Another volume of ducklings. Another comic book volume by Carl Barks. How is it different from the rest? The fact that it presents us with one of the first stories about the expanding duck universe.
bartosz stułaThe end of the 1940s
Have you ever wondered what the beginnings of the duck world looked like? Certainly yes, because everyone likes to look deeply into what they like and learn the genesis of their interests. It was no different in my case. My adventure with Donald Duck began in the 90s with a very popular magazine and the series Duck Tales . Apart from Donald, I was always fascinated by Uncle Scrooge. At the threshold of the twenty-first century, I had the opportunity to learn about the history of this duck fantasy. With time, I began to feel that it wasn’t that I would like to see this character’s first appearance. And so it happened several years ago in “Donald Duck”. After a few years, I managed to encounter this story again in the volume I reviewed. Big Dipper –because that is the title of the comic – it is a story from 1947 that presents Scrooge for the first time. What may turn out to be a bit strange, the first frame with this old duck actually prompts the reader to think about the prototype of the character – Ebenezer Scrooge, but as it turns out, the Scrooge is a rather responsible businessman who likes to play with others, which unfortunately Donald suffers from (in the next history, Scrooge is also more fearful than he is in modern comics).
Another debut in the duck world is the appearance of Goguś. It is the first time when the biggest lucky guy from Kaczogród appears in The Betting House. Like the Scrooge, however, he is not what we are used to. Instead of the lucky one, we see an adult duck who preys on the misfortune and stupidity of others, but at the same time suffers well-deserved punishment thanks to Daisy’s intervention.
More stories
The title story, The Secret of the Old Castle, is a kind of background for creating the ancestral history of not only McKwacz, but also of the entire duck family. The Scottish atmosphere is really well mapped, because Barks was based on a reportage about old castles from the northern part of Great Britain. The story is so interesting that it has an unusual twist with the main antagonist. This is actually another debut, because it is the first story about a treasure hunt that has long appeared in the adventures of the duck family.
Another interesting element of this volume are the drawings themselves. They show Barks’ talent from the first years of his career. Ducklings have elongated beaks, Scrooge strangely blown and long sideburns, and Donald’s car does not resemble the classic 313. However, this does not bother, but only adds a note of nostalgia to this volume.
Another nice tome that can teach us a lot
The stories I have reviewed are not enough. The latest volume also includes many other interesting stories, including original reprints of comic books never published in Poland. This can be seen on the pages that are as if “photocopied” from the library archives. Well, I can only say that this title is the best one published so far.
