Walt Disney's the life and times of $crooge McDuck

This volume finishes Rosa's 12-chapter comics project that re-creates the rags-to-riches story of Scrooge McDuck based entirely on the Barksian facts peppered throughout Carl Barks' legendary comics from the 1940s on. Here, Uncle Scrooge makes the sour turn from an enterprising, hardworking lad to penny-throttling bajillionaire, but for all his miserliness, there's still plenty of terrific adventure and comedic gold mines throughout. Until Barks' original Scrooge comics get the widespread reprint publication they deserve in this country, this series is more than up to the task of introducing young readers to the patriarch of the world's most beloved duck clan.--Chipman, Ian Copyright 2010 Booklist

This carefully crafted odyssey following the early years of Disney's wealthiest duck rewards the sharp-eyed reader. Each chapter tells a different tale of the years before Scrooge amassed his great fortune, beginning with his youth as the last of a once great Scottish clan, now left destitute in Glasgow and clinging to the ruins of their ancestral castle. Scrooge soon leaves to seek his fortune elsewhere: on the Mississippi River, across the cattle fields of the Wild West, and in the mines of Montana and South Africa. Rosa's thorough research is astounding. While devotedly following the works of previous Scrooge writer Carl Barks, each tale is drawn from hints of Scrooge's past left by Barks. Rosa also takes great care in paying attention to the actual historical events of each era, often discovering a minor event or fact that becomes a key part of Scrooge's story. Rosa's dense art makes startlingly efficient use of every page, telling complex stories that both work on their own and build into a larger story. Each adventure is followed by Rosa's notes detailing the inspirations and homages. Rosa's effort is as ambitious as Scrooge's and the results of his hard work just as impressive. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Gr 4 Up-In 1947, Disney illustrator Carl Barks introduced the world to the miserly Scrooge McDuck. This book collects the first six chapters of Rosa's Eisner Award-winning The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, in the creation of which he zealously researched, and incorporated, every reference Barks made to McDuck's past. The result is a masterful weaving of cartoons and author commentary that describes Scrooge's adventures as a shoeshine boy in Scotland, a riverboat captain and cowboy in America, and gold prospector in Africa. Rosa has done a fabulous job of integrating Barks's vague background information about his famous character with what was happening in history at the time. Readers will encounter such historical figures as Teddy Roosevelt and Murdo MacKenzie. They also get to see the imagined origin of such favorite characters as The Beagle Boys. Fans of the original miserly creature will appreciate learning his history and the steps Rosa took to re-create it, while younger readers will simply enjoy the book's exciting stories and humorous pictures. One caveat: True to the original cartoon, there are some stereotypical portrayals of various cultures.-Heather M. Campbell, formerly at Philip S. Miller Library, Castle Rock, CO (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.