Uncle Scrooge #331
Originally Presented at Comixtreme.com.
Quick Rating: Good
Title: His Majesty, McDuck and other stories
Scrooge’s money bin isn’t part of the United States! Will this be a windfall… or a disaster?
Writers: Don Rosa, Carl Barks, John Kane, Flor Collins, Lars Jensen & Chris Spencer
Art: Don Rosa, Daan Jippes, Marsal & Manrique
Colors: Scott Rockwell, Russ Miller & Marie Javins
Letters: John Clark & Susie Lee
Editor: Arnold T. Blumberg
Cover Art: Branca & Gary Leach
Publisher: Gemstone Comics
Review: Frequently, the best things we see in Disney comics are reprints of the classic stories by Carl Barks, but it’s easy for forget that Don Rosa has been doing Disney comics long enough to justify reprints of his work as well. The lead feature in this issue, “His Majesty, McDuck,” is a reprint of a Rosa story from 1989. In it, Scrooge McDuck discovers that the land his money bin is on is not, technically, part of the United States. Anticipating a windfall in back taxes, he declares his land a sovereign nation, not realizing until too late that if he’s not part of the city of Duckberg he gets no utilities, no allies, and no protection from the likes of the Beagle Boys.
This story is frequently spoken of as one of Rosa’s best comics, and that’s definitely a fair judgment. The story is full of small nods to classic Carl Barks stories, a trademark of Rosa’s that is appreciated by longtime fans. More importantly, though, the story milks a lot of comedy out of simply taking Scrooge’s basic nature and milking it to the extreme. This is a comedy caper tale that grows entirely out of proper characterization, and that makes it a big success.
Next is “Whaling Whalers,” part of artist Daan Jippes’s ongoing project to redo all of the stories that Barks wrote, but didn’t draw himself, so while this script has appeared before, the artwork here is new for the American audience. Huey, Dewey and Louie’s Junior Woodchuck Troop is taking a boating expedition to view some whales, but are horrified when they discover that their Uncle Scrooge is also at sea, on a whaling boat. What follows is the standard “Scrooge learns the error of his ways” story - cute, but not spectacular. I’m assuming that at the time the story was written (just listed as “the early 70’s”) whaling was not illegal, because while Scrooge may be a ruthless businessman, Barks’s version of the character always made his money “square.”
Kane, Collins and Marsal contribute this issue’s Grandma Duck story, “The Price of Fame.” When a magazine decides to give Grandma’s home an “extreme makeover,” she’s sorry to see some of her beloved mother’s furniture taken away. Gus Goose, however, is anxious to see the makeover, hoping to get famous in the magazine spread. This is a short story, with a neat little twist and the standard Grandma moral.
Finally, Jensen, Spencer and Manrique contribute “Spendthrifts Anonymous.” Scrooge joins a support group for people who spend too much money, hoping the convince them to drop their cash with his business, but when his membership becomes suspect, Donald Duck has to follow him to see if he’s really a free-spender like he says. There are some very nice comedy beats in this story, but it seems like every issue of Uncle Scrooge has at least one story that feels out of character for him. As I said with the whaling story, Scrooge ins someone who prides himself on making his money fairly and honestly, and seeing him try to con members of a support group is rather beneath him.
Kids who read the issue probably won’t realize that, and the moral of the story will come through nice and clear, which is the point of course. I really love this title, and the first story is worth the price of admission alone. It’s nice that Gemstone always packs the book with back-ups, though. There aren’t as many stories in this issue as usual, but the length of the first two tales make up for it. Another solid, entertaining issue that parents should share with the kids.
Rating: 7/10
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