Disneyana Obscura: Uncle Scrooge #1

Over the past year or so, I have read several volumes of Fantagraphics' Carl Barks collection (see here ) and I have really fallen in love with the Donald Duck universe he created, especially Donald's Uncle Scooge. As a child, I was a huge fan of the DuckTales cartoon (is anyone else as excited as I am for the remake?) and recently learned that almost every episode of that show was based off of the Uncle Scrooge comics. When I saw a post on Twitter from Disney Comics, advertising the newly rebooted Uncle Scrooge comic from IDW Publishing, it caught my attention. So, with last Saturday being Free Comic Book Day, I ventured out to my local shop, grabbed a handful of free books and bought a copy of Uncle Scrooge number one.

To start off, let me just say how impressed I was with the creators' ability to capture both the classic humor of the early comics, as well ass the timeless feel. It was like reading an old Bark's issue of Uncle Scrooge, but with brighter colors.

The first story, by Rodolfo Cimino and Romano Scarpa, tells the story of a classic battle of wits between Scrooge McDuck and the nefarious Beagle Boys. The Boys build a massive robot in their own likeness to steal Scrooge's gold, forcing the old duck to do some over-the-top things to protect it. In typical fashion, some odd plot point from early on ends up helping Scrooge win the day in a wonderfully amusing fashion.

Then there was a short by Alberto Savini and Andrea Freccero all about Uncle Scrooge's enjoyment of his new, large screen television.

Finally, in a caper by Romano Scarpa and Luca Broschi, Scrooge must stop the man who has plotted ten years to steal his coat. With the help of a couple fashionista friends, Scrooge ends up saving the day and finding hidden treasure! This story also hints at a tie-in with IDW's upcoming Mickey Mouse comic book. 

Overall, this was a fantastic offering from Disney Comics and IDW Publishing. Lots of humor, lots of wonderfully bad puns, and lots of colorful, cartoony artwork grace these pages. If you like fun, comedic adventures in the style of the old DuckTales cartoon, go check out Uncle Scrooge!

If you want to know how I would incorporated the world of Duckburg into the parks , see my previous posts and what I would do as a fifth gate at Walt Disney World, here.