"The Not-So-Ancient Mariner"

HA! You didn't EXPECT a story that has NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with Halloween, DID YOU?!? Well...my excuse is that "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" is kinda spooky. I know some people don't think ghost pirates are really Halloweeny enough, but surely we can all agree that the Pogues' "Turkish Song of the Damned" is the best Halloween song of all? C'mon.

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"Wispy Willie"

I have to admit, the main reason I haven't been more active here in recent months is horror at the direction my country is going in, and not fun, seasonal horror either. I think that's basically what I said LAST Halloween, so...that may not be a good sign. BUT. The show must go on, so let's look at a not-really-Halloween story. Hey, it's not the first time, nor the last. You know, of course, that this story isn't actually called "Wispy Willie;" Barks wasn't titling his ten-pagers at the time. Granted, that title refers to the most memorable thing in the story, but it's certainly not the story's centerpiece. It doesn't really have a centerpiece. It does have its moments, though.

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"My First Million"

RIGHT WOT'S ALL THIS THEN?

I first read this story in the old Comixology version. I'm not actually quite sure how that came to pass. I've read very few stories that way on account of the rubbishy translations. Maybe I'd come back after a long time wanting to know if they'd improved at all (spoiler: no). But however it happened, it happened. So when I saw that this was going to actually be printed in an IDW book, I thought, HEY, why are they printing this mediocre-at-best story? Well, because the powers that be mandated it, presumably. Just because they're powers doesn't mean they're particularly bright. But, I thought, well, at least it'll be a better localization, which might give it a bit of a shot in the arm. I did not know at that time that change was afoot at IDW...

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