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It is no mystery that the world of cartoons/comics has now been definitively cleared even by the "learned critics" and is no longer relegated to mere entertainment for infants; finally being recognized for its dignity as an expressive medium.
Well, among the great works, names like Maus by Spiegelman are often mentioned, perhaps something by the now infamous Miller or some Japanese manga, but too often a world that is too often considered at most with condescension is culpably ignored, namely the magnificent world of Disney, relegated instead by a good part of comic book enthusiasts to a childhood sin. And while indeed many times the accusations of sentimentality, infantilism, conformism, etc., are more than justified, especially if we look at today's drift (even though the alliance with Pixar has raised the stakes), let us not forget that Disney was initially also able to dare and experiment, just think of works like Fantasia, Alice in Wonderland, or certain sequences of Dumbo, which tormented this humble scribe's childhood nightmares, to name a few. And even in the printed paper world, there are works that deserve attention, such as the magnificent saga dedicated to the "richest duck in the world" by the great Don Rosa, a pupil of the great Carl Barks.
He is, none other than, the inventor of Duckburg (Paperopoli in the original language), always largely preferred by me compared to that boring and middle-class city named Mouseton, where the infamous mouse lives, too blatantly USA, a framed person, perfect, a great worker, dutiful, always winning... what a drag! Much better the ducks, whose vices (the rebellious nephews, the broke and lazy Donald...) made them much more relatable and likeable. And among them, my favorite is undoubtedly the great magnate and entrepreneur of Scottish origin known as Scrooge McDuck.
After thoroughly analyzing his mentor's works, to which he will be inspired all his life (so much so that his boards will always be full of citations and references to the good Barks), Don Rosa, with true historical rigor, reconstructed a sort of "official chronology" of the "Duck" family, also equipped with a family tree, expanding and improving the work of his predecessor; turning what were often mere ideas and sketches into complete ideas.
The Opus Magnum of this author is certainly represented by the collection reviewed here (the original cycle is composed of 12 episodes, later expanded by further posthumous chapters), in which the story is told, from humble beginnings as a shoeshine boy, to the climb to the top of society by the old multimillionaire, who is, in the course of these, dissected and analyzed, as probably no other member of the great Disney family, previous or later, becoming from a monochromatic old man, lonely and grumpy (as originally conceived by Barks), a complete and 360° character. Without going too much into detail about the story, events such as the obtaining of the mythical "number one," the clashes with previous generations of Beagle Boys, as well as the acquaintance of Goldie, his only and unfinished great love, showing completely unexpected traits of the character, who is elevated to a kind of romantic hero, always fighting with fate and able to rise again; starting idealistic and naive and becoming, unwittingly, cynical and experienced, but also always tormented by doubt and regrets.
There are, in short, various levels of reading, and the "adult" reader, able to go beyond the simple children's story (which still remains present), will be surprised by the quality of the story and the relatively and unusually adult themes provided. To this can be added that also the graphic aspect is particularly well-cared for and detailed, another small revolution brought by our author to the Disney comic. For me, a milestone, as well as a piece of history of comic art(?).
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