Post by That Duckfan on Mar 5, 2021 23:08:00 GMT
I'm on a miniseries tour lately. This thread takes us to the 1980s, the later days of the 'Barks Renaissance', a country that's produced only a handful of full-length stories: Germany. In this thread, we take a look into the Adventures from Uncle Scrooge's Treasure Chest (Abenteuer aus Onkel Dagoberts Schatztruhe).
It's 1983, and German editor Adolf Kabatek comes up with the idea for a series of full-length, 44-page Scrooge adventures to be published in comic albums, heavily inspired by Barks (and even more by the Barksian Renaissance from Holland). Between 1983 and 1992, ten stories get published (though they didn't all receive a German code --- the relationship between Ehapa and Gutenberghus has always been a close and complex one). I read a few of these in the large, luxurious 'double albums' printed in Holland in the '80s, but recently I felt it was time to fill this gap in my collection and I purchased the German pocket book-sized collections that came out in 2015. It's not the nicest way to read these stories, they art doesn't benefit from the shrinking, but it was the most convienent collection available. (But 7,50 euros for a 240-page pocket book? Yowtch!)
So let's kick back and crack open some vintage Scrooge adventures.
G A 1
The Rain God of Uxmal
Writing by Miquel Pujol, César Ferioli, Julio Ramos i Poqui, and José Miguel Tortajada Aguilar
Layouts by Miquel Pujol and Julio Ramos i Poqui
Pencils by César Ferioli, José Miguel Tortajada, Marçal Abella, and Albert Garcia
Ink by Maria José Sanchez (Nunez) and Enrica (surname unknown)
Verdict: C-
A snake-oil salesman sells Scrooge the deed to the ruins of the fabled Maya city Uxmal, on the Yucatán peninsula. But before Donald and the nephews get a chance to fly to Mexico in one of Gyro's inventions, a disappointed Scrooge is kidnapped by the real, still existing indigenous of Uxmal, hidden away in a crevice in the middle of the jungle. The Maya, who see in him the descendant of their fabled rain god, Txac-Quac, force Scrooge to perform a humiliating rain dance. Can Donald and the boys help save Scrooge before time runs out?
A Spanish team is handling the art duties. I'm generally not a big fan of Spanish artists, their art tends to look a little stiff. In this case, the German lettering (and its dead-end font) doesn't help matters. Still, this isn't bad artwork by any means, especially in the splash panels. The artists also make the strange choice of making the indigenous people look human, while everyone else is just a regular dognose. It's a bit unnerving, especially since this isn't your most sensitive portrayal of indigenous peoples.
Yeah, I'm this sure isn't the kindest portrayal of characters. Scrooge tries to rip off pretty much everyone: the Maya, Professor Muchasgracias of the Mexico City History Museum (who looks suspiciously like the old man from The Gilded Man), and Donald on multiple occasions. The Maya don't listen to rhyme or reason, and although their civilization is secluded, they somehow catch Scrooge at a local café. Donald is quite petty towards Scrooge, but that's fair, given that Scrooge owes him overtime pay that he's unwilling to pay. Donald is the hapless victim of physical comedy and the final joke, which is a bit weak. Remember, Scrooge is the one who fell for the lost ruins trick to begin with.
The gags are decent, but nothing really notable.
I'm not sure if this story would fly today. It sure did then, Gutenberghus did a big international push to get this story going. It lacks the the satirical verve and general liveliness of Dutch stories of this period, nor does it feature the compelling character dynamic of the Indiana Goof stories. It does manage to address the "you can't just take priceless historical artefacts home" question, which is quite new for the period, but with nowhere near the delicacy of The Son of the Sun or The Treasury of Croesus, and a far cry from Rosa's American Indians altogether. Still, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was released the following year, so obviously the dated portrayals are befitting of the period in general.
It's 1983, and German editor Adolf Kabatek comes up with the idea for a series of full-length, 44-page Scrooge adventures to be published in comic albums, heavily inspired by Barks (and even more by the Barksian Renaissance from Holland). Between 1983 and 1992, ten stories get published (though they didn't all receive a German code --- the relationship between Ehapa and Gutenberghus has always been a close and complex one). I read a few of these in the large, luxurious 'double albums' printed in Holland in the '80s, but recently I felt it was time to fill this gap in my collection and I purchased the German pocket book-sized collections that came out in 2015. It's not the nicest way to read these stories, they art doesn't benefit from the shrinking, but it was the most convienent collection available. (But 7,50 euros for a 240-page pocket book? Yowtch!)
So let's kick back and crack open some vintage Scrooge adventures.
G A 1
The Rain God of Uxmal
Writing by Miquel Pujol, César Ferioli, Julio Ramos i Poqui, and José Miguel Tortajada Aguilar
Layouts by Miquel Pujol and Julio Ramos i Poqui
Pencils by César Ferioli, José Miguel Tortajada, Marçal Abella, and Albert Garcia
Ink by Maria José Sanchez (Nunez) and Enrica (surname unknown)
Verdict: C-
A snake-oil salesman sells Scrooge the deed to the ruins of the fabled Maya city Uxmal, on the Yucatán peninsula. But before Donald and the nephews get a chance to fly to Mexico in one of Gyro's inventions, a disappointed Scrooge is kidnapped by the real, still existing indigenous of Uxmal, hidden away in a crevice in the middle of the jungle. The Maya, who see in him the descendant of their fabled rain god, Txac-Quac, force Scrooge to perform a humiliating rain dance. Can Donald and the boys help save Scrooge before time runs out?
A Spanish team is handling the art duties. I'm generally not a big fan of Spanish artists, their art tends to look a little stiff. In this case, the German lettering (and its dead-end font) doesn't help matters. Still, this isn't bad artwork by any means, especially in the splash panels. The artists also make the strange choice of making the indigenous people look human, while everyone else is just a regular dognose. It's a bit unnerving, especially since this isn't your most sensitive portrayal of indigenous peoples.
Yeah, I'm this sure isn't the kindest portrayal of characters. Scrooge tries to rip off pretty much everyone: the Maya, Professor Muchasgracias of the Mexico City History Museum (who looks suspiciously like the old man from The Gilded Man), and Donald on multiple occasions. The Maya don't listen to rhyme or reason, and although their civilization is secluded, they somehow catch Scrooge at a local café. Donald is quite petty towards Scrooge, but that's fair, given that Scrooge owes him overtime pay that he's unwilling to pay. Donald is the hapless victim of physical comedy and the final joke, which is a bit weak. Remember, Scrooge is the one who fell for the lost ruins trick to begin with.
The gags are decent, but nothing really notable.
I'm not sure if this story would fly today. It sure did then, Gutenberghus did a big international push to get this story going. It lacks the the satirical verve and general liveliness of Dutch stories of this period, nor does it feature the compelling character dynamic of the Indiana Goof stories. It does manage to address the "you can't just take priceless historical artefacts home" question, which is quite new for the period, but with nowhere near the delicacy of The Son of the Sun or The Treasury of Croesus, and a far cry from Rosa's American Indians altogether. Still, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was released the following year, so obviously the dated portrayals are befitting of the period in general.