Uncle Scrooge Adventures #17

Around 1988 when the cartoon version of Ducktales debuted, Gemstone published a comic book based on the hit show. At the time, Gemstone was selling 2-year subscriptions to the title. As a huge fan of the show, I subscribed and was for a most part very happy to receive a monthly adventure, in print, of Uncle Scrooge McDuck, his nephew Donald, and the rest.

But by the end of 1989, something odd happened. Though it would run for another 4 or 5 issues, by issue #8, my subscription to Ducktales was terminated by the publishers. In the place of Ducktales, I received a new title for the remainder of my 2-year deal. This series, Uncle Scrooge Adventures, was what took my subscription's place!

In a letter that was sent with the first replacement issue, Uncle Scrooge Adventures was selected as my replacement title because it contained stories directly similar to those found in the pages of Ducktales. To some point, I would agree with Gemstone's selection of this title to take over my monthly reading. Each issue contained one or two stories of Disney ducks getting into misadventures while finding hidden treasures or solving mysteries of the unknown like the yeti. The only problem I had with this series was that all of the stories were reprints from the 40s or 50s. 

At the time, I was somewhere between 11-12 years old. Unless it was a horror comic or a Superman title, I had very little appreciation of the classics. Now a lot older, that has changed with me. So when I found this issue in a bargain bin during a recent jaunt to the Big Apple, I snapped it up. Needless to say, but I'll do it anyway, the night back at my AirBNB, I read this book with abandon.

Issue #17 comprises 2 stories about treasure. In the first adventure, when Uncle Scrooge's lucky dime is lost in a sunken cruise ship, bad luck immediately follows McDuck. He'd better act fast or he's going to lose everything. But when he finally locates where the ship (and the dime) went under, he discovers that the boat has vanished!

In the second yarn, Uncle Scrooge is working to salvage a sunken treasure and has hired some of the top deep sea divers in the industry. Seeking to muscle in on Scrooge's, those dastardly Beagle Boys have impersonated the treasure seekers! Will Uncle Scrooge catch on to those crooks' scheme before it's too late?

Both stories were classic Carl Barks epics drawn in Disney's patented style. I thought both were equally great. Yes, these stories wouldn't be considered sophisticated enough for today's readers. However, as an avid, veteran reader, I found these stories superior to most drivel published today. I wonder what the 12 year old me would have thought of this issue. I'm sure I wouldn't have appreciated it as much as I should. Talk about cases of childish things having a deeper meaning the older you get.

Nostalgic? Yes, but there's a historical component here at play as well. Barks is regarded on of the top in his field and originals of his works are worth top dollar. There's so much hiding in these pages, and I am not just talking about hidden treasure!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.