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Topic: Write a short reviw of The Mummy's Ring
(20 messages)
Adrian44
Write a short reviw of The Mummy's Ring
Message 1 -
2012-10-17 at 00:10:44
That's one of my favorite stories and also one of the very first DD adventures I read. I rarely if ever see it mentioned and certainly never appears on the favorite stories threads. How would you personally review that story and what are its perceived shortcomings?
GeoX
Write a short reviw of The Mummy's Ring
Message 2 -
2012-10-17 at 03:15:23
Well, obviously, as Barks' first solo adventure story, it's historically significant, and you can definitely see his later concerns in utero, but the story itself leaves a lot to be desired. I wouldn't say I dislike it, exactly, but to me, the story isn't very well-paced, and the depiction of the Egyptian culture feels underdeveloped and kind of half-baked. Also, perhaps most importantly, this was when Barks was giving the nephews really unpleasant-looking jowls, which don't exactly enhance my appreciation.
Richie
Write a short reviw of The Mummy's Ring
Message 3 -
2012-10-17 at 14:01:13
Haven't read it in ages, but my impression mirrors GeoX's; it's okay, and as a Barks' fan it's interesting to see the first adventure he tackled on his own, but nothing to write home about.
That said, it does contains one of my favorite panels in Barks:
http://blog.newsarama.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10082/barks_donald_mummy.jpg
That said, it does contains one of my favorite panels in Barks:
http://blog.newsarama.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10082/barks_donald_mummy.jpg
Review Or Die
Write a short reviw of The Mummy's Ring
Message 4 -
2012-10-18 at 17:14:17
The big thing for me is that Barks hadn't yet mastered panel transitions. I remember several sequences where he had to rely on narration captions that simply weren't necessary if he'd had a better handle on page construction. Other than that... it's not terribly memorable for me, I suppose, though there's nothing explicitly wrong with it. I don't have the comic in front of me to comment on it, but from what I remember I was pretty ambivalent to it beyond the historical curiosity of this type of story being dealt with for the first time. It's not <i>bad</i>, but it's not really great. Imagine my surprised when I realized how much of it was included in the theme song to DuckTales.
Robb_K
Write a short reviw of The Mummy's Ring
Message 5 -
2012-10-18 at 22:33:42
Quote from user: RichieHaven't read it in ages, but my impression mirrors GeoX's; it's okay, and as a Barks' fan it's interesting to see the first adventure he tackled on his own, but nothing to write home about.
That said, it does contains one of my favorite panels in Barks:
http://blog.newsarama.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10082/barks_donald_mummy.jpg
Although Carl Barks didn't see a lot of films in the cinema, this panel of fearful Donald might well have been inspired by the scene in the Universal International feature film from 1932, "The Mummy", starring Boris Karloff, in which the British archeologist , who had discovered the tomb, is pointing to the open, empty sarcaphogus, laughing hysterically, and saying: "He......He..... went for a little walk!"
That said, it does contains one of my favorite panels in Barks:
http://blog.newsarama.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10082/barks_donald_mummy.jpg
Although Carl Barks didn't see a lot of films in the cinema, this panel of fearful Donald might well have been inspired by the scene in the Universal International feature film from 1932, "The Mummy", starring Boris Karloff, in which the British archeologist , who had discovered the tomb, is pointing to the open, empty sarcaphogus, laughing hysterically, and saying: "He......He..... went for a little walk!"
Robb_K
Write a short reviw of The Mummy's Ring
Message 6 -
2012-10-18 at 23:21:01
Quote from user: Review Or DieThe big thing for me is that Barks hadn't yet mastered panel transitions. I remember several sequences where he had to rely on narration captions that simply weren't necessary if he'd had a better handle on page construction. Other than that... it's not terribly memorable for me, I suppose, though there's nothing explicitly wrong with it. I don't have the comic in front of me to comment on it, but from what I remember I was pretty ambivalent to it beyond the historical curiosity of this type of story being dealt with for the first time. It's not <i>bad</i>, but it's not really great. Imagine my surprised when I realized how much of it was included in the theme song to DuckTales.
I agree. Clearly, Barks was not nearly as efficient in his story telling and panel usage, nor his panel transitions as he was in his classic 1948-1952 period. That panel has WAY too much dialogue, slowing down the panel's impact, and killing the joke, and making the impact of showing Donald's emotion too weak.
I agree. Clearly, Barks was not nearly as efficient in his story telling and panel usage, nor his panel transitions as he was in his classic 1948-1952 period. That panel has WAY too much dialogue, slowing down the panel's impact, and killing the joke, and making the impact of showing Donald's emotion too weak.
Kimba_1962
Write a short reviw of The Mummy's Ring
Message 7 -
2012-10-19 at 01:56:44
One interesting thing about this story that has always stuck with me: I saw panels from it in a logic textbook. The "Mummies Don't Eat!" bit was used to illustrate a form of logical argument.
Also, ReviewOrDie, I don't believe that anything in the DUCKTALES opening credits was directly tied to "The Mummy's Ring." Just because a mummy appeared and chased HD&L doesn't mean that we were supposed to think of The Bey of El Dagga and friends. Heck, the episode "Sphinx for the Memories," with its theme of Donald being shanghaied to help bring an ancient prince back to life, has more of a claim on being influenced by "Mummy's Ring."
Also, ReviewOrDie, I don't believe that anything in the DUCKTALES opening credits was directly tied to "The Mummy's Ring." Just because a mummy appeared and chased HD&L doesn't mean that we were supposed to think of The Bey of El Dagga and friends. Heck, the episode "Sphinx for the Memories," with its theme of Donald being shanghaied to help bring an ancient prince back to life, has more of a claim on being influenced by "Mummy's Ring."
Review Or Die
Write a short reviw of The Mummy's Ring
Message 8 -
2012-10-19 at 03:06:23
Quote from user: kimba_1962One interesting thing about this story that has always stuck with me: I saw panels from it in a logic textbook. The "Mummies Don't Eat!" bit was used to illustrate a form of logical argument.
Also, ReviewOrDie, I don't believe that anything in the DUCKTALES opening credits was directly tied to "The Mummy's Ring." Just because a mummy appeared and chased HD&L doesn't mean that we were supposed to think of The Bey of El Dagga and friends. Heck, the episode "Sphinx for the Memories," with its theme of Donald being shanghaied to help bring an ancient prince back to life, has more of a claim on being influenced by "Mummy's Ring."
I disagree, that shot very clearly felt like a reference to me. But that said, when has DuckTales ever really grasped the point of the comics?
Also, ReviewOrDie, I don't believe that anything in the DUCKTALES opening credits was directly tied to "The Mummy's Ring." Just because a mummy appeared and chased HD&L doesn't mean that we were supposed to think of The Bey of El Dagga and friends. Heck, the episode "Sphinx for the Memories," with its theme of Donald being shanghaied to help bring an ancient prince back to life, has more of a claim on being influenced by "Mummy's Ring."
I disagree, that shot very clearly felt like a reference to me. But that said, when has DuckTales ever really grasped the point of the comics?
GeoX
Write a short reviw of The Mummy's Ring
Message 9 -
2012-10-19 at 05:51:14
Hmm. Well, let's compare and contrast:
http://s16.postimage.org/jwu61unx1/mummy.png
The composition is pretty substantially different, true; the fact that the mummy has a face definitely marks the Ducktales version as more cartoonish. Still, I have to admit, the presence of a glowing ring in both images DOES seem like pretty strong evidence, even if the idea that someone involved with Ducktales would've been familiar with Barks to this extent makes me somewhat incredulous.
http://s16.postimage.org/jwu61unx1/mummy.png
The composition is pretty substantially different, true; the fact that the mummy has a face definitely marks the Ducktales version as more cartoonish. Still, I have to admit, the presence of a glowing ring in both images DOES seem like pretty strong evidence, even if the idea that someone involved with Ducktales would've been familiar with Barks to this extent makes me somewhat incredulous.
Review Or Die
Write a short reviw of The Mummy's Ring
Message 10 -
2012-10-19 at 06:19:54
If I recall correctly, a member of the production staff brought in the Another Rainbow box set, only to be told that there was nothing in them that was useable (Note: @*_(%@#*%{)@#R@)#(% AND THEIR MOTHERS). It's not wholly unreasonable to assume that someone looked at the first adventure story and threw it in to theme as a weird kind of misguided homage.
Lars Jensen
Write a short reviw of The Mummy's Ring
Message 11 -
2012-10-19 at 12:09:37
Instead of calling DuckTales staffers "@*_(%@#*%{)@#R@)#(%", doubting how familiar they were with Barks's work and imply they never "really grasped the point of the comics"... Why not ask Mike Peraza, who has posted here before and actually worked on DuckTales?!
GeoX
Write a short reviw of The Mummy's Ring
Message 12 -
2012-10-19 at 16:09:20
It's not to say that people involved in the show can't provide insight, but one does not need inside information to have a valid opinion about how well it embodies the spirit of the comics.
Gyro Gearloose
Write a short reviw of The Mummy's Ring
Message 13 -
2012-10-19 at 20:08:59
Just because Ducktales' writers would frequently simplify or alter elements of Barks stories in their TV adaptations doesn't mean that those writers couldn't have known quite a lot about the original Barks works. Most of the changes to Barks' stories in the show can be understood as part of the process of trying to make the stories appeal to a broad audience, many of whom were assumed to be unfamiliar with the comics. To attribute such alterations to mindless stupidity and ignorance on the part of the writers seems pretty off-base, not to say condescending ("Of course, those wretched !@#$% TV-writing hacks could never have been able to wrap their puny brains around the comics we of the elite read"). If DT's writers and animators knew who Flintheart Glomgold, Gladstone Gander, the Beagle Boys, and other characters were, it's a pretty safe bet that one of them saw the cover to the Mummy's Ring and thought it could be the basis for a good opening-titles visual.
GeoX
Write a short reviw of The Mummy's Ring
Message 14 -
2012-10-19 at 21:30:53
Why do I always find myself in the position of attacking Ducktales, even though on balance I like the show? Hmm.
Regardless, nobody, obviously, can claim to have plumbed the depths of Ducktales writers' souls, to understand how much of Barks they knew or how hackish they were or what have you. And obviously we're talking about a bunch of people, so the answers wouldn't be homogenous anyway. But watching the worst Ducktales episodes (and let's face it, some of them are really vertiginously bad), it's impossible to escape the impression that the writers only had the most tenuous understanding of Barks, as well as a lot of other things. I don't care whether this comes from genuine ignorance or some sort of misguided strategy; all I can judge is what made it to the screen.
And really, even when the show is good, it rarely feels all that Barksian. Not being Barksian isn't always a bad thing! But for better or worse, I don't see any call to give the writers an undue amount of credit in that regard.
Regardless, nobody, obviously, can claim to have plumbed the depths of Ducktales writers' souls, to understand how much of Barks they knew or how hackish they were or what have you. And obviously we're talking about a bunch of people, so the answers wouldn't be homogenous anyway. But watching the worst Ducktales episodes (and let's face it, some of them are really vertiginously bad), it's impossible to escape the impression that the writers only had the most tenuous understanding of Barks, as well as a lot of other things. I don't care whether this comes from genuine ignorance or some sort of misguided strategy; all I can judge is what made it to the screen.
And really, even when the show is good, it rarely feels all that Barksian. Not being Barksian isn't always a bad thing! But for better or worse, I don't see any call to give the writers an undue amount of credit in that regard.
Review Or Die
Write a short reviw of The Mummy's Ring
Message 15 -
2012-10-19 at 22:26:07
Quote from user: Lars JensenInstead of calling DuckTales staffers "@*_(%@#*%{)@#R@)#(%", doubting how familiar they were with Barks's work and imply they never "really grasped the point of the comics"... Why not ask Mike Peraza, who has posted here before and actually worked on DuckTales?!
I didn't mean to call them anything, though I didn't make myself clear about that. My bad, no ifs ands or buts about that. But when I read that bit originally, the statement that got me so mad, I was so frustrated steam came out of my ears, and it taints my ability to enjoy the show. I have the same issue when I go to see other adaptations, homages that are just done... weirdly.
But to be clear on the work: my position's pretty simple. DuckTales is a really good show and one of the biggest trailblazers in animation. The pacing is a little slow compared to modern stuff, but it's forgivable. Visually far, far beyond anything that was done at the time, and generally just funny. Historically, BEYOND important in terms of TV animation. I watched it all the time when I was a kid and I begrudge no one watching it now!
But I don't think it had much of anything to do with the comics, which doesn't seem unreasonable to me. It removed the original main character because of executive mandate, tailored the new main character's personality to fit a different situation and state of being, changed HDL's situation completely, and tried to strike a balance closer to a... jeez, sitcom doesn't seem right here, but family-oriented story amongst the treasure hunts. The time period shifted, the tone shifted... there's very little that remained unchanged from a very fundamental level of the show, despite the characters and trappings being familiar.
And on top of that, they did create a quality product, and ESPECIALLY high quality for its time. Just not the same product as the comic. I like apples <b>and</b> oranges. I don't think it's unfair to say apples are not oranges.
I didn't mean to call them anything, though I didn't make myself clear about that. My bad, no ifs ands or buts about that. But when I read that bit originally, the statement that got me so mad, I was so frustrated steam came out of my ears, and it taints my ability to enjoy the show. I have the same issue when I go to see other adaptations, homages that are just done... weirdly.
But to be clear on the work: my position's pretty simple. DuckTales is a really good show and one of the biggest trailblazers in animation. The pacing is a little slow compared to modern stuff, but it's forgivable. Visually far, far beyond anything that was done at the time, and generally just funny. Historically, BEYOND important in terms of TV animation. I watched it all the time when I was a kid and I begrudge no one watching it now!
But I don't think it had much of anything to do with the comics, which doesn't seem unreasonable to me. It removed the original main character because of executive mandate, tailored the new main character's personality to fit a different situation and state of being, changed HDL's situation completely, and tried to strike a balance closer to a... jeez, sitcom doesn't seem right here, but family-oriented story amongst the treasure hunts. The time period shifted, the tone shifted... there's very little that remained unchanged from a very fundamental level of the show, despite the characters and trappings being familiar.
And on top of that, they did create a quality product, and ESPECIALLY high quality for its time. Just not the same product as the comic. I like apples <b>and</b> oranges. I don't think it's unfair to say apples are not oranges.
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