tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43577932243701885972024-03-16T14:52:05.312-04:00News and Views by Chris BaratComics, book, and DVD reviews (and occasional eruptions of other kinds)Chris Barathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845538037091279990noreply@blogger.comBlogger945125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357793224370188597.post-45178595802387431702015-02-23T16:56:00.004-05:002015-02-23T16:56:43.593-05:00Service Information from NickyBarat<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hi guys,<br />
As most of you know, Chris passed away peacefully on Sunday February 22nd after a brief and sudden complication from his kidney transplant.<br />
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I know he held all of his blog followers in high esteem and I know he would have wanted me to post this last message to you all.<br />
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His funeral mass will be at Sacred Heart Church, Glyndon, MD at 10am on Saturday February 28th. There will be an additional smaller service in Wilmington, DE within a week for the burial service as it was his wish to be interned near his dad. The specific date and time will be determined shortly. This will make it easier for his New York buddies to say goodbye.<br />
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In lieu of flowers, Chris wanted any donations to go to St. Mark's HS at:<br />
www.stmarkshs.net/HowtoGive<br />
<br />
An obituary has been posted on:<br />
http://www.eckhardtfuneralchapel.com/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=2975041&fh_id=11311<br />
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Thanks for all of your support.Chris Barathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845538037091279990noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357793224370188597.post-57797205131008798592015-01-24T20:03:00.002-05:002015-01-24T20:03:16.587-05:00Back at HopkinsLast night, I was admitted to the Johns Hopkins Transplant Ward (the same place where I stayed after my transplant surgery). I've been bothered by fluish symptoms off and on ever since the beginning of the year. When my white blood cell and platelet counts suddenly became abnormally low, my post transplant nephrologist asked me to check in. That way, they can keep better tabs on me as they shuffle through several possible viruses that might have piggybacked onto the original flu.<div>
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Obviously, this 11th hour complication, with the Spring Term starting on Monday, has me profoundly depressed. I haven't been able to comment on the first concrete news about the IDW Disney comics, either (though I have reacted on other people's sites). Thankfully, I am feeling much better today and am confident that the doctors will be able to find out the truth before too much longer.</div>
Chris Barathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845538037091279990noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357793224370188597.post-1575589849516700532015-01-15T19:14:00.001-05:002015-01-15T19:14:22.145-05:00DUCKTALES Fanfic Review: "The Sincere Fraud" by "Commander"<i>Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in. -- Robert Frost</i><br />
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Of course, what happens <b>AFTER</b> they take you in is often the most interesting part...<i> </i><br />
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I'm back with another <i>DuckTales</i> fanfic focus... and the <i>angst </i>is <b>STRONG</b> with this one! Thankfully, <i>DuckTales</i> doesn't appear to have inspired nearly as <b>many </b>of these soul-sucking fics as, let's say, <i>Chip and Dale's Rescue Rangers</i> (does anyone remember the concept of "Gadget-gouging"? If not, then be thankful) or <i>Darkwing Duck</i> (the Gosalyn-Drake relationship was always rife with potential for emotional exploitation, and numerous writers have taken advantage). The<i> </i>TV series simply didn't provide sufficient raw material for the introduction of soap-opera elements. With <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Life-Times-Scrooge-McDuck/dp/0911903968">THE LIFE AND TIMES OF $CROOGE McDUCK</a> still well in the future, the show's explorations of Scrooge's past were comparatively straightforward, and they focused almost entirely on <b>his </b>individual exploits. The Nephews and Webby were too young to enter "the dating zone" and similar locales where adolescent <i>Weltschmerz </i>might have a chance to get its hooks into them. As for Launchpad, he was primarily concerned with where his next crash was coming from.<br />
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Of the main cast of <i>DuckTales</i>, Fenton Crackshell came the closest to experiencing some <b>legitimate </b><i>angst</i>, thanks to his occasionally rocky relationship with Gandra Dee, the demands of his "M'Ma," and his struggles to reconcile his "normal" and superheroic identities. However, these experiences were generally played for laughs. The mere fact that such stories were <b>attempted </b>with Fenton indicates just how promising a character he was... and what a shame it was that he was left abandoned on a metaphorical siding following the TV series' shutdown, with no further opportunities to build upon the ideas that had already been introduced. <br />
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The prolific fanfic writer "<a href="https://www.fanfiction.net/u/24324/Commander">Commander</a>" appears to have reasoned, logically enough, that, in order to introduce any heavy-duty emotional dynamics into the<i> </i>world of <i>DuckTales</i> <b>as a whole</b>, the characters would have to be pushed forward in time. OK, I know what many of you must <b>already </b>be thinking...<br />
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... and, yes, HD&L <b>are </b>thrust into middle school in the epic under discussion here, but there's little indication that "Commander" was influenced in any meaningful way by <i>Quack Pack</i>. During the traumatizing events of "<a href="https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2910239/1/The-Sincere-Fraud">The Sincere Fraud</a>, " the boys are anything <b>but </b>ironically detached snark-dealers. <br />
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"Commander" apparently planned to write a whole series of fics set in his personal version of the <i>DT</i> "universe" -- which turns out to be a mixture of the world of the TV series and his own take on Don Rosa's LATO$M timeline -- but "The Sincere Fraud" turned out to be the only major product that survived the vagaries of time and the demands of "real life." He did, however, manage to set the table for the story in the reminiscence tale "<a href="https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2759366/1/Sepia-Tone">Sepia Tone</a>," which basically consists of the seven-year-old Louie finding an old family album and asking Scrooge to tell him about some of his and his brothers' "foreducks." It's a pretty quick read, and I encourage you to give it a look if you get the chance, but here's a summary of the significant takeaways. Some of them will be quite familiar, some not so much. <br />
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(1) The McDuck siblings, in order of age: Scrooge, Matilda, Hortense (as <i>per</i> Rosa).<br />
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(2) Matilda married Ludwig Von Drake (as <i>per </i>the Rosa Family Tree) and <b>died young</b>. Scratch "<a href="http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=D+2003-081">A Letter from Home</a>" (preferably, while shedding a silent tear or two).<br />
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(3) Hortense married Quackmore, and they had Donald and Della two years apart. That is, Donald and Della were <b>not</b> twins. This fact actually turns out to be rather significant.<br />
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(4) Quackmore joined the Navy during World War II and died in action when Donald was nine years old. Since Donald was a "Mama's boy" and never really that close to his Dad, <b>that </b>was what really motivated him to join the Navy... <b>AND</b><i>, </i>more than that, to make the service an actual career.<br />
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(5) Della was the proverbial "bad seed," getting into repeated, and increasingly serious, trouble as a youngster and developing a knack for conning people into making them do what she wanted them to do. In the process, she also developed a bad feud with her older brother Donald. Don's original intention, to keep her from running completely off the "road of life," was actually a good one, but he ultimately got so angry at her that he came to believe that he had <b>always </b>hated her. For her part, Della resented Donald trying to butt into her life, and he similarly assumed the role of a monster in <b>her </b>own troubled mind. Della ultimately got knocked up by someone or other -- I'm guessing that the picture of Della's anonymous mate on the Rosa Family Tree is meant to be a generic composite; if so, then it's probably an overly flattering one -- and had her triplets, Huey, Dewey, and Louie.<br />
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<i>Idealized portrayal of Duck relationship #1</i></div>
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(6) Incapable of supporting herself, yet desperate to provide for her kids, Della tried to rob a bank and was arrested and sentenced to 15 years in prison. The Nephews, who by that time were three years old, were subsequently transferred over to Donald's care. The famous 1938 DONALD DUCK Sunday strip that introduced HD&L is therefore in error in at least one respect: The document that was sent to Donald to inform him of the transfer was probably a <b>lot </b>more formal than a simple handwritten note.<br />
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(7) <b>At the age of five</b> -- yes, you read that right -- Donald joined the Navy, and HD&L came to live with their next closest relative, Scrooge. Commence the events of <i>DuckTales</i>.<b> IF</b> you can buy the idea of the Nephews being that young at the start of "<a href="http://newsandviewsbychrisbarat.blogspot.com/2013/01/ducktales-retrospective-episode-24.html">Don't Give Up the Ship</a>," then this actually explains a lot about why the characters act the way they do during the "dock scene." As I noted in my review of that episode, it is quite clear that the Ducks of "Ship" do not know one another all that well, and it is therefore next to impossible to imagine them sharing <b>any </b>joint adventures between the time Donald assumed charge of the Nephews and the time he left to go to sea. Heck, even if they had <b>wanted </b>to have an adventure, there was hardly enough time for them to do so!<br />
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Take a moment to consider the consequences of this setup. "Commander"'s interpretation takes the events of "Don't Give Up the Ship," and subsequently of <i>DuckTales</i>, as being the <b>TRUE</b><i> </i>Duck "canon," at least in an adventurous sense. Any previous tales told by Barks (basically, the only Duck-bard who was relevant at the time of <i>DT</i>'s debut) are hereby rendered null and void... <b>EVEN THE ONES </b>in which Donald and HD&L went on adventures all by themselves! We're dealing with the cleanest of whiteboards here!<br />
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(8) Webby was three years old when she and her "grammy" came to live with Scrooge and HD&L. Despite Webby's occasionally "childish" behavior, that age also seems a little low. Perhaps young Ducks mature at a quicker rate than humans of a similar age. (If nothing else, then their <b>memories</b> improve quickly; HD&L do not have any clear memories of their mother, but, in the span of two years, their memories are suddenly working on roughly the same level as a typical adult's.)<br />
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Flash forward a decade or so. Scrooge is older and creakier, and he now allows himself the luxury of a day off every week (<i>gasp!</i>), but he remains feisty and driven. HD&L are now 14, are in eighth grade, and have developed very distinct personalities. Webby is 12, is in sixth grade, is about to start dating, <b>and </b>may also harbor a secret crush on Dewey. Mrs. Beakley, sad to say, is in a nursing home with Alzheimer's disease, and Scrooge has become Webby's legal guardian. Donald is still in the Navy, albeit on leave, and Daisy is pushing him to finally "pop the question" (about <b>time</b>, don'tcha think?). <br />
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** MAJOR SPOILERS **<br />
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<b>THE STORY</b>: Having secured an early release from prison for good behavior -- or what would pass as such for a character with a temperament that's just as explosive as Donald's -- Della comes to McDuck Mansion in search of a fresh start... and, perhaps, some assistance from Scrooge to help her get her life back on track. The Nephews have very different reactions to her. "Troubled kid" Huey is suspicious of her motives, partially because he sees himself in her but doesn't want to end up <b>like</b> her. "Intellectual" Dewey tries to weigh the available evidence and maintain some objectivity. "Optimistic, sensitive, and creative" Louie, meanwhile, embraces the idea that his Mom has returned and accepts her wholeheartedly. When Donald proposes to Daisy and is <b>turned down</b> (for a presumed "lack of sincerity" -- sheesh, even <b>Barks' </b>Daisy never came close to being <b>THAT </b>fickle!), Donald has a <b>mental breakdown</b> that requires him to be cared for by Scrooge. With Donald and Della now forced to be in close proximity, their long-standing feud flares up, in the manner of a particularly wince-inducing hemorrhoid. When Ludwig von Drake calls from Europe to check in with Scrooge, the increasingly stressed tycoon jumps at the chance to invite Ludwig to his mansion, where the prof will be able to provide some much-needed therapy for Donald and Della. Alas, Huey chooses this moment to explode in frustration at his role as the "put-upon," least favored Duck triplet, and he chooses his "cousin by adoption," the "perfect porcelain doll" Webby, as his primary target. Events finally come to a head when Donald and Della get into an ugly fight at a restaurant at the same time that Scrooge, beset by familial dysfunction, finds himself at the mental -- and, more importantly, the <b>physical </b>-- breaking point. Can this family be saved?...<br />
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<b>PLOT:</b> <i>The unraveling and subsequent reraveling of the Duck family. That's pretty much all that happens. (*** out of *****)</i><br />
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One of the problems with "<i>angst</i>fics" is that there is usually quite a lot going on -- of the emotional variety, anyway -- but nothing is actually <b>happening</b>. To his credit, "Commander" doesn't <b>completely </b>succumb to this trap. We only hear about Donald's post-turndown breakdown at second hand, from the policemen who come to tell Scrooge about the incident, but the restaurant ruckus is "on screen" and is appropriately nasty, complete with cursing and knives wielded with deadly intent. Adding to the noxious atmosphere is the fact that Donald had been on a blind date and had been confronted and dressed down by an angry Daisy before Della even <b>got </b>there, making Don's reaction to Della's subsequent arrival all the more malicious. (You may wonder why Daisy should even <b>care </b>that Donald has plunged back into the dating whirl, given that she had turned down Don's proposal. Sorry, I got nothin'.) Apart from this one ugly scene, "Commander" basically sticks to dialogue scenes (frequently involving arguments) and uses very little action. <br />
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I know that there are those who love this sort of thing. I typically don't count myself among their ranks. At least "Commander"'s dialogue scenes are usually well-written and, given the characterizations that he has chosen to use here, generally believable. They're just somewhat painful to read through at times.<br />
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<b>CHARACTERIZATION</b>: <i>"All over the map" doesn't begin to cover it. (***1/2 out of *****)</i><br />
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There's no denying it... some of "Commander"'s decisions on characterization here are a little tough to stomach. Take Huey, now... he's basically a complete asshole. He "acts out" in school, breaks curfew, bullies the more passive Louie into spying on Scrooge and "his mysterious visitor" (Della), and pelts Webby with crudely sexist insults even <b>before</b> he verbally attacks her (and is apparently also ready to <b>SLUG </b>her!!) for being the cute little "favored child."<i> </i>He's like the egocentric Huey of <i>Quack Pack</i> with the amp set at "11." It's hard for me to believe, as "Commander" suggests (through the medium of Huey's thoughts), that Huey got to be this way because of some school pranks that just got out of hand. There's a definite suggestion of something uglier having been there under the surface all along. That thought kind of disturbs me.<br />
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Donald and Della, whose feud is sufficiently nasty to render them <b>both </b>as contemptible as Huey from the start, nonetheless wind up faring a bit better in the long run. We all know about Donald's legendary (and supposedly "hilarious") temper, and Don did have a few minor blowups during his infrequent appearances on <i>DT</i>, but his outbursts here seem uncomfortably... <b>realistic</b>. We are led to believe that the authorities may have had a point in examining Don at the psychiatric hospital before releasing him into the care of Scrooge. To his credit, though, Donald rallies after Scrooge's cardiac event, pulls himself together, and even manages to make up with and become engaged to Daisy before the end. (Daisy... fickle. Just saying. Actually, the reconciliation is handled very well, with both characters admitting that they will inevitably have arguments as husband and wife, yet deciding to get married anyway. That's what makes a marriage work... the partners recognizing and accepting one another's flaws while, at the same time, cherishing the more meaningful feelings that drew them together in the first place.)<br />
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"Commander," of course, has more direct control over the characterization of Della, and he basically opts for the "female version of Donald" notion... the difference being that Della's temper has tended to have much more serious consequences in her life than Donald's has had in his. This is why Della suffers through such despair after her fight with Donald at the restaurant gets them both tossed in jail. She had been making some progress with Ludwig's help and now appears to have tossed it all away. This was the first moment at which I legitimately felt bad for Della and hoped that she would, indeed, get control of herself and reform. She subsequently earns additional points by deciding to leave Scrooge's mansion, move into a homeless shelter, and pick up the pieces of her life without being a burden on others. (In response, Scrooge allows her to keep her job as a janitor at the Money Bin, despite all the problems she's caused.) The change of heart comes very late in the game, and after Della had amassed a pretty sizable likability deficit, but at least she winds up making some progress, and I do appreciate that.<br />
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<i>Idealized portrayal of Duck relationship #2</i></div>
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The rest of the gang is characterized fairly well. Scrooge is Scrooge, albeit with a few thousand miles extra on him, and Webby is a reasonable advancement of the <i>DT</i> character to the lip of adolescence. (Webby's "desperate" desire to be accepted at her new school does strike me as a little extreme, though. Why haven't all of those adventures with Scrooge and the boys given her more self-confidence?) Ludwig von Drake's bubbly enthusiasm provides a nice counterweight to all of the troubles swirling around him. He can't completely escape the imperatives of an <i>angst</i>fic -- he is still clearly affected by Matilda's early death -- but he serves as a welcome voice of reason, and his psychiatric dissection of Donald and Della is far more adept than, say, his semi-comical analysis of Launchpad in the <i>DT</i> version of "<a href="http://newsandviewsbychrisbarat.blogspot.com/2013/07/ducktales-retrospective-episode-46.html" rel="nofollow">The Golden Fleecing</a>." In a sidebar, "Commander" says that Ludwig is one of his favorite Duck characters, and his affection for the loquacious polymath is on clear display.<br />
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I also admit to being quite taken with the characterizations of Dewey and Louie. Dewey is an intellectual with a heart; he wants to be supportive of others but prefers to get as many facts as he can about the case before committing himself. Thus, he learns that Webby's "big first date" was a disappointment and immediately moves to comfort and counsel her, but he reserves passing final judgment on Della until he becomes more familiar with her. Louie, meanwhile, is akin to the sensitive-souled kid of <i>Quack Pack</i> who wanted to protect "pugduddies" and such. The difference is that he is even <b>more </b>trusting and optimistic. <br />
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<b>HOMEWORK</b>: <i>Only relevant when it comes to Duck Family Tree material. (N/A out of *****)</i><br /><br />
These are basically "Commander"'s own future versions of the characters, so it's not all that surprising that he does not refer to any of the TV episodes.<br />
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<b>WRITING AND HUMOR</b>: <i>The story is very well-written. The humor is... well, quirky, for lack of a better word. (***1/2 out of *****)</i><br />
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"Commander" has an odd way of slipping humor into unlikely places in the narrative. When two policemen come to inform Scrooge of Donald's breakdown, one of them inexplicably starts acting like a character in a goofy cop comedy:<br />
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<i>"Can I tell the story, officer?" asked the other policeman, younger and more hyper than his supervisor.</i><br />
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<i>The older one sighed. "Go ahead, Korwitz..."</i><br />
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<i>Korwitz spread his arms out dramatically, as if about to begin an epic tale. "Dateline, Duckburg, eight o'clock last night! Location, the Dragon's Head restaurant, 825 L Street! Incident, a broken-hearted Duck goes crazy, overturning tables and eating napkins! Cloth napkins, not the paper kind!"</i><br />
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Considering that Scrooge, because of the return of Della, is <b>already</b> on edge as this scene begins, this strikes me as not exactly the most opportune time to shoehorn in some (rather forced) comedy relief. Later, when HD&L and Webby visit Scrooge at the hospital, we get an awkward exchange that I <b>think </b>was supposed to pass for some manner of humor, in which Scrooge teases the youngsters' assuming responsibility for his hospital bill... or, barring that, his insurance premiums. Unnecessary cheapness gags during a family-wide crisis? Not a smart editorial move.<br />
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<b>QUESTIONABLE MATERIAL</b>: <i>Occasional curse words, though none of the REALLY bad ones, and argument scenes that are sometimes difficult to endure. Plus, one fairly nasty fight scene.</i><br />
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<b>OVERALL</b>: <b><i>***1/2 out of *****. RECOMMENDED, BUT WITH RESERVATIONS. </i></b><br />
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This one is definitely a matter of taste. If you don't like watching the Ducks -- even slightly altered versions of same -- bickering like a hypercaffeinated version of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantastic_Four">The Fantastic Four</a>, then I would suggest that you avoid. If you're curious, or if you're indifferent to the notion of mutual Duck-breaking, then you're extremely unlikely to find a better version of the <i>DuckTales</i> <i>angst</i>fic anywhere in Googleworld captivity, so have a look.<br />
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<i>NEXT FANFIC UP: Time for the Big Kahuna, the Top Boss, the Meat Grinder. "<b>DuckTales: 20 Years Later.</b>" You'll definitely have to be patient with me on this one. It's 125,000 words long, it features multiple crossovers, and a WHOLE honkin' load of stuff -- some of it quite untidy -- comes down in the process. I may even have to break the review into several parts: one setting the stage by describing the world in which the story takes place, the other examining the story itself. So as not to tease my reading public unnecessarily, I will not announce the review's impending arrival(s?) until I am just about finished with the project.</i><br />
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Chris Barathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845538037091279990noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357793224370188597.post-3453940462054126032015-01-13T20:39:00.002-05:002015-01-14T18:25:22.720-05:00Comics Review: MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDS FOREVER #13 (January 2015, IDW Publishing)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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To date, IDW's MY LITTLE PONY comics have done reasonably well by a number of characters who have either been undeveloped or underdeveloped in the TV series... which is why I was particularly interested in seeing what <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/787527503/illegal-by-jeremy-whitley-and-heather-nunnelly">Jeremy Whitley</a> and <a href="http://www.agnesgarbowska.com/">Agnes Garbowska</a> would do with the second four-color coming of <a href="http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Babs_Seed">Babs Seed</a>. Babs' first comics appearance, in <a href="http://newsandviewsbychrisbarat.blogspot.com/2014/09/comics-review-my-little-pony-friendship.html">MLP #21-22</a>, pushed her characterization a considerable distance down the track, but it also may have taken a few too many liberties in its sudden expansion of Babs' problem-solving abilities. For Babs to progress from the somewhat insecure filly that lay underneath the "bully" surface in "<a href="http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/One_Bad_Apple">One Bad Apple</a>" to the hard-boiled junior detective who cracked the "Manehattan Mystery" and cleared <a href="http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Trixie">Trixie</a>'s "good mane" (such as it is) required a certain suspension of disbelief. Happily, the Babs of FF #13 is back to being a little more of a passive, slightly bewildered character -- though not incapable of taking a stand when she has to -- and thus works quite well with the self-confident <a href="http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Rarity">Rarity</a>. Though the plot owes more than a small debt to the classic episode "<a href="http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Sisterhooves_Social">Sisterhooves Social</a>," with Rarity learning yet <b>another </b>lesson about the importance of "give and take" in dealing with a young'un, the conflict simmers at a much lower temperature, and Rarity doesn't have to go to such extreme lengths in order to put what she has learned into practice.<br />
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** SPOILERS **<br />
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Thanks to a thimbleful of contrivance -- namely, <a href="http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Sweetie_Belle">Sweetie Belle</a> getting sick and being unable to accompany her sister on a business trip to Manehattan, where Sweetie was looking forward to reconnecting with Babs -- Rarity finds herself shepherding Babs around the town. (Rarity momentarily, and self-consciously, puts aside some impending work in order to do so, in order that Babs will not leave disappointed because of Sweetie's absence. Considering that Rarity barely knows Babs, this is a subtle but welcome reminder of her generous nature.) Regarding Babs as a sort of <i>equina rasa</i> on which to work her <i>fashionista</i> magic, Rarity is soon consumed with the notion of giving Babs a makeover. Babs becomes less and less enamored with the idea and finally takes her leave, albeit with no histrionics. It's pretty clear that Babs likes Rarity well enough; she just doesn't think that their lives have very much in common. Thanks to a talk with her client, the "Pony of Pop" <a href="http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Sapphire_Shores">Sapphire Shores</a>, Rarity quickly realizes that she's been too concerned with "her own fashion and sense of style" to pay sufficient attention to Babs' more rough-hewn, "citified" idea of a good time. She uses her behind-the-scenes pull to treat Babs to a roller derby (hence the cover), and the two finally bond. <br />
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Simple, but effective, this is. I suppose that I should be annoyed that Rarity didn't <b>completely </b>internalize her epiphany in "Sisterhooves Social," but dealing with a sibling and dealing with a relative stranger involve very different emotional dynamics. Rarity is more puzzled than emotionally distraught as a result of Babs' unenthusiastic reaction to the makeover, but, true to her nature, she is determined to do right by Babs, and she ultimately does so. <br />
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Agnes Garbowska manipulates her static little dolls to pretty good effect here, though there are a couple of places in which a little artistic dynamism would definitely have helped. I can only imagine what one of the more daring MLP artists would have done with the roller-derby action sequences, or with the obsessed manedresser pony who is bound and determined to cut off Babs' long bang (the one that Babs is seen repeatedly blowing out of her eyes). There are also a few flareups of the seemingly inevitable "Repetitive Panel Syndrome." I did, however, like the running gag of Babs being "pulled off panel" by an overly excited Rarity. Needless to say, Babs gets to turn the tables before all is said and done.<br />
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The same creative crew will be handling FF #14, which will feature a teamup of <a href="http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Spike">Spike</a> and <a href="http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Princess_Luna">Princess Luna</a>. There's a pleasing consistency in this, in that Garbowska also drew the Spike-Celestia joint in <a href="http://newsandviewsbychrisbarat.blogspot.com/2014/05/comics-reviews-my-little-pony-friends.html">FF #3</a>. I'm hoping for livelier things from the Spike-Luna pairing, and at least <b>one </b>of the issue's covers -- which appears to be, of all things, a "hardboiled detective" parody of the "then, the tall, dark knockout of an alicorn sauntered into my office" variety -- suggests that I may get my wish.Chris Barathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845538037091279990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357793224370188597.post-54457070133101737012015-01-13T19:41:00.003-05:002015-01-13T19:41:34.253-05:00Off-the-Rack GeniesI got <a href="http://www.target.com/p/ducktales-the-movie-treasure-of-the-lost-lamp/-/A-16868387?ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001&AFID=google_pla_df&LNM=16868387&CPNG=Entertainment&kpid=16868387&LID=24pgs&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=16868387&kpid=16868387&gclid=CjwKEAiAodOlBRDCjr-UlJDjtVUSJABR7fxyJTD7VFh4LwbNQGeNGv_BIHebBjazVRqEmCpx1eZBYxoCt0_w_wcB">the new <i>DuckTales: The Movie</i> DVD</a> in the mail this afternoon, and the very first thing that struck me was how appallingly <b>small-timey</b> it looked. The artwork for the sleeve of the VHS release, while nowhere close to the quality of the original <i>DT:TM</i> theatrical poster, was appealingly dynamic, with an appropriately menacing background hint as to the villainous nature of the main antagonist:<br />
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The "Disney Club exclusive" DVD release gave us the poster itself, or, at least, a generous hunk of same:<br />
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The new DVD case, by contrast, places us in the middle of a field of "posies" (Webby actually looks like she's <b>praying</b>, there) and shunts the Merlock shadow off to the side, where its impact is far less and it is also slightly more difficult to see. Of course, the Genie didn't appear until long after the Ducks had returned to Duckburg... and since when did he lack <b>feet</b>? I'm getting some unsettling flashbacks of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112642/">the live-action <i>Casper</i></a> movie right now.<br />
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In an era in which Disney DVD trumpets releases (or, in some cases, re-releases) of its theatrical features with various metallic superlatives (Silver Edition, Golden Edition, Platinum Edition, etc.), what does it say about its attitude towards <b>this</b> release that it is simply designated as "DVD"? From a modern video-marketing perspective, this is the equivalent of <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/05/business/no-frills-no-sales.html">Pathmark's "No Frills" packaging of the 1970 and 1980s</a>. Actually, Disney DVD's labeling is the more redundant. Pathmark <b>had</b> to let you know what was inside those starkly designed cans and bottles, whereas any fool who saw the <i>DT:TM</i> DVD sitting on a shelf along with a bunch of <b>other </b>DVDs could certainly be expected to deduce that it <b>WAS</b>, in fact, a DVD. <br />
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To be completely fair, there <b>IS</b> an "extra" included on the disc: a "Find Scrooge McDuck's Treasure" game. Even this, however, seems to have simply been imported from the Disney Movie Club release.<br />
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At least I've got a DVD of this thing at long last, without having to join a "club." That modest accomplishment will have to be sufficient, however.Chris Barathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845538037091279990noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357793224370188597.post-87116362522330820362015-01-12T20:09:00.002-05:002015-01-12T20:09:24.150-05:00Book Review: WALT DISNEY'S UNCLE $CROOGE AND DONALD DUCK: THE DON ROSA LIBRARY, VOLUME 2 by Don Rosa (Fantagraphics Press, 2014)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The "challenging" years of 1988-1990 found Don Rosa slowly and laboriously polishing his craft while coping with various physical, financial, and corporate roadblocks that, at times, threatened to choke off his fledgling Duck comics career. The fact that Rosa persevered through it all and managed to "come out the other side" in more or less one piece is certainly to his credit... and, intriguingly enough, just as some of <a href="http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=W+OS++456-02">Carl Barks' greatest stories</a> were produced at a time when his life seemed to be coming apart, so too were several of Rosa's best-loved (yep, even to this day) tales crafted during his <b>own </b>"time of troubles."<br />
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** SPOILERS ** <br />
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Fittingly, taking pride of place on the cover is Rosa's first "formal" sequel to a Barks story, <i>"<a href="http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=AR+130">Return to Plain Awful</a>" </i>(Gladstone DONALD DUCK ADVENTURES #12, May 1989). In retrospect, Rosa did two very clever things in this story that lifted it above the status of a straightforward "<a href="http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=W+OS++223-02">Lost in the Andes</a>" followup. He hooked the tale, to as large an extent as possible, to events he himself had previously detailed in "<a href="http://newsandviewsbychrisbarat.blogspot.com/2014/11/book-review-walt-disneys-uncle-crooge.html">Son of the Sun</a>," and he explored the logical consequences of the Ducks' visit to the isolated Peruvian valley, reasoning that Donald and HD&L would have had as big an impact on the Plain Awfultonians' lives and habits as did the famed "Professah Rhutt Betlah."<br />
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As enjoyable as "Return" is, and continues to be, <i>"<a href="http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=AR+145">His Majesty McDuck</a>"</i> (Gladstone UNCLE $CROOGE ADVENTURES #14, August 1989) is the more substantial and successful epic, one that still shows up on most everyone's "short lists" of the best Rosa adventures. Certainly, its portrayal of Scrooge is far more nuanced than the one seen in "Return," in which, let us not forget, Scrooge is left to fume about the Plain Awfultonians' annoyingly "pure and untainted spirit" <b>together with Flintheart Glomgold</b>, the putative villain of the piece. If anything, Scrooge starts "Majesty" in an even deeper moral hole, kvetching over giving his freezing employees a stick of wood or two for the Money Bin office's outdated wood stove. He proceeds to burrow even deeper when he discovers an ingenious legal-historical loophole that allows him to set up his Money Bin and surrounding property as an independent country -- and demand billions in back taxes from the U.S. and Duckburgian governments as a result. But, it is what Scrooge decides to do <b>after</b> he discovers the drawbacks of being a postage-stamp king that truly packs the punch here. It's nothing less than the modern-day equivalent of the memorable last page of "Back to the Klondike"... and any time you can fairly compare a $CROOGE story to "Klondike" without making a stretch, you <b>know</b> that you're dealing with one heck of an effort. The humor in "Majesty" is also top-notch at all levels, from the expected slapstick gags when the Beagle Boys try to invade "Unca King Scrooge"'s domain to the subtle dig at the pretensions of historical societies (i.e., the funny contrast between the hushed reverence at the Friends of <a href="http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Cornelius_Coot">Cornelius Coot</a> Library and the semi-literate nature of the Coot documents that are housed in such forbidding splendor there).<br />
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Disney's 1988 directive to forbid the freelancing Rosa from getting back his original artwork was a powerful motivational force for a good deal of the work reprinted here. Thankfully, Rosa's description of the decision isn't nearly as splenetic as I had feared; the passage of time has evidently cooled his temper considerably. Instead, he spends more time simply describing the numerous ways in which he tried to supplement his suddenly lessened income. This included illustrating other writers' scripts for the Dutch Disney publisher Oberon, writing <a href="http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=K+DTM+90i">a <i>DuckTales</i> story</a> (which he dismisses with bothersome, but admittedly justified, condescension) for the DUCKTALES MAGAZINE, creating <a href="http://duckcomicsrevue.blogspot.com/2011/06/starstruck-duck.html">a "storyboard" for a special Duck story</a> (which ultimately never appeared) for a Disney-MGM Studios theme park tie-in, and writing several scripts (with copious borrowings from Barks mixed in) for WDTVA's <i>TaleSpin</i>. Personally, I'm sorry that Rosa never evinced interest in writing for <i>DuckTales</i> the TV series -- at least, not until after the show was out of production -- but, given his jaundiced view of the whole enterprise, it was probably better that his TV writing gig turned out to be for an entirely different WDTVA production.<br />
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The collection concludes with Rosa's early contribution to the brand-new Disney Comics line, <i>"<a href="http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=KD+0190">The Money Pit</a>" </i>(Disney DONALD DUCK ADVENTURES #1, June 1990). It's pleasing to learn that Rosa produced this story, the script of which had originally been rejected by Gladstone, as a "good-faith work" in support of editor Bob Foster, to<i> </i>indicate that Rosa would still be willing to work directly for Disney Comics if the artwork-return policy were changed. There's quite a bit of "soapbox scaling" in this story, with Rosa putting his own complaints about the silliness of comic-book collectors into Scrooge's beak, and a "Donald repentance" scene that's somewhat more "squishy" than the norm (HD&L even add an extra<i> *snif*</i> for good measure!). But this tale has never looked better -- those ugly blue pupils of the Disney Comics printing are gone -- and it's probably the best of the short stories that appear here. Surely, Donald is entirely to blame for the near-disaster that results from his greed-fueled course of action... unlike, say, <i>"<a href="http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=AR+143">The Curse of Nostrildamus</a>"</i> (UNCLE $CROOGE #235, July 1989), in which he is a pure victim of the titular torment. Unfortunately, there would be many, <b>many </b>more victimizations of the "Nostrildamus" variety to come for Donald in Rosa's future stories.<br />
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Volume 3 will pick up with Rosa's triumphant return to American Disney comics... sadly, in the wake of the "<a href="http://icanbreakaway.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-disney-comics-story-1990-1993.html">Disney Implosion</a>."Chris Barathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845538037091279990noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357793224370188597.post-21670393788903093182015-01-08T19:55:00.002-05:002015-01-10T12:25:51.556-05:00Comics Review: MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC #25-26 (IDW Publishing, November and December 2014)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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What is it about "Wild West" themes and the <i>My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic</i> franchise that causes the best of creative intentions to result in something... um, less than optimal? The TV show's two stabs at Western stories -- season one's "<a href="http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Over_a_Barrel">Over a Barrel</a>" and season two's "<a href="http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/The_Last_Roundup">The Last Roundup</a>" -- are generally not that highly thought of, though, for my own part, I found their biggest sins to be ones of dullness. <a href="http://katiecandraw.deviantart.com/">Katie Cook</a> and <a href="http://andypriceart.deviantart.com/">Andy Price</a> sent <a href="http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Rarity">Rarity</a> and <a href="http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Applejack">Applejack</a> on the Equestrian equivalent of a "West Coast road swing" during <a href="http://newsandviewsbychrisbarat.blogspot.com/2014/09/comics-review-my-little-pony-friends_9.html">FRIENDS FOREVER #8</a>, during which the "odd couple" took a stagecoach ride and dispatched a bunch of would-be cattle rustlers in the process, but it's hard to separate that incident from the issue's somewhat questionable (in my mind, at least) characterizations of the two "mane" principals. During that story, one of the defeated rustlers did the "fourth wall" thing with the reading audience, informing them that the gang would be back in a future issue. Well, here they are, terrorizing and extorting from a small town, like the "bullies" that they literally are. Everything seems to be in place for a good, new-fashioned Western parody. Instead, we get, by far, <b>THE</b> single worst story that has been dished up in <b>ANY</b> of the IDW MLP comics... and, yes, that includes even the <b>weakest </b>of the defunct MICRO-SERIES offerings. From Cook and Price, the bellcows of the entire MLP comics franchise?! Unfortunately, yes.<br />
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This failure is basically on Katie Cook, almost 100%. There's nothing at all wrong with Price's artwork. Cook, however, seems to have forgotten rule number one about dealing with well-established characters: Never let the desire to tell a particular story tempt you into pulling one of the characters completely OUT of character in order to achieve the goal. The damage that Cook inflicts in her handling of <a href="http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Twilight_Sparkle">Twilight Sparkle</a> here, combined with the problems we saw with Rarity and Applejack in FF #8, have combined to make me a little apprehensive about future stories by this creative duo. Why is Cook suddenly having so much difficulty getting the "Mane 6"'s characterizations right? And make no mistake, this was a <b>BAD </b>misstep... so much so, in fact, that some people immediately declared that they'd <b>NEVER</b> buy the comics again if the comics could get things <b>THIS</b> wrong.<br />
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Given her magical powers <b>AND</b> her status as an alicorn princess, you would think that Twilight would be well-equipped to help Applejack and her other friends handle an invasion of the tiny town of Canter Creek by the massive steer, Longhorn, and his beefy buddies. Even if Twilight were too nice to get <b>really</b> rough with them, surely she could magically imprison them, or put a protective force field around the town and Applejack's Great Granduncle Chili Pepper's ranch, where the rustlers have squatted in Chili Pepper's absence. Evidently, however, things are more... um, nuanced than that:<br />
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<b>As I said before...</b> there are many different ways in which Twilight could use her magic to neutralize the bad guys, none of which involve the use of lethal magical force. For example, she could have tried flooding them out, using the same simple magic that she did when she and Rarity (!) knocked down a water tower in order to put out a barn fire that had been set by Longhorn and his meaty minions:<br />
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But, no... apparently, the rules for alicorns involve a liberal application of the old "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutual_assured_destruction">Mutually Assured Destruction</a>" doctrine from the Cold War years. When it comes to using magic against either "sentient non-magical beings" or "Equestrian citizens" -- Cook doesn't seem to be certain as to which -- Twilight appears to think that there's no alternative between doing nothing and using overwhelming force.<br />
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The "logic" behind this... uh... operational paradigm is simply mind-boggling. If you're a magically endowed villain, like Tirek in the season four finale "<a href="http://newsandviewsbychrisbarat.blogspot.com/2014/05/her-kingdom-comes-and-her-tree-goes.html">Twilight's Kingdom</a>," then it's perfectly OK for Twilight to use any and all magical means to deter you, including... well, if there's a magical equivalent of advanced weaponry, then she certainly used it at some point during her battle with Tirek.<br />
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However, if you're a garden-variety, non-magical, "schemer/plotter" type villain, such as, say, <a href="http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=YM+039">The Phantom Blot</a>... OK, I know that his "garden" is far more varied than most, but you get my point... then getting the best of Twilight and the other unicorns and alicorns of Equestria is cake. Simply find some way to get yourself declared an Equestrian citizen, and then, violate laws with impunity. <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/ivp-nt/Disposition-Pauls-Appeal-Caesar">St. Paul</a> appealed to his Roman citizenship for a good cause, to demand a trial in Rome, so it would make perfect sense for a villain to use the same tactic for evil. Actually, the Blot would probably go it one better and get himself attached to an embassy in Canterlot. <a href="http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=W+SG+++36-01">It's not as if he hasn't tried that before</a>.<br />
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It would have been a simple matter for Cook to have written Twilight completely out of the story, letting her travel with <a href="http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Spike">Spike</a> to the Pony Trek convention (now, <b>there's</b> one real-world Equestrian parallel that didn't need to exist...) and leaving Applejack to take the lead in fighting back against villains who have, after all, taken over <b>HER</b> relative's ranch. In fact, that's what Applejack eventually <b>does</b>, picking up the defeated Sheriff Tumbleweed's discarded star at the end of MLP #25 and becoming the sheriff herself. For AJ, this represents quite a nice bounceback from the "all ya gotta do to sell apples is sell apples" dumbitude that hamstrung her in FF #8.<br />
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The ponies' resulting plan to foil Longhorn, while it pleasantly brings to mind ideas from <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071230/">one of the most-beloved Western spoofs</a>, isn't without its own share of nits. It only works because Longhorn, having basically <b>already won the battle</b>, decides to figuratively "sweep around the telephone poles" and legally take control of Chili Pepper's ranch. Uh, why? Why do the "Mane 6" figure that it's all right to temporarily kidnap a clerk and impersonate a legal official in order to flummox Longhorn, <b>right after</b> Twilight had freaked out over the others trying to destroy Longhorn's (notarized) paperwork? (Twilight definitely <b>was </b>schizophrenic in this story, wasn't she?)<br />
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At least Twilight puts her legalese where her magic normally is, when she zips off to Canterlot and returns with... no, not reinforcements, but a surefire legal way to allow her to <b>finally </b>use her magic against Longhorn. (Of course, it requires Longhorn's unknowing cooperation, but that doesn't prove to be much of an obstacle.) Alas, even the traditional "stroll into the sunset" doesn't work when the "Mane 6" exit without evincing any interest whatsoever in whatever happened to Chili Pepper. <br />
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Aside from Applejack and, yes, Rarity -- who flirts with multiple stallions, contributes more than her mite to the anti-Longhorn scheming, and gets to use her generally finesse-oriented magic to move houses, knock down water towers, and perform other intriguingly unladylike operations -- the rest of the gang walk through the story as if they're in a daze. Twilight's deficiences here are manifest, but <a href="http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Rainbow_Dash">Rainbow Dash</a> and <a href="http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Fluttershy">Fluttershy</a> contribute virtually nothing -- you would think that <b>both</b> of them, especially the former, would be hacked off at the sight of their friend Applejack getting knocked through a barn wall by Longhorn, but no joy -- and even <a href="http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Pinkie_Pie">Pinkie Pie</a> is somewhat lacking here. (A joke about a character eating a red-hot chili pepper, making faces, and then saying that they like it? That has <b>SO</b> been done... and, therefore, it probably isn't worth wasting Pinkie on.)<br />
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So... yeah, a really bad one. I'm not going to bail, of course -- Cook and Price are doing the very next arc in MLP #27-28, and I'll be interested in seeing how well they can bounce back. There is some work to be done here, though... if nothing else, to reassure those who, like me, have been on board from the very start.Chris Barathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845538037091279990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357793224370188597.post-82862625431129621442015-01-02T20:00:00.003-05:002015-01-02T20:08:04.404-05:00RIP Christine Cavanaugh and Edward HerrmannI wish I could have waited at least a LITTLE while to do the first 2015 obituary post...<br />
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Retired (since 2001) actress <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004815/?ref_=tt_cl_t7">Christine Cavanaugh</a> died on December 22 of leukemia at the age of 51. To the general public, she'll be best remembered as the voice of Babe the pig in <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112431/?ref_=nmbio_sal_1">the surprise film hit</a> of 1995 -- she got paid a "whopping" $27,000 for that role, remarkably enough -- and her best-known voice-acting role is, and probably always will be, Chucky from <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101188/?ref_=nv_sr_1"><i>Rugrats</i></a>. In this precinct, of course, <i>Darkwing Duck</i>'s Gosalyn Mallard will forever be the first thing that comes to mind (or ear) when she is mentioned. I don't know that another voice actress could have pulled off Gos' unique combination of sweetness and snarkiness quite so well. <br />
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Actor <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001346/?ref_=nv_sr_1">Edward Herrmann</a> died on New Year's Eve of brain cancer at the age of 71. He was one of those peripatetic, all-purpose "hey, it's THAT guy again" performers... appearing in both movie and TV productions of brows both low and high, doing voiceover commercial narration (most famously for Dodge). His casting as Richard Rich, Sr., in the live-action <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110989/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_77"><i>Richie Rich</i></a> movie (1994) was a bit<i> </i>odd -- he didn't look anything like the Mr. Rich of the comics, and he may have injected a little <b>too much</b> lightheartedness into his interpretation of the character -- but he wound up doing a very solid job, as did many of the other adult performers who strained mightily to make up for the black-tuxedo'ed, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000346/?ref_=tt_cl_t1">Macaulay Culkin</a>-sized hole at the center of the film. (If Macaulay's performance here didn't murder what was then left of his acting career, then it surely would qualify as an unindicted co-conspirator in the crime.) I'll say this: Herrmann's turn as the elder Rich was certainly more memorable than that of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0611898/?ref_=tt_cl_t5">Martin Mull</a>, who did the honors in the movie's direct-to-video sequel, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0155110/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1"><i>Richie Rich's Christmas Wish</i></a> (1998).<br />
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Thanks to both of these talented performers for all their fine work, and let's hope that we <b>DO NOT</b> have to do this again for a good, long while.Chris Barathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845538037091279990noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357793224370188597.post-23165958130947386622015-01-02T19:12:00.002-05:002015-01-02T20:09:27.283-05:00Indisposed for New Year's<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Happy New Year, everyone. As Nicky and I both turned the page to 2015, some sort of flu-like malady was afflicting us. I got it first, and Nicky followed soon thereafter. I had a slight fever the last two days, but my temperature was finally back to normal today. I think that we'll need the remainder of the weekend to completely recover.Chris Barathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845538037091279990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357793224370188597.post-71028317109858843382014-12-28T19:35:00.001-05:002014-12-28T19:35:19.410-05:00Seems Like Old "Life and Times"... Except It's Not.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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IDW's first Disney comics release was solicited in last week's PREVIEWS: an oversized "Artist's Edition" of the first six chapters of Don Rosa's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Life-Times-Scrooge-McDuck/dp/0911903968">LIFE AND TIMES OF $CROOGE McDUCK</a>. The price is listed as "$ Please Inquire." I know that something is probably out of my price range when it is priced in the same manner as freshly-caught fish at a fine restaurant.<br />
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Still no word on when "regular" IDW Disney offerings might be arriving.Chris Barathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845538037091279990noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357793224370188597.post-45541662383377959032014-12-27T20:48:00.001-05:002015-01-14T18:26:12.544-05:00POST-DUCKTALES RETROSPECTIVE PERSPECTIVE: Sometimes It's Better to be Lucky...The Internet really <b>is</b> like the Wild West. If you wander into the wrong place at the wrong time, you can figuratively be "blasted full o' holes" for looking at someone funny... <b>BUT</b>, you can also run across the most unlikely treasures in the most unexpected places. Take the case of the long-rumored "Making of <i>DuckTales</i>" documentary. The <i>Chip & Dale's Rescue Rangers</i> documentary is <a href="http://newsandviewsbychrisbarat.blogspot.com/2009/03/pitter-patter-of-little-fete-part-1.html">readily available</a>, and you'll occasionally run across images from the <i>Tale Spin</i> equivalent of same...<i> </i><br />
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... but<i> </i>a behind-the-scenes look at <i>DuckTales</i>, the series that started WDTVA's syndicated ball rolling and led to <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEE53i0wNNA">The Disney Afternoon</a></i>? Not a trace... <b>THAT IS</b>, until I accidentally ran across <b>this </b>the other day:<b><br /></b><br />
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As best I can tell, this promo ran as part of something called "Disney Day Off," a Disney cartoon marathon that ran on a local station. (Note the occasional display of the air time of the syndicated series.) It makes sense that Disney would use the opportunity provided by buying time on a local channel to spread the word about its new series, especially since airing it exclusively on The Disney Channel would have reached only a small portion of the potential audience. </div>
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It's amusing to note how blithely Disney uses the names of such Carl Barks supporting players as Gyro Gearloose, Magica De Spell, and the Beagle Boys as "hooks" to snare viewers' interest. How many kids in 1987 could have been expected to know who those characters <b>were</b>? Evidently, the company was figuring that the "lure" of the supposedly better-known Scrooge and HD&L would be enough to entice eyeballs. Even <b>that</b> seems something of a stretch, despite the then-recent revival of American Disney comics.</div>
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The obvious followup question here is, are there any more of these featurettes floating around? Perhaps one focusing on Scrooge, or one focusing on the Nephews? It wouldn't surprise me.</div>
Chris Barathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845538037091279990noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357793224370188597.post-53208401986478455692014-12-27T19:59:00.002-05:002014-12-27T19:59:39.049-05:00Book Review: FUNNYBOOKS by Michael Barrier (University of California Press, 2014)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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What <a href="http://www.michaelbarrier.com/">Michael Barrier</a> did for the history of classic Hollywood studio animation in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hollywood-Cartoons-American-Animation-Golden/dp/0195167295">HOLLYWOOD CARTOONS</a>, he does here for the golden years of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dell_Comics">Dell Comics</a> and its most accomplished and historically significant creators -- <a href="http://whirledofkelly.blogspot.com/">Walt Kelly</a>, <a href="http://stanleystories.blogspot.com/">John Stanley</a>, and, above all, <a href="http://www.thecarlbarksfanclub.com/">Carl Barks</a>. While devoting most of his critical attention to this trio of greats and the ways in which they helped shape the development of the American comic book into an art form with its own distinct verbal and visual language, Barrier also unearths facts and highlights overlooked personalities in a manner that is sure to surprise and delight even the most knowledgeable Dell/Western Publishing fan.<br />
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As was the case with HOLLYWOOD CARTOONS, FUNNYBOOKS had an extremely long gestation period, with Barrier using interview material from as far back as the 1960s to help craft his narrative. Barrier also draws upon material used in his 1981 <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Carl-Barks-Art-Comic-Book/dp/0960765204">book-length study</a> of Carl Barks, but he expands greatly upon that earlier work. Perhaps his most important critical achievement here is his in-depth illumination of exactly how Barks, who famously worked in isolation and with minimal (at first) editorial interference, became one of the very first comics creators to "crack the code" and essentially discover how to tell effective stories in comic-book form. Barks fans have always known of the Old Duck Man's mastery of narrative, but they will come away from this discussion with a newfound appreciation of the wider importance of his work.<br />
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Barrier pretty clearly considers Barks to be <i>primus inter pares</i> even among the "really good ones," but Kelly and Stanley get their due and then some. Kelly's creation and development of the POGO characters is covered in detail, as is Stanley's work on LITTLE LULU, but Barrier brings their other notable comic-book works (e.g., Kelly's stories for OUR GANG and his fairy-tale and Christmas comics, Stanley's honing of his craft in NEW FUNNIES) under similar critical scrutiny. As was made quite clear in HOLLYWOOD CARTOONS, Barrier is a very astringent analyst, and it takes quite a lot for a story to wring praise out of him. Everyone who knows these creators will probably disagree with Barrier's assessments at some point -- for example, I think that he is much too harsh on Barks' more loosely-wound, but still immensely entertaining, UNCLE $CROOGE stories from the 1960s -- but he always has a well-considered reason for his opinions.<br />
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The "extra material" here is what <b>really </b>lifts FUNNYBOOKS to "instant classic" status. Anyone who has ever wondered about the precise relationships between the various corporate subsidiaries and allies grouped under the spreadeagled "Western Publishing" umbrella -- Whitman, K.K. Publications, Dell, Gold Key -- will have any and all questions answered to their satisfaction here. Interested in the early history of LOONEY TUNES AND MERRIE MELODIES, the Warner Bros. "answer" to WALT DISNEY'S COMICS AND STORIES, or in how Dell handled such significant "non-funny-animal" licensed properties as TARZAN and various movie cowboy heroes? You'll learn about some of these comics' most accomplished writers and artists here. Perhaps the biggest surprise is a brief discussion of "the Jim Davis shop," an association of artists who produced "funny-animal" challenges, of a sort, to Dell's humorous hegemony for the notorious comics entrepreneur <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_W._Sangor">Benjamin Sangor</a>. It's nice to see the exquisitely obscure characters that came out of this outfit get some recognition, even if Barrier's primary purpose for bringing them up is to demonstrate how their comics failed while the best of Dell's succeeded.<br />
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If I have a small nitpick here, it is with Barrier's comparatively brusque brushing-aside of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_Key_Comics">Gold Key</a> era. Yes, that era did see ill-considered format and price changes and increasing editorial restrictions, but there was a whole lot of high-quality material being produced at that time, as well. (See <a href="http://tiahblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/happy-50th-anniversary-to-gold-key.html">Joe Torcivia's 50th Anniversary tribute</a> for numerous examples.) I fully realize that Barrier's intention was always to focus on the years before the Dell/Western split, but a few extra pages discussing some of the GK highlights couldn't have hurt. Anyone want to pick up the bracketed torch (as opposed to fallen; it's not as if Barrier <b>failed</b>, after all) and try writing a sequel?<br />
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So, what are you waiting for? If you care at all about the Dell Comics that truly <b>WERE</b> "Good Comics," or simply about the history of quality comics in general, FUNNYBOOKS virtually <b>defines </b>the term "MUST-GET."Chris Barathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845538037091279990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357793224370188597.post-19374344756818582532014-12-24T20:40:00.003-05:002014-12-24T20:41:58.924-05:00Merry Christmas!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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To quote Don Karnage: "Is this not the season of giving?" Then, let's celebrate the holiday by giving some love to the much-put-upon <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonkers_%28TV_series%29">Bonkers</a> <b>AND</b> the sadly underused <a href="http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Fawn_Deer">Fawn Deer</a>. I still wish that the <i>Bonkers</i> production crew had stuck it out with Miranda Wright as Bonkers' partner. The cast of Bonkers' friends and foes in the Wright eps -- some of whom can be seen in silhouette on the wall in <a href="http://eazilyamewzed.deviantart.com/">Shelley Pleger</a>'s illo -- held at least as much potential as the Toons that were introduced when Lucky Piquel entered the show.Chris Barathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845538037091279990noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357793224370188597.post-76964961334942199562014-12-20T21:11:00.003-05:002014-12-20T21:11:54.395-05:00Comics Review: MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDS FOREVER #12 (December 2014, IDW)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Brenda Hickey's cover homage to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eiY4EiOhmQ">the "Nowhere Man" sequence from <i>Yellow Submarine</i></a> (1968) isn't just for funsies. This issue is a no-holds-barred "psychedelic experience" complete with what <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Overstreet-Comic-Price-Guide-Edition/dp/1603601376">THE OVERSTREET PRICE GUIDE</a> (or at least the editions I've seen) would have no hesitation labeling as a "drug use motif." One could argue that it stands to reason that color-coordinated ponies with strange powers would <b>inevitably</b> have to endure a scenario like this at some point.<b></b> And who better to experience the full brunt of the "trip" than <a href="http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Pinkie_Pie">Pinkie Pie</a>? <br />
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My opinion of the issue as a whole could charitably be described as "mixed." I appreciate the immense effort that Hickey, who has sure as shootin' taken a long, strange trip since her MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC comic-book debut, puts into making this thing <b>truly</b> bizarre, and I did enjoy the cleverness of <a href="http://www.barbararandallkesel.com/">Barbara Kesel</a>'s dialogue. The problem is that, given the whisper-thin plot premise, I don't think that this tale merited a full issue. The vast majority of the story seems to take place in the "Pinkie Zone," and that's an area that is fun to visit in the short run but tends to drive the visitor away in the long run, simply because Pinkie is so over the top... and she's roughly 100 stories <b>OVER</b> "over the top" here. In the end, I think that Kesel and Hickey simply try <b>TOO</b> hard to punch the weirdness across. I can see this working better as one of the backup features that have appeared in most issues of the MLP:FIM flagship title.<br />
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I'm not going to bother with SPOILERS here, since the plot could be scribbled on both sides of the paper in a Chinese fortune cookie, with room left over for the standard "lucky numbers" and one-sentence sliver of wisdom. Pinkie is obsessed with treats called "Phenomnomenons" and comes to ask for <a href="http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Twilight_Sparkle">Twilight Sparkle</a>'s assistance in resisting their sugary Siren call, but she ultimately learns that the best way to "kick a habit" is by using one's own willpower. Welcome back to the 80's... "Just Say No" has returned with a vengeance! Kesel and Hickey would probably deny that such was their intention, but that's the way the message comes across. The only added feature here is Twilight's personal intervention, which is itself presented in considerably-further-than-off-the-wall fashion. For example, Twilight uses the hyped-up Pinkie's innate kinetic energy to trap the pink pony in a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mouse_Trap_%28game%29">Mousetrap</a>-style game-<i>cum</i>-prison.<br />
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Unfortunately, Kesel and Hickey muddy their supposed moral a bit in the last panel with <a href="http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Spike">Spike</a>. He didn't really need to be in this issue at all, actually, which makes the coda all the more obnoxious. <br />
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<i>These are definitely NOT the weirdest pages in the story... just the ones I could readily find online.</i></div>
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Aside from its sheer "bizzaritude," this tale will wind up rating a footnote of sorts in <i>MLP:FIM</i> trivia lore, because it marks the first time that <b>any </b>sort of canonical or quasi-canonical pony story has spent any time inside Twilight's "Friendship Castle," the gaudy structure that first appeared at the end of the show's two-part season four finale, "<a href="http://newsandviewsbychrisbarat.blogspot.com/2014/05/her-kingdom-comes-and-her-tree-goes.html">Twilight's Kingdom</a>." Most of Twilight's anti-temptation experiments take place inside the castle; things don't begin to fall apart for our favorite scholarly alicorn princess until the field of battle shifts outdoors to the open-air food market. </div>
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Not a flop, but not really what I prefer to see in an MLP:FIM comic-book story, either. At least, a full-length one.</div>
Chris Barathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845538037091279990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357793224370188597.post-51437164782086043632014-12-18T20:21:00.002-05:002014-12-27T21:02:09.697-05:00Book Review: WALT DISNEY'S MICKEY MOUSE, VOLUME 6: LOST IN LANDS OF LONG AGO by Floyd Gottfredson (Fantagraphics, 2014)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We've finally hit the mother lode of the early-modern (read: "post-pie-eyed" and "pre-all-gags-all-the-time") MICKEY MOUSE strip. If I had to choose a single era of Floyd Gottfredson's prime creative years in which I felt the strip was at its <b>very </b>best, it would be 1940-42, the years covered in this volume. No single story jumps up and presents itself as a "smack-you-across-the-face" classic on the order of <i>"<a href="http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=YM+039">Mickey Mouse Outwits the Phantom Blot</a>,"</i> but all of them are, at the very least, good. <a href="http://coa.inducks.org/creator.php?c=MDM">Merrill de Maris</a>' imaginative verbal interpretations of Gottfredson's plotting is at its best, while <a href="http://coa.inducks.org/creator.php?c=BWr">Bill Wright</a>'s inking is slick and confident. The locations of the stories spreadeagle the map; to take the most head-spinning example, Mickey jumps from a bloody, near-deadly encounter with the primitive inhabitants of the "Lost World" of Cave-Man Island (<i>"<a href="http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=YM+044">Land of Long Ago</a>"</i>) right into the catty "drawing-room comedy of manners" (so saith yours truly, in an introductory essay) that is <i>"<a href="http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=YM+045">Mickey Mouse in Love Trouble</a>."</i><br />
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A fan's appetite for revisiting (or, in such rarely<i>-</i>reprinted cases as <i>"<a href="http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=YM+047">Mystery at Hidden River</a>" </i>and <i>"<a href="http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=YM+046">Mickey Mouse, Super Salesman</a>,"</i> making initial acquaintance with) these tales is made all the keener by the knowledge that major changes in the strip were just over the horizon. De Maris departed the scene in 1942, Dick Moores assumed the inking chores soon after, and we would have to negotiate several long stretches of gag strips before <a href="http://coa.inducks.org/creator.php?c=BWa">Bill Walsh</a> took firm control of the plottery... and promptly steered the stories into very different, though still highly entertaining, channels. <a href="http://www.whataboutthad.com/">Thad Komorowski</a> has a good point when he fingers "Hidden River" as the last adventure that could be said to fit the "prewar Gottfredson adventure model." (This is quite literally true: Pearl Harbor was attacked just as Mickey was riding down a log flume, heading for the end of the North Woods encounter with a newly pegless Peg-Leg Pete.) The happiest thought that one can take away from these tales is that the "prewar model" rolled out of the shops in first-class condition, rather than gasping to the finish line.<br />
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** SPOILERS **<br />
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The best story herein? Well, I'm kinda prejudiced in favor of "Love Trouble," but even I would admit that an actual adventure needs to take pride of place, and I'm perfectly fine with Byron Erickson's praise of <i>"<a href="http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=YM+042">The Bar-None Ranch</a>"</i> as an ideal story to show a "Gottfredson newbie" so as to pique his or her interest in seeking out more of the strip. The story has very few plotting problems and a good mix of humor, action, and "forward thinking" (Peg-Leg Pete's use of a scientist's "dinguses" to create the illusion that he is an unstoppable master crook). In addition to being a bit more sedate -- not to mention a bit dated in its portrayal of feminine "wiles" and overall bitchery -- "Love Trouble" also contains an annoying flaw, one that I did not mention in my essay but have always found irritating, nonetheless. In order to get back at Minnie's stepping out with the caddish, superficially debonair Montmorency "Rodawn," Mickey calls on his cousin Madeline to play the role of visiting debutante Millicent Van Gilt-Mouse, who becomes smitten with him. At one point, though, when we see Madeline call Mickey on a house phone, Mickey answers and refers to her as "Millicent." What, does he think Minnie has the phone tapped? They're conversing in private, so why just call Madeline by her real name? And it would have been so easy to have fixed the problem, too, by having the two meet at a cafe or something. OK, it's not as <b>obvious </b>a flaw as the sudden change of the mysterious ghosts in <i>"<a href="http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=YM+043">Bellhop Detective</a>" </i>from three-dimensional spooks to 2-D projections on a wall... it's just that this story came <b>SO</b> close to stone perfection. I can't help but be just a <b>LITTLE </b>resentful.<br />
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<i>Insert "beach/bitch" gag here.</i></div>
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We begin to get inklings (and even a few overt mentions) of the war era in "Hidden River" and <i>"<a href="http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=YM+048">The Gleam</a>." </i>One possible essay feature that I would like to see in the next volume -- which will take us deep into the war years -- is how depictions of the conflict in the MICKEY strip changed over time. I've only had extensive exposure to the Walsh-scripted continuities from 1944 and 1945, and some of those stories could certainly be considered more or less escapist. I seem to recall that there was far more actual war-related material (including war-themed gags) in the strip during the first few full years of the conflict. At least we won't have long to wait to test my theory.<br />
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Feature material in this volume includes a cartoon tribute by <a href="http://stephendestefano.tumblr.com/">Stephen DeStefano</a> (of <a href="http://icanbreakaway.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-disney-comics-story-1990-1993_5112.html">Disney Comics peak-years</a> fame), reprintings of several panels' worth of examples of the Gottfredson "redraws" that appeared in WALT DISNEY'S COMICS AND STORIES in the late 40s and 50s, and an "Heirs of Gottfredson" piece on Carl Barks that includes a color reprinting of Carl's one MICKEY adventure, 1945's <i>"<a href="http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=W+OS+++79-01">The Riddle of the Red Hat</a>"</i> (FOUR COLOR #79). For something that Barks claimed to not be his "cup of tea," this story is surprisingly good. Barks certainly didn't mail it in; he does a particularly good job of writing Goofy. <br />
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One comment of Gottfredson's concerning this era that probably <b>should </b>have been mentioned somewhere in here was his claim that the revenue from the MICKEY strip and the other ongoing Disney strips was literally keeping the straitened Walt Disney Studios above water in the early 40s. (Recall that <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032910/"><i>Pinocchio</i></a> [1940] had been a box-office disappointment, the first release of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032455/"><i>Fantasia</i></a> [1940] was an out-and-out bomb, and the war had cost Disney the overseas market.) How about a statistical report at some point on how successful the MICKEY strip actually <b>was</b>? Do those data even <b>exist </b>any more? It's worth a dig through the appropriate archives, if you ask me.</div>
Chris Barathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845538037091279990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357793224370188597.post-4054270631799496812014-12-13T20:54:00.003-05:002014-12-13T20:57:36.893-05:00DUCKTALES Fanfic Review: "The Lost Tomb of Pharaoh Sedqaduck" by "Stretch Snodgrass"And so, we trudge back into the <i>DuckTales</i> fanfic salt mines... or, should I say, the sand dunes!<br />
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Needless to say, adventure in desert settings are nothing new to our feathered Disney friends, either in print or on screens both small and large. <a href="http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=W+OS+++29-01">Carl Barks' first full-length solo adventure story</a> took Donald and HD&L to a reasonably authentic Egypt, and, when Disney Movietoons decided to mount <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099472/">a <i>DuckTales</i> feature film</a>, writer <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0122334/?ref_=tt_ov_wr">Alan Burnett</a> spun the plot out of Scrooge's quest to find the lost treasure of Collie Baba. There are, of course, numerous other examples of the "Ducks in Egypt" trope in both media.<br />
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I bring this up because our "writer of interest," one "<a href="https://www.fanfiction.net/u/822526/Stretch-Snodgrass">Stretch Snodgrass</a>," picked a surprisingly well-worn trail on which to follow his muse. He's not trying to do anything Earth-shattering in "<a href="https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6512139/1/The-Lost-Tomb-of-Pharaoh-Sedqaduck">The Lost Tomb of Pharaoh Sedqaduck</a>" -- just tell an entertaining comedy-adventure story in the classic <i>DT</i> tradition, complete with copious references to <i>DT</i> episodes past. He succeeds rather well, particularly in the clever manner in which he stirs an unexpected guest-star character -- one who (1) had only <a href="http://newsandviewsbychrisbarat.blogspot.com/2013/10/ducktales-retrospective-episode-57-dime.html">one featured role</a> in the TV series and (2) has rarely featured in adventures of <b>any </b>stripe -- into the mix.</div>
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*MAJOR SPOILERS (duh)*</div>
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<b>THE STORY</b>: With "long-lost map" in hand, Scrooge travels to Egypt to seek out the titular cenotaph, the last resting place of Sedqaduck, the "unlucky" 13th Pharaoh of the 13th Dynasty<b>, </b>and his "greatest treasures." His companions on the journey are HD&L, Launchpad, and... "Uncle" <b>Gladstone</b>?? (Yep, that's what the boys call him. Personally, I take the idea of Gladstone being the Nephews' uncle as seriously as I do that of Daisy being the boys' aunt.) Unsurprisingly, Gladstone isn't initially keen on the idea...after all, it sounds too much like work. Scrooge ultimately convinces Gladstone to come along by challenging his ganderhood, or something close to it, and away they go. Flintheart Glomgold and Bankjob and Big Time Beagle get wind of Scrooge's destination in "<a href="http://newsandviewsbychrisbarat.blogspot.com/2012/09/ducktales-retrospective-episode-10.html">Master of the Djinni</a>" fashion -- via a newspaper photograph that reveals the details of Scrooge's map (<i>"When will Scroogie learn not to leave his map in plain sight?"</i> cackles Flinty) -- but, after a half-hearted attempt at attacking Scrooge's party at an oasis literally blows up in their faces, the baddies (somewhat surprisingly) drop clean out of the story. Instead, we simply follow Scrooge's party as they reach and explore the long-hidden, seriously eerie Valley of Pharaoh Sedqaduck. But why has Gladstone's luck suddenly turned sour? And why is Scrooge so heck-bent on convincing Gladstone that his luck <b>isn't</b> bad, all the while scotching any overt mention of "thirteen," "luck," and similar words freighted with intimations of good or bad fortune?... </div>
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<b>PLOT</b>: <i>Pretty doggone solid, with some effective suspense and scares, though some of the plotting could have been improved. (**** out of *****)</i><br />
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If you choose to read this story, don't be initially put off by "Stretch"'s staccato style, or the manner in which he tells the reader some fairly basic information about the characters (e.g., that Huey, Dewey, and Louie wear red, blue, and green). Stick with it, and you'll be rewarded, especially once the gang starts the actual pyramid hunt. This is more of a straightforward "there and back again" storyline than the plots seen in "Master of the Djinni" or even <i>DuckTales: The Movie</i>. It has some longueurs, but "Stretch" keeps up some good, in-character banter between the Ducks, though his funniest material is unintentionally so (see <b>WRITING AND HUMOR</b> below).<br />
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As is the case in so many Barks adventures, Scrooge doesn't actually wind up carting home the complete treasure. In place of it, he gets what are for all intents and purposes "parting gifts," courtesy of the ghost of the departed Pharaoh. Considering that these items are designed more to educate the world about the cloudy history of Sedqaduck's unfortunate reign than they are to enrich someone, Scrooge accepts them with considerable grace... which is more than one can say about, for example, his petulant reaction to "love, the greatest treasure of them all" in "<a href="http://newsandviewsbychrisbarat.blogspot.com/2014/08/ducktales-retrospective-episode-96.html">A <i>DuckTales</i> Valentine</a>." True to his nature, though, he does find a way to profit in the end.<br />
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For a story rated the fanfiction.net equivalent of "E for Everyone," there is some seriously creepy material here. The discovery of a group of skeletons from an unsuccessful expedition by medieval Arabs to plunder the valley comes as a considerable jolt. The shock would have been more severe had the corpses been found by the Pharaoh's tomb, as they by all rights <b>should </b>have been, given that Scrooge interprets the map as saying that <i>"the curse of death falls only upon those who violate the Pharaoh's final resting place."</i> Since the skeletons were found a good distance <b>away </b>from the pyramid, I sense a disturbance in the plot structure here, though it's not <b>quite </b>bad enough to raise the dead.<br />
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In addition to harboring dead would-be looters, the Valley of Sedqaduck is also noiseless. Various fauna are present, but they don't make a sound. Scrooge hand-waves away the Ducks' ability to make themselves heard by suggesting that outsiders who enter the Valley aren't affected, while Dewey appeals to "an ancient Egyptian magic spell." Dewey's dodge works for me, especially in a world that contains Magica De Spell.<br />
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The creepiest detail of all, however, is the simple fact that Pharaoh Sedqaduck and his entire royal retinue are <b>still present</b> in spirit form, tending to the evergreen gardens and keeping the buildings in perfect condition. The "curse" on anyone entering Sedqaduck's tomb is supposed to last for 13,000 years, or until the world ends (nice escape clause, that). Presumably, therefore, the ghosts will continue to perform their janitorial services until that time. But what happens then? Will Sedqaduck and his people consider that to be "game over" and vanish, leaving the Valley to succumb to the elements? That seems like an unhappy ending (for them) to me. Or will the fact that Scrooge has peacefully brought the truth about "unlucky" Sedqaduck's reign to the outside world give the spirits a reason to rise to the heavens, in the manner of "The Garbled One" and Khufu in "<a href="http://newsandviewsbychrisbarat.blogspot.com/2013/06/ducktales-retrospective-episode-41.html">Sphinx for the Memories</a>"?<br />
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Unfortunately, "Stretch" seems to have forgotten to edit an early detail about the lost tomb's location. Scrooge originally gleans from the map that the tomb is "inside a mountain," whereas the actual pyramid is in a valley surrounded by cliffs and "mountainous" sand dunes. We could attribute this goof to Scrooge's misreading of the map, but, when your fact-checkers have the Junior Woodchuck Guidebook at hand, I doubt that any such slip would have slipped by.<br />
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The final scene has something of a <i>Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea</i> "coffee scene" ((c) Joe Torcivia) vibe, in that we find the Ducks back in Duckburg and discussing their adventure over a meal at Quack Maison. (Remember? That was the place where Gladstone and Scrooge went to eat breakfast in "Dime Enough for Luck" and that unfortunate "clerical error" concerning the restaurant's "millionth customer" took place). It's decent, but also something of a letdown, given that the Ducks had already <b>had</b> dinner at the place earlier in the story, at the time when Scrooge finally convinced Gladstone to join the adventure. I appreciate "Stretch"'s willingness to exploit Gladstone's one <i>DT</i> appearance to the hilt, but bringing the Ducks back to QM might have been going a dish too far.<br />
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Perhaps the most <b>puzzling</b> aspect of the plot is the quick dismissal of the villains. In truth, they don't actually get to do much of interest. However, there is a most intriguing moment when Bankjob, remembering how Scrooge saved him, Babyface, and Bugle/Bebop from the pirates<b> </b>in "<a href="http://newsandviewsbychrisbarat.blogspot.com/2013/07/ducktales-retrospective-episode-42-time.html">Time Teasers</a>," suggests that the baddies <b>ask Scrooge for assistance</b> in getting back to civilization. Glomgold is having none of that, preferring a long, hot, and problematic desert trek to lowering himself to ask Scrooge for aid. Had the bad guys actually <b>joined</b> Scrooge's party, the conflict between Flinty's pride and greed might have made for an interesting subplot. (Admittedly, it might also have interfered with the subplot that was <b>already </b>present, which I'll discuss under <b>CHARACTERIZATION</b>). Instead, "Stretch" dismisses the villains with a couple of paragraphs of narrative. I suppose that "Stretch" felt that the adventure simply "had" to include an appearance by familiar villains in order to seem "authentic." There are plenty of examples to the contrary, though, and, all in all, I think that "Stretch" should have let the Ducks handle this one by themselves, with no opponents save the elements... and the internal conflicts.<br />
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<b>CHARACTERIZATION</b>: <i>Pretty solid, as well, with the only possible question being how we are expected to regard Scrooge's behavior towards Gladstone. (**** out of *****)</i><br />
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"Stretch" does a pretty decent job with <b>most </b>of the basics here. The Nephews may consult the Junior Woodchuck Guidebook a few too many times -- I'm sure that their native intelligence could have helped them to figure out that pyramids were never used as homes, and that water, however brackish or distasteful, is essential for life to flourish in the desert -- but they make up for it late in the game by doping out Scrooge's scheme <i>re</i> Gladstone (about which more in a moment) all by their lonesomes. Launchpad is Launchpad, 'nuff said, while Gladstone, appropriately enough, is given his slightly softer, more laid-back <i>DuckTales</i> persona, as opposed to the more obnoxious characterization introduced by Barks. On the unlikability scale, whining a bit about tramping through the desert and making a couple of self-satisfied remarks about his luck seeing him through don't really amount to much. "Stretch" even provides Gladstone with a new (and atypical) vulnerable spot, in that the gander takes umbrage at Scrooge's questioning of his bravery on more than one occasion. Scrooge hasn't been concerned (at least openly) about others' <i>cojones </i>since "<a href="http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=W+OS++178-02">Christmas on Bear Mountain</a>." But Gladstone's determination to prove Scrooge wrong reflects another side of his overweening pride... one that is less smug and more proactive.<br />
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The big character-related question arising from this epic is how, exactly, we are expected to react to Scrooge's subterranean decision to bring Gladstone along as a kind of "anti-bad-fortune fail-safe" to sense the "curse" that is supposed to lie on Sedqaduck's tomb -- and, more significantly, his determination to keep his reasoning under wraps until after the fact. Scrooge figures that, if there really is such a "curse," then Gladstone's luck will sense it and try to keep him and the other Ducks safe by any means necessary... including bouts of bad luck. Gladstone's increasing gaffe-proneness as the Ducks close in on their goal, and the result of the final advance towards the tomb, tend to bear out Scrooge's theory. But can this honestly be said to be "square dealing" by Scrooge, even though his intention was an honorable one?<br />
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Complicating our interpretation of Scrooge's behavior is a scene that occurs as the Ducks prepare to go into the Valley. A panicky Gladstone is (understandably) worried that another "Dime Enough for Luck" scenario may be playing itself out, but Scrooge bluntly dismisses his concerns and gives Gladstone his personal promise that the gander's luck hasn't <b>really</b> turned bad. The narrative presents this as an example of Scrooge's commitment to straight dealing
with others, which, given the <b>underlying </b>subterfuge that the old miser is practicing, doesn't quite ring true. Gladstone makes the point that Scrooge, who <i>"[denies luck] even exists"</i>
(I guess the Old #1 Dime is just a cherished memento in this version of <i>DT</i> continuity?), couldn't be expected to understand how luck works. Scrooge is obliged to rely upon sheer force of will to convince Gladstone to believe that Scrooge is telling the truth. Our... uh, hero, ladies and gentlemen? The jury may have a hard time reaching a verdict on that one. <br />
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Personally, I think that it would have made far more sense for "Stretch" to have had Scrooge tell Gladstone the truth up front, using logic to convince the gander that he will be in no danger precisely <b>because</b> Gladstone's luck will protect him by going bad at the appointed time. That would have made for an interesting psychological conflict for Gladstone, who is so used to being benefited by his luck that he might find it hard to wrap his mind around the concept of <b>bad </b>luck doing him some good. Using that subplot in place of the "Scrooge rather clumsily conceals the truth for everyduck's own good" would have been much trickier for "Stretch" to do, but it would have avoided the somewhat awkward characterization of Scrooge that the "subterfuge" angle forced the author to use.<br />
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A coda regarding Pharaoh Sedqaduck himself: The dead ruler's appearance in ghost-guise is<b> </b>brief but memorable. During the adventure, we learn that the "unlucky" ruler was not a bungler so much as a ruler who had the misfortune of facing a large number of enemies without the resources to keep them at bay. Sedqaduck shows that his troubles have not robbed him of a certain sense of humor when he disses Launchpad for having complained earlier that Sedqaduck's museum of artifacts was "dull." The greatest ruler of ancient times he wasn't, but he certainly doesn't come off as a dope on the order of Barks' spendthrift King Nutmost the Rash ("<a href="http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=W+US+++25-05">A Cobbler Should Stick to His Last</a>," UNCLE $CROOGE #25, March 1959).<br />
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<b>HOMEWORK</b>: <i>Done to a turn. (***** out of *****)</i><br />
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From the opening gong, references fly thick and fast -- and they're far from being the standard references to previous desert adventures that you might expect. The aforementioned references to Scrooge's map-mistake in "Master of the Djinni" and Bankjob's remembrance of Scrooge's generosity in "Time Teasers" certainly got <b>MY </b>attention, and some other clever ones are worthy of special mention.<br />
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(1) Gladstone refers to the Ducks' near-death experience in "<a href="http://newsandviewsbychrisbarat.blogspot.com/2013/03/ducktales-retrospective-episode-28.html">Too Much of a Gold Thing</a>"<b> </b>as an example of how dangerous adventuring can be. Makes you wonder: how widely did news of the Ducks' travails in the Valley of the Golden Suns actually spread? One can understand Scrooge wanting to keep the Valley's fate a secret from the general public, just in case some crazies decided to imitiate El Capitan and dig endlessly (and futilely) for riches in the ruins. Any acquaintances whom Scrooge trusted with the info were undoubtedly sworn to some form of secrecy... and it's therefore surprising that Scrooge didn't shush Gladstone (or even whack him with his cane) when Gladstone mentioned the adventure at the Ducks' table at Quack Maison.<br />
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(2) Glomgold reacts to Bankjob and Big Time's bomb-bungling by grumbling, <i>"Now I know why you two never work together!"</i> -- which, in fact, they never actually <b>had </b>before, unless you count that mob-scene in "<a href="http://newsandviewsbychrisbarat.blogspot.com/2014/03/ducktales-retrospective-episode-73.html">Full Metal Duck</a>" (which was itself a skull session, as opposed to an actual gig) and set aside the comic-book story "<a href="http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=S+88216">The Great Chase</a>" (preferably, at a <b>VERY</b> great distance). Given that Bankjob and Big Time are actually among the more <b>competent </b>of the <i>DT</i> Beagles, their treatment here seems a bit uncharitable of "Stretch."<br />
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(3) To while away the time during a long flight, Launchpad tells Gladstone tall tales of his exploits, among which is his <i>"harrowing hiatus with the Harpies"</i> ("<a href="http://newsandviewsbychrisbarat.blogspot.com/2013/07/ducktales-retrospective-episode-46.html">The Golden Fleecing</a>"). Evidently, to Launchpad, any adventure you can walk away from is a tale-worthy one, even if one's role in it is somewhat, well, embarrassing. Speaking of which, Launchpad invokes the "Any crash you can..." mantra a couple of times here.<br />
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You do have to respect a writer who treats canonical series material in such ingenious and imaginative ways. <br />
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<b>WRITING AND HUMOR</b>: <i>Acceptable at best, and most of the humor is of the accidental variety. (*** out of *****)</i><br />
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From the spellings of certain words such as "tonnes" for "tons," to the use of the phrase "the lot of
them," to Scrooge's reminiscence about picnicking in a country
"kirkyard," I gather that "Stretch" is probably a native of the British
Isles. "Stretch"'s writing gets the job done, but it does fall victim to the occasional dropped comma and misspelling.<br />
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One must give kudos to "Stretch" for having the daring to try to reproduce the Ducks' "synchronized snoring" in prose. It results in an unintentionally humorous bit:<br />
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<i>"Huh," snored Scrooge.</i><br />
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<i>"Shhhh[,]" continued Huey.</i><br />
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<i>"Quack, quack," slept Dewey and Louie respectively.</i><br />
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That last sentence reads as if "Stretch" is using "to sleep" as a verb capable of taking a direct object. What would such objects be, I wonder?<br />
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I also found the following throwaway paragraph amusing. Read this, and see if you don't get a distinct impression of Launchpad being pwned:<br />
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<i>Scrooge divided the adults into three watches: Gladstone first, as he liked to stay up late; Scrooge last, as he usually woke up early, as "the early bird catches the worm"; Launchpad received the difficult midnight and early morning hours, because it was the only one that was left. </i><br />
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<b>QUESTIONABLE MATERIAL</b>: <i>None, aside from the aforementioned scares and ghosts (which aren't actually all THAT scary).</i><br />
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<b>OVERALL</b>: <i>***** out of *****. </i> <b><i>N&V RECOMMENDED</i></b><i>.</i><br />
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While not spectacular by any means, "The Lost Tomb of Pharaoh Sedqaduck" is a fun read and displays commendable effort. If you like classic "lost-ruby jungle plunges" with a couple of intriguing (though somewhat problematic) twists, then you should enjoy this story.<br />
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<i>NEXT FANFIC UP: "The Sincere Fraud" by "Commander." In the not-to-distant DT future, the Nephews' mother Della returns... after a long stay in jail. I got a BAD feeling about this, Mr. McDee...</i><br />
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Chris Barathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845538037091279990noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357793224370188597.post-33577900828581755292014-12-05T21:20:00.001-05:002014-12-05T21:20:35.527-05:00"Not pony tales, but"... actually, YES, pony tales.I have been pretty busy this past week and haven't gotten many opportunities to blog. I still have a couple of tomes on the old pile-a-roo to read and review. I'm also deciding on the next DUCKTALES comic-book story and fanfic to dissect. We're heading into finals week, however, so those features won't appear until the second half of December, at the earliest.<br />
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In the meantime, I have some delectable crossover matter for you to nosh on. I stumbled across these items while I was... OK, I'll admit it, I was searching for a <i>DuckTales/My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic</i> crossover fanfic. I did find one, <a href="http://www.fimfiction.net/story/141815/ducktales-in-equestria">but</a>... let's just say that I would prefer to pass over it in silence. I'm sure that the writer did his or her best, but there's just not that much substance to the thing.<br />
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Graphical blandishers have been busier:<br />
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The image is from <a href="http://newsandviewsbychrisbarat.blogspot.com/2013/09/comics-review-my-little-pony-micro.html">IDW's MLP MICRO-SERIES COMIC #8</a>, the one featuring Celestia. Unfortunately, these kids were making fun of the aging and increasingly oblivious teacher Inkwell. I'd almost have preferred that they were playing hooky or something. Also... "A-WOOOOOO"? Is that the <i>DuckTales</i> theme song or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDpYBT0XyvA">a Warren Zevon hit from the 70s</a>?<br />
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If you're not satisfied with ponified versions of HD&L, how about the real McCoys... <b>and</b> an entirely new distaff challenge. And the lads thought they had issues with Webby and Gosalyn...<br />
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Perhaps this faceoff took place during an adventure in which Scrooge found himself in Equestria and immediately did what comes naturally to him -- namely, search for treasure. Since the <i>MLP:FIM </i>TV episode "<a href="http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/A_Dog_and_Pony_Show">A Dog and Pony Show</a>" clearly indicated that certain areas of Equestria are chock-full of gems, this would be a natural thing to do. Due to the completely alien territory, it would also be natural that Scrooge would seek assistance from <a href="http://newsandviewsbychrisbarat.blogspot.com/2013/09/a-rare-gem.html">a local expert</a>, whose many talents include an ability to find gems with her magic:<br />
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I can't wait to see "the division of the spoils" after this adventure. Rarity's charm (and magic) vs. Scrooge's will (and proven ability to do effective battle with a magical adversary)! Which would prevail?<br />
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Apparently, someone was planning to write a fanfic with this title, but this picture is as far as they got. Maybe they'll get back to it someday. If they do, then I hope they'll consider changing the title. "Friendship is Money" doesn't sound quite as... well, <b>warm</b> as the show's actual title.<br />
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As for Launchpad, provided that he could fit his trusty 'copter through the gate, or portal, or continuity rift, or what<b>ever</b> would allow communion between the Ducks and the ponies, I'm sure that he'd get into the spirit of Equestria and make friends quite easily.<br />
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Promos have begun to appear on Discovery Kids (<i>nee</i> The Hub) promising the return of new <i>MLP:FIM</i> episodes in Spring 2015. I had to chuckle a bit at the teaser below, because it partakes so transparently of "movie trailer-style overkill." Where is the late <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_LaFontaine">Dan LaFontaine</a> when you need him? "<b>IN A WORLD</b> where Twilight Sparkle discovers the magic of friendship..."<br />
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<br />Chris Barathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845538037091279990noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357793224370188597.post-86535310577896935152014-11-28T21:16:00.001-05:002014-11-28T21:16:02.143-05:00Book Review: WALT DISNEY'S UNCLE $CROOGE: THE SEVEN CITIES OF GOLD by Carl Barks (Fantagraphics Books, 2014)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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If this be "skimming," then at least it's mostly cream. In his seminal CARL BARKS AND THE ART OF THE COMIC BOOK, <a href="http://www.michaelbarrier.com/">Michael Barrier</a>* praised the earliest UNCLE $CROOGE stories -- in particular, "<a href="http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=W+OS++386-02">Only a Poor Old Man</a>" -- to the highest heavens but then argued that, with Scrooge's essential nature having been revealed whole during these tales, there was nothing more that Barks could do with the old miser that wouldn't be "skimming the surface" in comparison. When he used that phrase, Barrier had in mind tales exactly like the ones in this collection, the stories from U$ #7-12 (1954-55). Here, we can see Barks <b>really </b>settling in with the notion of using Scrooge as an adventure hero in search of lost treasures -- the genre that William Van Horn once tongue-in-cheekedly described as "plunging into the jungle in search of the lost ruby." In the sense that these stories don't delve as deeply into what drives Scrooge as did "Poor Old Man" or "<a href="http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=W+OS++456-02">Back to the Klondike</a>," then Barrier has a point; after all, Scrooge can be "fully realized for the first time" only once. But even Barrier had to admit that many of these "second-stage" offerings are "beautifully crafted." Given that Barks was still getting used to the whole idea of Scrooge playing an heroic role on a regular basis, that's certainly an admirable enough achievement.<br />
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If Barrier doesn't have a full appreciation of Barks' craft during this period, then <i>DuckTales</i> sure as shootin' did. The TV series borrowed liberally from Barks' output during this time, producing direct adaptations of "<a href="http://newsandviewsbychrisbarat.blogspot.com/2012/08/ducktales-retrospective-episode-5.html">The Lemming with the Locket</a>" and "<a href="http://newsandviewsbychrisbarat.blogspot.com/2013/07/ducktales-retrospective-episode-46.html">The Golden Fleecing</a>" and swiping the conflict from "<a href="http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=W+US+++11-01">The Great Steamboat Race</a>" to serve as a centerpiece of its ill-fated Scrooge biography, "<a href="http://newsandviewsbychrisbarat.blogspot.com/2013/11/ducktales-retrospective-episode-62-once.html">Once Upon a Dime</a>." And that may not be the end of the story. As I argued when discussing "<a href="http://newsandviewsbychrisbarat.blogspot.com/2013/03/ducktales-retrospective-episode-28.html">Too Much of a Gold Thing</a>," the final chapter of "Treasure of the Golden Suns," one could make a good argument that "<a href="http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=W+US++++7-02">The Seven Cities of Cibola</a>" had a direct influence on that climactic classic, just as it did on <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082971/">a certain Mr. Lucas and Mr. Spielberg</a>.<br />
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As great as the finest of these tales are, I do have to admit that this volume contains the first U$ feature story that I didn't much care for: "<a href="http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=W+US++++8-02">The Mysterious Stone Ray</a>," aka "The Mysterious Unfinished Invention," aka "Leave Stranded and Petrified Beagle Boys Lie." I previously reviewed it <a href="http://newsandviewsbychrisbarat.blogspot.com/2011/06/comics-review-walt-disneys-uncle-crooge.html">here</a>. The story is currently ranked 16th among all Disney comics stories at Inducks, which I quite frankly cannot fathom. Our own GeoX <a href="http://newsandviewsbychrisbarat.blogspot.com/2011/06/comics-review-walt-disneys-uncle-crooge.html">bombed quite savagely</a> on "<a href="http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=W+US++++4-02">The Menehune Mystery</a>" as Barks' first really sh**ty $CROOGE story (Geo, of course, used the uncensored version of the word), but "Stone Ray" is poorly organized and is illogical in so many ways that it's hard for <b>me</b>, at least, to regard it as being distinctly <b>better</b> than "Menehune." <i>Chacun a son gout</i>, and all that. The use of the two unrelated "adventurettes" in U$ #11, "The Great Steamboat Race" and "Riches, Riches Everywhere," is just a bit irritating -- I'm sure that at least a few of Barks' loyal readers back in 1955 regarded the unprecedented double-dip in the same way that <i>DuckTales</i> fans regarded <b>that </b>series' <a href="http://newsandviewsbychrisbarat.blogspot.com/2012/09/ducktales-retrospective-episodes-11a.html">only venture</a> into the two-story format (in <b>Episode 11</b>, no less! How about that?!), but at least the Barks tales are actually <b>good</b>.<br />
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Artistically speaking, Barks is still close to the top of his game here, though the effects of the notorious mid-50s "drawing paper switch" that stiffened up his art for a while can first be seen here (in U$ #11). The worst of these effects won't show up until the "tall Ducks" period of the late 50s, however, and, all things considered, Barks' initial adaptation to the switcheroo is quite adept. On the gag side, we see the initial one-page salvos in the "free cup of coffee wars" between Scrooge and the unfortunate diner owner who will have to wait more than half a century before his psychological torment can be comprehensively examined in <a href="http://duckcomicsrevue.blogspot.com/2010/08/game-of-one-cupmanship.html">a real, live, full-length story</a>.<br />
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<i>* In case you were unaware of the fact, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Funnybooks-Improbable-Glories-American-Comic/dp/0520283902">FUNNYBOOKS</a>, Barrier's new book-length history of the "Dell Comics are Good Comics" era, presently stands on the cusp of release. Barrier can be an astringent analyst, but his views are always worth considering, so anyone with an interest in the Dell days should pick this book up, either for oneself or as a gift for a like-minded friend. Given IDW's aggressive action in acquiring the Disney comics license and its sturdy stable of licensed properties <b>and</b> original creations, might we be on the verge of seeing the rise of "the new Dell"? Time will dell... er, tell.</i>Chris Barathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845538037091279990noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357793224370188597.post-48543427612487911642014-11-28T19:53:00.002-05:002014-11-28T19:53:22.903-05:00ECAC Southeast Bowl: Stevenson 27, Bethany (WV) 9 (11/22)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Given an unexpected opportunity to extend their season -- and on friendly turf, no less -- <a href="http://www.ecacsports.com/sports/fball/Championships/2014-15/southeast_bowl_recap">the Mustangs took full advantage against the Bethany (WV) Bison</a> in a concoction called the ECAC Southeast Bowl. The game took place at the end of a very cold week, so, despite a fairly benevolent Saturday forecast, Nicky and I came bundled up, with an extra blanket in tow, just in case. Even so, the wind and cold were severe enough that we decided to vamoose at halftime. It was a good decision, because Stevenson already had a 23-0 lead, playing an exceptionally crisp first half. (They did miss an extra point, but we've sort of come to expect that by now.) The second half was apparently much less pleasing, but the Mustangs already had the game in hand anyway. <br />
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The crowd was a little subdued, partially because of people's attire (it's hard to clap loudly when you're wearing gloves) and partially because there just weren't that many people on hand. The players made up for it, though; the Mustangs' bench was easily the loudest I have ever heard it. Evidently, finishing 8-3 and sending the 20-odd seniors out on a winning note was something that the players <b>really </b>wanted to accomplish.<br />
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Chalk this season up as a huge success, and let's try for Middle Atlantic title contention in 2015!Chris Barathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845538037091279990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357793224370188597.post-25687554199439223582014-11-24T20:46:00.002-05:002014-11-24T20:48:08.712-05:00DUCKTALES Fanfic Review: "The Reunion at Duckburg" by "Sosa Lola"At long (and seemingly interminable) last, it's time to begin examining some of the very best <i>Duckfic </i>fantales!... Er, <i>DuckTales</i> fanfics!<br />
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Before I begin, I'd like to acknowledge my good friend Mark Lungo for his useful advice concerning these reviews should be organized. In the <i>Disney Afternoon</i> apa WTFB, Mark developed something of a specialization in the assessment of fan-created prose works. The "star" rating system for various features of the story is entirely my own.<br />
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You can find "Sosa Lola"'s "The Reunion at Duckburg" <a href="https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8586200/1/Fic-The-Reunion-At-Duckburg">here</a> on fanfiction.net.<br />
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** WATCH FOR FALLING (AND YAHOO<b>HOO</b>EEING, GOOFY-STYLE) SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT FORWARD -- OR DOWN, IF YOU PREFER **<br />
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<b>THE STORY</b>: It's Spring Break time, and Goofy and a reluctant Max travel to McDuck Mansion for one of Goofy's periodic reunions with his old pals Donald and Mickey. There are several reasons for Max' reticence: he's reluctant to get reacquainted with Donald's Nephews, who tormented him with pranks at the last reunion at Donald's house some four years ago; Uncle Scrooge, whom Max has never met, sounds like a grouchy old miser; Goofy's enthusiasm for the get-together just doesn't seem... cool. (In case you're wondering: HD&L appear to be their <i>DuckTales</i> selves here, as opposed to the teenaged <i>Quack Pack</i> versions, while Max likewise seems to be in his <i>Goof Troop</i> form, rather than his older <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113198/"><i>A Goofy Movie</i></a> manifestation.) Not wanting to be victimized yet again, and somewhat alienated by Huey and Dewey's slightly snarky attitudes towards him, Max tries to get "cold-served" revenge on the triplets with a prank of his own. The gag winds up putting Dewey in bed with an injured ankle. An angry Goofy grounds Max for the first time ever, meaning that he's left behind while the others go out to dinner. Scrooge, who's been busy and absent up until this time, returns home to find the unfamiliar Goof kid. The duo hit it off reasonably well -- so much so, in fact, that Scrooge brings Max with him to the Money Bin. Scrooge has been fretting over a threatened attack on the Bin by the Beagle Boys, who are working for Magica de Spell. Scrooge temporarily leaves his Old #1 Dime in Max' possession while he's investigating a suspicious noise inside the Bin, and Max is promptly knocked out. He awakes to find himself in Magica's lair on Mount Vesuvius, where Magica is preparing to finish what she started in "<a href="http://newsandviewsbychrisbarat.blogspot.com/2012/12/ducktales-retrospective-episode-20-send.html">Send in the Clones</a>" and create an amulet out of the cherished coin. One hitch, however: she needs some frogs' legs to complete the recipe. (Um, since when?) With a heavy load of guilt sitting on his shoulders due to his failure to protect Old #1 at the Bin -- not to mention his previous misbehavior -- Max must help the Duck, Mouse, and Goof rescue party set things right, a task that becomes all the more difficult when his beloved Dad gets turned into a frog by Magica...<br />
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Well, I certainly <b>wasn't </b>going to pick a dog (heh) of a story with which to start my review series. This is a fine effort, a fanfic that both reflects the familiar and expected in a (mostly) accurate fashion and goes in several new, intriguing, and entirely believable directions.<br />
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Here are my evaluations of the individual components of the tale:<br />
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<i><b>PLOT</b>: Just fine in Chapter 1 (which ends with Scrooge taking Max to the Bin), but gets a tad "overly convenient" in a couple of spots in Chapter 2, and goes completely haywire in one particular instance. (***1/2 out of *****) </i><br />
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"Sosa Lola" him/herself seems to have been uncomfortable about the notion of the Beagle Boys bringing the unconscious Max back to Magica's lair with them when there was no need for them to do so. How can I tell? Because Max <b>HIMSELF</b> wonders why they did it. Since Magica needs frogs' legs to complete the amulet spell (again, <b>you</b> tell <b>me</b> why) <b>and </b>later proves to have no compunction over turning both adults and kids into frogs and threatening to rip off their legs, you would think that this would be <b>the </b>main reason for going to the trouble of bringing Max along, but it turns out that Magica expected the Beagles to get <b>real</b> frogs instead. What makes this all the stranger is that the Beagles don't even bother to capture <b>Scrooge</b>; Max is the only one that enjoys the privilege of being carted away.<br />
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The good-guy cavalry arrives at Mount Vesuvius very soon after Max does -- the others actually arrive in stages, with Minnie and Daisy (who, thankfully, are not on hand just to serve as eye candy; the same goes for Webby, BTW) flying in helicopters as backup. I don't have a problem with this, given that Scrooge was left behind to raise the alarm. But <b>Louie </b>insisting on parachuting out of Launchpad's plane beforehand, under the premise that a little kid like him would be able to infiltrate Magica's place more easily? It rings true in a character-based sense -- at least in the context of this story, as we'll soon see -- but <b>no way</b> can I imagine Scrooge letting Louie do that on his own recognizance. <br />
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<i>Which would be more likely to parachute solo into a dangerous situation?</i></div>
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Where I <b>really </b>must part company with "SL" is with his decision to set Max up to be the "fall Goof" by having Scrooge <b>give Max Old #1</b> for temporary safekeeping.<i> </i>Mind you, Scrooge had <b>already</b> taken a special precaution to protect the dime by removing it from its normal storage case and sticking it inside a "pencil box" filled with loose change. It would make all the sense in the world to simply leave it in that atypical location, as opposed to putting it in the hands of a young kid <b>whom Scrooge has just met</b>. Yes, Scrooge <b>does </b>treat Max with respect from the start. Even given that fact, there's <b>no bleeding way</b> I can see him taking such a chance.<br />
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<i>I can't even imagine <b>Little </b>Scroogie doing it.</i></div>
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<i><b>CHARACTERIZATIONS</b>: The best part of the story, in both a good sense and a bad sense... if you can believe it. (***** out of *****)</i></div>
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Apparently, "Sosa Lola" has written several other <i>Goof Troop</i> fanfics in addition to this one, so I would <b>hope </b>that he would have a handle on what makes Max Goof tick. He turns out to possess rather more than that. The Max that we see here is poised somewhere between the Max of <i>Goof Troop</i> and the Max of <i>A Goofy Movie</i>. He's still the "polite kid" who desires to be "cool," is a mean foot (feet?) with a skateboard, and easily gets embarrassed at his Dad's pratfalls, but there are more than a few hints that Max' attitude towards his own "Goofitude" and his tendency to screw things up is beginning to sour into something rather more unpleasant. "SL" ramps up Max' feelings of inadequacy as the story progresses -- making him feel bad over his prank going wrong, making him feel ashamed of embarrassing his Dad, giving him the guilt trip over "losing" Scrooge's dime, etc. It gets to the point where Max is so filled with "guilt and self-loathing" that he even offers to <b>sacrifice his life</b> so that other characters won't be harmed for Magica's benefit. Louie is so horrified at what Max had planned to do that he literally slaps Max in the face. Even <b>Goofy </b>is tempted to do the same, except that he "doesn't believe in hitting children." Now you see why I described Max as standing between two "poles." If one wants to take this story as belonging to "Spoonerville canon," then this might be <b>the </b>very moment at which "Glad Max" morphed into "Sad Max." It makes the "happy ending" seem just a bit hollow.<br />
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Louie's reaction to Max' intended self-sacrifice resonates all the more because Louie had previously treated the visiting Goof kid with far more thoughtfulness and kindness than either of his brothers. When you realize that the Nephews are still their <i>DuckTales</i> selves, this is quite something. Numerous other fanfics that I've examined, especially those set in the indeterminate future, have taken pains to give the boys distinct characterizations. It's as if the<b>se </b>writers <b>wanted</b> to go the <i>Quack Pack</i> route but didn't necessarily want to use the <i>Quack Pack</i> versions of HD&L. This is the first fic I've seen in which such a distinction was applied to the <i>DuckTales</i> versions of the boys. Louie's slapping of Max is all the more significant because Louie appears to be disappointed with Max for even <b>contemplating </b>such a thing. Evidently, Louie had been determined to befriend Max from the start.<br />
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If you're wondering why Huey and Dewey had so much more of a negative reaction than Louie did to Max' presence... well, "SL" helpfully provides us with an explanation, straight from the Ducks' (in this case, Huey's) beak. Apparently, HD&L had always been jealous of the fact that Max lived with and was cared for by his Dad, in part because of a guilt trip carried over from their <b>own</b> hell-raising days. Add to this the fact that the boys were upset that Donald (who's still in the Navy) had been unable to get away for the reunion... The unanswered question here is, what <b>caused </b>Louie, in particular, to have a different attitude from his brothers'? Was "SL" consciously or unconsciously drawing on the "big-hearted" Louie of <i>Quack Pack</i>, the kid who protected endangered "<a href="http://cloudkicker.50webs.com/RantShack/QP/QP21.html">pugduddies</a>" and so forth? <br />
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<i>You have NO idea, Donald...</i></div>
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<i><b>HOMEWORK</b>: To be a <b>really </b>good fanfic, "attention must be paid" at some point(s) to what has gone before, even if only tangentially. "Sosa Losa" is right "on point" in this area. (***** out of *****)</i><br />
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There are many, many references here to "Send in the Clones." In fact, the first part of the showdown at Magica's lair is close to a clone (heh) of what we saw in that first syndicated ep, right down to Huey giving Magica the most trouble. Huey and Magica each make clear references to their previous encounter. Some lines from "<a href="http://newsandviewsbychrisbarat.blogspot.com/2013/01/ducktales-retrospective-episode-24.html">Don't Give Up the Ship</a>" are shoehorned in, as well, and Dewey (who has to sit out the battle back in Duckburg because of his injury) is referred to by Louie as "<a href="http://newsandviewsbychrisbarat.blogspot.com/2013/10/ducktales-retrospective-revisited.html">always com[ing] up with great plans</a>."<br />
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"SL" also makes references to several <i>Goof Troop</i> episodes, such as "<a href="http://cloudkicker.50webs.com/RantShack/OR/GT00.html">Slightly Dinghy</a>." Goofy's "lucky horseshoe," which enters into the denouement, first appeared in <i><a href="http://thepdo.tumblr.com/post/75910745582/an-extremely-goofy-movie-is-an-extremely-terrible">An Extremely Goofy Movie</a>, </i>but it's easy to imagine Goofy having that object during the <i>Goof Troop</i> era, so I'll let the apparent anachronism slide.<br />
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<i>Thankfully, "Sosa" didn't add "disco references" to his story.<b> </b></i><br />
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<i><b>WRITING AND HUMOR</b>: The writing's serviceable, and, given that half of the tale is an adventure and some genuinely sober subthemes are present, there are some really funny lines. It helps that "Sosa Lola" understands how these characters should sound. (**** out of *****)</i></div>
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There's one really annoying misspelling -- "stake" for "steak" -- that should really have been corrected, especially since it appeared multiple times during the course of a couple of pages. It's also difficult at times to identify who exactly is speaking; this is a particular issue during the character-choked finale. Other than those nits, there are few problems here.</div>
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Launchpad doesn't have a whole lot to do, but, true to form, he does get the funniest line of the story. Some of the banter between Max and Scrooge is quite amusing, and it was easy for me to imagine the characters exchanging the dialogue in their "animated voices." <br />
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There is one peculiar moment at the very end of the story that I frankly don't quite understand. Peg appears on the scene, and she and Scrooge appear to engage in a bit of.... innuendo?? Was this titillation <b>really</b> necessary? I did get a chuckle about the plans that Scrooge has for Peg, though. (They're <b>NOT WHAT YOU THINK</b>. Remember, Goldie could always be lurking around the next corner <a href="http://newsandviewsbychrisbarat.blogspot.com/2013/11/ducktales-retrospective-episode-65-till.html">inside a giant cake</a>.)<br />
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<i><b>OVERALL</b>: ****1/2 out of *****</i>. <i><b>N&V RECOMMENDED</b></i>.<br />
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This story is definitely worth <i>DuckTales</i>' fans' time. "Sosa Lola" clearly put a good deal of thought into it, and the problems with the plot don't detract from the simple fact that it's an enjoyable read, albeit one with a slightly darker underside than you might expect.<br />
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Please feel free to send feedback on how I handled this first review. Did I give away too much of the plot? Do you approve of the categories I used? Did you actually go and <b>READ</b> the darned story, and, if so, how did your reactions differ from mine? I'd love to know.</div>
Chris Barathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845538037091279990noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357793224370188597.post-71994751953763935172014-11-19T19:40:00.001-05:002014-11-19T19:41:36.944-05:00Stevenson 35, Misericordia 14... BUT WAIT, There's More!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As I expected, <a href="http://gomustangsports.com/sports/fball/2014-15/releases/20141119714zxp">Stevenson handled Misericordia</a> last Saturday to finish 7-3 and in fourth place in the <a href="http://www.gomacsports.com/">Middle Atlantic Conference</a> -- not bad at all for a program in its fourth season of existence. The Mustangs, however, got an unexpected bonus when they were invited to play in something called the ECAC Southeast Bowl. The game will be this Saturday at Stevenson against <a href="http://www.bethanywv.edu/athletics/varsity/football">Bethany (WV)</a>. It's not exactly the Division III playoffs, but, hey, who's complaining? Especially when Nicky and I, as season-ticket holders, are getting <b>free admission</b> to the game?<br />
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Happily, the weather on Saturday promises to be warmer than the arctic conditions we've endured the past few days. We're still going to, as Nicky likes to put it, "dress in layers" for the occasion.Chris Barathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845538037091279990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357793224370188597.post-79354480569507221232014-11-17T21:21:00.001-05:002014-11-17T21:21:31.381-05:00Comics Review: MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDS FOREVER #11 (IDW Publishing, November 2014)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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FRIENDS FOREVER gets back on the beam with issue #11, doing what I <b>always </b>hope that this title will do... namely, use a limited cast of <i>MLP </i>characters to allow for a focus on certain aspects of a character that have never been examined, or perhaps even <b>clearly</b> <b>defined</b>, before. The task is trickier here than it might appear at first glance, certainly more so than when <a href="http://newsandviewsbychrisbarat.blogspot.com/2013/11/comics-reviews-my-little-pony.html">Katie Cook and Andy Price cast the hitherto characterization-challenged Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor as refugees from a John Hughes movie</a>. <a href="http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Spitfire">Spitfire</a>, the Captain of the <a href="http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/The_Wonderbolts">Wonderbolts</a> and thus something of an "aspirational peer" for the gung-ho <a href="http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Rainbow_Dash">Rainbow Dash</a>, has a problem opposite to that of the Princess and her hubby; she has literally gotten a different characterization every time she has appeared on the show, and most of <b>those</b> did not exactly put her in the best of lights. Somehow, writer Ted Anderson manages to cut through the muck and give us a new take on the character that feels believable <b>and</b> does not entirely abandon what has gone before. It helps that Rainbow Dash, whose various foibles have been the subject of televised dissection more than once, gets one of her best "supportive adult" moments in <b>any</b> medium here.<br />
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** SPOILERS **<br />
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Think I'm kidding re: Spitfire? Glad-hoofing celebrity and partygoer ("<a href="http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/The_Best_Night_Ever">The Best Night Ever</a>"), bumbling co-conspirator in a surprisingly incompetent group of supposedly heroic pegasi ("<a href="http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Sonic_Rainboom">Sonic Rainboom</a>" and "<a href="http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Secret_of_My_Excess">Secret of My Excess</a>"), bland sideline-watching executive ("<a href="http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Hurricane_Fluttershy">Hurricane Fluttershy</a>"), hardass drill instructor ("<a href="http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Wonderbolts_Academy">Wonderbolts Academy</a>"), conniving bitch and colleague-betrayer ("<a href="http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Rainbow_Falls">Rainbow Falls</a>")... <a href="https://www.baskinrobbins.com/content/baskinrobbins/en.html?utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=brand&utm_content=keyword&utm_term=baskin-robbins">Baskin-Robbins</a> would be hard put to top the variety in that list. My hopes here were that Anderson would (1) not add to the damage caused by the character derailment in "Rainbow Falls," (2) bring Spitfire back to something resembling the "authority figure" setting of "Wonderbolts Academy," where I think she works the best, and (3) give her some relatable foibles without making her an overt figure of fun. All three missions accomplished!<br />
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Spitfire invites Dash to be an instructor at a "Junior Flyers Summer Camp" because... she simply isn't good at dealing with kids (beg pardon, fillies and foals). It seems that she doesn't know how to temper down her "mean" behavior as a Wonderbolt D.I. (I'd call it "demanding" rather than outright "mean," but <i>potato, potahto</i>...) and thus lets the littl'uns walk all over her. Dash suggests being "tougher" with the kids, but Spitfire promptly overdoes it, treating them just like adult recruits. Spitfire, however, does have a legitimate, inherent ability to motivate others -- though, as we are told in a flashback, it took a while for her to assert herself when she was a new recruit -- and Dash cunningly gives Spitfire a chance to literally show the little(r) ponies how it's done by whipping up a tornado for the Wonderbolt Captain to disperse before their eyes. (The meteorological danger is perhaps a bit extreme for the purpose, but, then again, this <b>is </b>Rainbow Dash we're talking about.) The "practical lessons" finally take, and Dash reminds Spitfire that the latter can always get better at working with kids by herself, yet still ask for a helping hoof when needed.<br />
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The plot is handled spot-on perfect. We get a look at what makes Spitfire the entire <b>character</b>, as opposed to Spitfire the icon/buffoon/meanie/bitch, tick. Anyone who has ever had to wield authority that they have <b>earned</b>, as opposed to authority that they have been awarded, will be able to both understand Spitfire's pride in her capabilities and recognize that <b>any </b>leader must be willing to keep learning, just as Spitfire does here. And all credit to Dash for being so understanding, thoughtful, and (what else?) friendly while playing a lower-key role than the "cheekily bombastic" one at which she normally excels.<br />
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The plot is strong enough by itself, but the artwork, by a newcomer named <a href="http://www.jayfosgitt.com/">Jay P. Fosgitt</a> (henceforth to be referred to "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fearless_Fosdick">Fearless</a>" for blog-obvious reasons), is really something special. It is at utter variance with any visual depictions of the <i>MLP:FIM</i> characters that we have been given in any of IDW's MLP titles, or on the TV show, for that matter: cartoonier, sweeter, softer-edged. I would even go so far as to call it "POGO-esque," but that may be setting the bar just a tad high, and, in any event, Fosgitt uses more exaggerated facial expressions and poses than Walt Kelly ever did. Having seen a preview page or two, I wasn't sure how this style was going to wear in a book-length tale, but it didn't take long for Fosgitt to win me over. It helped that the story, with its mix of slapstick, reminiscence, and sentiment, seemed to be complemented quite well by Fosgitt's approach. I don't think that the somewhat stiffer "official" visual versions of the characters would have carried the plot off with such panache.<br />
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You can get an idea of the amount of "cartoonification" involved here by looking at the cover at the top of this blog entry and comparing it to the Fosgitt cover. I hope we see more of Fosgitt in the future; I would be particularly intrigued to see how he would handle a more "action/adventure"-oriented story.<br />
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This title continues to mix gems with relative clinkers. Perhaps I should do some research and try to come up with a numerically-based reason for the inconsistency... you know, like the thing about "original <i>Star Trek</i> movies" only being good if they're even-numbered.Chris Barathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845538037091279990noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357793224370188597.post-71002846384621183662014-11-17T19:41:00.002-05:002014-11-17T19:41:22.857-05:00Book Review: THE RETURN OF GEORGE WASHINGTON by Edward J. Larson (William Morrow/Harper-Collins, 2014)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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"What?" the reader may ask upon reading the title of Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Edward Larson's new book. "How could George Washington have <b>returned</b> from anything?" A good question, indeed... because, as Larson makes clear in this study of Washington's life and public works from the end of the Revolutionary War until he became America's first President under the new <a href="http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution.html">Constitution</a>, Washington never <b>truly </b>stepped off the stage or shucked the role of America's "indispensable man," even after he shockingly resigned his commission and retired to <a href="http://www.mountvernon.org/">Mount Vernon</a> for what he hoped would be a pleasant retirement as a gentleman farmer and land speculator. Indeed, his influence wound up being a -- Larson would no doubt say "the" -- deciding factor in persuading citizens to accept the paper version of an unprecedented form of popular government. The belief that Washington would inevitably be the first President and could be trusted to set a good precedent for conduct in office was, of course, widespread, but Larson also reveals just how "hands-on" Washington was in aiding and abetting the Federalist cause "behind the scenes" during <a href="http://newsandviewsbychrisbarat.blogspot.com/2011/11/book-review-ratification-people-debate.html">the ratification process</a>. <br />
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The tribulations of the newly independent United States (plural emphasized) under the <a href="http://www.history.com/topics/articles-of-confederation">Articles of Confederation</a>, like the fabled <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068646/">Corleones</a>, kept pulling Washington back into public life even as he insisted that he was "out" for good. A trip to his western landholdings convinced him that only a strong central government could preserve property rights, protect settlers, and encourage commerce in the back country. (Washington's hope for a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesapeake_and_Ohio_Canal">Potomac River canal</a> never really materialized, but he certainly was on the right towpath.) Interstate squabbles, the inability of Congress to convince states to monetarily support what central authority there was, "hyperdemocratic" and faction-riven state institutions such as the unicameral legislature of Pennsylvania, and, above all, the insurrection in Massachusetts that became known as <a href="http://www.ushistory.org/us/15a.asp">Shays' Rebellion</a> convinced Washington, and many other "like-minded" nationalists, that a proposed convention to "reform" the Articles of Confederation needed to literally start the process over from scratch, creating a governmental framework for a nation, as opposed to "the several states."<br />
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Always expressing his reluctance to be dragged into the world of politics, Washington nonetheless played a critical role as President of the <a href="http://teachingamericanhistory.org/convention/">Constitutional Convention</a>, albeit one that hardly ever intersected with the actual debates taking place on the floor. While both large- and small-state advocates got some of what they wanted in the final document, the sheer weight of Washington's presence -- and the delegates' inherent, and justified, trust in him to do the right thing by the country -- guaranteed that the primary influence would be nationalist/Federalist. Indeed, Washington appears to have assumed something of a protective role towards the Constitution, believing it to be the only alternative to chaos, and he took a dimmer and dimmer view of the "Antifederalists" as the ratification debates proceeded. Never to the point of literally trying to ram the Constitution down its opponents' throats, however; Washington realized that "Antifeds" had to have their say, that they would have to be part of the new nation, and that the debates should be conducted with what he called "moderation, candor & fairness."<br />
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I am an immense admirer of Washington and greatly appreciated this discussion of a (relatively) lightly examined period in the great man's life. Larson's portrait of the general/statesman depicts a man with strong opinions, forcefully expressed, but whose modesty, character, and ethical sense kept him firmly grounded at all times, as he displayed conduct that all too few "revolutionary heroes" have imitated in the centuries since.Chris Barathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845538037091279990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357793224370188597.post-42256515659578224692014-11-12T19:34:00.003-05:002014-11-12T19:34:46.894-05:00Book Review: THE COMPLETE DICK TRACY, Volume 17: 1956-57 by Chester Gould (IDW Publishing/Library of American Comics, 2014)... plus RIP Jay Maeder<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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** SPOILERS ** <br />
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This latest TRACY collection begins by wrapping up the <a href="http://newsandviewsbychrisbarat.blogspot.com/2014/06/book-review-complete-dick-tracy-volume.html">"Joe Period and Flattop Jr." continuity</a>. The denouement features one of Gould's most (literally) haunting sequence of images, as the ghost/spirit of a murder victim of Flattop Jr.'s literally attaches itself to his neck and won't let go until he himself is gunned down. By the time Flattop meets his demise, he is white-haired and completely barmy. The fact that he is a teenager makes the images particularly compelling. Joe Period doesn't fare much better, getting arrested by Tracy and crew after scoring his first (and, since he's thereby doomed to the electric chair, <b>only</b>) notch on the old gun-butt. In another highly effective and eerily mounted series of strips, Joe's grieving mother comes to see him in prison, laments her inability to be a good and responsible parent for her boy... and promptly commits suicide by running out into city traffic. Gould applies a final twist of the knife when he refuses to let us see Joe's on-panel reaction to the shocking news; all we get is a panel of a guard coming to tell the "juvie" prisoner that something has happened.<br />
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The Joe Period/Flattop Jr. tale was the latest one in time order to be reprinted by Harvey Comics' old <a href="https://www.mycomicshop.com/search?TID=190421">DICK TRACY COMICS MONTHLY</a>. From here on in, easily accessible pre-IDW reprints of TRACY continuities will be conspicuous by their absence. Not <b>quite</b> "uncharted waters," but close enough to smell the salt air.<br />
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The year 1957, the very crux of the 50s, was once described as "the year it seemed that everyone graduated from high school -- or at least wished they had." As for Gould, well, he had certainly had better years. The Kitten Sisters, a trio of close-cropped, acrobatic, "butch" burglars who take a giant step up on the ladder of crime when they commit a revenge murder, are fairly interesting as characters, but they are almost captured too easily: these are the types of arrogant villains that I would have expected to have gone down in "a blaze of gory." There's actually more bloodshed in the <b>next</b> continuity, which is supposed to serve as comedy relief, or at least I heard some rumor to that effect. B.O. Plenty's father Morin Plenty (it only <b>seems</b> as if old B.O. has had as many relatives as Snoopy) spends many weeks of panels touting his amazing new invention, a screw-on shoe heel, only to vow bloody revenge after a pair of would-be swindlers cause the death of his barefooted, teenaged hillbilly wife Blossom. In his Introduction, Max Allan Collins calls this Gould's worst comedy continuity ever. I can't bring myself to go that far. OK, it's far from a laugh riot, but Morin is an engaging, genial sort, with an energy that belies his advanced age, and it's genuinely touching to see him break down after Blossom is killed. Some of Gould's comedy bits from the 30s -- the ones with half-witted wannabe rube detectives and stereotypical black servants -- were <b>far </b>more annoying than this. The whole affair comes to a classic DICK TRACY conclusion, with the requisite high body count. Thankfully, despite his vow of revenge, Morin wasn't involved in any of the carnage.<br />
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Atypically, the volume closes on the <b>end </b>of a continuity, the tale of the unfortunate Crystal family and the "mad" mother Elsa. Child abuse, fire, flood, drug pushing, and a gruesome form of murder all compete for attention in this story.<br />
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Several "this could only have happened in the 50s" moments are scattered about. Tracy and his partner Sam Catchem get crew cuts, and Tracy gets involved in a young men's organization that wants to combat the JD plague by having its members "dress like men," as opposed to outfitting themselves in leather jackets and skintight jeans. Collins sniffs at the idea, joking that he "must have missed" the day when that was discussed in school. But now that we have college students routinely coming to class wearing baggy pants and pajama bottoms... who's to say that Gould wasn't onto something?<br />
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This volume is dedicated to NEW YORK DAILY NEWS columnist <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/newser-jay-maeder-dead-67-article-1.1888581">Jay Maeder</a>, who died in July of cancer. If any of you are wondering about the origins of my interest in DICK TRACY, you have a combination of Maeder and the first (sort of) incarnation of Gladstone Comics to blame. Back in the early Summer of 1990, as stores filled up with <i>chatchkas</i> of all sorts touting the Disney-Touchstone <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099422/"><i>Dick Tracy</i></a> movie and various local TV stations unwittingly set themselves up for various ethnic protests by planning a rerelease UPA's old <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dick_Tracy_Show"><i>Dick Tracy Show</i></a>, Maeder published <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dick-Tracy-The-Official-Biography/dp/0452265444">a paperback biography</a> of the jut-jawed flatfoot. As fate would have it, Gladstone, trying to keep its hand in the comics game after Disney had stepped in and <a href="http://icanbreakaway.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-disney-comics-story-1990-1993.html">given the Disney comics license to its own comics subsidiary</a>, had recently started publishing a DICK TRACY reprint title. Wanting to continue my support of Gladstone, I bought the reprint comics, liked them, saw the Maeder book in a local library, bought <b>it</b>, and thoroughly enjoyed Maeder's virtually year-by-year examination of the progress of Gould's strip. Having read all of the IDW volumes, I now know that Maeder simplified some things and got some other things wrong, but it was his enthusiasm for the strip and its milieu that grabbed me. I've maintained that level of interest ever since. <br />
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Some years after writing the TRACY bio, Maeder took over the writing chores on the near-moribund LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE strip and boldly "reimagined" it for the 21st century -- changing Annie's dress and appearance, giving her a female adventuress for a companion, etc. That didn't prevent ANNIE from ultimately being "orphaned" for good and all, but it was Maeder's devotion to the <b>idea</b> of the classic newspaper adventure strip that should, and hopefully will, be remembered. Thanks, Mr. Maeder, for fighting the good fight.Chris Barathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845538037091279990noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357793224370188597.post-71525119384457655222014-11-11T19:22:00.001-05:002014-11-11T19:25:13.912-05:00Widener 35, Stevenson 23 (11/1); Stevenson 33, Wilkes 14 (11/8)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It certainly appears that we're looking at a final regular-season record of 7-3 for the Stevenson oblong-ballers. After missing a couple of chances at Widener <a href="http://www.d3football.com/seasons/2014/boxscores/20141101_io15.xml">and losing by 12</a> -- the best performance they've ever had against the nationally ranked Pride, I should hasten to add -- SU broke open a sludgy contest that was 3-0 at halftime and went on to clinch their first winning season with <a href="http://www.gowilkesu.com/news/2014/11/8/FB_1108140819.aspx?path=football">a victory over Wilkes</a> on a cold November afternoon at Owings Mills.<br />
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The Mustangs' last game is on the road but against a team they <b>should</b> be able to beat. 24 seniors, a number of whom were there when the program started, were honored after the Wilkes game. </div>
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Basketball season starts this weekend and I'll be providing periodic updates on the men's and women's progress. Also, a shout-out goes to the SU women's soccer and volleyball teams, both of which qualified for their NCAA Division III Tournaments last week. </div>
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Chris Barathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845538037091279990noreply@blogger.com0