Don Rosa

To me personally, this will always be one of the finest graphic novels in existence, putting Don Rosa up there with the likes of Alan Moore and Art Spiegelman. Of course, my opinion is coloured by a multitude of particular factors -- by having read this excellent saga doled out in tiny chapters over the course of half my childhood, by before that having already spent my entire living memory immersed in stories set in this universe, by being a person who loves continuity finally being given show more the backstory of one of my favourite characters in what was (and is) usually considered a continuity-devoid universe ...

But in fairness, a lot of these factors can be boiled down to me being the exact target demographic when I first read The Life and Times of $crooge McDuck. In age, and in interests. And one can hardly hold that against it.

Don Rosa provides his usual masterstrokes in this book. He manages to capture the sense of both slapstick and character (and character relationship) based humour that a traditional, solid Disney Duck story should have, and crams every panel with hilarity and memorable personalities. He provides the sense of grand, impossible and yet tantalizingly immersive adventure that are the hallmarks of the more serious subset of adventuring stories in the genre. But this can be said to be the case in nearly all his longer form Duck-stories. What makes 'Life and Times' stand out so much are all the layers added on top of this.

An iconic character is here given not only a backstory, but a full, vivid life. There is not only a sense of tangible adventure to be had, but of tangible _history_. The historical framework of $crooge's surroundings and experiences are impeccably researched and presented, with every new chapter having a new historical phenomenon to present (be it river boats on the Mississippi, the immigrant experience, the gold rush or American colonialism). This gives the book a real sense of progression (both in time and in narrative), with each chapter having a distinctive look and feel. But it is more than just the trappings of history -- these events and places colour $crooge (and, I think, even the reader) perhaps even more than the checklist of experiences and characters from Carl Barks' original stories that Don Rosa is so fond of weaving his narratives around.

The protagonist here does not just go on an adventure and return the same as he set out, more or less, as in a traditional Duck-tale. Rather, he grows, he learns, he changes. And we learn with him. What other Duck comic tackles leaving for a new continent on one's own at age 13, or, for that matter, the loss of one's parents?

From a behind the scenes perspective, this book is also something quite special. Providing an epic, complex narrative with real, human characters in a world traditionally built on gags or one-off premises, and somehow not feeling incongruous or forced is in and of itself very impressive, but Don Rosa's stubborn (albeit, I think, genious) decision to do so built entirely around the tidbits dropped in the silliest lines and tiniest minutia in Barks' old stories might be the most impressive thing of all. This herculean labour of love is perhaps why it doesn't feel incongruous -- after all, since $crooge mentioned them all at one point or another, the avid reader sort of knew all these things had happened before we even read them. It also provides the book with an emotional arc positively dripping with pathos when he brings $crooge's story current with the final chapters catching up to Carl Barks' original introduction of the character as a hateful, misanthropic old man, and seamlessly use the contradiction between this character's personality and the later incarnations of the modern $crooge as the driving force between not only the resultion of the book, but in hindsight, the entire journey to get there.

I get misty-eyed just typing it, a good twenty years after I first read it. If you skipped everything else in the wall of words this review turned out to be, perhaps it is enough if you caught this:

I still laugh, and I still cry, two decades on. And the whole thing is about a miserly duck with whiskers. show less

I rarely re-read books, but I welcome this series for a chance to revisit the Don Rosa duck stories I first read in comic book format twenty years ago. So many artists have imitated and paid homage to Carl Barks, "The Good Duck Artist," but only Rosa truly rose to be a peer. These stories are quirky, inventive, thrilling and laugh out loud funny.

When it comes to comic books, I'm not one of those who grew up with Superman or Batman or any of the other superheroes. I didn't get comics week after week, so the serialized stories meant nothing to me. I needed a self-contained story. Therefore, my addiction was fed by the citizens of Duckburg. I read and reread the exploits of Scrooge McDuck and the Beagle Boys and the Junior Woodchucks and all the other citizens of that incredibly complex universe. The comics I had. Like many of you, show more would be worth a fortune today. However, unlike many of you, I can't blame my mother for throwing them out. Instead, I read them until they were threadbare and I was the one who actually gave them the appropriate Viking funeral. (Okay, not literally, but it is what they deserved.)

I had no idea that IDW was doing these magnificent publications. So, when my sister bought me this book for my 60th birthday, I was amazed.

Herein are the scanned copies of the original art from Don Rosa – blue lines, erasures, paste-overs. This is the work that was used to create the comics. Also included are storyboard scripts that reveal an extra layer to the production of these classics. All of it reproduced in the original 14" by 20" size in which they were created.

But the most important thing for me was that reading these selections threw me right back to when I was that boy reading the pages into oblivion. I was back with some of my Duckburg friends reveling in their adventures.

True, these are not those stories from the 60s – the classics done by Carl Banks. These are the work of Don Rosa who created the original in the 90s, pieced together from fragmentary comments in those original works. But they contain the heart and soul that made Banks' stories so incredible.

The book is a work of art, the stories are cleverly crafted, and the entire package is worth every penny. If you are a fan of Duckburg, this is a must have. If you are just a fan of comics, then this is still a pretty-close-to-must-have. And if you don't really like any of the above, then what the heck is your problem??? show less

I am a Scrooge historian, I've spent the last 27 years studying and writing about my #1 duck, my comic colletion includes all but the very rarest of issues (currently I have several thousand Uncle Scrooge stories, from nearly countless issues from over 24 differant comic book titles) and believe me when I say I can't say enough good things about my #1 hero Scrooge McDuck. EEK! I'm known for boring people with my loooong 20-30 page lectures on all the intricate details of his life, and I'm show more sorely tempted to write one of my yapping lectures right now, but I won't, I'll just tell you that, I've been waiting for this moment for over 10 years now! This book is the ultimate best of the best from the greatest of the greatest!! YES! For all you duck fans out there who just fainted dead away at what I just said---YES! I said it---Don Rosa has done it---he's surpassed even the great Duck-Man Carl Barks himself!!! Keno Don Rosa is the King of Scrooge and when it comes to a great story it don't get any better than this!

Last year when I was told this greatest of all Uncle Scrooge stories was about to be re-realesed for the first time ever in America as a single bound volume---I went out and advanced ordered a copy for me, and one each for every one I know! Than I've spent the past 12 months pacing the floor, biting my nails, and pulling my hair out waiting for the day of it's release. A year of sheer agony!

But YIPPIE!! HIP, HIP, HORAAAAAY!!! WHHHEEEE!!! IT"S HERE!!! IT"S FINALLY HERE AT LAST!!! Now I'm bouncing off the walls and dancing on the roof!! I'm so happy, happy, happy, that finally at long last I've got my copy, here in my hands! I've read it and re-read it over and over---WOW! I'm gonna have to get me another copy, cause I'm gonna have this one worn out before it's even a month old! I loves it soooooo much!

ALL 12 books of the Life & Times saga are here...even all the original cover art! And Double Yippie!! extra bonus...they got the colors right this time---the ducks have got white hair like they are supposed to! (There was a ton of mistakes in the original Gladstone editions!) The "Kick/Sock" mistake from "King of the Klondike" has been corrected, and the painting with the edited out bullet hole, has got the bullet hole in his head again! The incorrect dino's name has been corrected....DANG! The opal is still the wrong color, it was supposed to be pink and blue, not orange and yellow...oh well, can't win them all. Also included are Keno's personal comments on these stunning stories and his amazing art. He even tells you where to find D.U.C.K (if you hadn't found them on your own that is----in all these years the only one I hadn't found was the one under Bombie's foot!) Keno's art is great, and for those of you not familar with his art---you'd better whip out your magnifying glass and go over the fine details of his art, cause it's better than "Where's Waldo" and "I Spy" combined!...Look for hidden gags, teeny tiny Mickey Mouses, and of course his famous signature D.U.C.K. (Dedicated to Uncle Carl from Keno).

All I can say is...LOVE IT! LOVE IT! LOVE IT!---5 stars just aren't enough---I give it a full 10! show less