Post by Matilda on Jul 7, 2016 20:34:38 GMT
Now that the last chapter has come out in the IDW comics, I thought I’d post my reactions to SLA. Lots of things to like about this story!
Plot: I like how well it distinguishes between Glomgold and Rockerduck—both in their deeds and motivations and in their way of speaking. The latter may be due to Jonathan Gray’s fine dialoguing, or it may also be evident in the original, I don’t know. I loved Magica being cursed to be a good fairy. The reason why the #1 Dime wouldn’t work in her spell (according to the Council), though, was a bit of a retread from Rosa. It’s cool that it’s Donald who gets the idea about the bubblegum—I like it when he can shine now and then, when he’s not being a superhero. Still, I liked the way Duck Avenger was brought in, and the need to keep the secret lair in Donald’s house from discovery by the BBs. Very good plotting use of iconic symbols of Scrooge’s persona: the loss and (very satisfying) recovery of a top hat; the fact that it’s his attachment to his #1 Dime that leads him to the Terries and Fermies, who play a crucial role in his restoration. Several fine gags (some might be Jonathan’s): Scrooge’s difficulty giving up the dollar for Elvira’s gift, his offering her 2% on her loan, the exchange between Duck Avenger and the BBs about domino masks, Rockerduck laughing about comparing amounts of string.
Dialogue: Besides the gags just mentioned, other favorite moments include: the BBs’ “we’re receptacle citizens now!”; Donald on being Duck Avenger as “the one job I can really master”; the Terries and Fermies marching “in search of rockier pastures”; “Any hoodoos home?” And the reference which gave me (and Deb, see her drawing on her website!) great glee: Magica’s invocation of “magic words of poof, poof, piffles.” And yes, I did try those words out when I was a wee tyke; perhaps it’s just as well that they didn’t work to shrink me, though I was quite disappointed at the time.
Art: I thought Penina’s art served the story quite well. Occasionally the nephews looked a bit wonky, with weird eyes. But there were very expressive facial expressions throughout, even on Ratface! And I loved the visuals of Magica as a good fairy (happy she got on the Schroeder/Jippes cover!) and of her happy-happy home.
Coloring: Again, great on good-fairy Magica and her happy home. My only gripe is the coloring of the Terries and Fermies. I approve of making them rock-colored rather than depicting them in primary colors. But I didn’t like the fact that the Terries were all brown and the Fermies were all gray. I would prefer the two groups to be visually distinguishable only by the way they tie their ties. If both groups had consisted of a random distribution of brown and gray (and gray-brown), I would have been happier.
All in all, a very satisfying story! It won’t enter my headcanon as a “real” story, because of having too many Italian elements (the dome, the Italian version of Miss Q, the regrettable Brigitta, etc.) which aren’t part of my Duckburg. But it’s proof of the fact that I enjoy greatly some stories which don’t enter my personal History of Duckburg.
Plot: I like how well it distinguishes between Glomgold and Rockerduck—both in their deeds and motivations and in their way of speaking. The latter may be due to Jonathan Gray’s fine dialoguing, or it may also be evident in the original, I don’t know. I loved Magica being cursed to be a good fairy. The reason why the #1 Dime wouldn’t work in her spell (according to the Council), though, was a bit of a retread from Rosa. It’s cool that it’s Donald who gets the idea about the bubblegum—I like it when he can shine now and then, when he’s not being a superhero. Still, I liked the way Duck Avenger was brought in, and the need to keep the secret lair in Donald’s house from discovery by the BBs. Very good plotting use of iconic symbols of Scrooge’s persona: the loss and (very satisfying) recovery of a top hat; the fact that it’s his attachment to his #1 Dime that leads him to the Terries and Fermies, who play a crucial role in his restoration. Several fine gags (some might be Jonathan’s): Scrooge’s difficulty giving up the dollar for Elvira’s gift, his offering her 2% on her loan, the exchange between Duck Avenger and the BBs about domino masks, Rockerduck laughing about comparing amounts of string.
Dialogue: Besides the gags just mentioned, other favorite moments include: the BBs’ “we’re receptacle citizens now!”; Donald on being Duck Avenger as “the one job I can really master”; the Terries and Fermies marching “in search of rockier pastures”; “Any hoodoos home?” And the reference which gave me (and Deb, see her drawing on her website!) great glee: Magica’s invocation of “magic words of poof, poof, piffles.” And yes, I did try those words out when I was a wee tyke; perhaps it’s just as well that they didn’t work to shrink me, though I was quite disappointed at the time.
Art: I thought Penina’s art served the story quite well. Occasionally the nephews looked a bit wonky, with weird eyes. But there were very expressive facial expressions throughout, even on Ratface! And I loved the visuals of Magica as a good fairy (happy she got on the Schroeder/Jippes cover!) and of her happy-happy home.
Coloring: Again, great on good-fairy Magica and her happy home. My only gripe is the coloring of the Terries and Fermies. I approve of making them rock-colored rather than depicting them in primary colors. But I didn’t like the fact that the Terries were all brown and the Fermies were all gray. I would prefer the two groups to be visually distinguishable only by the way they tie their ties. If both groups had consisted of a random distribution of brown and gray (and gray-brown), I would have been happier.
All in all, a very satisfying story! It won’t enter my headcanon as a “real” story, because of having too many Italian elements (the dome, the Italian version of Miss Q, the regrettable Brigitta, etc.) which aren’t part of my Duckburg. But it’s proof of the fact that I enjoy greatly some stories which don’t enter my personal History of Duckburg.
