Wizards of Mickey #1
Wizards of Mickey #1 (Boom! Kids)
By Stefano Ambrosio, Alessandro & Lorenzo Pastrovicchio, Saida Temofonte & Magic Eye Studios
Spinning off from the storyline in Mickey Mouse and Friends, this fantasy series casts Mickey, Donald, and Goofy as aspiring sorcerers in a far-off fantasy land. Our heroes are enrolled in a tournament in an attempt to gain powerful magic stones — Diamagics — that Mickey needs to rescue his master from the powerful Phantom Blot. This issue, they find themselves in battle with their friends, Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck, and Clarabell Cow, otherwise known as Diamond Moon. While Mickey needs power to rescue Nereus, Minnie needs a specific Diamagic for her own worthwhile purposes, leaving Mickey to make a choice. We also find out more about the Blot’s plan this issue. Initially, I wasn’t a huge fan of this storyline, but as it progressed over the four issues of Mickey’s title, it started to grow on me. Here we get a chance to dig deeper into the magic world Ambrosio and his art team have created for this book. It’s certainly not the same as the usual “Disney Universe,” but as a kind of side-continuity, it stands on its own pretty well. The characters are still themselves, but there’s a certain freedom here to mix things up that I like. The art is a nice mix of fantasy and comedy, and overall, I think this is a title that could have legs.
Rating: 8/10
Donald Duck and Friends #349
Donald Duck and Friends #349 (Boom! Kids)
Fausto Vitaliano, Marco Bosco, Vitale Mangiatordi, Marco Mazzarello, Saida Temofonte, Stefania Bronzoni & Magic Eye Studios
Secret Agent Double Duck’s next assignment sends him undercover as a waiter for a fancy party. The host is the secret head of a criminal empire, and Donald is just the man to hunt him down. What he didn’t know, however, is that Gladstone, Daisy, and Uncle Scrooge will all be in attendance, and Donald Duck’s pride may just screw up Double Duck’s mission. This is a nice little story here. Seeing Donald’s natural personality come into conflict with his new duties as a super-spy makes for some nice comedic moments, and the second story (a continuation of the first) injects more laughs into the book. Donald breaks the fourth wall here a few times, talking directly to the audience, but that’s never really a problem. It happens when it’s funny, and it doesn’t disrupt the flow. Good issue.
Rating: 8/10
Uncle Scrooge #346
Quick Rating: Good
Title: The Funny Carrots and Other Stories
A special carrot crop spurs another contest between Scrooge and Flintheart Glomgold!
Writers: Romano Scarpa, Byron Erikson, Pat & Carol McGreal, Janet Gilbert, Pat & Shelly Block & Stefan Petrucha
Art: Romano Scarpa, L. Michieli, Jose Massaroli, Wanda Gattino, Marcall Abella Bresco, Vicar & Maria Jose Sanchez Nunez
Colors: Egmont, Michael Kraiger, B. Grossman, T. Letterman, Pamela Rambo & Kneon Transitt
Letters: Willie Schubert, Marshall Dillon, Jon Babcock & Susie Lee
Editor: Arnold T. Blumberg
Cover Art: Daniel Branca
Publisher: Gemstone Comics
Another month, another collection of Uncle Scrooge tales courtesy of the good people at Gemstone Comics. I’ve heard that Gemstone is planning to include more long-form adventure stories in the future, which I’m very happy about – those always tend to give me my favorite issues of this title. That said, this issue gives us a really good story that turns around one of Scrooge’s formulas, and that helps it stand out.
Heading up this issue is “The Funny Carrots” by Romano Scarpa and Byron Erikson. Brigitta MacBridge, the woman who wants to be Mrs. Scrooge McDuck, brings him the news of a new breed of carrot that makes anyone who eats it burst out laughing. Seeing the marketing potential, Scrooge sets out to cut a deal with the small tribe that cultivates the vegetable, unaware that a spying Flintheart Glomgold has the same idea. The result is a funny, almost sitcom-eque situation that shows off Scrooge’s humanity in the end.
Next up is “One Thin Dime” by Pat and Carol McGreal with art by Jose Massaroli, the gem of this issue. When Scrooge discovers the first dime he ever earned has gone missing, he assumes the thief is the witch who wants to use it to give herself the Midas Touch, Magica DeSpell. Magica, however, is just as dismayed as Scrooge to find the dime has been stolen. The two adversaries decide to work together to get the dime back. It’s intriguing to see these two bitter enemies forced to work together for a change, and it’s also nice to see a new enemy popped into Scrooge’s world. You can only get so much mileage out of Magica, Flintheart and the Beagle Boys, after all. This two-parter is easily the best story in the issue.
“In the Clouds” by Janet Gilbert and Wanda Gattino is this issue’s Gyro Gearloose tale. The screwy inventor creates a machine that turns clouds into homes, but when Donald takes it out for a test-drive, he winds up whipping up a tornado. This is followed up by “Bin With a View” by Pat and Shelly Block and Marcal Abella Bresco, a short in which Scrooge decides his Money Bin could do with a little lightening up, so he adds a window, but it turns out he may have to sacrifice his peace of mind. These two quickies work well, basically as extended gag strips.
“The Way the Cookie Crumbles” by the McGreals and Vicar show how Scrooge can sometimes let an idea run away with him. When a few fortune cookies turn out to offer sage business advice, Scrooge goes on a Chinese food binge to keep up the stream of information. It’s kind of unusual to see the level-headed Scrooge go nuts for something so esoteric, but it’s perfectly in-character to see him go overboard when he thinks something works. I’ve also got to single out Vicar’s artwork. While most of the artists in this issue have good, clean lines that could easily have fallen from an animation cell, Vicar has a unique quality reminiscent of the master himself, Carl Barks, and I’d bee happy to see his wok any time.
Finally there’s “The Information Rage” by Stefan Petrucha and Maria Jose Sanchez Nunez. When the burglarizing Beagle Boys stumble upon a computer that can detect an adversary’s weak spot, they begin using it to plan crimes. The computer turns out to be smarter than they thought, however, and the gang may just wind up with a new leader. Just as it’s nice to see Scrooge face off with a foe other than the Beagles, it’s also nice to see the Beagles on a caper that doesn’t involve breaking in to the Money Bin.
Overall, this is a better-than-average issue of Uncle Scrooge, with several satisfying stories and one very impressive one. A decent package overall.
Rating: 7/10