Disney-comics digest #290.

Don Rosa 72260.2635 at CompuServe.COM
Tue Apr 5 06:21:08 CEST 1994


TORSTEN:
	Where does $crooge live? Well, certainly not in a mansion! That
would be very out of character. It was a problem to try to explain, in
that "Lo$" #12, why he was in a mansion with servants in "Christmas on
Bear Mountain", and also to get him outta there. I don't see him living
in the Bin, though I might convince myself of that without much trouble;
we know he doesn't have guards there... we've never seen them in Barks
stories, probably because they would get in the way of the U$/DD/HDL
plots. $crooge would want to live on the premises to protect the Bin at
night. However, I picture him living in a small flat in some boarding
house downtown. On the other hand, I can feel another urge to regard
that as something inexplicably taboo to deal with.
	For the record, I can think of twice that Barks showed $crooge's
post-late-40's-mansion home, but both were in throw-away 1-page gags. In
one gag he lived in a small mansion-lookin' place, and in the other gag
he lived in a DD style normal house (seen in silhouette).
	And does he collect art? Unless it was some artist's (realistic)
version of the Yukon or some other landscape $crooge has a personal
interest in, I can't see it. "I only treasure that which has value to
ME, not somebody else!"

ANDREW KRIEG:
	Yes, there is a VERY odd phenomenon going on in toy stores using
Gottfriedson's classic MM strips. It started, I think, in a series of
storybooks, then was carried over into those Viewmaster reels and a set
of "action figures". It's very puzzling to me why some Disney licensee
would seek to make a profit based on a version of MM that the general
public has no interest in or knowledge of whatsoever, and I'm sure would
regard as very hokey and old-fashioned. It's like Gladstone going into
the toy business for sophisticated children... and you know how many of
those we have in America.
	But I'm sure these are the modern sorta rip-off Viewmaster
reels, and not the classic TRUE Viewmasters which I don't think they
hardly make anymore. I mean, all they do now is take cartoon art and put
it in that limited sorta 2D 3D style, where you have several layers of
2D images, like in a 3D comic book. The REAL Viewmasters were back in
the 50s or so when they would hire someone to build fully realized
figurines and construct numerous series of tableaus with (Disney or ?)
characters in action. There were a few DD sets like this, and even an
UNCLE $CROOGE set (under the DD title) which may still be available; I
found one just a few years ago.
	Anyway, it's not possible to achieve true 3D with drawings. I
assume these Gottfriedson MM reels are not fully constructed models,
right? I'm sure Viewmasters don't sell well enough to pay for that sorta
effort any longer.
	Also, it should be pointed out that in all these storybooks and
Viewmaster reels and action figures based on Gottfriedson's MM, FG's
name is never mentioned. But you figured that, right?

MIKKO:
	Without asking exactly which Barks stories you are referring to
wherein MM's nephews appeared, or even Zeke Wolf, I'm pretty sure that
these were in GRANDMA DUCK'S FARM FRIENDS issues of FOUR COLOR which
Barks drew but did NOT write. These stories employed ALL the Disney
characters -- there was even one where Dumbo flew by to visit Grandma!
That's as disturbing to my way of thinking as if I saw Dumbo fly to
Gotham City and visit Batman. It's plain weird! But those "Grandma Duck"
writers had a very simple-minded view of the comics... which is fine.
But those Grandma Duck stories were not "part of the canon", whether
Barks drew them or not.

JAMES WILLIAMS:
	I loved your explanation of why $crooge would not be interested
in earning interest! Excellent! Actually, to please everyone, we KNOW
that $crooge has loaned money to earn interest... but just as you say,
that would be just cash. Since he didn't toil for it himself, it
wouldn't really mean anything to him.
	Actually, I really enjoy playing around with the character of
$crooge to try to explain the reason he loves his money. As you say, he
doesn't love being "rich" for the buying power or status or power... he
loves HIS MONEY as mementos of personal achievement. I'll do more
stories about that in the future.





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