> 
> 
>       This week's MM story from Egmont wasn't quite as bad as some 
> I've seen, but dang, why'd this story use Pete as the villain when it 
> was a role for such a small-time crook?  On the other hand, Horace 
> had his first major role in what must be eons, and whoever wrote it 
> had him right in character.  Dwight told me a long time ago about this 
> story -- he translated it to English for Egmont.  That means that the 
> writer is from a non-English-speaking country, where he presumably 
> had the chance to read "The Great Orphanage Robbery."  The scenes of 
> Horace's hammy acting are directly influenced by that.   

Believe it or not, Horace was put in by the editor. Originally,
the script called for some generic one-shot character, but by
the time I got it, the editor had changed him to Horace. I rather
liked the story myself; I even made a copy of the script and sent
it to John Clark, suggesting he get the story for Donald and Mickey.
Incidentally, the original script never made it clear why the star
actor (the one whose place Pete took while on the lam) was late
to the theater, thus allowing the regular cast members to mistake
Pete for the missing star (who had been called in to replace
Chief O'Hara, who'd had to bow out to take charge of investigating
Pete's bank robbery). My touch was to explain that the star had
been caught in traffic, the result of the police blocking off
the streets around the theater and the bank while looking for Pete.
It all tied in!

>       Marco Rota's DD story, "Fotobogo" (D93576) has some very fine 
> moments.  There are scenes in this story which, in layout and 
> development, are clearly based on Don Rosa's style, and as cream on 
> the cake, Rota adds Rosa-style gleams in the pupils in those scenes!  
> You ought to see this, Don.  The story in and of itself has some 
> excellent moments.  BUT -- it is also very unsettling, because at the 
> end of the story the crooked police chief is LEFT in power, and the 
> rebels opposed to him have made NO gains whatsoever!  All that's been 
> accomplished is Donald's rescue of the chief's greatest enemies.  I 
> would have liked to see Donald and the boys, having safely rescued 
> them, do what he could to expose the villain's corruption and reform 
> the place a little.  I guess the story as it stands may be more like 
> real life, but it was still jarring, because the story didn't seem to 
> have reached a satisfying resolution, at least for me.  There are 
> many reasons why I would like to have this story see print in the 
> United States, but although parts of it rank with Rota's best work, 
> it is a very flawed stone.  Anyone have some ideas how it could be 
> reworked somewhat?

I saw the stats for this when I was in Copenhagen the other week, and
it does look nice. I think what bothered me was Donald romancing a
human female (well, a dogface female...). I was told that Rota was
trying for Casablanca in effect and dialogue.

>       The other story in US 290 is a reprint of Tony Strobl's lead 
> story in US 76, "Bye-Bye, Money Bin."  With a title like that you 
> think it couldn't get worse, but it was actually not so bad.  Still, 
> I prefer a Danish story any day -- if the plot's no better, the 
> drawing, and added touches from a modern American dialoguer, 
> certainly are.  These Strobl stories are just too CHILDISH for me.  
> They are written by people who believed that the entire audience was 
> under ten, and even when the plots are good, they are marred by that 
> approach.  They are Disney comics made according to many people's 
> false perceptions of Disney comics.
> 
And what a contrast between a Rosa story and a Strobl story in the
same issue! A possible rule of thumb for Strobl stories might be
to stop reading the first time a Duck character says "WAK!" These
kiddie stories have the Ducks saying that all too much.

As for "Terror of the Transvaal," has anyone realized the inherent
absurdity of tarring and feathering Flintheart Glomgold? That is,
sticking feathers on a duck...?

--Dwight Decker

