Best stories with Ludwig Von Drake

[marco996]

Hey guys!
Stories with Ludwig Von Drake are quite rare, what are some of your favorite stories with him??
For me it would be: inducks.org/story.php?c=I+TL+3069-1P

Also do you think there's no point to him because there's already Gyro as the scientist role, or can he be a good developped character with his own role??

[sirredknee]

He worked very well in the movies, but as far as comics were concerned he was basically a pain in the neck. It's a good thing he was passé by the mid-sixties, IMHO.

[Baar Baar Jinx]

Nov 18, 2017 22:13:09 GMT sirredknee said:

He worked very well in the movies, but as far as comics were concerned he was basically a pain in the neck. It's a good thing he was passé by the mid-sixties, IMHO.

I have to agree with this. Gyro and Ludwig are definitely not interchangeable; Gyro could never have hosted those TV specials, and Ludwig could never have taken Gyro's place in the classic Barks stories. But Ludwig is essentially a character from animation, and I've yet to come across a comic story featuring him where his presence didn't seem forced.  Even Rosa admitted that he wanted to use Ludwig, and put him on the Duck family tree, because he had fond memories of him on TV from childhood, not because the character added anything significant to the comics universe (although I can only imagine what Barks would have given us if he had been asked to write for the short-lived Ludwig Von Drake title in the sixties).

[RobbK1]

I think Ludwig is a good supplementary character, being an obnoxious, highly egotistical "Know-It-All". His 4 comic books with him as the lead character in all stories contained decent stories - nothing spectacular. But they all had similar themes. So fans would get tired of Ludwig as a lead character. He is too narrow a character. He can be an obnoxious, highly egotistical "Know-It-All", who is a braggart and a snobby elitist. He can also be used as an absent-minded professor, who is a bumbler, when he takes on science or art projects. His mood is volatile when his ego feels attacked or he is flattered. These traits are very different from the workaholic, scientist/inventor, Gyro. I used him as a main character in a one-page gag. I would also use him in stories that deal in academics or The Arts(perhaps related to Donald or Huey, Dewey and Louie, or Daisy), and use him as an irritant to Scrooge, as an "expert" in various fields, which can be related to Scrooge's businesses.

[Matilda]

I enjoyed The Third Nile, just to name a recent IDW publication! Ludwig also shows up in a minor supporting role in ZP, Paperetta e l'ultimo scrigno, which I like very much as a Paperetta story. Joe Torcivia has said on his blog that his favorite Ludwig story is The Planet X Mystery. That one features both Ludwig and Gyro, and makes it clear that they are quite different characters. Bombastic vs. humble, academic vs. inventor, they overlap hardly at all. I agree with Rob that Ludwig doesn't work all that well in a leading role, but as a supporting character he can be a fun addition to the cast.