying to mess with them. His final gambit is quite impressive, but what really makes the story for me is the boys’ reaction at the top of the following page. Makes me grin simply recalling it. Needless to say, highly recommended!
