Rota Adventure Stories

[TheMidgetMoose]

Hello, Feathery Society friends! The other day I read what was I think my first Marco Rota adventure story, The Golden Throne Legend. It was awesome! Whenever I saw Rota's artwork for the first time, I was already in love with it. The artwork here, though... Wow! It's so -- and I mean in this best way possible -- moody. There's just an emotion to the artwork itself, at least in this story. I also loved the plot and the actually somewhat emotional plot twist at the end. I loved this way that Magica was used, relying more so on disguises and deception than extreme and unrestrained magical power. Honestly, I would need to reread the story to find something that I didn't like. The first reading was perfect!

Anyway, the only reason that I'm posting about this is to ask for your suggestions of similar Marco Rota adventure stories. I've really just fallen in love with his art (again, at least in the story... I know it's possible that his art isn't as good in other stories), and I love the way this adventure story is set up. Again, I'm looking for specifically suggestions regarding adventure stories in the vein of The Golden Throne Legend, be it some sort of treasure hunt or some other globetrotting/nation-trotting escapade. Give me stories that feature Rota's great artwork and also have some of the other strengths of The Golden Throne Legend. Give me your personal favorites! I don't know how easy it will be for me to get a copy of whatever story you may suggest, but I'd like to have a little list of stories for me to check out someday in the future. For this thread, let's leave it at Marco Rota adventure stories!

Also, while we're here, allow me to show some of my favorite panels from The Golden Throne Legend.

More of this please!

God bless!

[caballero]

3 great Marco Rota comics with great stories and insane art:
- Night of the Saracen
- The Money Ocean (very much an adventure comic but taking place nearly entirely in the Money Bin! What a genius concept!)
- a shorter comic that is nearly entirely wordless and is an excellent showcase of Rota’s art: Little Helper Lost (not been released in the US unfortunately, but as I wrote, it’s mostly wordless)

[zipi]

We definetely need Rota Disney Masters book asap!

[caballero]

Dec 19, 2022 9:25:23 GMT zipi said:

We definetely need Rota Disney Masters book asap!

Absolutely! I want at least two:

- a Best of Marco Rota volume. Two absolute must in this book: Paperino pendolare (not the shortened 10-page version, but the full 36 pages in all their glory) and Little Helper Lost, neither of which have ever been published in English.
- a second Rota volume collecting all his Andold Wild Duck stories. Btw, such a book was published in Italy in 2017, in Brazil in 2020 and the most lavish version was published in Denmark a couple of months ago, celebrating Rota's 80th anniversary.

[That Duckfan]

Well MidgetMoose, you certainly have good taste! Rota has made some cracking adventure stories. I see Night of the Saracen and Donald as Commuter were already mentioned, as well as the Andold Wild Duck series.

Another Rota classic, though not an adventure, is Happy Birthday, Donald Duck! from 1984. I love the scenic views of New York, and it's a great mix of pathos and bathos.
The Incredible Shrinking Duck may not be as extreme as its Don Rosa counterpart, but it's still a fine adventure.
The Last Stagecoach to Tuscon is a rare foray into Scrooge's youth.
Nightmare on Duck Street has some great horror imagery. Old Jack's Island is a more piratical story.
For more comedic turns, I also like The Exotic Prize and The Legend of the Spanish Fort.

Apparently Rota also illustrated some studio stories, including one by Dick Kinney. I wouldn't be surprised if that one ended up in a Masters volume!

[TheMidgetMoose]

My apologies that I totally forgot to sincerely thank all of you for the suggestions so far! Night of the Saracen sounds like almost exactly what I'm looking for. I'm going to put The Last Stagecoach to Tuscon and Old Jack's Island pretty high on the list, too, as I'm a sucker for the "cowboy" period of Scrooge's life and I love seeing the Ducks in pirate-like adventures, so long as they're well done. Thank you to all!

[Spectrus]

I must say that despite Rota's art clearly showing the artist's age now, his recent string of collaborations with Vito Stabile has been very nice.

[shoelesspashley]

I was just trying to find out if a Masters edition of Rota's work exists yet. I really hope we get one soon. I love The Money Ocean.