Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Books
Genre:	Comics & Graphic Novels
Author:	Don Rosa

From April 1994 to february 1996, Walt Disney published bimonthly, written and drawn by Don Rosa, the epic saga of how Disney's most famous plutocrat Scrooge McDuck grew up from a poor Scottish lad into the richest individual in the whole world.

While I always liked reading comics, I never considered buying normal releases, and TPB were then not very common and very expensive. I only bought TPB if I chanced upon them second hand.

My reading was still limited to catching up Alistair MacLean from the libraries (sadly, no longer carried there today), as well as Forgotten Realms (it was in its heyday then).

I totally missed out on this classic when it was first published.

More than 10 years ago, I chanced upon a second hand copy of "The Recluse of Duckburg", which was also the last installment of the series. By then, the series was no longer carried in the main bookshops.

This volume opened with a scene right out of the opening scene of Citizen Kane. It was not a death scene though, but aptly set the background that Scrooge was an old recluse. He invited his only direct (and estranged) relatives, Donald, Huey, Dewey and Louie, to meet him for the first time in their lives (actually, 2nd for Donald, but he was a mere toddler the first time).

Agitated that Donald thought he was cash poor, Scrooge brought them to his hitherto sealed money bin to show them it was full. Unfortunately, the villainous Beagle Boys had apparently been patiently stalking Scrooge for years for such a chance and surprised the ducks.

Locking them up a storeroom in the money bin, the villains made off with sacks of money, and the No. 1 Dime.

The ducklings found mementoes of Scrooge's past, including miner's tools which Donald proclaimed aloud were "bought" souverniers.

Agitated again, Scrooge not only used the miner's pickax to break down the door, but also managed to chase down and captured all the villains, re-using all the skills and tools he acquired throughout his life.

In the end, while Donald still doubted Scrooge had a worthwhile life, the ducklings convinced Scrooge that he still had life in him and Life itself still offers more exciting experiences for Scrooge.

The last page showed Scrooge McDuck recollecting significant moments of his past, indicating he had a rich life of adventures around the world while making his fortune.

I resigned myself to "c'est la vie", that often in life, we might catch the beginning, or the middle, or the end, of an interesting story, and never get a chance to enjoy it its entirety.

Well, I'm sure for reasons of commercialism, Disney published the collection once more in two volumes through the comic house Boom Kids.

Again, I discovered this only by accident when I brought my kids to Kinokuniya, and made the uncharacteristic decision to purchase Wizards of Mickey and Double Duck. A catalogue at the backpages indicated they are re-publishing some of the old classics going way back to 1940s, and in comparison, Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck was practically a latest release. Then again, it was a 1995 Eisner Award winner.

Kinokuniya did not carry the series, but agreed to order it for me.

I waited for 2-3 months. In the meantime, I discovered that the National Library had the first installment in the Repository, which I wasted no time reserving and taking out.

Today, I got the whole series from Kinokuniya.

Reading the commentaries, I understood that Don Rosa had scrupulously researched all the past Disney publications with references to Scrooge McDuck since his first appearance.

Scrooge first appeared in a 1947 comic story Christmas on Bear Mountain, already the wealthiest duck in the world.

Throughout his appearances, there were offhand remarks he made about his past, indicating he had been all over the world in his quest for wealth, and participating in many historical events such as Yukon gold rush.

There were even some stories told in flashbacks of certain parts of life, most notably about his lost love, Goldie.

Don Rosa made a careful note of all these, especially those from Carl Barks (Scrooge's creator), sometimes expanding them into full stories, and sometimes just attributing them in his series.

I recalled when I first read of Scrooge McDuck in the late 1970s, he was still portrayed as having insatiable drive to make more money as well as being economical. His only real worry was who would be able to handle his wealth after his passing.

As time passed, the story became lighter and Scrooge was shown displaying with increasing kindness.

The series brought readers back to Scrooge's roots and more realistically portrayed him with normal "human" qualities. Having decided at an early stage to earn his money "square" after being "duped" on his first day of work, Don Rosa's Scrooge kept the integrity in the younger days.

Despite cheated many times and suffering numerous setbacks, losing hard earned fortune many times due to "bad luck", Scrooge never gave up his honesty. Ironically, it was when he finally succeeded that he began to compromise this quality, and led to the estrangement with his sisters.

Having finished the series now, I looked back and can't help but admit the fact that I am probably much better to appreciate Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck now than if I had read the series when it was first published in the mid 1990s.

I had gone through a lot more and experienced ups and downs. While still in my supposed prime, I am not looking for new adventures but is concentrating on my responsibilities to my family.

Would I have traded my life for that of Scrooge? Of course not. If I had not lived my life the way I did, I would be a very different person today, doing something very different and thinking something different.

Do I wished I had taken more chances when I was younger? Looking back, yes, I was too comfortable and complacent.

There is nothing I can do about the past, I can only make the most of the present and be true to myself. Well, maybe not the last part since I'm not such a great guy, I can certainly strive to be a better person and I should.

What I should not do is try to shape the future - I just need to make sure the decisions I make today are the right decisions, no matter what the future may be.