tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5423579092779163824.post8808588620210437635..comments2024-03-28T03:15:52.497-04:00Comments on Duck Comics Revue: "The Flying Dutchman"GeoX, one of the GeoX boys.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14658452994152399308noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5423579092779163824.post-58909454248923596212020-07-16T22:42:43.354-04:002020-07-16T22:42:43.354-04:00Much, much later....
I first read this story at th...Much, much later....<br />I first read this story at the tender age of 69, which was just last week! - in the new Fantagraphics volume 22. Though I had long known of it by reputation - via the red ship image, I was very disappointed in the story itself.<br />So, I have come to GEOX for a 2nd opinion - hoping maybe to find I'd overlooked some hidden bit of Barks genius. But no, GEOX agrees: "it's pretty darned thin". <br />That was my impression too - and I found Donald's many fishing gags either tedious filler, or plain implausible [eg when he inadvertently flips the map over - a major plot devpt point, but a very weak one.]<br /> I cant say my poor opinion of this story is simply due to my great age, or an increasingly curmudgeonly character! Overall, I think Fanta's vol.22 is wonderful -one of the very best in the series to date. And at least half the other stories in there were also new to me.<br />Keep up the good work.<br />yours,<br />Editor Weemshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12821810337651826230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5423579092779163824.post-42199421269617783372016-12-12T09:46:30.120-05:002016-12-12T09:46:30.120-05:00"This, of course, is one of the surprisingly ..."This, of course, is one of the surprisingly few "Scrooge's treasure hunt" stories that he wrote"<br />This is an interesting point. As you remarked in your review of "The Mines of King Solomon" back in 2010, we usually tend to think of Barks having done many treasure hunt stories, but there are actually few of them. Though, of course, it depends on how we define a treasure hunt story, since the definition may vary from one reader to another.<br /><br />@Achille<br />You are wondering why Rosa decided to use the McDuck ghosts and the Kalevala's Afterlife in his stories. I think thes two links answer it:<br />https://lists.nafsk.se/pipermail/dcml/2003-August/018887.html<br />https://lists.nafsk.se/pipermail/dcml/2003-August/018902.html<br /><br />@Richie<br />In 2009, Don Rosa was asked (on the Papersera Forum) if he viewed "The Three Caballeros" as part of his canon, and this was his answer:<br /><br />"obviously the "Three Caballeros" can't be something that "really happened" -- as much as I *love* that film (for me, the only good use Disney ever made of Donald Duck), the characters were "actors" appearing in a fantasy travelogue. There was no reality to it -- it was song and dance."Drakeboroughnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5423579092779163824.post-8485231693042780302016-11-22T11:24:22.987-05:002016-11-22T11:24:22.987-05:00Perhaps a thing that can make the story seems to h...Perhaps a thing that can make the story seems to have a weak plot is that, during a big part of the story, the ducks did not really do anything? From the moment when they understand that "Die Fliegende Hollander" is "The Flying Dutchman" (and Scrooge decides to end the treasure hunt) to the moment when they find the boat, they are simply in the hands of outside forces (the storm, the winds, etc.) - even the discovery is because the wind (or the streams?) takes them to the ship, not because they are actively searching it (much the opposite - they seem to be with some fear of arrive to the "point").Miguel Madeirahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07382939732567489809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5423579092779163824.post-75967232005394378822016-11-19T08:10:08.364-05:002016-11-19T08:10:08.364-05:00ahahaahahahahahahahah sorry, my bad XDahahaahahahahahahahah sorry, my bad XDMonkey_Feyerabendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12573708743732899341noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5423579092779163824.post-74616553207217864912016-11-19T07:48:00.696-05:002016-11-19T07:48:00.696-05:00"Western" on this blog is almost always ..."Western" on this blog is almost always referring to Western Publishing--Dell, Gold Key, Whitman :)GeoX, one of the GeoX boys.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14658452994152399308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5423579092779163824.post-12216523077219353122016-11-19T07:39:58.114-05:002016-11-19T07:39:58.114-05:00Speaking seriously, I agree on most of what GeoX s...Speaking seriously, I agree on most of what GeoX said in his reviews. Though my "emotional" reaction is a bit different. The plot going aimless (like lost in in the see?), the <i>non</i>-treasure hunt and the reiteration of Donald's obsession for fishing (supported by excellent gags) <i>are</i> the reasons why I found so fascinating this story! (I can't wait to re-read it in English...come on Fantagraphics! Even if I would like to see some volumes from the damn 40's in the forthcoming issues...).<br />If it can help: I first read this story at the age of 26 I guess, not 6 :)<br /><br />Funny fact corner: a BIG COVER SPOILER in the latest Italian reprint of the story (2015): <br /><br />https://coa.inducks.org/issue.php?c=it/UACK+10#hcMonkey_Feyerabendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12573708743732899341noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5423579092779163824.post-14117982723348715062016-11-19T07:15:38.900-05:002016-11-19T07:15:38.900-05:00Hey, waaaaaaiiiiiit a minute...since when Italians...Hey, waaaaaaiiiiiit a minute...since when Italians are not Western people????!!!!!Monkey_Feyerabendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12573708743732899341noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5423579092779163824.post-80461495772323702112016-11-11T19:35:17.106-05:002016-11-11T19:35:17.106-05:00In a personally amusing coincidence, as part of In...In a personally amusing coincidence, as part of Inktober, I had planned to draw the oil painting Barks did for this story as one of the final drawings in the month. Time constraints prevented me from doing so, but imagine my surprise when you update the blog with this exact entry...<br /><br />...Which, I'll confess with no little shame, it's one of the Barks tales I actually hadn't read beforehand. That it's apparently one of Barks' less tightly-structured adventures should set my expectations accordingly; I don't doubt I'll be charmed regardless, though. The art is amazing all the way through, and the Scrooge/Donald interaction seems like Rosa's done right. <br /><br />(Not that Don couldn't deliver great Scrooge/Donald interactions! But this talk of the Kalevala tale, which starts with a helpless Donald complaining about Scrooge whacking him endlessly with his canes, reminds me of just how alien the relationship between the two could get)<br /><br />And speaking of the Kalevala business, more specifically Achilles Talon's comments on such stuff not quite gelling with Barks' mythos...Don't forget Rosa introduced Panchito Pistolas and José Carioca to the Barksverse, explicitly referencing the Three Caballeros while doing so. Which, one simply can't reconcile the surreal madness of that movie with Rosa's much more grounded verse! But it's one of those detours from the norm that make for delightful stories anyway, so no complaints.Richiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09935204176414624605noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5423579092779163824.post-25300591297371400352016-11-08T21:11:03.731-05:002016-11-08T21:11:03.731-05:00Sorry, "wrote" there was just meant as s...Sorry, "wrote" there was just meant as shorthand for "created."GeoX, one of the GeoX boys.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14658452994152399308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5423579092779163824.post-7141973004103182692016-11-08T15:29:55.615-05:002016-11-08T15:29:55.615-05:00Mysterious XOEG, I have to admit, I'm surprise...Mysterious XOEG, I have to admit, I'm surprised by something you wrote in the second paragraph. Just sort of tossed off that "This, of course, is one of the surprisingly few "Scrooge's treasure hunt" stories that he wrote." Not having the esoteric knowledge of some of the other learned discoursers, I have to ask, "Is that honest-to-god true?" I'd always thought Barks wrote nearly all of what he drew...Jeffyohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04966913400710653000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5423579092779163824.post-57656515529680748472016-11-03T14:36:19.572-04:002016-11-03T14:36:19.572-04:00Hey! Don Rosa discussion! ... that I can't qui...Hey! Don Rosa discussion! ... that I can't quite contribute to because I'd have to read and type a lot more, and like I said in my last comment I'm still recovering from the surgery and will turn off my computer for the rest of the day after reading this comment!<br /><br />I will say that I maintain, generally speaking, that Rosa's work is best viewed as an integrated part of Barks' work, rather than a separate entity unto itself. Sort of like the difference between New Vegas's DLC and Warcraft II's Tides of Darkness. Looked at that way I find that the crazy mishmash of the Peeweegah, the Yeti, unicorns, and things like the ghosts, the Kalevala, and the pre-Inception-by-his-own-admission-accidentally-taken-from-another-movie entering a dream machine seems all to match. Two great tastes that taste great together! It's why I'm so glad I discovered them both at the same time. I might not appreciate Barks as much, or Rosa, if I'd discovered them independently.<br /><br />I will admit that this story seems weak (and hoo boy does the coloring not do anything justice!) from a plot perspective, but I am also with you on the visuals. Barks never seemed happier in his art than when he got to draw anything related to the sea, and I love it. I get the feeling that a little sprucing could have made this a more unified tale, considering how much we've seen of his cut panels and the like, but you can't pull off your best every time. It's just stunning, in a very good way, that his 'decent' is so long-lasting for many. Even if it's just a silly joke about swordfish (a gag actually used in his "A Descent Interval" in a slightly modified form) or the striking image of red sails on a ship, he knew how to hit a bullseye somewhere in the story, even if he was just throwing darts en masse like swordfish.<br /><br />I got kind of gushy there, I'm sorry, I'm just so pleased to be able to read this stuff again. And I really have grown to enjoy Barks even more over time. I'd much rather be gushy than grouchy about this stuff anyway!<br /><br />And once again, a belated Happy Halloween.Review Or Diehttp://www.reviewordie.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5423579092779163824.post-57316606586946104512016-11-02T00:38:22.630-04:002016-11-02T00:38:22.630-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Debbie Annehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05648307522331962265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5423579092779163824.post-28097411035163744092016-11-01T13:13:22.213-04:002016-11-01T13:13:22.213-04:00I believe Barks shied away from including ghosts o...I believe Barks shied away from including ghosts or other "real" supernatural elements in his stories because it was his impression that Disney (or Western) wouldn't allow it. (Unfortunately I can't remember where I read this.) Decades later and working under very different management, Rosa was subject to no such prohibition.Gyro's Helperhttp://gyroshelper.tumblr.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5423579092779163824.post-68171364087338946402016-11-01T11:52:44.864-04:002016-11-01T11:52:44.864-04:00I'm not saying I dislike the ghosts themselves...I'm not saying I dislike the ghosts themselves, or "Kalevala"; I actually love both. I just find that they are quite an odd addition to make to the mythos from someone who claims to follow Barks's footsteps. I don't think you can compare it with the Black Knight; the idea was inspired by other sources, sure, but his existence doesn't change the nature of the universe. Meanwhile, in Barks, we have no evidence whatsoever that there is an Afterlife at all. Characters like the resurrected Persians of "Ancient Persia" even seem to be weak evidence <i>against</i> it.Achille Talonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11636339293230261724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5423579092779163824.post-34807500504212559832016-11-01T10:39:51.539-04:002016-11-01T10:39:51.539-04:00@Achille: Because Rosa also enjoys movies and lite...@Achille: Because Rosa also enjoys movies and literature featuring real ghosts? Just as the Black Knight was inspired in part by sources in other genres. You will note, though, that in "The New Laird" it is left so that Scrooge and his family are unaware of the existence of the McDuck ghosts (since Scrooge doesn't consciously remember his preview of heaven or, presumably, Sir Quackly's handing him his sword). Thus continuity with the Barksian world of "The Old Castle's Secret" is maintained. One could even argue that "The New Laird" provides an explanation for why the real Sir Quackly ghost didn't scare away the fake one: he had learned his lesson about interfering in events in the land of the living. (The group-scare of the Whiskervilles at the end of "The New Laird" doesn't change the course of events.) "Quest for Kalevala" was a thank-you gift to Rosa's Finnish fans, and its content reflects the Kalevala itself. Whatever others think about it, the Finns LOVED it.<br /><br />On Barks' attitude towards the supernatural: following Barks, Rosa has strongly argued for Magica's status as a mortal sorceress, not a witch with inherent magical powers. There's still a supernatural element in the spells and magical artifacts, but Magica herself is a (duck-shaped) human.Elainenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5423579092779163824.post-9659885807217569932016-11-01T04:56:21.416-04:002016-11-01T04:56:21.416-04:00Speaking of Barks's habit to produce natural e...Speaking of Barks's habit to produce natural expalanations to all his supernatural spookinesses… this, by the way, makes me wonder why Don Rosa decided to introduce the McDuck ghosts and then the freakin' Afterlife (in "Quest for Kalevala"), when no signs whatsoever of either existed in the Barks corpus.Achille Talonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11636339293230261724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5423579092779163824.post-57855136865202251872016-10-31T22:45:41.139-04:002016-10-31T22:45:41.139-04:00Hey, I was probably sixish when I first read this ...Hey, I was probably sixish when I first read this story, too! Fair's fair!<br /><br />I'll concede that I'm probably underrating the storm section at least a bit, but I maintain that it suffers from not really being part of a better-developed narrative. <br /><br />Pan Miluś, that's the best compliment (?) I've ever gotten. Or maybe just the most alarming. Anyway, cheers!GeoX, one of the GeoX boys.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14658452994152399308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5423579092779163824.post-12447267764730122272016-10-31T22:00:15.294-04:002016-10-31T22:00:15.294-04:00I agree with Miguel Madeira that there's plent...I agree with Miguel Madeira that there's plenty at stake here. The Ducks are in pretty dire circumstances. <br /><br />True, there's not enough plot here. And true, the "scientific" explanation is a let-down. In terms of spookiness quotient, though, I do like the fact that the captain's log gives historical weight to the idea of the cursed vessel, with its reference to plague and desertion. It is of course typical of Barks to provide natural explanations for apparently supernatural phenomena such as ghosts. It's probably more of a let-down in this instance because the ghost ship is just so awesome. <br /><br />In defense of the bogus explanation, Achille, I would note that both the aurora and the unusually high phosphorus content of the iceberg are deemed crucial to the production of the remote mirage, perhaps explaining why we're not constantly seeing projected penguins.<br /><br />My biggest problem with the "science" is how the iceberg's swinging into the wind can explain why the ship's image *repeatedly bounced and projected hundreds of miles away* is also seen as sailing into the wind! <br /><br />I have read, and very much like, the Martina/Cavazzano "vascello fantasma" story. In some ways, I like it better than Barks' "Flying Dutchman." Nothing compares visually to Barks' splash panel of the first sighting of the ship. But the Flying Dutchman is a real ghost ship, with a lovely spooky story where the captain played dice with the devil for his soul through a century of storms. There's a more substantial plot, and HDL get to save the day in more than one way at the end. In any case, it's the only story by Martina that I have saved to re-read. Elainenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5423579092779163824.post-31247713361575884332016-10-31T16:11:27.779-04:002016-10-31T16:11:27.779-04:00You know? I'm pretty sure if Mark Twain was st...You know? I'm pretty sure if Mark Twain was still alive today and instead of writing books he was writing Disney comics reviews and he would see this post, he would be so full of envy and jealousy it would drive him into deeps of insanity, he would kidnap Geox, drag him to his spooky castle in the forbidden forest, he would locked poor Geox in a cage like a wild animal and at the pick of darkness consuming his soul, he force him to write THE ULTIMATE REVIEW so he can publish it under his name, all while, as part of his new narcissistic ego he would send creepy riddles to the police to see if they can figure out where he is hiding before it’s too late (ala The Zodiac Killer) and all that would climax in a dramatic fight in burning windmill, with Twain falling to his doom and some enigmatic gypsy woman would appear in the mist and tell people to ask themselves “who was the real monster here?” <br /><br />WELL, so much for my Halloween post! HAPPY HALLOWEN/ALL SOULS DAY/BUENOS DIA DE MURETOS<br />Pan Miluśhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01364446151493198587noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5423579092779163824.post-68203544647975625782016-10-31T13:52:59.734-04:002016-10-31T13:52:59.734-04:00" but there's no sense of urgency or of a..." but there's no sense of urgency or of anything really being at stake, and so it goes on until it just kinda ends"<br /><br />They are lost in the sea, in a storm, without any way of directing the boat, almost without food, without a compass (and the storm makes, until the last panels, impossible to use any kind of navigation by sun or stars) - seems very dramatic.<br /><br />"But the only thing it really leads to is this little detour to South Africa which really contributes nothing to the story and could easily have been excised. "<br /><br />I think this point is central to the story - the whole ambience of despair (including the apparently strange attitude of Uncle Scrooge not wanting to continue to search for the treasure) is the result of they being, initially, wrong about the location of the ship, and, after that (the episode in south Africa), being in mode of not knowing what to do.<br /><br />Note - I read this story for the first time with 6 years old; I admit that my opinion could be different if my first contact with the "The Flying Dutchman" had been at a later age (perhaps 6 y.o. kids are easily fascinated?).Miguel Madeirahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07382939732567489809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5423579092779163824.post-77232042137395153012016-10-31T12:03:58.959-04:002016-10-31T12:03:58.959-04:00Is it now?… Well, I'll be doggone: you're ...Is it now?… Well, I'll be doggone: you're right! But our French translation had made it unrecognizable (in our version, he's merely selling the windmills themselves).Achille Talonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11636339293230261724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5423579092779163824.post-56931094695343846302016-10-31T11:43:45.514-04:002016-10-31T11:43:45.514-04:00Rosa DID reference the wind-selling thing. It'...Rosa DID reference the wind-selling thing. It's in a single panel of "The Empire Builder from Calisota", right before the North Pole Peary sequence.Doc Fordnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5423579092779163824.post-13931628073047529642016-10-31T11:36:37.749-04:002016-10-31T11:36:37.749-04:00No, Don Rosa did not referend the wind-selling par...No, Don Rosa did not referend the wind-selling part in 'L&T'. Maybe we're supposed to assume this all happened at some point <i>after</i> 1947. Do note, also, that this sort of nonsensical comment by Scrooge to explain how he knows foreign tongue X is sort of a running gag in late 50's Barks. It also pops up in the 'Golden City' story, where he apparently learned old Siamese when "selling maps to Marco Polo". When I was younger, it got me dreaming about a "Life and Times" episode where Scrooge travels back in time on business, an awesome story that we of course never got. Even today I'm not sure exactly what Barks meant with these comments. <br /><br />Anyway, I too was disappointed with the "scientific" explanation, especially seeing how it's just about as crazy on its own as it gets. If it could really work that way, we'd be seeing projections of polar bears and penguins on every storm cloud. Even if it does not make much more sense, Scarpa's explanation with a boat turning into a glider was way more satisfying, because magic or no magic, that means you've actually got a goddamn flying ship, and that is awesome in itself regardless of its spookiness. <br /><br />Also, "one probably didn't really expect a supernatural explanation"? I certainly did. Having read <i>The Flying Scot</i> and also a 70's Cavazzano story about the Dutchman before this story probably had something to do with it, but the fact is there: at first I really thought it was a ghost ship, adding to by disappointment.Achille Talonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11636339293230261724noreply@blogger.com