Post by crazycatlord on May 2, 2018 18:42:57 GMT
4 - The Counterfeit Caper
And so we come to the last, and possibly best, story in the book: The Counterfeit Caper. No clue who wrote it, but it's drawn by one Jack Manning.
See, compare and contrast with The Stuffed Mattress: this is an instantly auspicious opening. The turnstile at the door of Scrooge's office is a funny and in-character concept, that secretary stork character has an engaging design, Sir Xavier Checker too… and you've even got the background gag of "Buck One" it is heart-shaped golden frame. Yes, I think this may do quite nicely.
Okay, no. The Scrooge I know would not turn down an opportunity to profit, whether he enjoys whatever task is being asked of him or not. If he could get paid for looking for treasure he'd get to keep anyway, he would. But that's a minor gripe. The point is that Sir Xavier is the treasurer of some faux-European country called Mintavia, and they have a counterfeiting problem. This is one of the few times Scrooge's long-established ability to smell money is actually used at the centre, and it's a welcome thing.
What's bad news, Sir X.? Did a sea monster EAT-YOUR-ICE-CREAM? …Sorry. The way the plane is affected by Scrooge's sneezing is amusing and Tex-Avery-esque, and don't you just love the variety of dismayed expression Manning gives Sir X.?
I know I've praised Manning's art here, but this is… not his best work. Proportionally speaking, there is literally no way for such an image to exist unless the pilot is a leprechaun, and what we're seeing to Scrooge's right is the decapitated head of Sir X., placed on some sort of pedestal.
Did we really need those narration boxes to understand what's going on? Bah. I do like the appearance of that poor bewildered falcon in the third panel.
So anyway, blah blah blah, he stumbles upon the counterfeiters and his out-of-control sneezing ends up saving the day. Crooks captured, mission accomplished. Scrooge is set to be knighted in reward.
Scrooge is now Sir Scrooge! A fact which will… never be addressed again! Hurrah!
I do like the King's design, but was that second panel anything at all except for padding? I mean, how is it in any way interesting, funny or relevant to learn that Scrooge will be flying home in the King's plane? If this panel were cut and the knighting one expanded to fill the whole tier, would anyone, anywhere have gone "BUT WAIT! That plane Scrooge is flying home in it! WHOSE IS IT? I MUST KNOW!!"? Really now?
This story remembers me of "The Sitting Giant Mystery", also from Jack Manning, also with a foreign king hiring US to smell money (in these case, to discover real lost money, not fake money), and with a very similar artwork (the kings are very similar).