Articles from Komix #148

Kriton Kyrimis kyrimis at cti.gr
Mon Oct 30 07:30:25 CET 2000


Here are the translations of two articles form last month's issue of Komix,
which I believe are of interest to the list. [As usual, comments in square
brackets are mine.]

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          Taken from the pages of novels, Rosa's Black Night is
                         A CHARISMATIC BURGLAR

  Don Rosa, with his story, _The Black Knight_, adds a new charismatic
  figure to the dark pantheon of Carl Barks' "villains".

The secret of a hero's success is the worth of his opponents. This is why,
when Barks decided to set up an entire microworld around Scrooge McDuck,
giving him a social position, a family, and a past were not enough. He also
had to give him interesting opponents. In Barks' pages, Scrooge has to deal
with a multitude of unsavory characters having the snouts of pigs or wolves.
Standing out among them are the Beagle Boys, Magica De Spell, and Flintheart
Glomgold [none of whom are pig- are wolf- faced...]


BARKS' VILLAINS

Apart from the Beagle Boys and certain other characters making occasional
appearances, most of Barks' "villains" are not full-time criminals, although
they had often had their trouble with the law... Most times, the "villains"
represent uncle Scrooge's unsettled accounts with his own past, with a dark
side of his personality, such as, for example, Glomgold, or with e different
view about wealth and the ways to obtain it, such as Magica. Thus, Barks'
stories, even when they involve particularly clever or spectacular robbery
attempts, almost always end up in a showdown between uncle Scrooge and an
opponent symbolizing a completely different way of life.

If uncle Scrooge is triumphant in these showdowns, this does not happen only
because this is what his creator decided. In Barks' stories, the "villains"
always start with a handicap. The motive of Magica or the Beagle Boys is their
chronic pennilessness, while Glomgold's is the fact that it is his fate to be
"the world's second richest duck". If we think about it, the result of
these showdowns is preordained. None of Carl Barks' villains can stand up to
Scrooge McDuck.


LIFE AND TIMES OF THE VILLAINS

When Rosa decided to deal with the telling of the _Life and Times_ of the
richest duck in the world, his aim was simply to incorporate in one story
Barks' scattered data about his hero's past. Regarding the "villains", he
considered it enough to give an "explanation" to their perpetual rivalry with
uncle Scrooge, without altering their characters. Thus, from Blackheart Beagle
to Glomgold, Barks' "villains" obtained a complex past as well. Their fights
with Scrooge became more interesting, but the basic facts did not change.
Apart, perhaps, from Blackheart Beagle, until the Black Knight made his
appearance, none of Scrooge's various opponents did not acquire a more
charismatic personality than the duck who stood "tougher than the toughies and
smarter than the smarties".


A WORTHY OPPONENT

The Black Knight is, a last, a "villain" as charismatic as the tycoon from
Duckburg. Unlike Glomgold, who always comes a sweaty second, or the penniless
Magica, the Black Knight is a champion of crime, just as Scrooge is a champion
of wealth. His motives are similar to those of uncle Scrooge, as well. The
Black Knight is not just interested in the monetary value of his loot; to him,
the things he has stolen are trophies, just as monetary profit is to uncle
Scrooge. Moreover, unlike his "colleagues", he is a true gentleman, who
respects his opponent and earns his respect.


UNCLE SCROOGE AND ARSENNE LUPIN

Having about the same age as uncle Scrooge--he was born in 1874--, Arsene
Lupin became known at the time the tycoon from Duckburg built his empire. Of
course, his character is quite different. Arsene Lupin is a handsome Belle
Eopque socialite. Apart from being a genius, he is a bit of an actor, and
incurably megalomaniac. To him, applause and admiration count as much as
success. On the other hand, however, he has many common points with the
richest duck in the world. What interests him is the adventure for obtaining
valuable trophies. And, just like scrooge, Arsene Lupin has his own treasury
and trophy room. As we learn in the novel titled _The Hollow Needle_, the
"gentleman burglar" has managed to discover the secret vault where the
mythical treasures of the rulers and kings of France are stored, from Jules
Caesar to Louis the 16th...

Not only that, but thanks to his ingenious burglaries, he has managed to
enrich this treasure with priceless works of art and rare books, which he has
stolen from the largest museums and libraries of Europe. Instead of another
afterword, we will copy the words of Arsene Lupin himself, to his persecutor,
Isidore Beautrelais [sp?] in the _Hollow Needle_: "You do not know all my
abilities... you cannot imagine what achievements I may achieve thanks to my
will and my imagination. Think that my entire life is dedicated to one and
only purpose, that I have worked like a convict to become what I am today, and
to bring into being, in all its perfection, the type of man that I had wanted
to create..." Don Rosa's Arpene Lusin could have said the same words when, at
last, he comes face to face with uncle Scrooge, the same words that uncle
Scrooge would have said...


[Inset]
THE PORTRAIT OF AN OUTLAW

Don Rosa's _The Black Knight_ has been inspired by one of the most fascinating
"villains" of crime literature, the "emperor of thieves", French author's
Maurice Leblanc's Arsene Lupin. A compatriot of Gustave Flaubert--Flaubert's
father was his mother's physician--and of Guy de Maupassant, whom he had met
personally, Maurice Leblanc began his literary career at the end of the 19th
century, writing short stories, novels, and a theater play--his sister,
Georgette, was an actress and the muse of the Belgian theater writer Maurice
Meterling. Apart from some good reviews, young Maurice Leblanc's first
literary attempts did not have any particular appeal. However, they drew the
attention of the editor Pierre Laffitte, who asked him to write a series of
crime stories for the magazine _Je Sais Tout_. Arsene Lupin's first adventure
was published in the first issue of the magazine, in 1907.

[Captions]

[Left, page, top] Don Rosa drew the Black Knight for the French _Picsou_
magazine #325.

[Left page, bottom] Don Rosa's Black Knight: a new charismatic outlaw in the
duck universe.

[Left page middle] Arsene Lupin's adventure in various publications of the
time.

[Right page] Above: Rosa draws in his story a reporter with a bow tie,
freckles, and the characteristic watch that Arpene Lusin steals. [And which
does not go "zee zee" in the Greek edition.] It is Jimmy Olsen, Clark Kent's
young friend in Superman comics!
Below: In the _Black Knight_, Don Rosa also added a characteristic reference
to the real world of comic lovers: "Rapallo's restaurant in Italy is a real
place", he told us. "Its name is _U Giancu_. The paintings decorating the
walls are drawings by famous European and American comics artists. Carl Barks
put his signature on one of the restaurant's walls in 1994. As for the guy
serving the pasta, he is Fausto Oneto [sp?], the restaurant's proprietor!"

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            From Barks' Beagle Boys to Rosa's Arpene Lusin
                        THE OUTLAWS' UNIVERSE

  Don Rosa is perhaps the most famous and productive creator of duck
  stories in the world today. Our admiration of his work has led us again
  to an extremely interesting conversation with him, regarding his story
  _The Black Knight_.

KOMIX: In _The Black Knight_ you introduce a new "villain" into the duck
universe. Why? Don't you think that there are already enough?

ROSA: Indeed. It wasn't' necessary for me to invent a new villain! I wanted,
however, to reuse the idea of the Black Knight and the suit of armor with a
_Universal Solvent_ lining [sic]. I had written a story based on this idea
about twenty five years ago for a fanzine. I have used more such ideas from
older stories of mine for Duck adventures. *Cash Flow* (_Komix_ #33) is one of
them.


KOMIX: We would also like you to tell us a few words about Carl Barks'
classic "villains" and about the way in which you use them in your stories.

ROSA: I have noticed that in Barks' stories with uncle Scrooge, each one of
the "villains" had a different motive; and this is something I pointed out in
*A Little Something Special* (_Komix_ #139), when I had them all meet
together. The Beagle Boys want the largest part of the loot. They want all of
Scrooge's money. Magica wants the smallest share, only a dime. Finally,
Glomgold doesn't want to have anything from what belongs to Scrooge, he only
wants to ruin him, because he is mad at him and jealous of him. I created
another villain, eleven years ago, for my story _His Majesty McDuck_, who,
however, only wanted to get uncle Scrooge's land. I haven't used him since
that time. As for the Black Knight, he doesn't want to get uncle Scrooge's
money--he is already quite rich--, he only wants to make it seem that he's
stolen it. However, since it is extremely difficult to carry all this money,
his plan will be to destroy it (if I manage to come up again with and idea
about how he may manage to do this...).


KOMIX: Why did you choose Maurice Leblanc's Arsene Lupin as a source of
inspiration for the Black Knight?

ROSA: Good question! Arsene Lupin is completely unknown in America! I don't
think that any books or TV series with Arsene Lupin have ever appeared in
America. I doubt if you could find even one American who's heard of him.
[Well, I could find *one*!] As for me, I learned about Arsene Lupin by reading
articles on foreign comics and movies. And when I needed a master of crime, I
chose Arsene Lupin as a source of inspiration, since my stories are now being
written for the European reading public.


KOMIX: Apart from Arsene Lupin, did you have other sources of inspiration?

ROSA: I had in mind inspector Clouseau from the Pink Panther movies, regarding
Arpene's strange French accent. The fact that Clouseau was a hero in movies
that are known to the American public is a mere coincidence.


KOMIX: We have the impression that Arpene Lusin and uncle Scrooge have many
things in common. There is mutual respect between them, something that is not
true for a character such as Glomgold.

ROSA: Indeed! This is another of your excellent observations! Glommgold is
simply greedy and malicious. In my stories, Scrooge is not greedy, he is
competitive and proud. As for Arpene, he is neither greedy nor malicious. He
doesn't want to hurt uncle Scrooge. Most probably, he likes him! However, he
is too vain, conceited, and proud, and he wants to earn the world's recognition
as the greatest thief of all time. Thus, Scrooge becomes his target... He
look like him, because he does not consider money as important as the
adventure that leads to its acquisition. On the contrary, Glomgold is only
interested in money.


KOMIX: Do you intend to use the Black Knight again?

ROSA: As I said earlier, I will use him again if I manage to come up with a
new idea for a situation in which he will try to destroy Scrooge's money, so
that he can make the world think that he stole it. However, this is an idea
that can be used only once.


[Captions]

[Left] Don Rosa by the hand of Don Rosa!

[Right] The "villain" whom Rosa created for his story _His Majesty McDuck_ is
similar to the Black Night only in appearance. [Actually, since the panels
shown are from _Attaaaaaack!_, the villain is similar to the Black Knight in
more than just appearance!]

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	Kriton	(e-mail: kyrimis at cti.gr)
	      	(WWW:    http://dias.cti.gr/~kyrimis)
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"This is not a war, this is a scientific application of ballistics."
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