On the humor thread, Scrooge MacDuck brought up Lockman's "The Dime from Uncle," where old Number One is definitely a Lucky Dime. So much so that the supernatural luck-power it exudes is a witch-whammy. (So maybe Magica isn't allergic because she's a sorceress?) I used to think that the idea of Number One as a Lucky Dime was a European corruption, but here it is in 1965 American story. So, where did this idea originate? Barks himself didn't ever make it a lucky dime in this sense, did he? I thought he abandoned the fortune-from-luck idea in The Magic Hourglass once he established that Scrooge made his fortune by being tougher than the toughies etc.
Post by Scrooge MacDuck on Jul 16, 2016 15:26:41 GMT
Barks certainly did use the idea (I don't know if he invented it…) in "Lost beneath the sea", where he must absolutely get his dime back because his business is in jeopardy ever since he lost it (his oil wells tarnish, his boats sink, etc.). Barks later said he regretted making the dime a "Lucky Dime", later on.
Barks certainly did use the idea (I don't know if he invented it…) in "Lost beneath the sea", where he must absolutely get his dime back because his business is in jeopardy ever since he lost it (his oil wells tarnish, his boats sink, etc.). Barks later said he regretted making the dime a "Lucky Dime", later on.
In Barks' untitled story that later was given the title, "Lost Beneath The Sea", Scrooge's lost coin was a quarter (25 cents US). But Barks had Scrooge "THINK" or "BELIEVE" that his number one dime (the first that he ever earned) was lucky, or, at least, that it represented his great achievements, and so, in a way, it might bring him bad luck to not have it. But, Barks DID have Scrooge refer to "Old Number One" as his lucky dime. His referring to it as that was the reason that Magica De Spell wanted to get it to add to her amulet that she had planned to make out of the melting of several coins that had belonged to immensely wealthy people.
In Barks' untitled story that later was given the title, "Lost Beneath The Sea"
Rob, pardon me but I think you're confusing two stories here.
I suspect the untitled story you mention that involves a quarter must be the Atlantis story, which has been called "The Sunken City" and "The Secret of Atlantis" but never, to my knowledge, "Lost Beneath the Sea."
The Barks story Scrooge MacDuck is referencing here really does involve the Number One Dime—not a quarter—and it's always been called "Lost Beneath the Sea." (In development, Barks purportedly had the working title "Lost in Davy Jones' Locker," but it's never been published under that name.)
In Barks' untitled story that later was given the title, "Lost Beneath The Sea"
Rob, pardon me but I think you're confusing two stories here.
I suspect the untitled story you mention that involves a quarter must be the Atlantis story, which has been called "The Sunken City" and "The Secret of Atlantis" but never, to my knowledge, "Lost Beneath the Sea."
The Barks story Scrooge MacDuck is referencing here really does involve the Number One Dime—not a quarter—and it's always been called "Lost Beneath the Sea." (In development, Barks purportedly had the working title "Lost in Davy Jones' Locker," but it's never been published under that name.)
Yes. You are right. "Lost Beneath The Sea" was one of the late Barks stories I read only once as the colouring was so terrible, I could barely read them, but it was very hard to tell what was going on. By 1963, I had stopped buying comic books, and only bought those late Barks comics in 1966-69, after moving to Los Angeles to attend UCLA, and finding The Cherokee Book Store, and The Collector's Book Store in Hollywood. I only read most of the Gold Key Disney Comics I bought one time. In any case, Barks did have Scrooge calling his "Old Number one Dime" "lucky" many different times, starting in the early 1950s (not very long after he used the luck element in "The Magic Hourglass".
Hmm, I quite like the idea of the dime as magic amulet on occasion, because I like the fact that Disney comics can seemingly twist themselves into any genre. An actual magic dime might have been a bit too out there for Barks himself -- let's not forget that he generally (but not always!) tried to explain away Magica's magic tricks as just that: tricks. But it's since been established that Magica does to a certain extent harness magical abilities, so I guess Barks can't always have the last word.
I've always liked the idea of an object that is utterly mundane under normal circumstances possessing a special power for those with magical qualities. It suggests that there's so much more fantastical things out there. Too bad it tends to come down to the dime every time. I do think that there's a lot of potential to be explored around Magica and her world that have nothing to do with the dime at all. Who knows what kinds of magic exist in the Disney comics world? Also, I really don't like how this obsessive focus on Scrooge's dime reflects on Magica's character, but that's a whole other story.
As usual, the Italians are way ahead of us. Magica DeSpell and the Pantarba Stone, an awesome 1995 story, introduces new characters for Magica's family, who go with her on a journey through the underworld. The visuals, by Cavazzano, are great. The story was successful enough to result in two spin-offs with these characters, by the same writers and artist.
Hmm, I quite like the idea of the dime as magic amulet on occasion, because I like the fact that Disney comics can seemingly twist themselves into any genre. An actual magic dime might have been a bit too out there for Barks himself -- let's not forget that he generally (but not always!) tried to explain away Magica's magic tricks as just that: tricks. But it's since been established that Magica does to a certain extent harness magical abilities, so I guess Barks can't always have the last word.
I've always liked the idea of an object that is utterly mundane under normal circumstances possessing a special power for those with magical qualities. It suggests that there's so much more fantastical things out there. Too bad it tends to come down to the dime every time. I do think that there's a lot of potential to be explored around Magica and her world that have nothing to do with the dime at all. Who knows what kinds of magic exist in the Disney comics world? Also, I really don't like how this obsessive focus on Scrooge's dime reflects on Magica's character, but that's a whole other story.
As usual, the Italians are way ahead of us. Magica DeSpell and the Pantarba Stone, an awesome 1995 story, introduces new characters for Magica's family, who go with her on a journey through the underworld. The visuals, by Cavazzano, are great. The story was successful enough to result in two spin-offs with these characters, by the same writers and artist.
Yes. Carl Barks told me, himself, that he didn't like the idea of using real "magic" in a story, and didn't like Disney stories with real magic used in them. I, too, feel that way.
As usual, the Italians are way ahead of us. Magica DeSpell and the Pantarba Stone, an awesome 1995 story, introduces new characters for Magica's family, who go with her on a journey through the underworld. The visuals, by Cavazzano, are great.
Post by Scrooge MacDuck on Jul 16, 2016 20:25:25 GMT
You just gave Mr Gerstein a very good idea, it seems… At any rate, Rob, I, on the other hand, like the use of magic a lot. If it's handled well, of course. The ridiculous non-Barks ending to "The Golden Christmas Tree" is of course out of the question… But Witch Hazel or Madam Mim, handled well, or Don Rosa's wonderful Kalevala worldbuilding, I like a lot.
As usual, the Italians are way ahead of us. Magica DeSpell and the Pantarba Stone, an awesome 1995 story, introduces new characters for Magica's family, who go with her on a journey through the underworld. The visuals, by Cavazzano, are great.
As usual, the Italians are way ahead of us. Magica DeSpell and the Pantarba Stone, an awesome 1995 story, introduces new characters for Magica's family, who go with her on a journey through the underworld. The visuals, by Cavazzano, are great. The story was successful enough to result in two spin-offs with these characters, by the same writers and artist.
Yup, got that fine story in the German Big Black Book 2: I, Magica DeSpell--edited by David Gerstein!
And then years later I figured out that one of the family members in that story, niece Minima DeSpell, was created by Michael T. Gilbert. I had missed that because her first appearance was a DuckTales story, published in Disney Adventures and then the DuckTales volume of Cartoon Tales, neither of which I had seen when they first came out.
Anyway, the Italians especially have piles of stories set in Magica's world, giving her various family members and friends.
As usual, the Italians are way ahead of us. Magica DeSpell and the Pantarba Stone, an awesome 1995 story, introduces new characters for Magica's family, who go with her on a journey through the underworld. The visuals, by Cavazzano, are great.
Hmm... you don't say... (-:<
I wanted to mention that said underworld, if I remember correctly, is not unlike the one we see in Scrooge's Last Adventure. In fact, it was that story that put me in the mind of the Pantarba Stone story, since I haven't read it in years.
But then, reading the rest of the comments, I think you might know more about that than me...
Last Edit: Jul 16, 2016 23:25:01 GMT by That Duckfan
You just gave Mr Gerstein a very good idea, it seems… At any rate, Rob, I, on the other hand, like the use of magic a lot. If it's handled well, of course. The ridiculous non-Barks ending to "The Golden Christmas Tree" is of course out of the question… But Witch Hazel or Madam Mim, handled well, or Don Rosa's wonderful Kalevala worldbuilding, I like a lot.
One of my favorite mini-pieces of Magica world-building is in a Don Rosa story (is it A Little Something Special? I think so -- she buys the transportation powder), where we actually see her visiting a bazaar in Egypt or wherever and she has a conversation with the salesman. She appeared to be a regular customer. I've always found that to be a little piece of world-building with a lot of potential.
I can't think of a straight-out bad use of magic right away (although the whole of The Golden Christmas Tree is jarring and I tend to forget it exists). Witch Hazel I've never really liked, and Madam Mim is used in so many ways that it's difficult for me to pin down a specific iteration (although she does very well in Dutch stories). Rosa is very good at combining history with mythology and the supernatural, such as in The Treasury of Croesus or his Dan Brown-esque Crusader Kings stories (but then, everything with Templars in them will inevitably remind me of The Da Vinci Code due to it being shown on TV entirely too many times when I was younger).