The nineties can be remembered in different ways. For some, this is a dashing era of "wild capitalism" and crimson jackets. And for someone - the time of a cozy childhood, games on Dendy and Sega and Disney cartoons on weekends. And the perky ducks were the first to burst onto the screens of our country. Their massive popularity in Russia, as well as in America, began in 1987 with the animated series DuckTales, but the first comics about Donald and his nephews appeared in the early thirties. In this article, we invite you on an exciting journey through the "duck" universe. Zigzag, start!

It all started with Donald

A hot-tempered drake in a peakless cap was born in June 1934 in the cartoon "Little Wise Hen" and in the fall of that year made his debut on the pages of newspaper comics. Early Donald lived in the countryside, was much more emotional and carefree: he still had no girlfriend, no nephews, no rich uncle.

DONALD'S FIRST APPEARANCE, THE WISE LITTLE HEN CARTOON. A LAZY DRAK DOES NOT FROM WORK, BUT Rushed to a Free Treat

At first, Donald remained a minor character in the Mickey comics, but eventually came to the fore in the strips of the Silly Symphonies series. In 1937, Donald had nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie (known to us as Billy, Willy and Dilly). Uncle looked after the triplets, whose father ended up in the hospital after their latest prank. At first, the guys were inveterate hooligans and always made fun of their uncle, but over time their character improved. It was assumed that the nephews would return home when dad got on his feet, but in the end, the trio stayed with their uncle, and their parents were no longer remembered.

DONALD AND HIS NEPHEWS IN NEWSPAPER STRIPS

By the way, the names of heroes are localized not only here. In Finland, where Donald is so popular that he is sometimes voted for in protest elections, the drake is called Aku Ankka. And in Italy it is known as Paperino.

YES, IN THE EARLY NEWSPAPER COMICS, DONALD WAS YELLOW

And in 1942, Donald's finest hour came: Western Publishing received a license to comics about Disney characters. The plot of the first story "Donald Duck is looking for a pirate treasure" was invented by the scriptwriters of the studio, and the drawing was entrusted to the artist Carl Barks. Karl was then working as an animator for Disney, but he was oppressed by the studio system that killed creativity. He thought about quitting and starting a duck farm. Fortunately, Barks also liked drawing ducks - he took a new order from Western and at the same time offered to finalize the script. The result impressed the editors so much that from the second issue, Karl was also entrusted with the work of the screenwriter. The next thirty years for "DuckTales" became the era of Karl Barks.

Donald at Barks remained a quick-tempered, boastful lazybones, but he learned to take responsibility and began to speak clearly. He cared for his nephews, even though it made him break away from his favorite doing nothing. With the tenacity with which Donald sought a job, only the constancy with which he lost it can be compared.

"Donald is sometimes the villain in my stories, but mostly he's a good guy, although he makes stupid mistakes like a typical person."

Carl Barks

BARKS VERY CAREFULLY APPROACHED THE FIGURE. FOR EXAMPLE, FOR THE WRECK ILLUSTRATIONS, HE STUDYED ISSUES OF NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Scrooge takes the stage

In 1947, in Bear Mountain Christmas, Donald had an eccentric millionaire uncle living on a secluded mountain estate. In this story, conceived as an allusion to A Christmas Carol and Citizen Kane, Scrooge wanted to
taunt Donald and his nephews to see if they are worthy of inheriting his fortune.

IN "CHRISTMAS" SCROOGE STAR, BEARDED, LEANS ON A CANE AND WEARS GLASSES

“Scrooge from Christmas on Bear Mountain was my first rich old uncle. I made him too old and weak - and only then I realized that he should be more mobile. The decrepit old man couldn't have done everything I planned for him."

Carl Barks

Scrooge was invented for once, but the public liked the old miser, and Barks began to use him again in stories about Donald, sometimes even as a villain. Noticing the popularity of the character, the publishing house offered to build the plot of the next story around him. So in 1952, the Four Color comic book Just a Poor Old Man came out. From that moment on, Scrooge began to pull the blanket over himself. Now he has become the main adventurer, and Donald and company are left with the role of not always voluntary assistants.

Good duck artist

Carl Barks got his start at Disney drawing Donald shorts. But he found real recognition when he started drawing comics. Barks created about 500 duck stories. It was he who came up with Uncle Scrooge and most of the secondary characters in the cycle. As a rule, he alone did all the work: he wrote the script, drew sketches and painted the illustrations.

For many years, his name remained unknown - Disney rules forbade the names of artists and screenwriters. Generations of fans have only known Barks by nicknames like "The Good Duck Artist". The secret of his identity was revealed only in the late 1960s, when Barks retired. He died in 2000, almost a hundred years old.

“Rereading my own stories, I realized that I laid down philosophical ideas in them that I had no idea about at the time. It seems to me that the philosophy in my comics is conservative: in my opinion, civilization reached its peak in 1910. Since then we have been going downhill. The old culture has qualities that the remake cannot achieve. Take a look at these wonderful cathedrals and palaces! They don't build it now. It seems to me that we should keep the old ideals and methods of work - honor and honesty. It is necessary to allow others to believe in their own ideals, it is not necessary to cut everyone with the same brush. That's what I don't like about the current political system: it tries to make everyone the same."

Carl Barks

The life and times of Don Rosa

DON ROSA. IF BARKS DEVELOPED THE DUCK STORIES AS WE KNOW THEM, THEN ROSA HAS ORDERED THEM

The Life and Times of Don Rosa In 1984, Western went bankrupt, but the Ducks didn't look for a new home for long: Gladstone Publishing House got the license. They mostly reprinted old comics, but they were also looking for fresh blood. Gladstone hired a young artist, Don Rosa, who attracted the editor with his unshakable belief that he was destined to revive DuckTales.

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF SCROOGE MACDUC INSPIRED NIGHTWISH LEADER TUOMAS HOLOPAINEN TO WRITE THE SOUNDTRACK FOR THIS COMIC. ALBUM COVER PAINTED BY ROSA

Like Barks, Rosa was self-taught and learned to draw from idols. Rosa's first works for Gladstone are a clear imitation of Barks: he invented the plots himself, but redrawn the background and poses of the characters from old comics. Rosa considered only the stories of Barks to be canon and focused on them. He moved the action to the 1950s and 1960s, when The Good Duck Artist comics took place, and composed a number of sequels to his stories. Over the years, Rosa has gained cult status himself. He brought back interest in ducks and did a great job organizing Barks' comics. After analyzing Scrooge's chatter about relatives and past adventures, Rosa compiled his family tree and wrote a biography of a rich drake - the graphic novel The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck.

IN HIS FIRST "DUCK" COMICS "SON OF THE SUN" ROSA INTENTIONALLY COPYED DRAWINGS OF BARKS

ALTHOUGH DONALD IS MORE FAMOUS FOR HEAT, SCROOGE WAS NOT A FOOL TO FIGHT WHEN YOUNG

MACDAC IN THE DASHING "AGE OF PRIMARY CAPITAL ACCUMULATION" IN THE WILD WEST

Life of Scrooge (Don Rosa chronology)

1867. Scrooge was born in Glasgow to Fergus McDuck and Downey O'Drake. He was the eldest child, later he had sisters Matilda and Hortense.

1877. To earn money, Scrooge becomes a shoe shiner. The first customer cheats the boy by paying with a dime, worthless in Scotland. Scrooge will keep the coin for life as a symbol of success and swear that no one else will be able to fool him.

1880. 13-year-old Scrooge leaves for the USA and gets a job as a cabin boy on his uncle Angus McDuck's river steamer. Soon Angus retires and gives the ship to his nephew, but a gang of Gavs brothers destroy the ship. Scrooge decides to try his luck in the Wild West.

1896–1899. After unsuccessful attempts to find gold, Scrooge arrives at the Klondike, and luck smiles at him. On the Klondike, McDuck meets the owner of the saloon, Golden Goldie. He will keep his love for her for the rest of his life.

1902. Scrooge becomes a billionaire and moves to the village of Daxburg, Calisota.

1930. McDuck becomes the richest drake in the world, but in the pursuit of profit he forgets about his family and finally quarrels with her.

1942. Having fallen into depression, Scrooge decides to retire and fences himself off from the whole world in his estate on Bear Mountain.

1947. Scrooge meets with his nephew Donald and great-nephews Billy, Willy and Dilly. An interest in life awakens in him, and together they go on an adventure.

1967. Non-canon date - Like Barks, Scrooge dies at the age of one hundred after a life of adventure.

FAMILY TREE MAKDAKOV FROM DON ROSA

"DuckTales" (DuckTales)

THE UNFORGETTABLE TITLE THEME OF THE ANIMATED SERIES IS WRITTEN BY MARK MULLER, AND WITHOUT IT IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO IMAGINE DUCK STORIES NOW. EVEN IN THE RESTART IT WAS SAVE

In the mid-1980s, Disney decided to invest heavily in television cartoons for syndication. What does this term mean? Typically, studios produce content for a specific channel, which has the final say. Low ratings, bad reviews, hostility from management - and the show is closed. But if a series goes into syndication, a studio can directly sell broadcast rights to dozens of channels around the world.

The show could go into syndication only after overcoming a certain barrier - for the animated series it was 65 episodes. Disney needed to remove them before negotiations with buyers began. It was a big risk: if it failed, the studio could lose $20 million. I had to figure out what to bet on.

IN THE ANIMATED SERIES, MONEY SERVED SCROOGE AS A NOSTALGIC REMINDER OF PAST ADVENTURES. HE COULD REMEMBER HOW HE EARNED EVERYONE OF HIS COINS

DuckTales was an unobvious choice: Disney first planned to release it as an hour-long series on one of the major channels. But syndication head Bob Jakumin saw the show's potential and wrested permission from Disney CEO Michael Eisner to do DuckTales himself.

Animation production was given to Asia - the Taiwanese studio Wang Film and the Japanese Tokyo Movie Shinsha. For this, the American press accused Disney of trying to make cartoons on the cheap, although in reality it did not work out - the falling dollar only increased costs. Each episode of DuckTales cost 300,000. But time has proven Disney right. Now "Ducks" are considered classics, and the level of their animation is a reference.

Experienced actors were involved in the voice acting of the series. The role of Scrooge was entrusted to the legendary comedian Alan Young (1919–2016), whose career began back in the 1940s. Young returned to this role more than once: the last time he voiced Scrooge was four months before his death, in an episode of the animated series Mickey Mouse.

Barks' comics were taken as the basis of the plot, but the original source was not followed in everything. One of the key differences was the almost complete absence of Donald, who, according to the plot, was sent to serve in the Navy. At Barks, he played an important role, but Jakumin decided that Duck would appear sporadically in DuckTales, and the relationship between Scrooge and his nephews would be in the spotlight. There are several reasons why Donald has been relegated to the background. First, the studio didn't want to "waste" one of the most popular characters, putting him in a secondary role. Secondly, Barks Duck talks a lot - and in the cartoons he speaks slurred. The vacant seat was filled with new characters: the brave pilot Zigzag Makkryak, the stiff butler Duckworth, the wise housekeeper Mrs.

The premiere took place on September 18, 1987. At first, the press was skeptical about DuckTales, accusing the series of low quality, whitewashing Scrooge and not respecting the spirit of comics. But the audience was ecstatic. The ratings were so high that Disney ordered additional episodes - as a result, "Ducks" lasted four seasons.

What is the reason for success? Already from the introductory chords, the Duck Tales screensavers carried the audience into a world full of adventures. A world where the dreamer Scrooge invited every week to go in search of the crown of Genghis Khan, Atlantis or the Lost World. Young viewers were shown the richness and diversity of the world and encouraged to explore it. You can’t learn the history of the Great Geographical Discoveries, the American Civil War or the Klondike Gold Rush from DuckTales, but the series showed that learning and learning new things is interesting. No wonder Scrooge said that he owed his outlook to books.

The series unobtrusively preached family values ​​and business ethics. Scrooge earned his fortune by honest work, without deviating from the principles. If in the comics McDuck loved money most of all, then in the animated series he was more interested in the treasure hunt itself. And the most important thing for Scrooge was the family. More than once McDuck was forced to choose between wealth and nephews - and each time he chose a family. At the same time, morality did not harm the fascination - all the series are still looked at in one breath today.

BARKS COMICS INSPIRED THE AUTHOR OF INDIANA JONES. AND THE CREATORS OF THE “TREASURED LAMP” LEFT A LOT OF REFERENCES TO “INDIANA” IN THE PICTURE

The success of The Ducks ushered in the era of the Disney renaissance. They were followed by other successful series: "Chip and Dale", "Miracles on turns", "Black Cape". In the wake of Disney's success, they also tried to make a feature-length cartoon, DuckTales: The Treasured Lamp. If successful, it could become the first in the series: according to rumors, there were other full-length films in development about ducks, and about Chip and Dale. However, "The Treasured Lamp" did not "shoot" - it seemed to critics and viewers that it just looked like a drawn-out series of "Duck Tales". At the box office, the cartoon earned only $ 18 million - not a failure, but plans to transfer the animated series to the big screen were put an end to.

THE BLACK COAT IS SET IN THE WORLD OF DUCK STORIES, BUT WITH THE EXCEPT OF ZIGZAG AND TECHNODAK (aka SUPERCOAT) THERE IS ALMOST NO INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE SERIES

And soon Duck Tales ended. In the autumn of 1990, the last season of eight episodes was released, ending with an epic finale, where the heroes saved the world from the golden apocalypse.

Ducks in Russia

"DuckTales" became the first TV series shown in the Soviet Union, followed by comics in the USSR. Since 1989, the Egmont publishing house began issuing Mickey Mouse comics, and in the early nineties, the publishing line was replenished with DuckTales, Mickeydetective, The Little Mermaid and Aladdin. For several years, comics were sold in all newsstands, but since the second half of the 1990s, their popularity has faded. The return of Scrooge had to wait almost twenty years - since the fall of 2016, AST has been releasing collections of classic comics by Barks and Rosa.

"Black Cloak" (Darkwing Duck)

DuckTales needed a replacement, and producer Tad Stones remembered Duck Two Zeros. This was the working title of the DuckTales spin-off, based on two episodes: in one, Zigzag tried on a white tuxedo and the role of a secret agent, and in the other, Scrooge became a masked avenger. Stones planned to make "Duck Two Zero" a parody of spy films, and saw Zigzag as the main character. But it turned out that the rights to the Two Zeros brand had already been registered by another company, and Zigzag clearly did not pull on a central role. So the parody of spies was replaced by a parody of superheroics, Zigzag was demoted to an assistant, and a new hero was invented for the main role - the Black Cape. The premiere took place on September 8, 1991, with a total of 91 episodes.

SPECIAL AGENT TWO ZERO DUCK WAS SUPPOSED TO WEAR A WHITE TUXEDO AND A BLACK MASK

The Black Cape lived in the city of Saint Canard, a clear parody of Gotham. At night, he protected the city from crime, and during the day he led the life of an inhabitant named Kryak Lapchaty. The series never revealed where Kryak worked in everyday life and where he got money for his gadgets. Perhaps he was paid a salary in the secret organization SHUSHU.

"DUCK STORIES" BECAME THE FIRST AMERICAN ANIMATED SERIES SHOWED IN THE USSR, AND "BLACK COAT" - THE FIRST IN NEW RUSSIA

Each episode parodied images from superhero comics, tabloid detectives or spy movies. The Black Cape himself made fun of the superheroes of the Golden Age of comics - mostly, of course, Batman, but also the Shadow, the Green Hornet and even Zorro with the Lone Ranger. His signature lines like "I'm a horror flying on the wings of the night!", "Sniff the gas, villain!" and “Come on, from the screw!” went to the people. And his supervillain enemies seem to have come out of DC comics and Bond films: a duck-plant, an evil clown, a rooster with a steel beak ... From the "Black Cape" Russian children learned about the superhero genre and its clichés before they got acquainted with the very subject of the parody.

But Cloak also had unique features. Unlike his colleagues, he was terribly vain, stubborn and narcissistic and did everything to become famous. However, even on the huge ego of the state of emergency there was a government in the form of Gusyon's daughter. She put pressure on the best sides of Quack's character, forcing him to make the right decisions.

"Crack-Bryak" (Quack Pack)

In the mid-1990s, animators turned their attention back to The Ducks. Team Goofy has just wrapped up and successfully modernized one of the Big Three Disney characters. They decided to repeat the experiment with Donald: producers Kevin Crosby Hopps and Toby Shelton undertook to modernize it. They decided to abandon the Barks comics, threw out most of the heroes of the "duck" universe, and added age to the rest.

According to the plot of the animated series "Crack-Crack", the nephews live with Donald again, having forgotten about Scrooge. Donald retired from the Navy and became a cameraman - he travels the world and shoots stories for the Around the Planet program. From energetic children, the brothers have turned into lazy, arrogant teenagers who are ready to do anything to avoid school and housework. Nothing worthwhile comes out of their tricks, and the trinity is forced to go out of their way to correct their mistakes.

IN "QUARK-BRYAK" NEPHEWS FINALLY BEGAN TO BE DIFFERENT. EVERYONE HAS THEIR OWN HOBBIES, THEY DRESS SOME DIFFERENTLY, ALTHOUGH THEY KEEP THEIR FAVORITE COLORS

The experiment turned out to be a failure - the series was closed after the first season. In the mid-1990s, management changed in the studio's animation department, and The Ducks fell out of favour. The new bosses switched to producing TV extras for hits like Aladdin, The Little Mermaid and The Lion King. Fans of DuckTales could only hope for comics, but everything was sad with them in those years: rights changed hands, and publishing houses went bankrupt one after another.

Ducks in games

Duck Tales 1989

In 1989, Capcom released the DuckTales platform game for the NES (known in Russia as Dendy). The game is still considered one of the best representatives of the genre to this day due to its bright graphics, non-linear gameplay and catchy design. Well, and Scrooge's ability to jump on a cane. In 2013, a remake of Duck Tales Remastered was released for modern platforms with completely redrawn graphics and dialogues, which were voiced by the actors of the animated series.

Darkwing Duck, 1992

In a similar style, a game about the Black Cloak from the same Capcom was made. Only instead of exotic ruins, the back streets of gloomy Saint-Canard became the scene of action, and instead of jumping on canes, the player could make the villains “sniff the gas” from a pistol that fired a variety of projectiles.

Return of the ducks

We had to wait almost 20 years. In September 2017, a new DuckTales premiered on Disney XD. Producers Matt Youngberg and Francisco Angones grew up with the original animated series and have long dreamed of making a new version. They tried to stick to the spirit of the original sources - not only the series, but also comics and short films about Donald. Already in the pilot episode, you can find many references to Barks (his paintings hang on Scrooge's estate), and to various Disney series (Cape Suzette, Spoonerville and St. "Black Cloak", respectively). This is no accident - there are persistent rumors that the new Black Cloak will be released in 2018.

Stylistically, the new DuckTales is more like Gravity Falls than the old Ducks. You should not be surprised at such a similarity - in the credits of these two series, many surnames coincide. But the iconic song by Mark Muller from the opening intro has been preserved, except that now it is performed by Felicia Barton, and not by Jeff Pessetto. The characters' characters changed slightly: Scrooge became even softer, Donald turned into an experienced adventurer, nephews began to differ from each other, and Mrs. Beak and Ponochka became much more actively involved in events. From a new reading, at first glance, Zigzag lost: he used to be a fool, and now he has completely turned into a walking misunderstanding. But in the pilot episode, he got a few bright lines that allow him to come to terms with a new reading of the hero.

NEW DUCK STORIES SHOWED US FOR THE FIRST TIME AN IMAGE OF THE TWINS' MOTHER

The main intrigue of the animated series is why Donald and Scrooge have not communicated for so many years. Judging by the pilot, this is connected with the mysterious "Spears of Selena" and Donald's missing sister - the mother of the triplets. So far, this mosaic lacks pieces, and it is all the more interesting to wait for new episodes, especially since the Russian Disney Channel will start showing the series in November. We look forward to continuing!

Every Saturday there were meetings in the Millionaires Club where members of the club discussed many different issues. As a rule, the conversation revolved around huge money. On this day, the conversation turned into a lively exchange of views on what can be considered the largest of the treasures that disappeared in the mists of time. When everyone was already hoarse from disputes, the president of the club, Major Pincherton, took the floor.
“Undoubtedly, gentlemen,” he said, pointing to the map, “the largest of the lost treasures is the precious cargo of the Tibetan campaign of Genghis Khan. It is said that when the legendary emperor was crossing the Himalayas, a huge bigfoot - yeti - attacked the caravan and, having seized the jewelry, disappeared.
“Remember, gentlemen,” warned the major, who acted as the judge of the competition, “dishonest tricks are prohibited!” And the winner will be awarded the Gold Medal of Honor of our club.
- Just amazing! exclaimed Scrooge, who was listening attentively.
“The most curious thing,” the major continued, “is that among the untold riches stolen by the yeti, there was also the famous crown of the emperor - the most valuable thing in the world!”
The conversation interested all the other members of the club, who immediately began to think about the possibility of finding the crown. Sir Utkin offered to arrange a competition and see if any of the members of the club could get the treasure. And a week later, all the participants met in a small village at the foot of Mount Everest.
You can say whatever you want, Major, the cunning Lord Psinson decided to himself, but I will not let anyone take my crown from me.
He took advantage of the fact that everyone was busy discussing plans and damaged Scrooge's plane.
One is ready, Lord Psinson thought. "Now let's take care of that silly Sir Utkins."
Hiding behind a snow ridge, he began to wait for the arrival of a millionaire. He rode in a sleigh in a dog sled.
“Dogs run too slowly,” the lord chuckled. “We need to fix things somehow.
And then a hare jumped out on the path right in front of the dogs! They rushed after him, the harness unfastened from the sleigh, and ... Sir Utkin dropped out of the competition.
- Hehe! Another one less,” Psinson laughed. -Let's move on to the last one. I'll wait for Mr. O'Craven to come.
O'Craven climbed the slope in the company of a guide. As they approached, Psinson hurled a few stones in their direction, which caused an avalanche that carried both climbers down to the very foot of the mountain.
So, the way is clear! Scrooge's plane will soon crash due to lack of fuel, and the crown will be mine! -Psinson just squealed with delight.
And in the cockpit, Zigzag tried his best to subdue the plane, but it continued to lose altitude.
- Oh, you, be it wrong! We only have one parachute! exclaimed Uncle Scrooge. We'll all have to cling to him.
No sooner had the parachute opened than the plane crashed into a mountain and shattered into a thousand pieces. Lord Psinson watched this scene, grinning with satisfaction - now nothing stood in his way to victory.
Some time later, a parachute with Uncle Scrooge, McQuack, Ponochka and nephews landed in the middle of a snowy valley.
“The beginning of our enterprise leaves much to be desired,” said the uncle. “We are lost in the snowy desert, and we have nothing to get out of here.
"We'll have to prepare a shelter for the night," Dilly said. - The sky is overcast.
They built a tent out of a parachute and a few fragments of an aircraft found, and soon a snowstorm broke out over the plain.
By morning, the blizzard subsided, and a calm dawn dawned.
“Fortunately, the parachute withstood the onslaught of the blizzard,” said Uncle Scrooge.
“Nevertheless, a serious problem remains unresolved,” Zigzag replied. “Without suitable transport, it will be difficult for us to return home.
- Come back home? exclaimed the uncle angrily. And who wants to go home? We came here for the crown and without it, I'm not going back!
The millionaire did not think about the unsteadiness of the ground under his feet, and in fact a huge amount of snow had accumulated during the night. With his cries, he caused an avalanche of snow, which swiftly dragged the entire company down the slope among the rocks sticking out everywhere.
Half an hour later, the elements calmed down again. The travelers were thrown back several kilometers and covered in snow.
“Are you… are you safe?” Billy asked as he climbed out.
- Mother dear! exclaimed Zigzag. “I even have pockets full of snow!”
— Where is Ponochka? Has anyone seen her? said Uncle Scrooge.
So far, no one has given themselves an account that the baby was not with them. They immediately split up to comb the whole area, and after a while they heard Willy's alarm. Ponochkin's footprints were visible in the snow, and next to them were a monster of enormous size!
“Wh…wh…whose footprints are these?” murmured Dilly. “Foot size at least sixty-four!”
“Surely there was that monster that Major Pincherton was talking about. It probably dragged Ponochka out into that cave, ”said Uncle Scrooge, pointing with his hand.
Stepping carefully, the travelers entered the cave and began to make their way between the ice columns. Suddenly, a gigantic shadow began to grow under their feet, and, turning around, they saw that a huge yeti female, completely painted with cosmetics and adorned with all kinds of jewelry, was following them on their heels.
Out of fear, starting to run headlong, Uncle Scrooge did not notice how he separated from his companions and turned into the wrong passage, which the nephews and the pilot ran.
“I think we eluded her,” said Zigzag, looking back.
— Brrr! exclaimed Willie, chattering his teeth. - Well, it's cold in this cave!
“I have no doubt that a hot soup will be very useful to you!”
At these words, the fugitives froze as if rooted to the spot. They looked around and in the middle of a large hall, in which ice furniture flaunted, they saw Ponochka, holding out bowls of freshly cooked soup to them.
- Ponochka! Are you alive! Dilly shouted, hugging the baby.
— Of course! After the collapse, Mrs. Yeti picked me up and brought me to her home. She is very kind and good
Meanwhile, Uncle Scrooge wandered through the galleries of the cave, trying to find his comrades.
“It doesn’t get any easier from time to time,” he thought. “First, Ponochka disappeared, and now I have lost my nephews. If anything happens to them, I will never forgive myself. Finally, he saw a beam of light in the depths of one of the passages and headed towards it. What he saw made his heart jump. He found himself in a huge hall littered with treasures. At the very top of this pile, the lost crown of Genghis Khan sparkled with all the colors of the rainbow.
- Crown! exclaimed Scrooge. I found the crown!
However, the joy of Uncle Scrooge did not last long. A female yeti appeared at the entrance to the hall and snarled so ferociously that uncle's feathers stood on end.
The giantess put the unfortunate man under her arm and carried him to where our friends were. At the request of Ponochka, Mrs. Yeti lowered Uncle Scrooge to the ground.
- It is high time! he muttered. “Now, you crazy old woman, give me back my crown.” You don’t need it at all - no matter how you decorate, you will still remain a monster.
The poor Yeti lady walked away, weeping bitterly.
“You offended her, uncle! - reproached the old man Ponochka. This is unfair. She was so kind to us.
Uncle felt ashamed and lowered his head.
"Don't be upset, Mr. Scrooge," Zigzag said. I will persuade her to come back.
The pilot ran out of the hall and began to search for Lady Yeti in the labyrinth of underground passages. Suddenly he heard a plaintive cry. Hastening to the sound, Zigzag saw that one of the ice bridges broke under the weight of the giantess, and she, clinging to the edge of the cliff, hung over the abyss.
- Grab my hand! shouted Zigzag. - I'll help you out.
With great effort, the pilot pulled the giantess up and thus saved her life.
Having recovered from her fright, Mrs. Yeti murmured something affectionately and hugged Zigzag with such force that he almost suffocated.
- Let go! the pilot protested. — Phew! From such a manifestation of feelings and die not long!
A little later they were again together with Uncle Scrooge and his companions.
“Please forgive me,” said the millionaire.
The giantess smiled, accepting her uncle's apology, and to show that she was no longer offended, she handed him the crown he so passionately desired.
But she refused to lower Zigzag to the ground and carried him in her arms all the way back to the exit from the cave to the giggling of the whole company.
Hanging their heads, the frustrated treasure seekers set off on their return journey.
- And how do you, Zigzag, manage to charm girls? None can resist you. Ha ha ha! Willy laughed.
- Thanks for the compliment! muttered the pilot, who had no choice but to endure the jokes of his comrades.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, the malevolent Lord Psinson appeared on a motor sleigh and with a deft movement snatched the crown from the hands of Uncle Scrooge.
— Ha-ha-ha! Many thanks, Scrooge! shouted the robber. “You got me a crown. Very kind of you!
- Thief! Scammer! yelled the millionaire, powerless to change anything.
Five days later, a solemn atmosphere reigned in the Millionaires Club. The news that Lord Psinson had found the crown of Genghis Khan spread like lightning, and not a single member of the club failed to appear at the Lord's Medal of Honor ceremony.
“Our club is proud to have you among its ranks, Lord Psinson,” said Major Pincherton. - In this regard, I have the honor to present you with our highest distinction.
At that moment, Uncle Scrooge burst into the hall, accompanied by Mrs. Yeti and Zigzag McCrack, inseparable from her.
“You are the meanest of deceivers!” shouted the uncle. “Koyoon and the medal belong to me!”
The giantess strode towards the lord with a menacing look. That bullet flew out into the street. Yeti is behind him.
- Wonderful! McCrack said. - Everything ended well.
- Yes! Uncle Scrooge laughed. - I have the crown again, and you have the burden off your shoulders, don't you, Zigzag? Ha ha ha!

"Duck Tales" in Russia, as, indeed, in America, most know from the 1987 animated series. However, it all started much earlier - with comics that arose in the early thirties. In this article and its continuation, we invite you on an exciting journey through the history of the "duck" universe. Zigzag, start!

It all started with Donald

A short-tempered duck in a cap was born in June 1934 in the Walt Disney cartoon "Little Wise Hen". In it, a lazy drake shied away from work, but rushed to a gratuitous treat. Already in the autumn of the same year, Donald made his debut on the pages of newspaper comics.

Donald's first appearance, Little Wise Hen cartoon

Early Donald lived in the countryside, was much more emotional and carefree: he still had no girlfriend, no nephews, no rich uncle. At first, Donald remained a minor character in the Mickey Mouse comics, but eventually came to the fore in the Silly Symphonies strips.

Yes, Donald was yellow in early newspaper comics.

And in 1937, Donald had nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie (known to us as Billy, Willy and Dilly). Uncle looked after the triplets, whose father ended up in the hospital after their latest prank. At first, the guys were inveterate hooligans and always made fun of their uncle, but over time their character improved. It was assumed that the nephews would return home when dad got on his feet. However, in the end, the trio stayed with their uncle, and they no longer remembered their parents. For the first time in almost a century, they were only talked about in the new animated series in 2017.

Donald and his nephews in newspaper strips

By the way, the names of heroes are localized not only here. In Finland, where Donald is so popular that he is sometimes voted for in protest elections, the drake is called Aku Ankka. And in Italy it is known as Paperino.

And in 1942, Donald's finest hour came: Western Publishing received a license to comics about Disney characters. The plot of the first story "Donald Duck is looking for a pirate treasure" was invented by the scriptwriters of the studio, and the drawing was entrusted to the artist Carl Barks.

Karl was then working as an animator for Disney, but he was oppressed by the studio system that killed creativity. He thought about quitting and starting a duck farm. Fortunately, Barks also liked drawing ducks - he took a new order from Western and at the same time offered to finalize the script. The result impressed the editors so much that from the second issue, Karl was also entrusted with the work of the screenwriter. The next thirty years for "DuckTales" became the era of Karl Barks.

Barks very carefully approached the drawing. For example, to illustrate sunken ships, he studied issues of National Geographic

Donald Barks has changed for the better. He remained a quick-tempered, boastful lazybones, but he learned to take responsibility, stopped being too emotional and began to speak clearly. He cared for his nephews, even though it made him break away from his favorite doing nothing. With the tenacity with which Donald sought a job, only the constancy with which he lost it can be compared. However, the drake did not lose heart. Unlike his famous uncle, who did not know how to stop in time, Donald needed a small thing to be completely happy, for example, a slice of pizza or a glass of soda.

Donald in my stories sometimes acts as a villain, but mostly he is a good guy, although he makes stupid mistakes, like a typical person.

Carl Barks

How did Scrooge come about?

In 1947, Barks published the comic "Christmas on Bear Mountain". Here, Donald has an eccentric millionaire uncle living in a secluded estate in the mountains. In this story, conceived as an allusion to both A Christmas Carol and Citizen Kane, Scrooge wanted to mock Donald and his nephews to see if they were worthy of inheriting his fortune.

In Christmas, Scrooge is old, bearded, leans on a cane and wears glasses.

Scrooge from Christmas on Bear Mountain was my first rich old uncle. I made him too old and weak - and only then I realized that he should be more mobile. The decrepit old man could not have done everything I had planned for him.

Carl Barks

Scrooge was invented for once, but the public liked the old miser, and Barks began to use him again in stories about Donald, sometimes even as a villain. Noticing the popularity of the character, the publishing house offered to build the plot of the next story around him. So in 1952, the Four Color comic book Just a Poor Old Man came out. From that moment on, Scrooge began to pull the blanket over himself. Now he has become the main adventurer, and Donald and company are left with the role of not always voluntary assistants.

Scrooge is stingy, grumpy and irritable, but he earned his fortune absolutely honestly

Good duck artist

The writers cared little about creating a unified chronology of stories about ducks, so there were often disputes among fans, whose plots should be considered canonical. Most agreed that the true canon was only the work of Carl Barks.

Carl Barks. The man who made DuckTales as we know it (Photo: Alan Light | CC BY-SA 2.0)

Carl always wanted to become an artist, but poverty got in the way. To make ends meet, Barks took on any job: he was a farmer, a lumberjack, a mule driver, a rivet maker, and a printer. But he devoted all his free time to self-education. Karl studied the paintings of his favorite artists, trying to copy their style and find his own.

In 1935, Barks was hired as an animator at Disney, where he made 36 Donald shorts. But Karl was dissatisfied with this work, believing that studio restrictions kill creativity. In 1942, he left for Western publishing, which soon obtained a license for "duck comics". Here he found his true calling.

Barks created about 500 duck stories. It was he who came up with Scrooge and most of the secondary characters - Vinta Razboltailo, Gladstone Gander, Flinhart Glomgold, Magiku de Hypnoz and the Gavs brothers. As a rule, Karl alone did all the work: he wrote the script, drew sketches and painted the illustrations.

For many years, his name remained unknown - Disney rules forbade the names of artists and screenwriters. Generations of fans have only known Barks as "The Good Duck Artist". The secret of his identity was revealed only in the late 1960s, when Barks retired. He died in 2000, almost a hundred years old.

Rereading my own stories, I realized that I had put into them philosophical ideas that I had no idea about at the time. I think the philosophy in my comics is conservative. In my opinion, civilization peaked in 1910 - since then we have been going downhill. The old culture has qualities that the remake cannot achieve. Take a look at these wonderful cathedrals and palaces! They don't build it now.

It seems to me that it is worth preserving the old ideals and methods of work - honor and honesty. It is necessary to allow others to believe in their own ideals, it is not necessary to cut everyone with the same brush. That's what I don't like about the current political system: it tries to make everyone the same.

They say the Vanderbilts and the Rockefellers are villains because they made their fortunes exploiting the poor. And I think everyone should be able to climb as high as he can, if he does not kill or torture anyone. A little exploitation is natural to us. This can be seen in the behavior of animals - everyone exploits everyone to some extent.

Carl Barks

The life and times of Don Rosa

After Barks retired, Western Publishing continued to publish comics about Scrooge and Donald. But with the departure of the “old guard”, the quality of the stories fell, and the editors often reprinted old stories. This could not go on forever, and in 1984 Western went bankrupt. But the "ducks" did not look for a new home for long. Shortly before this, Barks fans Bruce Hamilton and Ross Cochrane founded Another Rainbow publishing house, opened a Gladstone imprint and bought a license to print "ducks".

Basically, Gladstone reprinted old comics, but they were also looking for fresh blood. It was then that they hired a young and then completely unknown artist, Don Rosa. He attracted the editor with his unshakable confidence that he was destined to revive DuckTales.

Don Rosa. If Barks created DuckTales, Rosa turned them into an orderly universe (Photo: Darrenmambo | CC BY-SA 3.0)

In his first comic, Son of the Sun, Rosa deliberately copied Barks' style.

Like Barks, Rosa was self-taught and learned to draw from idols. Rosa's first works for Gladstone are a clear imitation of Barks: he invented the plots himself, but redrawn the background and poses of the characters from old comics. Rosa considered only the stories of Barks to be canon and focused on them. He moved the action to the 1950s and 1960s, when The Good Duck Artist comics took place, and composed a number of sequels to his stories.

Over the years, Rosa has become an iconic comic artist himself, comparable to Barks. His contribution to DuckTales is enormous. He brought back interest in ducks and did a great job organizing Barks' comics. After analyzing Scrooge's chatter about relatives and past adventures, Rosa compiled his family tree and wrote a biography of a rich drake - the graphic novel The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck.

The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck inspired Nightwish leader Tuomas Holopainen to write the soundtrack for this comic. The album cover was designed by Rosa himself.

Life of Scrooge: Don Rosa's Timeline

1867 Scrooge was born in Glasgow to Fergus McDuck and Downey O'Drake. He was the eldest child, later he had sisters Matilda and Hortense.

1877 To earn money, Scrooge becomes a shoe shiner. The first customer cheats the boy by paying with a dime, worthless in Scotland. Scrooge will keep the coin for life as a symbol of success and swear that no one else will be able to fool him.

1880 13-year-old Scrooge leaves for the USA and gets a job as a cabin boy on his uncle Angus McDuck's river steamer.

1882 Angus retires and gives the ship to his nephew, but a gang of Gavs brothers destroy the ship. Scrooge decides to try his luck in the Wild West.

1896–1899 After unsuccessful attempts to find gold, Scrooge arrives at the Klondike, and luck smiles at him. On the Klondike, McDuck meets the owner of the saloon, Golden Goldie. He will keep his love for her for the rest of his life.

1902 Scrooge becomes a billionaire and moves to the village of Daxburg, Calisota.

1930 McDuck becomes the richest drake in the world, but in the pursuit of profit he forgets about his family and finally quarrels with her.

1942 Having fallen into depression, Scrooge decides to retire and fences himself off from the whole world in his estate on Bear Mountain.

1947 Scrooge meets with his nephew Donald and great-nephews Billy, Willy and Dilly. An interest in life awakens in him, and together they go on an adventure.

1967 Non-canon date - Like Barks, Scrooge dies at the age of one hundred after a life of adventure.

McDuck Family Tree by Don Rosa

Ducks in Russia

DuckTales became one of the first Disney series shown in the Soviet Union. And then comics penetrated the USSR. Since 1989, Egmont publishing house has been publishing Mickey Mouse comics, and in the early nineties, DuckTales, Mickey the Detective, The Little Mermaid and Aladdin expanded the line. For several years, comics were sold in all kiosks, but since the second half of the 1990s, their popularity has faded. The return of Scrooge had to wait almost twenty years - since the fall of 2016, AST has been releasing collections of classic comics by Barks and Rosa.

And in 1987, DuckTales experienced the main event in its history. Disney has started to release an animated series based largely on the comics of Carl Barks ... But that's another story.