Donald Duck and Friends #346

December 7, 2006

Quick Rating: Great
Title: New Toys and other stories

Three tales of Christmas with the Duck family!

Writers: Carl Barks, Stefan Petrucha & Lars Jensen
Art: Carl Barks, Vicar, Cesar Ferioli
Colors: Scott Rockwell, Egmont, Barry Grossman
Letters: Susie Lee, Anne Myerly
Editor: Leonard (John) Clark
Cover Art: Carl Barks & Ulrich Schroeder
Publisher: Gemstone Publishing

Gemstone comics, sadly, is pulling the plug on Donald Duck and Friends for the time being, choosing instead to try out a fat anthology comic like the “manga” all the kids these days are reading. It’s sad to see this book go, but I must say, they sent it out with a bang. This is one of the best Christmas issues I’ve ever seen them put together in one of their regular comics.

“New Toys” leads off this volume, a Carl Barks classic from 1949. I’ve read this one before (although I don’t remember where – I’ve read dozens of Disney Christmas comics over the years), but it still stands out to me. When Huey, Dewey and Louie ask for a new tricycle, scooter and wagon for Christmas, even though their old ones are still in fine shape, Donald chews them out for not understanding the meaning of Christmas. The boys decide to head out and earn the money to buy new wheels on their own, not knowing Donald is having a change of heart. There are a few nice left turns in this story, and in the end we see what made Barks one of the greatest Disney cartoonists of all time. This very easily could have turned into a sappy, sugary ending, but instead he manages to deliver a punchline that’s wonderfully heartfelt and satisfying.

Stefan Petrucha and Vicar’s “Naughty or Nice” comes up next. When Donald looses his temper on a hypnotist in a department store jam, the target zaps him to make him believe if he isn’t wonderfully nice to everybody, he won’t get any Christmas presents. This story is really very funny. Most of the time when we see stories of this sort, Donald’s personality is actually augmented, but Petrucha took the unique slant of leaving his foul temperament (no pun intended) intact, forcing him to fight against his own worst nature. It makes for a much funnier, much more original story, and I greatly enjoyed it.

“Beating the Wrap” by Lars Jensen and Cesar Ferioli concludes the issue with yet another Yuletide competition between Donald and his nephews. When the boys find out that Donald is giving them practical presents for Christmas instead of toys and goodies, they trick him into a wager that they can find where he hid their presents with a “gift wrap detector.” Donald, realizing he’s been had, goes to wacky inventor Gyro Gearloose for help. You’d think that sooner or later one of these ducks would realize that Gyro’s inventions always backfire on them. Of course if they did, we wouldn’t get funny stories like this one.

This really is a fantastic issue. If you’re planning to give your kids some comics for Christmas this year (and you darn well should be), make sure this is one of them.

Rating: 9/10

Uncle Scrooge #336

November 24, 2004

Quick Rating: Great
Title: A Christmas For Shacktown and other stories

Only Uncle Scrooge can make Christmas merry for the children of Duckburg – but can Donald convince him?

Writers: Carl Barks; Marco Rota; Pat & Shelly Block & Paul Halas
Art: Carl Barks; Marco Rota; Pedro Alferez Canos & Jose Maria Millet Lopez
Colors: Scott Rockwell; Egmont & Susan Daigle-Leach
Letters: Susie Lee; Travis Seitler & Willie Schubert
Editor: John Clark
Cover Art: Ulrich Schroeder & Sue Kolberg
Publisher: Gemstone Comics

It’s Thanksgiving week, friends, and that means its time for the deluge of holiday comics to begin. Gemstone put out not one, but three Christmas comics this week, including Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories #651, Walt Disney’s Christmas Parade #2 and this issue of Uncle Scrooge. I haven’t read the other two comics yet, but if they’re as good as this one, there’s enough to keep you in the holiday spirit well into January.

The lead story in this issue is a classic by the master himself, Carl Barks. In “A Christmas For Shacktown,” Daisy Duck is struggling to organize a celebration for the poorest section of Duckburg and has all but $50 dollars. She recruits Donald to plead with Uncle Scrooge for $25 for turkeys and $25 for a toy train for the children. Scrooge isn’t heartless, but his practicality reigns supreme – he agrees to buy the turkeys, but only if Donald can raise the money for the train himself.

What follows is a brilliant Barksian domino effect as Donald’s efforts set one chain of events after another into motion, all of them finally colliding in a hysterical conclusion that, of course, winds up with a great big happy ending. Unlike a lot of writers, though, Barks resists the urge to make anybody learn some big sappy “lesson.” He just gives the upper hand to the characters who had their hearts in the right place all along.

Next up are two non-Christmas tales. “The Egyptian Prince’s Secret” by Marco Rota features Donald meeting an archeologist hunting for the lost treasure of an ancient Egyptian prince. Scrooge, a classic treasure hunter himself, finances the expedition. The story seems like your standard treasure hunt story before running into a great twist at the end. Pat and Shelly Block and Pedro Canos then chime in with a three-page Grandma Duck story. The boys are amazed at Grandma’s ability to predict the weather, but don’t necessarily follow her advice. It’s basically a long gag strip, but it comes with a great punchline.

Finally we get the other Christmas tale, Paul Halas and Jose Maria Millet Lopez’s “Christmas Magic.” Donald, Daisy and the boys ride up to Scrooge’s cabin on Bear Mountain (a nice nod to Barks here – the first-ever Uncle Scrooge story featured the old man inviting his nephews to Bear Mountain on Christmas), only to find him holed up and terrified of an invasion by his frequent nemesis, Magica DeSpell..

All in all, we get three good stores and one excellent one. That’s well worth your money. In fact, if you’re trying to get your kids to read, this would be a great stocking stuffer come Christmas morning.

Rating: 9/10