I went to Disney World a few months ago, partially to visit my parents who now live in Florida, but mostly to take my husband for the first time. Our week-long trip was a very magical experience for him, and it made me remember my first trip to see the famous castle back in 1988. Now, I’ve been to the place where dreams come true about 13 times in my lifetime, and it’s come to the point where I’ve lost count!
Which brings me to Donald Duck #1, one of my favorite Disney characters as a child, who turns out to be my husband’s favorite, as well. Naturally, I had to pick up this issue and read my first-ever Walt Disney comic book, which turned out to be a very nostalgic experience for me.
First of all, the comic book is divided into 4 short Donald Duck storylines, the first and longest of which (“Shellfish Motives”) is Part 1 of 2. Right away, we discover that Donald Duck has another uncle, brother to the rich-but-kind-hearted Uncle Scrooge. His name is Uncle Gideon, and he runs a newspaper called “The County Conscience.” Gideon has assigned Donald to a top secret investigation, and the rest is down hill from there! Between this fun, wild duck chase and the other stories, we even get to see Daisy Duck as Donald tries to win her a trip to Cancun, as well as Huey, Dewey, and Louie who always seem to be getting Donald out of trouble.
As with any other great comic book series, you have to have a great team behind your characters, and Donald Duck #1 has more than enough supportive team members. First off, kudos to both writer and artist Romano Scarpa for the amazing work on Part 1 of “Shellfish Motives.” I was captivated the whole time and am looking forward to next month’s issue. I also thoroughly appreciated the short, but sweet, “Suspicious Customer” storyline by Bruno Sarda, with art by Andrea Maccarini. It was the perfect one-page laugh that I needed following the intense investigation piece. Writer Kristen de Graaff and artist Mau Heymans also brought the funny with “Wrecks, Lies, and Videotape.” And, even writer Dick Kinney and artist Al Hubbard taught us that Donald is not the only one in his family with bad ideas. I’m just glad Disney gave so many talented people the opportunity to work on this project regardless of how long or short each storyline actually was. The flow of the comic book as a whole felt as if everyone was on the same page, pun intended.
In the meantime, I’ll be looking forward to June’s issue of Donald Duck stories, including our conclusion to “Shellfish Motives.” Let’s just hope that, until then, Donald Duck does not get stuck with all of the bad luck . . .
#DisneyMemories