Keskustelujen arkisto

I'm quite behind, as this is my latest issue; I am also quite behind in my reading, and have tried to keep reading in chronological issue number, though I have briefly considered reading the latest issues so as to disccus them here-- bu then, amazon.fr is always very late in getting them.

I did read this one, however, just because I knew there was this story by you; I thought I might write something here, then wondered if it might not be better to write you directly; I pondered similarly what to do regarding stories by David and Lars, for fear of coming off sycophantic.

I have just re-read it, so here's my detailed commentary.

Donald is of the bumbling type here, and of course he brags he can do something impossible. His ludicrous first attempts are funny.

The final hoax is just as much of a poorly executed one, but playing on Scrooge's fear of robbery is interesting and not unprecedented: one of my favorite short stories by Barks is the filler from the "Back to the Klondike" issue, where Donald has Scrooge believe that fish is the new currency; the greedy Martians (holding "Tomorrow we hit McDuck!" signs in front of the 'telescope'!-- hilarious!) are no more ridiculous than this; in both cases, the usually smart and wary Scrooge falls for the gag, because he's afraid of losing his fortune (either because it has become worthless or because it may be stolen).

It could not be funny if the hoax was not so ridiculous; otherwise, it would be more like a scam, and a tragedy; the exaggeration and silliness make it humorous.

Sending his fortune on the Moon is not an unprecedented move either, and the "man in the Moon" panel is a funny tribute. Speaking of panels, I like the layout of the three top panels of page 8 (inside the bin). Jan Gulbransson's art fits the story nicely

Donald's way out is honorable, and full or irony: not only has he truly managed to dupe Scrooge, as one of the Bamboozlers says, Donald does fool everyone in the end (not by making them believe he would try to fool his Uncle, but by telling them such a lie to hide the truth), yet he is chased by an angry crowd and cannot be crowned (which is a bit like his failure as an insurance seller because of his historical sell to Scrooge, in one of Barks' ten-pagers).

There's another "fooling Scrooge" story I love, drawn by either Vicar or an artist from Gutenberghus, where Donald bets with Scrooge he can enter his bin despite his whole new hi-tech surveillance system--- and he does, three times in a row!

Quote from user: MilanoJan Gulbransson is one of my favorite artist. My collection of his comics is nearly complete. But I have copies of all his five stories which were written by you, Robb.
"The Greatest Hoax Of All Time!" has good drawings and a very witty story.
I would be very pleased if Gemstone would publish the other four collaborations of Robb and Jan.
Thanks, Milano. Actually, an and I have worked on a lot more Disney stories than the 5 listed on my COA index. But many of them are pending his making drawing changes. I'm not sure if he'll get to many of the several we have, but there are a few more that will be finished, and added to COA, and printed as well.

Quote from user: OlivierSearching for stories of yours printed in the U.S.A., I see I actually read one unknowingly last week; for the opening of the Summer Olympics, I read USA Uncle Scrooge Adventures #41.
This issue featured D90187, "Don't Blame the Eggs", but the sole credits were "art by Esteban, color by Colleen Winkler"; according to the INDUCKS, it's was pencilled by Juan Torres Perez (no inker specified), and written by you, Rob.
It's a nice little Gyro story-- a classic tale of several attempts gone wrong.
It's too bad that Gladstone wasn't more careful in looking up story credits. I've had several stories printed in magazines in which credits were given, but mine weren't. Worse yet, most of my stories for Gutenberghus (Egmont) were printed in Scandinavia during a brief period when credits were not given.