Prof. Ludwig Von Drake

[Jonathan H. Gray]

>Ludwig's one of my favorites.  In a way I would love to see him used more 
>in
>the comics, but I'm just not sure if he can be half as amusing without that
>brilliant Paul Frees voice.  I forget who mentioned it, but I thoroughly
>enjoyed the Ludwig shorts that Disney printed during their brief run of
>comics too!

That would be me. One of the things I like about Ludwig - and this is a give 
or take thing - is that SOMETIMES he is one of the ONLY characters in the 
Duck AND Mouse universe combined who breaks the fourth wall so to speak. In 
his own stories and cartoons, he does this constantly by talking to and 
educating the audience. Its whats always made him work IMO and was pivotal 
for the Disney produced stories where he was featured. He even did so in the 
Donald Duck newspaper strips where he appeared - usually with Donald. (He is 
Donald's OTHER Great Uncle on the "Duck" side of the family, correct?)

Anyways, Ludwig stories lead to gags that you cant see in the typical 
Barks/Rosa story - Especially since you already have Gyro Gearloose.

I can see Ludwig existing in the Duck universe as, at best a professional 
and well respected scientist in the city of Duckburg always holed up in his 
lab which is why he is never at Duck family functions much, who occasionally 
crosses paths with his relatives when he has a new scientific discovery to 
WOW the world with. I could also see people thinking of him as a well 
respected kook. After all - he's always been billed as the only person who 
can "believeably" talk to "us". Eh? ;)

But in a story such as a Rosa or Barks or even Van Horn - one where its 
pivotal the characters exist in thier own universe, he doesn't work well 
except in the occasional cameo, which is why as popular as Ludwig is, he is 
largely ignored by those that dont do SOLO stories with him where he works 
best to teach us all new things in a hilarious way.

Personally - I'd love to see his solos return or reprinted, or even an 
occasional once-in-a-blue-moon cameo by one of the BIG TWO (Rosa and Van 
Horn) to let us know that he still exists. But thats it really. I cant see 
him working any other way outside of the solos which would have to be 
crafted wonderfully to capture his unique character style.

Jon Gray

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