Date: January 1997 Publisher: Sirius Entertainment Cover Price: $2.50 2014 NM Price: $3.00 Stats: 20 black & white pages plus “Letters to Akiko” and 2 page back-up story Story & Art: Mark Crilley Notable Notes: The gang surmounts the Great Wall of Trudd.
There is a popular hang gliding mountain near where I live in Utah. Although I have never been, every time I pass it on the freeway I see loads of gliders lazily circling their way down from the top – and I get a hankerin’ to join in! I imagine it to be fun, a little bit scary and a bit relaxing too. Maybe some day I’ll get the nerve, time and energy to do it. In this issue of Akiko the gang makes use of a giant flag to do some hang gliding of their own – and it turns out to be pretty useful too!
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Date: January 1987 Publisher: Gladstone Publishing Cover Price: 75¢ 2014 Price Range: $2.00 – $16.00 Stats: 29 color pages plus house ads and “The Quacker Box” letters page Writers Volker Reiche, Geoffrey Blum, Carl Barks and Marty Greim Artists: Daan Jippes, Volker Reiche, Carl Barks and Marty Greim Notable Notes: Donald is a scientist, a goblin and a monster hunter!
I have always liked the idea of being a scientist. I used to play at it when I was a kid, and I very much enjoyed science classes in school. During the last few years I have been taking some serious social science classes at the university where I work, and have quite enjoyed them. I still like the idea of being a scientist, and am slowly moving towards that goal. In this issue we get to see Donald fantasize about the same thing – only here he actually starts mixing chemicals in a lab and disastrous results follow! C’mon – what would a Donald Duck story be without funny mayhem?
Date: April 2014 Publisher: Dark Horse Comics Cover Price: $1.00 Stats: 22 color pages plus Itty Bitty Letters and ads Writers: Art Baltazar & Franco Artist: Art Baltazar Notable Notes: The tiny red guy with the big hand playfully battles his cartoon-ish enemies!
Did you ever make a fort out of big boxes when you were little? (Do you still do it?) I did, and I loved it when my parents bought some new appliance because that meant we got a new fort for a while! The best one we ever got was a huge box from my mom’s shiny new Wurlitzer organ. It was big enough that we were able to cut kid sized doors and windows into it! Ah… what great memories. This comic book brought up all sorts of memories about the forts I used to build… and the ones I still make with my kids!
Date: 2011 Publisher: Ape Entertainment / Kizoic Cover Price: $3.95 Stats: 25 color pages – and no ads! Writers: Quinn Johnson, Rob Worley, Earl Kress, Patrick Rills Artists: James Silvani, Armando Zanker, Jake Myler, Dustin Evans, Andrew Dalhouse Notable Notes: Richie and friends uncover a secret tomb in Egypt!
You probably don’t know this about me, but I love archeology – especially the Egyptian flavor. I find the study of ancient pharaohs in splendid tombs to be infinitely fascinating. I also love science fiction – yeah, I even have my own review web site . So when this issue combined both of those wonderful ideas into one story – well, let’s just say that it was right up my alley!
Date: December 1996 Publisher: Sirius Entertainment Cover Price: $2.50 2014 NM Price: $3.00 Stats: 21 black & white pages plus “Letters to Akiko”, 1 gag page and 1 house ad Story & Art: Mark Crilley Notable Notes: Akiko and her friends finally reach the Great Wall of Trudd.
Well… are you? I like to think that I’m not, but I am… a little bit. You know how I can tell? Whenever I get somewhere that is too high, or I see a movie where the people may fall a long ways, then my palms get all sweaty. Yeah, so its a good thing that I wasn’t a character in this issue when the gang has no way around the Great Wall of Trudd – so they climb over it… or start climbing anyways. I’m afraid my slick hands would have dealt me a quick death!
Date: December 1986 Publisher: Gladstone Publishing Cover Price: 75¢ 2014 Price Range: $2.00 – $16.00 Stats: 27 color pages plus house ads, Letters to Donald Duck and A Letter From The Duck Man. Writer: Carl Barks Artists: Carl Barks with Daan Jippes and Mike McCormick Notable Notes: Donald and the Nephews travel to South America!
I have always dreamed of going to South America – especially Brazil and the Amazon rain forest. I think it would be a wonderful adventure, and a little bit scary too. Probably not as scary as for the first explorers to visit that region of the world, but still, there might be a few things. In this issue Donald and his nephews do just that – they head to Brazil to capture some rare insects… and brave the ferocious wild life that lives there – ulp!
Date: December 1986 Publisher: Gladstone Publishing Cover Price: 75¢ 2014 Price Range: $2 – $15 Stats: 30 color pages plus “Letters to Uncle Scrooge” and house ads Writers: Byron Erickson, Carl Barks Artists: Carl Barks, The Gutenberghus Group, John Clark, Ken Feduniewicz, Mike McCormick Notable Notes: The ducks search for treasure on a tropical island!
Uncle Scrooge issue #211 was the first comic book I reviewed for this blog, and now after 1 and 1/2 years I decided it was time to search out some more of these fantastic, classic Disney books. I got a good deal on a bunch of them on eBay, and have whole-heartedly enjoyed reading me some great duck stories from some of the most famous duck authors! If you are a fan of classic duck stories then you’ll most likely love this issue too.
Date: June 1998 Publisher: DC Comics Cover Price: $2.95 2014 NM Value: $4.00 Stats: 38 color pages Writer: Ty Templeton Artists: Rick Burchett, Terry Beatty, Lee Loughridge Notable Notes: Joker gets a big, big price on his head!
The rational, non-fun, part of me has always been a little bit disappointed that the Joker is still running around being crazy after all these years. It seems like if Batman isn’t able to put the kibosh on this villain, then maybe there is another, better way? This issue addresses that very topic, and shows us that one dedicated and vengeful man can come up with a clever method for bringing down the Joker once and for all!
Date: November 1986 Publisher: Gladstone Publishing Cover Price: 75¢ 2014 Price Range: $2.00 – $18.00 Stats: 30 color pages plus “A Gander at Gladstone” and house ads Writers: Daan Jippes, Tom Yakutis, Carl Barks, Carl Fallberg Artists: Daan Jippes, Fred Milton, Walt Disney Studios, Carl Barks, Paul Murry Notable Notes: Donald and Gladstone get into a fierce competition!
The lead story in this comic is about a competition between 2 ducks – a competition to see who can make the most money from an old boat. That is kind of a cool idea! As I started reading it I thought of a few ways the ducks could make money… but alas, it was nothing compared to what they thought of! Both Donald and Gladstone came up with some clever and devious ways to get the most out of their old clunkers!
Date: 2013 Publisher: KiZoic (an imprint of Ape Entertainment) Cover Price: $3.99 Stats: 28 color pages plus one ad Writers: Sid Jacobson, Lennie Herman, Ralph Newman Artists: Ernie Colon, Warren Kremer, Ben Brown, Dustin Evans, Deron Bennett, Joe Rosen Notable Notes: An issue about giving money.
When I was a kid reading Richie Rich comic books, my favorite stories were the ones where Richie would explore parts of his mansion or grounds that he had never been to before. Can you imagine how cool that would be! I remember one story where he gets lost in a part of the mansion where there are rooms full of really cool, big toys. This issue had a little bit of that when Richie goes to swim in pool #14 and takes a short cut through a forest! Ah, somehow I never get tired of the endless explorations of a rich little boy!
Date: October 1986 Publisher: Gladstone Publishing Cover Price: 75¢ 2013 Price Range: $3.00 – $32.00 Stats: 31 color pages plus “A Gander at Gladstone” and house ads Writers: Daan Jippes, Tom Yakutis, Carl Barks, Carl Fallberg Artists: Daan Jippes, Walt Disney Studios, Carl Barks, Paul Murry Notable Notes: Daan Jippes and The Wuzzles make their 1st U.S. comic appearances!
All of the stories in this great comic book have some element of the characters doing anything to win. From Donald’s obviously unethical activities to Uncle Scrooge’s schemes, they all show us just how important it is to win. That attitude is kind of too bad, especially in a kids book, but it does provide for some good fun and laughs as people pay the consequences for such an outlook on life!
Date: September 1996 Publisher: Sirius Entertainment Cover Price: $2.50 2013 NM Price: $3.00 Stats: 22 black & white pages plus “Letters to Akiko” and one ad Story & Art: Mark Crilley Notable Notes: Akiko’s gang discovers a tiny kingdom!
This was an immensely satisfying issue, and I think I have an inkling as to why: It contains three childhood fantasies! First there is the fruit, which gives Akiko and her friends the ability to fly. I mean, c’mon – what kid doesn’t dream of flying? Then there is the kingdom of nice, tiny people. And finally there is the cool monster which turns out to be a great friend! Yes, I used to dream about all of those things. That is another reason I enjoy comic books so much – they allow me to live out dreams that otherwise never came true. See – comics are good for us in many ways!
Date: 2012 Publisher: Ape Entertainment Cover Price: $3.99 Stats: 24 color pages plus one house ad Writers: Buddy Scalera, Lennie Herman Artists: Marcelo Ferreira, Dustin Evans, Deron Bennett, Warren Kremer, Joe Rosen Notable Notes: Rich Rescue travels to Scotland and investigates the Loch Ness monster!
I remember Mayda Munny from the old, classic Richie Rich books – she was a spoiled girl who always wanted Richie to give her more attention, and was always jealous of his girlfriend Gloria. So I was delighted to see her resurrected in this issue of the modern Richie Rich series! I think the new creators did a good job staying true to her roots, while simultaneously giving her a modern make-over!
Date: August 1996 Publisher: Sirius Entertainment Cover Price: $2.50 2013 NM Price: $3.00 Stats: 20 black & white pages plus “Letters to Akiko”, a 2-page mini-story and one house ad Story & Art: Mark Crilley Notable Notes: Akiko and friends discover a mysterious island!
Have you seen the movie The Life of Pi ? It was a great and very fascinating show. This issue of Akiko kind of reminded me of that movie – what with all the crazy different creatures in the same boat, and the magic that eventually happens between them. A cool story – in both cases!
Date: June 1974 Publisher: Whitman Comics (Gold Key) Cover Price: 20¢ 2013 Price Range: $4.00 – $60.00 Stats: 27 color pages plus ads Writer and Artist: Carl Barks Notable Notes: A reprint of Uncle Scrooge #18 from June 1957
I have a special place in my heart for Uncle Scrooge, Donald Duck and the 3 nephews. I have loved these Walt Disney characters for a long time, and a big part of the reason for that love is that I read many duck comics (like this one!) when I was a kid. The great art, classic adventures and funny stories were a blast to read! After reading Uncle Scrooge #211 for the first post of this site I figured it was high time to give another one of these classics a try.
