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Review: DuckTales #1

By | May 26th, 2011
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Written by Warren Spector
Illustrated by Leonel Castellani

DUCKTALES is back! The hit Disney Afternoon TV show makes a splash this month as an all new, original ongoing comic book series! Written by the creator of the EPIC MICKEY video game and illustrated by MARVEL SUPER HERO SQUAD’s Leonel Castellani, this is the latest and greatest revival of the Disney Afternoon Revolution that “might solve a mystery,” but will definitely “rewrite history!” Existing within the same continuity as kaboom!’s hit series DARKWING DUCK, find out why “life is like a hurricane!”

If you’ve been coming here for a while, then you probably know that I have a soft spot in my heart for all-ages comics. You might also know that I love Disney’s Duck family. A lot. As such, I figured I would give Boom’s relaunch of DuckTales a shot. Is it pleasing to my nostalgia-tainted senses, or does it fail to measure up to my sillily high standards? Follow the cut to see.

Now, I know what a lot of people are thinking. “Reviewing DuckTales? Really?” But, honestly, all-ages comics should be as critically evaluated as the most highbrow Vertigo book. Sure, they don’t need to be particularly “deep” – though it has been known to happen – but the standards that determine good comics storytelling are universal. Just look at Carl Barks and Don Rosa’s contributions to Disney’s comics: these two men are true masters of their craft, and “get” comics a lot better than the majority of those who write more comics for more “mature” audiences. Not to disrespect those other creators, of course; Barks and Rosa are just that good.

Unfortunately, Warren Spector’s first issue falls a little short by my criteria. The first few pages are far too heavy on expository dialogue, making it hard to get motivated enough to read the rest. And trust me, kids aren’t going to think “well, it’s already been purchased, might as well keep going.” This could have all been avoided if Spector adhered to that key rule of “show, don’t tell.” As Scrooge goes through his collection, he shares tales of his extraordinary exploits with his friends and his readers, only to bore us half to death. Rather than a panel of Scrooge just talking, this sequence could have been much more effective were he to simply narrate over a flashback panel illustrating the event. Even then, one wonders if he absolutely needs to tell all these stories in one sitting if he is going to all these places later. Why not just tell each story whenever he reaches a new destination, in order to free up the beginning a bit from the swampy exposition? No one’s going to go “Wait a minute, he didn’t mention this one at the beginning!” The story itself could be much more interesting, but Spector is writing in a style that is for kids, not for all ages. The difference is extraordinary. There’s no problem with this, per se, it just means that the story will not have the universal appeal that master writer/artists Rosa and Barks do.

I do, however, have a major problem with artist Leonel Castellani’s line work. I know, he has to match that iconic Disney “look,” or else people might show up at his doorstep with pitchforks, tar, and feathers. Still, he seems to be trying too hard to match that classic style, and as a result his penciling suffers greatly. There are more than a few panels where the characters seem to have been taken straight from an old still of the TV show. Now I’m not accusing Castellani of tracing or relying too much on referencing at all. Rather, I think his admittedly accurate attempts at getting the “right” appearance down causes them to be far too static, and sucks all of the motion out of them – a terrible thing to do to a comic. It’s a real shame, too, because the few more “unconventional” images are filled with energy – take, for example, the panel of Farquardt picking up Scrooge’s parachute – have a lot of energy and movement to them. I keep getting the vibe that Castellani can do so much more, but is holding back out of… well, I guess you could go so far as to call it fear. And I can’t say I blame him. These are properties that you have to be incredibly delicate with, and it is sometimes best to play it safe and go for what the owners would deem appropriate, rather than what a true fan of the medium would call “great.”

This isn’t a bad comic. It’s just an alright one. Honestly, I would say that this is the equivalent of your average Marvel/DC book, only for younger audiences. Give it to a kid, and I’m sure he or she will find it fun and enjoyable enough while they’re reading it. It certainly isn’t going to be something that will stick with them over the years, though, or get them interested in comics as a whole.

Final Verdict: 5.2 – Browse, and maybe buy it for a young’un (if only because there aren’t many all-ages comics out there).


Walt Richardson

Walt is a former editor for Multiversity Comics and current podcaster/ne'er-do-well. Follow him on Twitter @goodbyetoashoe... if you dare!

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