Product Description: This print companion series to Disney's famous DVDs celebrates milestones in Disney comics history. In honor of Uncle Scrooge McDuck's 60th anniversary, this volume traces his comics career from 1947 to the present!
Uncle Scrooge at His Best Do not be misled by the appearance of Don Rosa's name as a author. This wonderful compendium actually has stories by Barks, Scarpa, Rota, Van Horn and others, in addition to Rosa. Admirers of the warm hearted, money loving, webbed foot, duck will need no encouragement to purchase. The presentation is attractive, the paper good, and the humor and satire unmissable.
A more focused collection than the first Walt Disney Treasures Maybe this is an obvious, uh, observation, but this collection is much more focused than the first Walt Disney Treasures volume. That collection, while enjoyable, tried to cover so much ground that its contents would probably seem like a bizarre mishmash to anyone not already familiar with Disney comics. (I am speaking somewhat of myself here.)
This volume, with its focus on Uncle Scrooge, allows a reader to get to know each character a little bit better because it doesn't jump around so much. The stories are all fun and the collection includes selections from a variety of creators rather than just Carl Barks or Don Rosa. I enjoyed reading these somewhat different takes on Scrooge. The capstone story of the book, "Whatever Happened to Scrooge McDuck" is a winner. The author found a way to wrap up the lifetime of Scrooge McDuck while still leaving the impression that the old duck's adventures will last forever.
After reading two of these Walt Disney Treasures volumes, the feeling that I get is that these stories are meant to whet the appetite rather than to satisfly. Unlike the Treasures DVDs, neither of these volumes are comprehensive or definitive. So, know what you're getting if you purchase it: not a chronological, all encompassing collection of materials but rather a curious and enjoyable grouping of tales by some of the most prominent creators over the last 6 decades.
Everyman's Rich Man If Mickey Mouse embodies the Horatio Alger myth in animated cartoons, then Uncle Scrooge McDuck fulfills something of the same role in comic books, with a slight twist: McDuck is what becomes of the Alger character when he makes his fortune.
While Mickey became the trademark, and some would say the "lure," of the Disney empire, Uncle Scrooge became the delight of Disney comic book readers, his ever-growing and troublesome fortune taking readers to all corners of the world and mythology. It helped that McDuck was the creation of Carl Barks, whose stories had already become the favorites in the "Comics & Stories" and "Donald Duck" titles.
"Treasures" series editor David Gerstein has wisely chosen a Barks classic, the "Seven Cities of Cibola" story, to lead-off this collection. Barks defined the character and set the standard for both the stories and the artwork. The stories that follow provide an interesting and entertaining cross-section of American and European takes on the McDuck mythos. Readers who have been away from comics for awhile may be surprised that so thoroughly American a character (despite the Dickensian shadings)has taken on such epic popularity abroad. "The Money Ocean" is a beautifully realized story from Italy's Marco Rota, known only to a handful of American fans until a decade or so back.
Other worthy artists represented here include Tony Strobl (with Carl Fallberg), William Van Horn (with John Lustig), and modern maverick Don Rosa, who wrote and drew "disguised" Uncle Scrooge adventures before breaking into Disney comics in the '80s. One story, "Getting That Healthy, Wealthy Feeling," has been restored to its original length, an extra-mile effort to be expected of editor Gerstein, who has also had a hand in the Disney Treasures DVD series.
Having read through this volume, I'm still convinced that nobody has done a better job than Barks with his creation. But Scrooge McDuck has provided a wealth of inspiration for all the storytellers that have followed Barks, and the riches go to the readers.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Not Available Comics
Tony's Online Tips
Trevor
