WDC&S 600

[TKlein28@aol.com]

I've just had a chance to read this issue, and I have some thoughts. First,
it surprises me a little that I don't recall reading any of these stories
before, as I'm sure I have the Rosa, Jippes and Van Horn stories in their
original appearances. I guess that's good in a way -- got to enjoy them
again!
     The Barks story from WDC&S 32  is an interesting look at EARLY Barks,
before he had quite solidified his style, I think. Donald seems a little more
elastic and stretched out, as in his earlies cartoon appearances, and the
gorilla is pretty scary. The lettering is less polished and larger than many
of his later stories, but has a nice bounce -- I would bet he did it himself.
The plot is a bit nastier than we think of as Barks, as well, with him
planning to whip the boys at the end.
     The Jippes story from WDC&S 511 makes good use of some visual shortcuts
that used to be more common, especially in humorous comics, than they are
today: little signs with arrows pointing to important objects, memory of
where things were represented by dashed lines, dashed line from eye to object
being spotted. This sort of thing used to be more prevalent in all kinds of
comics, but now survives mainly in Disney.
     Don's Family Tree is a delight. I think he did a terrific job visually,
as well as in research and planning. I particularly like all the relevant
objects lying on or hanging from the tree, and look forward with delight to
the story revealing the nephews' father.
     My favorite part of the Rosa story from WDC&S 523  is on the top of the
last page, when the nephews have finally seen something their guidebook can't
explain. These three silent panels of classic comic timing had me laughing
out loud, and show the film influences of Don Rosa -- this is a perfect
Oliver Hardy "take". Well done!
     The Van Horn story from WDC&S 537 was a pleasure to read. I love his
loose flowing style, and really like his lettering, too. This is less
frenetic than a lot of his stories, but a funny idea.