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The Life and Times of $crooge McDuck - Episode 8

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UNCLE $CROOGE #292 -- "The Life and Times of $crooge McDuck --The King ofthe Klondike" (1896-1897)"

[Cover 292] COVER: Gosh, this is a nice cover! I mean, I love the sceneshowing the moment (though it's staged differently from the

story) that $crooge discovers the Goose Egg Nugget, the first moment of hislife of wealth! But also Gladstone did it up special by using gold ink onthe Nugget and the logo. (Gold ink, like silver ink, contains metallicelements and is quite different, and more costly, than normal ink.) Theyalso did some computer-magic to make $crooge stand out from the hazybackground. The "King of the Klondike" slash-line in the upper leftslightly spoils the effect though, and it sorta surprised me -- but Isuspect that was because Gladstone hoped to sell a batch of this issue tothe Dawson City tourist department or something, and wanted to get the word"Klondike" or "Yukon" on the cover. And once again, the kisser on theoval-portrait $crooge looks weird, but too late to worry about that.

* *D.U.C.K. SPOILER*: the dedication is in the rocks just to the right

of Goldie.

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CHAPTER VIII: -- 24 pages:

My original title for this episode was "The Phoenix of White Agony Creek",but I later changed that to "The Argonaut of White Agony Creek" which isthe title by which it went out to the European markets. But for theAmerican printing I chose this title Gladstone used, since I also changedthe title of chapter IV.

This is the climax of the series in Shakespearean terms (if I remember my

college English lit course correctly). It's not the end, but the turningpoint in $crooge's life. He is at the peak of his powers, mentally andphysically. Chapters 9-12 will represent the "falling action" in that dramanomenclature, as $crooge begins to realize that the having is perhaps notas grand an adventure as the getting of his fortune.

Barks buffs know instantly where the core of this tale originates.Glittering Goldie comes from that all-time classic "Back to the Klondike"in FOUR COLOR #456 (UNCLE $CROOGE #2). And Soapy Slick is pulled fromBarks' "North of the Yukon" in UNCLE $CROOGE #59 which told of how he triedto collect on that old loan (compounded at 100% per month since 1896) until$crooge managed to produce the receipt for the loan pay-off.

The rest of the details in this story are, as I hope you have come toexpect by now, taken from the actual facts of history. The setting andevents are as authentic as possible. Yes, Wyatt Earp did buy and operatethe "Second Class Saloon" in Nome during the Gold Rush. I also tried totell a bit more than some readers may know (or care to know?) aboutKlondike gold prospecting.

On the other hand, I hope history buffs will forgive me for two intentionalinaccuracies. The route to the Klondike was from the town of Skagway overthe White Pass, or from the town of Dyea over the Chilkoot Pass. But who's

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ever heard of Dyea or the White Pass? Therefore, I mixed and matched. I hadto include Skagway in this tale, as famous as it is in the Yukon legends.Yet the other intentional inaccuracy is in the disappointing truth thatit's the American Skagway that was the lawless, crime-ridden murder-capitalof North America, not the peaceful Canadian town of Dawson City where theNorthwest Mounted Police kept strict law and order. But that's America foryou.

This story shows why $crooge had never hit the jackpot until now. Hisexploits before this time were the dues he paid to make it this far -- hispast adventures each taught him lessons about work and endurance (andpeople) and were all preparations for this moment, when he would finallyget rich from nothing but his own hard work, perseverance and know-how.(And with no help from any so-called "lucky" Dime, thank you.) The $croogein this tale is the $crooge at the peak of his life; this is when heentered legend!

However, that very intent on my part seemed to lead to some problems with afew readers in Europe when this tale was first printed there in mid 1993.As you can imagine, European comic book fans look rather askance atAmericans and their mindless devotion to super-heroes of the most viciousilk as the single suitable subject for comic books. Actually, as a comicsfan of the old school, I look more askance-er than anyone along thoselines, yet the European fans, knowing I was a philistine American, thought

that the riverboat -destruction sequence was my attempt to make $croogeinto an American grim-vigilante-super-hero! That sequence was not meant toshow what is actually happening, but is intended to show how legendary acharacter $crooge McDuck became at the height of his grit and glory. Thiswas how the facts became exaggerated as the tale was retold over thedecades. Perhaps those European readers didn't jump to such an unfairconclusion since I never really know how accurately my dialogue or captionsare being translated in the various foreign editions. Or maybe I just madea bad move? Oh, well... it's done now and has to stand as it is.

But having said all that about the story, the truth is that this was theother instance in the series when my editor Byron rejected the entire firstdraft of the script! Ouch! My original story involved $crooge meeting up

with Grandma Duck who was running a diner in Dawson City with all herfamily, whom I ended up using in chapter X. Grandma's husband at one pointis on his way to put $crooge's claim in his safety deposit box, but Soapyhas told Goldie about it and Goldie coldcocks him and swipes the claim.Goldie had a large role in this version, with her and Grandma Duck gettinginto a dance-hall-girl vs. frontier-wife brawl right out of DESTRY RIDESAGAIN. But Byron said that $crooge's Yukon adventure should represent thetoughest, nastiest, loneliest, most miserable time in his life to besuitably dramatic! My first script had $crooge almost like the secondarycharacter in a story about a large bunch of his friends and supporters. AndByron was right, as always! So I did a complete rewrite. It would take toomuch space to show you the entire original 24-page script, but we'll try touse one sequence to show you it was a funny, but lifeless tale.

* INSANE DETAILS TO NOTE:

There are some inexplicable changes/errors in the American printing. One isin page 2, panel 7 where $crooge is saying that the nicknames he's earnedaround the world were "not quite accurate". My script had the same dialoguebut without the word "not". Big difference!

On page 4, panel 2, after the shoot-out, notice the face in the picture onthe wall is looking up? There's supposed to be a bullet-hole in the middle

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of his forehead. Maybe Disney thought that looked too dangerous and kidsmight try putting bullet holes in their foreheads at home? But to givecredit where credit is due, I commend Disney for allowing a comic storylike this one to see print in America, teeny changes aside.

If the sound-effect on page 6, panel 2 seems odd to you ("KICK! SOCK!"), itdoes to me, also. The "kick" was supposed to be in the previous panel.

$crooge's original dialogue in page 18, panel 6 was "Carry on!", not "Goback to sleep".

* *D.U.C.K. SPOILER*: As on the cover, the splash-panel dedication is inthe rocks in the photo of White Agony Creek

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