I am enjoying "New Adventures of the Phantom Blot"--stories I hadn't seen before, very cool one-pagers printed in color for the first time, fine essays. I was struck by one tiny thing in the scripts: Mickey addresses Scrooge as "Uncle Scrooge" (pp. 24, 98). Joe Torcivia's essay says that the Mouseworld and Duckworld characters were rarely mixed back in the day...so are there other instances of Mickey saying this? Had it been done before, and would it be done again? I'm used to anyone and everyone calling Elvira "Grandma," but it feels mighty strange to have Mickey calling Scrooge "Uncle Scrooge."
I am enjoying "New Adventures of the Phantom Blot"--stories I hadn't seen before, very cool one-pagers printed in color for the first time, fine essays. I was struck by one tiny thing in the scripts: Mickey addresses Scrooge as "Uncle Scrooge" (pp. 24, 98). Joe Torcivia's essay says that the Mouseworld and Duckworld characters were rarely mixed back in the day...so are there other instances of Mickey saying this? Had it been done before, and would it be done again? I'm used to anyone and everyone calling Elvira "Grandma," but it feels mighty strange to have Mickey calling Scrooge "Uncle Scrooge."
I agree... and yet, it was probably done with the exact same logic that applies to Grandma: he's "Uncle Scrooge" to everyone in the Disney "family".
I much prefer Mickey calling Uncle Scrooge just "Scrooge", of course.
Mickey referring to Scrooge as “Uncle Scrooge” probably also serves as a not-so-subtle promotion for the comic book of the same name. Get kids to remember the name “Uncle Scrooge” for the next time they buy a comic book. Kinda like comics or cartoons where the characters will say the main character’s name all the time, even more than the rest of the cast.
Mickey referring to Scrooge as “Uncle Scrooge” probably also serves as a not-so-subtle promotion for the comic book of the same name. Get kids to remember the name “Uncle Scrooge” for the next time they buy a comic book. Kinda like comics or cartoons where the characters will say the main character’s name all the time, even more than the rest of the cast.
True...although in this case Donald appears in the very same story, calling his uncle Uncle Scrooge, so you wouldn’t think it would add a lot of marketing oomph for Mickey to say it as well.
Stories with the Phantom Blot and Scrooge interacting always make me wish Egmont had allowed Don Rosa to use the Phantom Blot in "The Black Knight", as he originally was planning to do.
DISNEY MASTERS HC VOL 19 MICKEY MOUSE SHADOW DIMENSION FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS JAN218020 In Shops: Sep 15, 2021 Final Orders Due: Dec 31, 2039 SRP: $29.99 www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/JAN218020 (No need to rush on final orders.)
DISNEY MASTERS HC VOL 19 MICKEY MOUSE SHADOW DIMENSION FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS JAN218020 In Shops: Sep 15, 2021 Final Orders Due: Dec 31, 2039 SRP: $29.99 www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/JAN218020 (No need to rush on final orders.)
I think that one is being solicited from some sort of alternate dimension if it can arrive in shops 18 years before final orders are due.
DISNEY MASTERS HC VOL 19 MICKEY MOUSE SHADOW DIMENSION FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS JAN218020 In Shops: Sep 15, 2021 Final Orders Due: Dec 31, 2039 SRP: $29.99 www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/JAN218020 (No need to rush on final orders.)
That is the Casty volume! And it will have his first Atomino story!
In my opinion, one of the most overrated stories of Casty. And I was hoping for his undisputed masterpiece Topolino e l'impero sottozero. But I don't think they'll bring two Atomo stories in the same volume (and there won't be room for more stories).
Stories with the Phantom Blot and Scrooge interacting always make me wish Egmont had allowed Don Rosa to use the Phantom Blot in "The Black Knight", as he originally was planning to do.
He actually wanted to use the Blot?? Wow. I have to say, I think the Arsène Lupin parody character he created works great for the Black Knight stories, and it would be a pity if he hadn't come to be. Really surprising to hear Rosa wanted to use a Mickey villain.
Rosa, in his commentary for the Fantagraphics series, says "For 'The Black Knight' I at first considered using the Phantom Blot in the bad-guy role, but then decided to create a new type of threat to Scrooge's Money Bin." That doesn't sound as if Egmont blocked him from using the Blot, but rather that he considered the idea, then gave it up. I can see his reasoning--he wanted a villain to use the Omnisolve-armor gimmick, but the Beagles are a collective and the gimmick calls for a solo bad guy; Magica is a solo villain, but she uses sorcery and wouldn't need to use a sci-fi device like the Omnisolve; Glomgold is a solo villain and doesn't use sorcery, but he wouldn't be interested in making a raid on Scrooge's bin. Casting around for an established big-ticket solo villain who'd be interested in robbing Scrooge, it was natural he'd think of the Blot. Given his disdain for the Mickey stories, I am a bit surprised he even considered using the character, but I suspect, if he had, he would have justified it to himself on the grounds that the Blot did cross over with Scrooge a few times in the comics (maybe he read a few of those a kid; that often seems to have an influence on what Rosa is willing to accept as canon and what he rejects). Anyway, I'm glad he didn't use the Blot; Arpin Lusene is a very entertaining character, a great addition to the Ducks' world, and easily Rosa's best original creation--just as "The Black Knight" is one of Rosa's very best later stories (the sequel is more of a retread and less interesting, though Lusene is still a lot of fun).
Thanks, Caballero; very interesting. However, that quote still doesn't necessarily indicate that Egmont stopped Rosa from using the Blot in "The Black Knight," specifically. Again, Rosa's own words from the Fantagraphics book makes it sound like it was entirely his own decision to eschew the Blot in favor of a new character. He may have tried to use the Blot in one of his earlier stories; I find it a little hard to believe that, in the late 1990s, Egmont would have prevented Rosa, still riding high on his Life-and-Times fame, from using one of the best-known and most popular Disney comics villains, crossover or no crossover--although they did stop him from using Hortense and Ludwig in "Letter from Home," so who knows? Anyway, whether Rosa himself decided against using the Blot, or whether it was Egmont's call, I'm still glad it didn't happen; as I've said before, few post-Gottfredson uses of the Blot were very interesting, and there's no reason to think Rosa would have done much better with the character than Western Publishing or Ducktales did. Lusene, on the other hand, was a unique and highly entertaining new creation--merging the classic trope of the Continental gentleman-thief with the verbal humor of Peter Sellers' Clouseau character.