One of the most amazing things about Uncle Scrooge is that he has a full chronology, a history which spans from his earliest day as a penniless duck in Glasgow all the way up to his “present day”. That chronology was developed by the great Duck cartoonist, Don Rosa, who took all of the references made to Scrooge’s past by his creator, Carl Barks, and laid them out in The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck.
Fantagraphics
Kari Korhonen’s “The McDuck Diaries: The Klondike Years” (originally published in the Finnish magazine Aku Ankka and published for the first time in the US in this week’s Uncle Scrooge #4) takes Rosa’s established chronology and expands on the early years, finding a young, pre-wealth Scrooge eagerly partaking in the gold rush.
“Klondike Years”, the massive, multi-chapter story that takes up the bulk of the oversized issue, is so interested in the classic stories that it’s hard to go a page or two without being hit by a classic character – or ancestor of a classic character. The book is riddled with helpful footnotes referencing Scrooge adventures of the past, illustrating just how rich a tapestry the Scrooge stories have been.
For all that, the story itself is more gag-based than a continuity-heavy epic. It wants you to know that it’s done its research, but it also just wants to have fun. Gearloose inventions, Pied-Piper rat antics, and bear wrangling are all equally bite-sized, good-natured goofs. The larger epic of his adventures – including a mysterious foe abroad, sending hirelings to halt his progress – bears little on Scrooge in the moment, as he tends to face each zany situation with happy determination, less fated for greatness than doggedly sure of himself.
Fantagraphics
These new Fantagraphics floppies have been eager to fill their pages with a diverse array of content, and even though “The Klondike Years” fills up most of its forty pages, the issue still manages to throw in some seasoned content. A one page strip, “Mush”, and an excerpt from “The Invisible Intruder”, both work by Carl Barks, share some historic themes with “Klondike”. Dating back to the 1950s and 1960s, they fulfill the Fantagraphics archival tendency while also illustrating how classically influenced Korhonen’s story is.
Uncle Scrooge #4 (Legacy #464) continues to bring fresh, exciting new Duck content to the States, and is a true gem of the fresh lineup. Noting the legacy numbering – #4 is #464 of a series dating back over half a century – only heightens how serious of an endeavor this new series is. Fantagraphics means business, and if they keep bringing stories like “The Klondike Years”, then they’re certainly writing checks they can cash.
