Walt Disney’s Christmas Parade (2003 Series) #4

December 2, 2006

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Christmas in Duckburg and other stories

A new collection of holiday tales featuring the classic Disney characters.

Writers: Bob Gregory, Dick Matena, David Gerstein, Carl Fallberg, John Lustig, Gorm Transgaard, Thad Komorowski, Nick George, Floyd Gottfredson, Carl Barks
Art: Carl Barks, Dick Matena, Tony Strobl, Francisco Rodriguez Peinado, Wanda Gattino, Vicar, Jack Bradbury, Floyd Gottfredson
Colors: Susan Daigle-Leach, Kneon Transitt, Scott Rockwell, Michael Kraiger, Barry Grossman, Marie Javins, Rick Keane
Restoration (“Ice Show”): Rick Keane
Letters: Susie Lee, Jon Babcock, Willie Schubert
Cover Art Restoration: Rick Keane
Publisher: Gemstone Publishing

In December there are certain things you count on every year. Christmas carolers, crowded shopping malls, and a thick volume of comics with the Disney all-stars. For the fourth year, Gemstone is giving us a stocking stuffer of Disney goodies, and it’s a good one this time.

“Christmas in Duckburg” leads off this year’s volume. The story, by Bob Gregory with art by the legendary Carl Barks, shows Donald accidentally promising his nephews an exorbitant Christmas present this year. When he goes to Uncle Scrooge for help, Scrooge agrees on one condition – that Donald supervise his donation of a 100-foot Christmas tree for the town square. In true Scrooge fashion, though, the donation isn’t out of the goodness of his heart, but rather to spite a fellow businessman who got his temper flared last Christmas. When Scrooge’s rival learns of the plan, he turns to those jaded crooks, the Beagle Boys, to sabotage the tree. Even though he didn’t write the script, this story has all the feel of a Barks classic, and is one of the best stories in the volume.

“A Christmas Carol,” by Dick Matena with English dialogue by David Gerstein, is yet another retelling of the classic Charles Dickens story, this time featuring the Big Bad Wolf and the Three Little Pigs. When Big Bad drives his son out on Christmas Eve, a handy visit from a spirit reminds him what Christmas is all about. The nice twist ending saves the story from being too sugary and makes it memorable.

“Snow Shovelers” is next, and it’s more a generic winter story than a Christmas story, but it’s still interesting. Hoping to refill their piggy bank before Donald finds out they spent their money on sodas, Huey, Dewey and Louie set out to shovel snow, but a little too late. The only unshoveled house in the neighborhood belongs to their too-lucky cousin, Gladstone Gander, who is counting on his luck to get the walk shoveled for free. Then in “Wrap Up Your Troubles,” Mickey and Goofy get roped into helping Minnie with her gift wrap service, and wind up delivering a load of presents of a rather dangerous sort. We also get a Gyro Gearloose story, “Presently Indisposed,” in which he finds himself unable to come up with good Christmas presents for his friends. True to his nature, he tries inventing a machine to select the perfect gift for him, but things don’t go according to plan. It’s a pretty standard Gyro story, but it’s perfectly good as that.

The two-part “Free Tree Spree” features Donald and Scrooge. Scrooge has promised to help the mayor with his pledge to give every family in Duckburg a free Christmas tree (for his part, Scrooge will get a hefty tax break), but there’s still one entrepreneur who has set up a tree lot, counting on Scrooge’s trees to fall short. Naturally, the Beagle Boys are involved, and Donald and the boys wind up in a race to save Christmas – and Scrooge’s pocketbook. This is one of the most fun stories in the book, lots of action, lots of gags, well done.

“The Doodleberry Dilemma” stars Chip and Dale. The two hungry chipmunks set out to relieve Brer Fox of a mouthwatering doodleberry pie. This reprint of a 1970 story also has only the thinnest tie to the holidays – there’s plenty of snow but no tinsel. The book is rounded out with two shorts. “Ice Show” is a collection of Floyd Gottfredson strips starring Mickey and Minnie in an ice skating competition with a nice little punchline. “Toasty Toys” is a Carl Barks one-pager about Donald resorting to despicable depths to avoid cutting firewood – only to get his in the end.

Put ‘em all together and you get a really great collection of Christmas (or just plain “winter”) themed comics, with only the Chip and Dale story falling flat. It’s a fine collection for any fan of Disney comics.

Rating: 8/10

Mickey Mouse and Friends #295

December 6, 2006

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Mickey’s Christmas Mix-Up and other stories

Mickey’s quest for the perfect Christmas present for Minnie lands them both in a heap of trouble!

Writers: Pat & Carol McGreal, Stefan Petrucha
Art: Don Gunn, Vicar, Noel Van Horn
Colors: Marie Javins, Egmont, Kneon Transitt, Barry Grossman
Letters: Jon Babcock, Anne Myerly
Cover Art: Giorgio Cavazzano
Publisher: Gemstone Publishing

It’s the last issue of Mickey Mouse and Friends, at least for the foreseeable future, and Gemstone is sending them out with a nice trio of Christmas tales. First is “Mickey’s Christmas Mix-Up,” a reprint from 1945’s Firestone Giveaway. Mickey thinks he’s found the perfect Christmas present for Minnie – until he founds out her Aunt Emma gave her the same thing. Now he’s got to rush to find a substitute by the holiday deadline. Meanwhile, Minne’s Christmas present to herself – an antique rocking chair, brings down a crook that wants a treasure hidden in the furniture. This is a nice enough Mickey/Minnie story, with Goofy poking in at the end to provide some needed comic relief, and it all concludes with a neat little twist at the end.

“The Christmas Eve Caper” is next, a Donald Duck story by Pat and Carol McGreal and Vicar. When Donald realizes his young nephews no longer believe in Santa Claus, he’s ready to go to great lengths to restore their faith – but fears of a Christmas Eve burglar is keeping the city locked down. This is a nice change from most Duck Christmas stories, which often involve the boys trying to teach Donald a lesson, or Donald and the nephews learning from each other. This time it’s clearly the boys who need a dose of holiday spirit, and it’s up to Donald to supply it.

“The Quest For Quasar,” by Stefan Petrucha and Noel Van Horn wraps up the issue. Mickey’s nephews, Morty and Ferdie, are wishing for nothing more than a new “Quasar” action figure this Christmas, but supplies are limited, and Mickey has to rush out into a crazed mob of eager parents and do battle with a crooked toy store owner to give the boys the Christmas they want. This story is a nice little parody, both of the “hot toy” mentality and of the sort of unscrupulous speculators who hoard toys and ruin the holidays.

This issue was a lot of good Disney fun, and certainly worth your time.

Rating: 7/10

Uncle Scrooge #358

October 3, 2006

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: House of Haunts and other stories

Ghosts, bones and witches – a rough month for Scrooge McDuck!

Writer: Carl Barks, C. Jacob, B. Bartholomew, David Gerstein, S. & U. Printz-Pahlson, Donald D. Markstein
Art: Carl Barks, Daan Jippes, Ignasi Calvet Esteban, C. Feroli, J. Manrique, Vicar
Colors: Susan Daigle-Leach, Egmont, Barry Grossman, Kneon Transitt, Michael Kraiger
Letters: Jon Babcock, Susie Lee
Cover Art: Francisco Rodriguez Peinado
Publisher: Gemstone Comics

Although it’s not technically labeled as a Halloween comic book, there can be little doubt that the good folks at Gemstone Comics were pretty selective in picking several stories with spooky connotations for the issue of Uncle Scrooge released in the last week of September. That selectivity still leaves us with a pretty good package, though, including a classic Carl Barks reprint and the next in Daan Jippes’ project to recreate all of the stories Barks scripted, but did not himself draw.

First up is the Barks story, “House of Haunts.” As the day of the Beagle Boys’ release from prison draws near, Scrooge secretly smuggles his fortune out of his money bin, hiding his billions of dollars in a supposedly “haunted” house. The Beagles have learned some new tricks while in prison, though, and soon both they and the ducks find themselves falling prey to a series of boobie traps laying in wait for them. It’s a fun book with plenty of sight gags, ultimately making a very satisfying comic.

“Let Sleeping Bones Lie” is the Jippes recreation, and my favorite story this issue. The Junior Woodchucks uncover the skeleton of a massive – and previously undiscovered – dinosaur beneath the streets of Duckburg. Before they can see to it that the skeleton is taken care of, though, they find out it’s in the path of Uncle Scrooge’s latest highway project, and the skinflint duck isn’t about to let a little thing like a scientific treasure block him from his cold, hard cash. Barks’ story is very good, pitting the boys against their uncle in a way that remains true to them. Jippes’ artwork is strong as well, using his own style instead of just aping Barks.

“Hive Been Better,” by Jacob and Bartholomew with art by Esteban, is a Beagle Boys short featuring the crooks trying to use a swarm of bees to help them in a heist… with amusing results. Fethry Duck puts in an appearance as well, in Gerstein, Feroli and Manrique’s “Dance of the Cuckoos.” Fethry’s new status as an “efficiency expert” gets him in trouble while delivering cuckoo clocks, winding up with him trying to organize things for a witch. As Fethry is even more inept than his cousin Donald, this turns into quite a debacle.

“The Terror From Outer Space” (by the Printz-Pahlsons with art by Vicar) closes up this issue. Aliens from a distant planet of criminals spot Scrooge’s money bin and see it as the all-time greatest heist, if they can pull it off. Scrooge and Donald wind up in a frantic adventure, trying to save his money from the extra terrestrial scoundrel. This story is a lot of fun, the sort of thing Barks would have done in his prime.

This is a nice package, overall, including a couple of semi-scary tales to quench your thirst for Halloween.

Rating: 8/10

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories #685

October 4, 2007

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: The Hada House and other stories

Will Donald and Daisy survive a Halloween fright night?

Writers: Marco Rota, David Gerstein, Romano Scarpa, John Clark, Pat & Carol McGreal, Carl Buettner, Carl Barks
Art: Marco Rota, Romano Scarpa, Vicar
Colors: Egmont, Fernando Ventura, Susan Daigle-Leach
Letters: Sue Kolberg, John Clark, Travis Seitler
Cover Art: Carl Barks
Publisher: Gemstone Publishing

Ah, October. A crisp, fall smell is in the air, pumpkins are appearing on every doorstep, and Gemstone is putting out Halloween issues of their Disney comics. It wouldn’t feel like Halloween without ‘em.

This year’s offering starts with Donald and Daisy Duck in “The Hada House” by Marco Rota and David Gerstein. On a creepy Halloween night, Donald and Daisy are run off the road and get stuck in the mud, forcing them to look for refuge in Duckburg’s creepiest mansion. To their surprise, the mansion is not abandoned after all, but inhabited by a suave, charming Count and his hunchbacked assistant. (If you can’t see where this is going, you haven’t watched enough scary movies.) Donald and Daisy wind up running for their lives when the Count’s secret is revealed, but there’s one more twist headed their way. This is a fine start to the issue – funny, wonderfully drawn, and it’s a Disney comic with a Rocky Horror Picture Show joke in it, for Heaven’s sake. You can’t tell me you don’t wanna read that.

“Transmutant Gifts” is next. Someone is sending gifts of small baby animals to the unsuspecting citizens of Mouseton, only to be caught in a pinch when they transform into large beasts. Leave it to our favorite everyman – er… everymouse – Mickey to try to hunt down the mad scientist responsible. A good little monster story that nicely puts Mickey in his normal hero role.

“Happy Birthday Times Three” is one of the few non-seasonal entries here, unless Huey, Dewey and Louie happened to be born on Halloween. At any rate, Donald’s nephews get upset when they realize that their classmates are looking forward to their birthday party because it’s always a “party times three,” and in a rare bid for independence, demand that Donald throw them each a separate party while the three of them each venture out on their own to try to make friends without their brothers. Poor Donald’s party-planning efforts are a wash, though, and (predictably) the boys learn that their new friends may not be all they’re cracked up to be.

The issue is rounded out with a pair of seasonal reprints. “Halloween Hog Tie” is this issue’s Lil’ Bad Wolf tale. His pop, Big Bad, decides he’s going to sneak into the Three Little Pigs’ Halloween party wearing his son’s costume. As usual, though, his plan winds up biting him on his Big Bad You Know What. Carl Barks’s wonderful “Jet Witch” rounds out the issue. Donald helps stir up the down of Duckburg against the sort of pranks and mayhem that Halloween brings, but neglects to stick around when the townsfolk decide on an alternative, so he spends Halloween night waiting in anticipation of havoc that may not come. And when Donald gets confused, he tends to create havoc of his own. Excellent story.

It’s hard to find something to dislike about this book – all good stories, and only the one non-Halloween happening to distract from the trick-or-treating mood. Nicely done.

Rating: 8/10

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories #664

January 13, 2006

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Chimera and other stories

It’s a monster of an issue for Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse!

Writers: William Van Horn; Stefan Petrucha; David Gerstein; Gil Turner; Piet Zeeman; Don Rosa
Art: William Van Horn; Francisco Rodriguez Peinado; Vicar; Gil Turner; Freddy Milton; Marsal; Don Rosa
Colors: Susan Daigle-Leach; Egmont; Barry Grossman; Scott Rockwell; Marie Javins; Kneon Transitt; Michael Kraiger
Letters: Willie Schubert; Jon Babcock; Susie Lee
Cover Art: William Van Horn
Publisher: Gemstone Comics

I’m impressed at how well the Gemstone crew pulls together semi-related stories together for an issue like this one, it’s a nice little treat when done properly, and the number of monster/animal stories in this issue helps the whole package come together. We start off with William Van Horn’s “Chimera.” Donald Duck and his nephews head off into the woods to photograph animals in the winter, but when Donald sees a set of tracks that makes him believe they’re on the trail of Bigfoot, he sees dollar signs. This is an unusually cerebral story for a Disney comic, one that’s more about perception than gags, and it works.

Stefan Petrucha and Francisco Peinado follow this with Mickey Mouse in “Snow Beast,” the exact opposite of the preceding tale. When a snow-loving Mickey accidentally unleashes a monster that brings permanent freeze in his wake, he and Minnie need to race to translate the incantation that will put him back in his prison. This is a nice little adventure story for the mouse, and it fits well in this issue.

“All Creatures Great and Small” by David Gerstein and Vicar is one of the stronger stories in the issue. As the nephews make a New Year’s resolution to bid farewell to their legion of pets, Donald makes a resolution to be nicer to the animals. Rather than fessing up to the boys when he discovers their cross-resolutions, Donald decides to play a trick on them, which of course spins wildly out of control.

Another New Year’s tale, “Zeke’s Gold Stars,” follows. This Gil Turner reprint from 1951 follows the Big Bad Wolf as he struggles to keep his New Year’s resolutions, while at the same time, trying to determine whether the reward his mother promised him will be worth the effort. Gladstone Gander’s “Diner Sore” follows, a cute story about the luckiest duck in the world who fears he’s losing his luck when lunch doesn’t come falling into his lap. Fethry Duck and Daisy co-star in “Rhino Plastered,” about the dimwitted Fethry trying to house a rhinoceros in Daisy’s home until they can ship it back to its native land. It’s the sort of loony premise that only plays in a cartoon.

Finally, Don Rosa gives us “The Magnificent Seven (Minus Four) Caballeros Part Two.” Last issue, Donald darted off to Brazil to reunite with his old friends José Carioca and Panchito Pistoles. Together, the Three Caballeros head out to search for a diamond mine, but instead fall into the clutches of an Indian who picked up some nasty habits at a series of colleges. As the Caballeros work to free a menagerie of animals captured by the chief, Donald regales his friends (reluctantly) with his own exploits with Scrooge and the boys, and before this installment of the story ends, they find a path to an amazing treasure all their own.

This is great Rosa – as always he’s created a lush storyline drawn from his own inexhaustible research. On top of his wonderful story, he packs this issue with gags like a sudden Mickey Mouse joke and the stunned reactions of José and Panchito to the Junior Woodchuck’s Guidebook. The little touches – and the big ones, like Donald’s inadvertent battles with wildlife – make Rosa one of the best Duck cartoonists of all time, and I hope we get treated to new adventures from him for a very long time to come.

Rating: 8/10

Uncle Scrooge #329

May 2, 2004

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: The Dream of a Lifetime (and other stories)

When the Beagle Boys invade Scrooge’s dreams, will Donald Duck be able to save his fortune?

Writers: Don Rosa, Lars Jensen, Chris Spencer, Per Hedman, Kari Karhonen & Paul Halas
Art: Don Rosa, Manrique, Marsal & Vicar
Colors: Scott Rockwell, Russ Miller, Barry Grossman, Terry Letterman & Janice Miller
Letters: Todd Klein, Susie Lee, Willie Schubert, John Clark & Jon Babcock
Editor: Arnold T. Blumberg
Cover Art: Daniel Branca
Publisher: Gemstone Publishing

This issue of Uncle Scrooge, like all the Walt Disney comics published by Gemstone, features several short stories. Headlining this issue is the fantastic two-part “Dream of a Lifetime” by Don Rosa. The nefarious Beagle Boys have stolen a machine from Gyro Gearloose that allows them to invade Scrooge McDuck’s dreams as he sleeps in an effort to plumb the combination to his vault. Gyro and Scrooge’s nephews arrive too late to stop them, and since the connection can’t be broken from the outside, their only hope is to send Donald Duck into the dream after them. The result is a hysterical romp through all the various eras of Scrooge’s life. For the first time, Donald gets to see his uncle as he was from the beginning, and for fans of Rosa’s brilliant “The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck” (which was itself culled from decades of stories by Carl Barks, who created the character), it’s a chance to revisit many of those scenarios with a twist, even going so far as to allow Donald to meet his own mother as a baby.

The story isn’t short on action either – there’s plenty of combat in the dreamscape across in a half-dozen settings, from the Australian outback to the streets of Glascow to the deck of the Titanic. Even the action gets comedy fed into it, though, as Donald’s nephews try to subconsciously supply him with weapons by feeding suggestions to the sleeping Scrooge that don’t always go the right way. The art is the same sort of dazzling, detailed work that we’ve come to expect from Rosa. If he had spent his career drawing superheroes instead of ducks, he’d be a comic book superstar. The story ends with the sort of heartwarming capper that proves why Rosa is the best creator to tackle the ducks since Barks himself.

As usual, with this title, the other stories have varying degrees of quality. Jensen, Spencer and Manrique present Gyro Gearloose in “Call of the Wildlife,” in which he invents a whistle that can call any animal, not just dogs. Hedman and Manrique’s “How to Induce a Miser” is a cute story about Daisy Duck inviting Scrooge to dinner to coax a loan out of him, but the meal is a disaster as her broken-down house keeps thwarting her. Halas and Vicar contribute the best back-up tale, “Considerably Richer,” in which Scrooge is horrified to learn he is no longer the richest duck in the world and sets out to confront the new titleholder. Finally, Karhonen and Marsal’s “Bossing the Boss” probably doesn’t work as much as the rest of the book. When Donald complains to Grandma Duck about how hard a slave driver Scrooge is, she tricks him into doing some farm work to convince him to lighten up. This story doesn’t really jive with the original Barks interpretation of the character – one of Scrooge’s defining traits is that he’s not some pampered millionaire, he’s a duck who has worked hard for every dime he has, and it’s hard to imagine he would find chopping firewood or painting a fence as daunting as he does in this tale, even with Grandma going harder on him just to prove a point.

All of the stories in this volume have fine artwork, though, with much of it being clear and brightly-colored enough to have leapt from te frames of a cartoon. This is the sort of comic book that parents can read with their kids and not be bored or feel patronized to. Funny, exciting stories like “Dream of a Lifetime” make this a great title month after month, and the best value for a comic fan who wants to share their hobby with their kids.

Rating: 8/10