Supposedly, Donald Duck and Scrooge McDuck comics aren't as popular in the US as in Europe. Is this correct? In my opinion, the Carl Barks and Don Rosa stories about Donald and Uncle Scrooge are among the very best comic book stories ever written. My favourites are Don Rosa's "Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck" series. Storytelling that isn't just for kids, with some really emotional bits thrown in. Scrooge's transformation from idealist to hardened capitalist, the estrangement of his family and so on. Great storytelling, in my opinion. Then there are the stories of exploration and treasure hunting: "The Son of the Sun", "Lost in the Andes", "The Golden Helmet", and one of my favourite Duck stories of all time, "A Christmas for Shacktown", which is Dickensian in scope and format.

I just found out some weeks ago that both Don Rosas and Carl Barks' stories are in the process of being released as compilations in book form, and have started purchasing them. This week four of them dropped into my mailbox, and I have been busy revisiting childhood memories for several nights now. This is a pic from yesterday, with a bit of Glenlivet Master Distiller's Reserve to keep me company

Yeah, that's what I heard as well... something the always angry Donald Duck not being a good example to kids or so. Instead that sickeningly goody-two-shoes Mickey Mouse gets all the attention.

In the Netherlands, Donald Duck magazine has been going strong for over 50 years now I think... Mickey Magazine never really took off.

Donald and Scrooge are popular in Spain too, I loved them as a kid.

Donald and his family are a comedic gold mine, simply because of the dysfunctionality. Comedy drives on conflict. A goody-good character like Mikey could never compete with a duck with anger management problems. And as Don Rosa shows, you can tell more stories than just treasure hunts, the topic that Carl Barks masterfully explored.

In Germany particularly the Car Barks stories are particularly popular because of the genial translation by Dr. Erika Fuchs. Well, translation is probably the wrong word; she twisted the text so much, it's probably more of a "transposition". She made the stories a treasure trove for grown-ups as well as she was constantly adding in twisted versions of famous quotes, and paraphrased famous German poets (Goethe, Schiller, Lessing) in a very humorous way that you would truly appreciate if you could recognize the original sources. Also, she pioneered German-specific Onomatopoeia like the now proverbial "Klickeradoms!" ("the sound of lightbulbs dropping into a bathtub").
The overall story remained the same, of course. But a simple translation it was not. Back-translating her would be a daunting challenge.

whilst not soley scrooge ...


"ducktales ... whoohhooo!"

Mickey is still around in the USA,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Mouse_%28TV_series%29

I never liked Mickey when i was young, always thought he was a weirdo. Donald was definitely funny though.

Those books aren't as popular here, but they should have been. I learned Norwegian in great part by reading them. I borrowed them from a neighbor who collected them; he had them in his bookcase arranged so that the spines lined up and displayed various faces (darkwing duck, donald, scrooge, etc). Which to a nine year old boy was the coolest thing ever until that friend got an Amiga.

Thanks for the trip down memory lane… I'm going to look those books up.

Start with "The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck", the best of the bunch by far. It's on Amazon. Amazing stories and great, great artwork.

*borrows your books!*

Can't remember when I first noticed it, but there was a series I think about the trio: Donald, Goofy and Mickey. Donald and Goofy each had a unique characteristic that's easy to describe and remember, Mickey came across as a blank slate.

Even Bugs Bunny comes across as a bit boring compared to Daffy Duck (even had its own Duck Dodgers series).

They are trying to change Mickey though, from a wikipedia article, his character was revised in a video game (more mischievous IIRC). I wonder if that will catch on.