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The Life and Times of $crooge McDuck - Episode 1

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UNCLE $CROOGE #285: "The Life and Times of $crooge McDuck The Last of theClan McDuck" (1877-1880)Clan McDuck" (1877-1880)[Cover 285] COVER: I had decided to try to do something to tie together

the 12 covers I would do for Gladstone's reprinting of the"Life and Times of $crooge McDuck". One possibility might have been to docovers that would all tie together to form one large scene, or one longtableau. But since each chapter opened with a page out of Matilda McDuck'sscrapbook, I thought it might be better to use an element from thescrapbook for each cover, so I picked the idea of an oval, sepia-tone photoof $crooge as he appears in that particular issue. This portrait would alsobe the only place where a year is mentioned, as the years were not used inthe actual Egmont stories for fear it might confuse some readers. Then itwas a problem to decide what would be on the cover for chapter I since touse only the 10-year-old $crooge would lose the recognition factor of theadult image of $crooge. So, I decided to ease in with the adult $croogerummaging through his old trunk of memorabilia (which is glimpsedthroughout the series) and thinking back on the adventure which appears in

that issue. All these problems lead to more problems -- often, even if I amsatisfied with a story, I still can't think of a scene which would make acompelling cover. I decided on a shot of the blazing suit of armor onhorseback that young $crooge uses to scare off the Whiskervilles. The nextproblem is that Disney would not approve that scene since the blazing armorlooked too scary for young readers. This seemed like a legitimate point, ifI am to worry about such things, since the readers would not already knowthat the suit of armor shown was empty -- it would look like some poorknight burning alive! So, I inked the cover with the flames removed.

* *D.U.C.K. SPOILER* : If you can't find the hidden dedication, you'llsee it written in lines in one of thephotos in the scrapbook.

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CHAPTER I 15 pages (14 pages plus 1 page prologue):As with other stories in this series, the final version is somewhatdifferent than the first draft script. My original idea was to begin thestory in 400 A.D. with the siege of Hadrian's Wall, and show that it was aMacDuich (ancient Gaelic form of McDuck) that drove the Romans out and gavebirth to Scotland. Then I continued to trace the McDucks through thecenturies, further showing that a McDuck and his stinginess was present atall the great moments of Scot history. But my editor, Byron Erickson, saidthat this was not a story about the McDucks, but about one particularMcDuck, and that I should stick to his life. He did allow me to at least

make mention of the McDuck ancestors that Barks had described in order torealize my purpose of featuring every single "Barksian fact" that had everappeared in a comic dealing with $crooge's life and ancestry. So Ieliminated the first seven pages of the script (all dealing withMacduich/McDuck family history) and expanded the remainder to fill up theslack. These pages will surely be used someday in an "annotated" edition,and we reproduce the first two pages of the original script storyboard herefor your pleasure (or displeasure, however my work effects you).

I believe it was also Byron that suggested that each episode open with a

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scrapbook page, which was another of his peachy ideas. I think that givesthe stories a better feel of being stories of past events... untold talesof a great Duck. I carry this idea through to chapter XI where the splashpanel shows Matilda putting away the scrapbook since she has lost her faithin her big brother; then the splash panel of chapter XII shows no scrapbookelements at all, but simply shows what has replaced all else in $crooge'slife at that point -- MONEY.

The first "Barksian fact" I use in this first chapter was the existence of$crooge's two sisters, Hortense and Matilda. This comes from a Duck FamilyTree that Barks composed in the 50s for his own reference. In a laterchapter you'll see which sister turns out to be Donald's mother. Most ofthe McDuck ancestors mentioned come from Barks' "The Old Castle's Secret",a treasure trove of McDuck history, first appearing in DONALD DUCK / FOURCOLOR #189. The Whiskerville clan and their hound come from "The Hound ofthe Whiskervilles" (what else?) in UNCLE $CROOGE #29.

I regard any $crooge tale not written by Barks to be apocryphal. However inUNCLE $CROOGE #50 there was a story drawn by Tony Strobl which showed ayoung $crooge earning his first dime by cleaning a ditchdigger's boots.This seemed completely appropriate for a poor Glasgow lad, so I allowed anon-Barksian "fact" to direct me this once. There was another story inUNCLE $CROOGE #44 drawn but not written by Barks which also showed a sceneof a young $crooge shining shoes; I lifted some of the art only from that

tale and disregarded the silly plot.

The fact that $crooge collected and sold firewood to the rich city-dwellerswas mentioned in UNCLE $CROOGE #21 - "The King of the Golden River". Thatstory also told that $crooge's grandfather had been a miner, something Ihad written into the original version of the script.

$crooge's Uncle Pothole comes from "The Great Steamboat Race" in UNCLE$CROOGE #11. And Uncle Jake is mentioned in DONALD DUCK / FOUR COLOR #367 -"A Christmas for Shacktown".

The two McDuck family heirlooms: the golden dentures are from the untitledstory in UNCLE $CROOGE / FOUR COLOR #495 (UNCLE $CROOGE #3). The heirloom

watch is mentioned in the story of the same name in UNCLE $CROOGE #10.

DONALD DUCK / FOUR COLOR #291 - "The Magic Hourglass" - is the story thatimplied that $crooge came to America as a cabin boy on a cattle boat...however, I choose to ignore the existence of some magic hourglass as thebasis for the McDuck fortune which, as we all know, $crooge earned throughhis own hard work! That was a very early use of $crooge, before Barksdecided on $crooge as the quintessential self-made-Duck. There are actuallyvery few Barksian "facts" that I was forced or chose to ignore during thisseries -- Barks' continuity wasn't self-concious, but still hangs togetherquite well. I will be sure to point out the "false facts" that I've chosenthrough the course of these texts.

Though Gladstone's coloring (by Susan Daigle-Leach) on this series wasjustly nominated for an Eisner Award, I was shocked when I saw that she hadgiven $crooge and his father brown hair. I always pictured male Ducks ashaving white hair (and the female Ducks might have colored hair since theymay have dyed it?). I mentioned that to Susan and she didn't know what todo since the issue had already appeared. But in part IV she thought of away to turn $crooge's hair suddenly white. I thought it was a clever touch,though I hope the story might be reprinted someday with all-white Duckhair.

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* INSANE DETAILS TO LOOK FOR:

All of the coins in the nearest piles in the splash panel are drawn withtemplates, and lots of 'em!

The grand hall of McDuck castle is copied from the grand hall of Camelot asdrawn by Hal Foster in an early PRINCE VALIANT page.

If you look closely at Sir Swamphole's armor (page 11, panel 4) you can seehis skull peeking from the helmet, as discovered by a nephew in "The OldCastle's Secret".

Whenever Matilda appears (throughout the series), watch how the daisy onher hat losses one petal per panel. When she first appears in this episode,her posy is already denuded; this is because that sequence is acontinuation from another story where her flower had already lost itspetals (see "Of Ducks and Dimes and Destinies").

A mistake in the caption of the second splash panel, the one on page 2: Ihad made a change in the original script, but failed to correct allreferences. McDuck castle had been abandoned since 1675, which is the 17thcentury, not the 13th century as this caption states.

According to this tale, I have $crooge's 10th birthday in 1877, placing his

birth-date in 1867. I chose that partly because that's the latest I couldget $crooge to be born and still be able to do some of the things Barkssaid he did in the years Barks said he did 'em. Still, this has himpiloting a riverboat (see part II) at age 15-- pretty darn young! But also,Barks retired in 1967, so I can think of $crooge living a nice even 100years. How could he live such a long, active life? Remember he drank fromthe Fountain of Youth in that one Barks story, which is supposed to giveone great health, though (according to that story) only bathing in thewater would make one younger.

* *D.U.C.K. SPOILER*: In the splash panel, the dedication is written ona wad of bills sticking from the money pile.

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