USA 34

[Torsten Wesley Adair]

On Friday, 7 July 1995, Larry Gerstein wrote:
>         UNCLE SCROOGE ADVENTURES 34 is in the shops now and contains a
> story, "The Money-Counting Machine," that I translated (from German, even
...
>         Backing up "The Money-Counting Machine" is a Vic Lockman 17-page
> story, "Beagle Bug-Off."  It includes the Beagle Brats, hundreds of

First of all, Larry, I'm sure you did an excellent job on the translation,
but this issue is the closest Gladstone has come to recreating the
gawd-awful comics Whitman published towards the end of its existence.

I was surprised to find that the cover was actually drawn by a respected
Disney artist.  Surprised, because it looked terrible.  Perhaps it was
cut-and-pasted by the editorial staff?

It's been awhile since I read the first story, so I can't comment on the
plot, but at the time it struck me as being so-so.  No, wait, I remember.
Beagles pose as accountants.  The story could have been shorter.  The
ending was good, but (and this is my only criticism of you, Larry) I would
have translated the coin to a dime or penny, making the error even more
miniscule.  Dimes make excellent screwdrivers, they are smaller than
quarters (easier to lose track of in a pocket), and are worth less than a
quarter.  Enjoyable, but a median story.

As for the second Beagle Boys story, the gimmicktry of the various Beagles,
the sheer number of Beagles, and the mediocre story, reminded me of Whitman's
Beagle Boys comic.

What is a good BB story?  Well, I remember one where the Beagles go to a
night school to learn magic, so that they can rob Scrooge.  Of course,
their teacher, Witch Hazel, has the same idea.  Great fun.

And then there's the one where the Beagles try to steal a load of gold
bricks with a helicopter (hubsch Rauber?), and Gyro has to stop them.

Torsten Adair	torsten at cwis.unomaha.edu	Omaha, NE, USA