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[Tommy Tran]

Sorry about sending that fisrt paragraph twice, I got some strange message about
the mail being held up somewhere, and I forgot that I recieved a copy of my
own message from the mailing list already.

Well, here is the third paragraph.

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	Epics must also offer a sense of  the supernatural (Holman   ), 
something that Barks and subsequent artist / writers were able to instill in
the 
Scrooge legend.  In the first installment of Life and Times, Rosa has Scrooge 
inspired by the ghost of his ancestors.  The ancestors, replacing the classic 
watchful gods, send young Scrooge off on a quest to earn his riches, and
restore 
the McDuck family name to it's former glory (1: 18-19).  Of his most famed
foes, 
the only supernatural one would be Magica de Spell, a sorceress from Crete.  
Both she and Scrooge believe that the power to McDuck's wealth lies in the
first 
dime he ever earned .  Using this, Barks set up an interesting paradox, as 
Scrooge also firmly believes that he earned his money.  Barks, through Scrooge, 
questions the value of luck in a life of hard work.  Of course the paradox is 
never resolved, and the closest closure we can ever be is explained by one of 
the comics editors ". . . we prefer to think of Old Number One as a security 
blanket and not as a luck talisman.  You can liken Scrooge's faith in his dime 
to a belief in astrology. . . " (Erickson cover).  Barks even makes a gag
out of 
this idea as well, with his character Gladstone Gander, the exact opposite of 
Scrooge.  Gladstone "was not simply fortunate and lazy; he was lucky beyond 
one's wildest dreams and inert beyond any heretofore recorded nadir of sloth" 
(Boatner A-49-A-50).  While Scrooge proudly displays his first dime, Gladstone 
says, ". . . in a very weak moment I took a job. . . and I've been so
ashamed of 
[my dime] . . . that I hid it in the safe and never looked at it again" (A-49)! 
 Of course in a world were technology makes magic obsolete, it also empowers
his 
foes with near supernatural capabilities.  His arch rival, Flintheart Glomgold, 
(the Second Richest Duck in the World), often uses his rival resources, such as 
jet plane and robots, to cheat in competition with Scrooge ("So Far. . ." 6).  
Just as the gods help their heroes, Scrooge himself has a considerable backing 
of technological "magic" from one Gyro Gearloose, who provides Scrooge with 
everything from undersea salvagers to time machines.  Even the young Scrooge 
receives help from a Gearloose ancestor in the form of the first water 
purification pills (Rosa 2 : 5-6).  

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I also vaugely remember a friend of mine who is a George Lucas fan telling me
that in one of his Biographies, Lucas mentions Uncle Scrooge comics as
a strong influence on his word and this narrative style.  I think the 
biography was called Skywalking, and the passage was a quote from
_Uncle Scrooge McDuck: His Life and Times_.


                                                -Tommy Tran

incidentally, can I be switched to the mailing list digest, or should I 
send a letter to the other maintenance address.