![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
matt_zimmerAlso reviews for the latest episodes of Stargirl and American Dad, and the next volume in the Uncle Scrooge / Donald Duck Don Rosa Library.
The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle "Almost Famoose: Chapter One"
I loved the musical number at the beginning.
The new theme title is great too because it has actual vocals.
It's so funny how everyone is calling Weird Al Yankovic handsome, and talented, and funny. Mario Lopez WISHES he got that kind of press from this show.
I love the minion with the mustache's suggestion on how to make the world a better place. The irony is, had the advice been followed, it would have worked. I also like Fearless Leader realizing the science wasn't there to create a dance to force people to do what he says. He'll think of something.
Funniest moment was Rocky saying the woods were no place for a moose and squirrel.
Solid premiere. ****.
The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle "Almost Famoose: Chapter Two"
First Mr. Know-It-All of the reboot.
I liked the live-action reaction shot of Rocky upon Bullwinkle telling him he's changed.
I love that Fearless Leader can't send attachments. "I swear that's just what I did!"
Pretty good. ***1/2.
The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle "Almost Famoose: Chapter Three"
Do you know what I've noticed about Boris Badenov? He ain't so bad.
The episode was pretty good too. ***1/2.
The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle "Almost Famoose: Chapter Four"
This show is patently ridiculous, but it weirdly finds a way to make that work in its favor. When Weird Al is the sanest thing in the episode, you know the ludicrousness is out of control. And it weirdly works. ****.
The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle "The Legends Of The Power Gems: Chapter One"
The increasingly elaborate main title sequences continue to impress me.
Bullwinkle's so dumb he loses at Tic-Tac-Toe.
I like that the photos and Bullwinkle's wallet are from the original series and the live-action / animated movie.
I like that Boris likes the bell, and I also laughed at him saying they had a shark. It was brief but when Fearless Leader tells Boris and Natasha his plan they both smile like the Grinch's wonderful awful idea.
The fish and bits ad was nasty.
Solid. ***1/2.
The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle "The Legends Of The Power Gems: Chapter Two"
Rocky saying his and Bullwinkle's string of victories are unearned is pretty on the nose. That's pretty much what this franchise is about.
Bonkers doesn't look much like a surfer dude to me.
Funny. ***.
The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle "The Legends Of The Power Gems: Chapter Three"
I like that the Wind Guardian is a Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm-Flailing Tube Man.
Is this the first time we've seen other talking cartoon squirrels in this franchise? Because they were super cute.
This episode was cute too. ***1/2.
The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle "The Legends Of The Power Gems: Chapter Four"
Remember when this story was about shrimp? I love the Narrator.
Get out of town! Bullwinkle was right? He was just makin' stuff up!
Nobody actually knows what a tuffet or curds and whey are anymore.
Solid conclusion. The animation was spiffy too. ****.
The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle "Amazamoose And Squirrel Wonder: Chapter One"
I love how this show keeps knocking the main titles out of the park.
Also Fearless Leader's laser pointers controlling the cats was the funniest thing the show has ever done. I couldn't stop laughing.
The live-action cat footage was goofy too.
How many of his men does Fearless Leader want? 1, 2, ALL OF THEM!!!
Interestingly Amazamoose is before Squirrel Wonder in the actual episode title seen on Amazon Prime, but Squirrel Wonder is first in the title seen in the opening credits.
That was SO funny. *****.
The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle "Amazamoose And Squirrel Wonder: Chapter Two"
"This is turning from a bad situation into a Chad situation." Oh, good grief. I laughed at any rate.
I like that Bullwinkle's name can be found on the warning to the suit.
More Chad, please. Whenever he comes back from adult dodgeball. ****1/2.
The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle "Amazamoose And Squirrel Wonder: Chapter Three"
I love that they had Mark Hamill playing himself playing Captain Great Guy. His performance as Chillex was funny too.
Evil Chicken is starting to grow on me.
The "important massage" is the type of pun the old show used to do. More of that, please.
That was funny. ***1/2.
The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle "Amazamoose And Squirrel Wonder: Chapter Four"
I like that in Opposite World Bullwinkle and Rocky are evil. And since it's opposite world evil wins all the time.
In Opposite World Bullwinkle's hat trick with the rabbit actually works. TOO well. Plus, the rabbits are totally evil.
I like that Rocky and Bullwinkle repeatedly do the spit-take because the juice is terrible.
I like that the Queen of England's throne is a battle mecha.
A good episode. ****.
The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle "Amazamoose And Squirrel Wonder: Chapter Five"
That was great. A fine call-back to the entirety of the first two seasons.
Things were getting very meta when Fearless Leader took over the show and banished Rocky and Bullwinkle and an uncooperative Narrator to the No Show Zone.
I like that they took the time to create a new Fearless Leader title sequence.
I don't know if the show is going to come back or not, but if it doesn't, that would have made a good series finale. *****.
Stargirl "Wildcat"
That was some good superhero television.
Let's talk about the good stuff, and then I'll get to the bad stuff. I should as usual probably point out that the series needs to kill off Mike in the first scene of the next episode, but that is just a formality at this point.
I liked the superhero stuff, particularly the mystery with Pat, a fundamentally decent guy, trying to comfort and find out what happened to the Wizard's wife. And the stuff at the hospital and the girls discovering the principle there was great too.
The credits say Artemis Crock is in this. Was she a good guy or a bad guy?
I think the thing I responded to best is how unfair Yolanda is being treated. It makes sense the school is treating her so badly because teenagers suck. But it angers me that her family is telling her she brought shame to them. The only shame that family actually has is not supporting Yolanda after that happened to her. That was not something Yolanda did wrong that she should have to apologize for. That was something that was done TO her. And I'd call her family unforgivable if this weren't the default position for many parents when their daughters are violated, molested, or raped. I am angry, but that's the correct button being pushed, because it's plausible. But Yolanda's family should be defending her, not grounding her. That was not her fault.
That masked Lizard dude is scary. Why does he want the Wizard's body?
Now let me get to the worst thing in the episode. The Pop-Tarts product placement was so obnoxious because it was so blatant. A successful product placement should occur without you noticing it, and you absorbing the ad without realizing you've just been sold a pile of goods. Basically the more insidious and subliminal a product placement is, the better off the quality of the show will be. I should probably call out Kellogg's and Pop Tarts themselves while I am at it. I have seen several Pop-Tarts product placements in TV shows I watch, and they are all terrible because that specific sponsor always demands the characters draw undue attention to it. Every time. If you see a Pop-Tart on a TV show, I'm guessing the scene you just saw it in majorly sucked. I think that specific company has far too much say in how their product is placed in the show.
You probably asked yourself back when the series was announced what was the worst thing that could possibly happen with DC Universe deciding to share this show with the CW. It's that we now get Pop-Tarts scenes. Thanks for nothing, DC Universe.
But honestly, outside of that pain I enjoyed everything else. But it WAS a legit pain. ****.
American Dad! "Exquisite Corpses"
You know what? I'm giving that five stars. Why not? Anything an American Dad episode can possibly do right, that did right.
Craig Robinson is no stranger to the show, but him playing himself was hysterical . I can't tell what's funnier, that he carries a hacksaw on his person, or that he calls David Denman "The guy who played Roy on The Office." Even HE doesn't remember his actual name.
Those incompetent cops made me laugh so much when one fell into the plow and the other got kicked in the head by a horse after confusing pepper spray for Binaca. And I love that the sandwich the guy was killing for at the end was brought back in celebration of the case being closed.
As badly as Hayley always treats Jeff, the reason I don't mind it is because Jeff doesn't at all. It doesn't register with the dude, and Francine and Roger had to point out the insult inherent in the ring. And just when he could get offended all over again at the end is why Hayley placates him with new Hot Wheels. Basically a good night for the guy is Hayley stopping interrupting Police Academy.
Which by the way was based on the police at Langley Falls. I miss Forest Whitaker as Terlington very much, but they could never do those specific kind of jokes with that character because he's not a TOTAL moron. The stupider the characters on this show are, the better off the show is.
This season is not going to go down as a classic, and the series will never come up with another episode as perfect as "A.T. The Abusive Terrestrial". But that was a solid half hour of comedy plus commercials. *****.
Uncle Scrooge And Donald Duck "The Three Caballeros Ride Again!" The Don Rosa Library Volume 9
The Penultimate Volume of Fantagraphics' Don Rosa Library contains a few great stories and a couple of okay stories. It contains not a single bad story. Even when Rosa is underwhelming me with stories like "Attaaaaaack!" he isn't actually sucking.
Best stories are the one with the McDuck Money Bin blueprints (The Beagle Boys Vs. The Money Bin), the first part of Scrooge's greatest treasure hunt ever (The Crown Of The Crusader Kings), and the best high-concept Rosa gag story of all time featuring Magica De Spell (Forget It!). Volume Overall: ****.
Uncle Scrooge "The Coin"
I sort of understood the conceit of following the coin's perspective during its travels, but it was hard to make that perfectly clear in a comic book. This premise would work better in an animated cartoon. I also find the notion of Donald believing he'll impress Daisy by winning her cake in a raffle outright dumb. Even if Gladstone isn't competing almost nobody wins raffles. And even if he did why would that actually impress Daisy? Like Barks Rosa often has old-fashioned notions regarding Donald and Daisy's 'ship. And this is one of them that does not work. Do you know what ship DOES work? The revelation that the quarter was the one of the ones Goldie threw in Scrooge's face in the Klondike. That was a pretty awesome resolution. I agree with Scrooge! Whatta woman! ***.
Uncle Scrooge "Attaaaaaack!"
This story is all right, but I kind of agree with Rosa's assessment in the forward that there is a little too much mayhem in it. I think Rosa is very good at mayhem when it suits a constructive purpose ("Cash Flow" is my favorite example of this). But this story boils down to a total misunderstanding, so instead of being exciting, the wanton destruction seems too chaotic. I am very glad the army guy said that he cleared out the McDuck building after Scrooge set off ALL of the booby traps at once, and blows off the side of the building. And then I am very disturbed to wonder why Scrooge didn't have the wisdom to do that himself. My favorite thing in the story is the small role for Arpin Lusene, outside of his Black Knight get-up. I was never crazy about the Black Knight sequel because Lusene struck me as the kind of original character that could have been brought back again and again, but because Rosa's nature is to always top himself, he tied him exclusively to the Universal Solvent and this is his only other appearance. It's a shame. Rosa created a villain worthy of standing up with the Beagle Boys, Flintheart Glomgold, or Magica De Spell and barely used him afterwards because he misguidedly thought fans would only like him in the destructive armor. It's a darn shame. But to be blunt, Carl Bark similarly wasted the notion of Flintheart Glomgold and brought him back super rarely, as great and memorable as the character was. Maybe someday in 30 years, the next fannish Duck Comic writer / artist that is solid enough for Disney to consider his or her stories canon to Barks and Rosa could do more with the Black Knight. He definitely deserved a larger place in the canon. ***.
Donald Duck "The Three Caballeros Ride Again!"
Pleasurable. Remember when Donald Duck had actual friends? What I love about Jose and Panchito's admiration of Donald is that it's not entirely misplaced. Yes, they frequently confuse his clumsiness with bravery. But when they start crying in shame because Donald is thinking of using the money to help his ninos they are right that that is completely admirable, and it's not even something Donald does grudgingly. It's the first place his mind goes to. Them being impressed at how much Donald knows about treasure hunting is also fair. Not everything in the story was perfect, probably because Rosa based it on a cartoon instead of the comics. The umbrella hat causing Yellow Hat to fly, and the chile in the gas tank giving the car a burst of speed are the kinds of things Rosa himself would complain about if DuckTales 2017 had done them, and completely broke the reality of the Ducks. I understand that the Three Caballeros are purely cartoons as far as the Duck canon is concerned, and that's probably why Rosa did some of those gags. But the story would not have been weaker if he hadn't done them, and it would have stayed more consistent with the reality of the rest of the canon. I love that Huey, Dewey, and Louie were permitted to see Donald happy and with friends, and Rosa allowed Donald that victory instead of doing the Super Snooper thing where Donald's feats are left unsung. The ending of the Caballeros joyfully laughing upon realizing the treasure was worthless is the selling point of the Caballeros. It sounds corny, but their friendship is the thing they really treasure. The musical numbers weirdly work too. One running gag made me uneasy. Donald's fear over Daisy learning about the Senoritas. Were they dating at the time? Because that sounds inconsistent with Donald's personality. Or does Donald believe that Daisy thinks he is not entitled to a romantic past? That was the thing that struck me as most likely, and it's another reason I find Donald and Daisy's "relationship" as it were, in the Duck Comics such an absolute trial. It was a fun story though. ****.
Uncle Scrooge "The Sharpie Of The Culebra Cut"
On the one hand it's tiresome that Hortense and Matilda are moon-eyed over the cowboys and chasing them like schoolgirls. On the other Hortense slugs Teddy Roosevelt and demands women the right to vote. As far as female empowerment goes the story isn't entirely good or bad things. One of the nephews expresses admiration for her cussing out the President of the United States and Donald's response is "That's my Ma!". The reveal that the trade was the world's first Teddy Bear was funny, but if Scrooge had even an iota of imagination he'd have seen the value there immediately himself. This story continues the continuity of Matilda and Hortense being increasingly concerned with Scrooge's alarmingly greedy behavior. Even Roosevelt is outraged by the end, leading to a funny fistfight that of course Scrooge is gonna win. Good "Lost" chapter of "The Life And Times Of Scrooge McDuck". ****.
Uncle Scrooge "The Beagle Boys Vs. The Money Bin"
Man, those blueprints of the Money Bin were excellent and detailed. My favorite thing in the story is the Narrator pausing to tell the reader that the layout of the Bin as seen in a cross-section gag panel is inaccurate due to a lazy cartoonist. I love that for several reasons. First Rosa isn't actually lazy. He puts more effort and details into his comics than almost anyone I know. I also appreciate it because it shows how seriously Rosa takes the reality of these characters and premise to tell us a part of the story isn't actually literal. That is amazing to me and that sort of thing influences how I tell MY comic book story. I would have loved to have seen a joke of the Beagles trying to jump into the money via the chute and smashing onto the hard coins. I get why Rosa didn't do it though. In real-life, they would have died. One of the Beagles reads DuckTales Comics which is the only time Rosa references that cartoon in his stories by name. Rosa always seems to save his most effort and details for his anniversary stories and this celebration of both the Beagle Boys and the Money Bin is no exception. *****.
Uncle Scrooge "The Crown Of The Crusader Kings"
If you ask me, this is one of the most important stories in the Rosa canon. It's the first part of a larger arc, but we don't realize that until the end. Right at the beginning of the story Scrooge bemoans all of the recent treasures he's discovered and lost due to other governments claiming rightful ownership of them. And Rosa is a modern writer, so that makes sense because it's not cool for a guy to go around looting treasures to a modern reader. But it was fine during the Carl Barks era, which is why I was frustrated that while Rosa was able to have Scrooge find the Lost Gold of El Dorado, he was never able to add that or the other major treasures of his tenure to Scrooge's famous trophy room. Rosa may believe that finding and losing the treasure is a part of what makes the story fun, but that's only if it happens sometimes, and not every story. This story is significant for the McDuck tartan which is Rosa setting up the idea that in the next installment Scrooge can hunt for both the Ark of Covenant and the Holy Grail, and be legally allowed to keep them at the end of the adventure. I don't just consider "A Letter From Home" the best Rosa Duck story. I don't just consider it the Duck story period. It think it's the best Disney Comics story of all time. And part of that is because of all of the work Rosa put into this story in laying the groundwork for Scrooge's ultimate treasure hunt. I have to say just based on the fact that the treasure of the Knights Templar involves the Ark and the Grail says at this point Rosa was probably not envisioning a ton of future Scrooge Adventures. He probably knew he was nearing the end of his tenure. And he DID retire shortly thereafter. But what a way to go out and this story is a perfect set-up for that. ****1/2.
Uncle Scrooge "Forget It!"
This is one of Rosa's famous high-concept Magica De Spell stories, and the concept here is not just great, but when you hear it you automatically laugh because you know good things are ahead. One of the things I love about Rosa's version of Magica (and this goes for Barks too) is that it's debatable whether or not she is actually doing magic. In other Duck stories and cartoons Magica does legitimate sorcery and is actually powerful. Everything Magica does in a Barks or Rosa story is something Gyro Gearloose could cook up. There is a very large chance Rosa's Magica is a total humbug, and is merely using the same sort of unconventional science Gyro does. Even in this story her spell is referred to as a form of hypnotism. What I especially love is that it's up for debate. Rosa never says for sure either way. But what it DOES do is make Magica more grounded, and a more plausible threat against Scrooge who doesn't have any superpowers. Scrooge should not going up against superpowered enemies, and that goes for Mickey and Donald too. But at some point the comics and cartoon actually thought Magica was a witch, and I think a great deal of the appeal of her and Scrooge's conflict is diluted by that. But this story was a scream because Rosa knows how to write the character best. *****.
Uncle Scrooge "Gyro's First Invention"
Of course it's Helper. There's nothing else it could be. That was a sweet origin story for Helper and Gyro's invention career. It also fills in the continuity hole left by the end of "A Christmas For Shacktown". I liked it a lot. Fun Fact: April, May, and June are mentioned by Gyro here. ****.
The Rosa Archives
Rosa did a LOT of international cover and pin-ups at this stage of his career. They are actually quite amazing. The D.U.C.K.'s are impossible to spot though. *****.
The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle "Almost Famoose: Chapter One"
I loved the musical number at the beginning.
The new theme title is great too because it has actual vocals.
It's so funny how everyone is calling Weird Al Yankovic handsome, and talented, and funny. Mario Lopez WISHES he got that kind of press from this show.
I love the minion with the mustache's suggestion on how to make the world a better place. The irony is, had the advice been followed, it would have worked. I also like Fearless Leader realizing the science wasn't there to create a dance to force people to do what he says. He'll think of something.
Funniest moment was Rocky saying the woods were no place for a moose and squirrel.
Solid premiere. ****.
The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle "Almost Famoose: Chapter Two"
First Mr. Know-It-All of the reboot.
I liked the live-action reaction shot of Rocky upon Bullwinkle telling him he's changed.
I love that Fearless Leader can't send attachments. "I swear that's just what I did!"
Pretty good. ***1/2.
The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle "Almost Famoose: Chapter Three"
Do you know what I've noticed about Boris Badenov? He ain't so bad.
The episode was pretty good too. ***1/2.
The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle "Almost Famoose: Chapter Four"
This show is patently ridiculous, but it weirdly finds a way to make that work in its favor. When Weird Al is the sanest thing in the episode, you know the ludicrousness is out of control. And it weirdly works. ****.
The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle "The Legends Of The Power Gems: Chapter One"
The increasingly elaborate main title sequences continue to impress me.
Bullwinkle's so dumb he loses at Tic-Tac-Toe.
I like that the photos and Bullwinkle's wallet are from the original series and the live-action / animated movie.
I like that Boris likes the bell, and I also laughed at him saying they had a shark. It was brief but when Fearless Leader tells Boris and Natasha his plan they both smile like the Grinch's wonderful awful idea.
The fish and bits ad was nasty.
Solid. ***1/2.
The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle "The Legends Of The Power Gems: Chapter Two"
Rocky saying his and Bullwinkle's string of victories are unearned is pretty on the nose. That's pretty much what this franchise is about.
Bonkers doesn't look much like a surfer dude to me.
Funny. ***.
The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle "The Legends Of The Power Gems: Chapter Three"
I like that the Wind Guardian is a Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm-Flailing Tube Man.
Is this the first time we've seen other talking cartoon squirrels in this franchise? Because they were super cute.
This episode was cute too. ***1/2.
The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle "The Legends Of The Power Gems: Chapter Four"
Remember when this story was about shrimp? I love the Narrator.
Get out of town! Bullwinkle was right? He was just makin' stuff up!
Nobody actually knows what a tuffet or curds and whey are anymore.
Solid conclusion. The animation was spiffy too. ****.
The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle "Amazamoose And Squirrel Wonder: Chapter One"
I love how this show keeps knocking the main titles out of the park.
Also Fearless Leader's laser pointers controlling the cats was the funniest thing the show has ever done. I couldn't stop laughing.
The live-action cat footage was goofy too.
How many of his men does Fearless Leader want? 1, 2, ALL OF THEM!!!
Interestingly Amazamoose is before Squirrel Wonder in the actual episode title seen on Amazon Prime, but Squirrel Wonder is first in the title seen in the opening credits.
That was SO funny. *****.
The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle "Amazamoose And Squirrel Wonder: Chapter Two"
"This is turning from a bad situation into a Chad situation." Oh, good grief. I laughed at any rate.
I like that Bullwinkle's name can be found on the warning to the suit.
More Chad, please. Whenever he comes back from adult dodgeball. ****1/2.
The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle "Amazamoose And Squirrel Wonder: Chapter Three"
I love that they had Mark Hamill playing himself playing Captain Great Guy. His performance as Chillex was funny too.
Evil Chicken is starting to grow on me.
The "important massage" is the type of pun the old show used to do. More of that, please.
That was funny. ***1/2.
The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle "Amazamoose And Squirrel Wonder: Chapter Four"
I like that in Opposite World Bullwinkle and Rocky are evil. And since it's opposite world evil wins all the time.
In Opposite World Bullwinkle's hat trick with the rabbit actually works. TOO well. Plus, the rabbits are totally evil.
I like that Rocky and Bullwinkle repeatedly do the spit-take because the juice is terrible.
I like that the Queen of England's throne is a battle mecha.
A good episode. ****.
The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle "Amazamoose And Squirrel Wonder: Chapter Five"
That was great. A fine call-back to the entirety of the first two seasons.
Things were getting very meta when Fearless Leader took over the show and banished Rocky and Bullwinkle and an uncooperative Narrator to the No Show Zone.
I like that they took the time to create a new Fearless Leader title sequence.
I don't know if the show is going to come back or not, but if it doesn't, that would have made a good series finale. *****.
Stargirl "Wildcat"
That was some good superhero television.
Let's talk about the good stuff, and then I'll get to the bad stuff. I should as usual probably point out that the series needs to kill off Mike in the first scene of the next episode, but that is just a formality at this point.
I liked the superhero stuff, particularly the mystery with Pat, a fundamentally decent guy, trying to comfort and find out what happened to the Wizard's wife. And the stuff at the hospital and the girls discovering the principle there was great too.
The credits say Artemis Crock is in this. Was she a good guy or a bad guy?
I think the thing I responded to best is how unfair Yolanda is being treated. It makes sense the school is treating her so badly because teenagers suck. But it angers me that her family is telling her she brought shame to them. The only shame that family actually has is not supporting Yolanda after that happened to her. That was not something Yolanda did wrong that she should have to apologize for. That was something that was done TO her. And I'd call her family unforgivable if this weren't the default position for many parents when their daughters are violated, molested, or raped. I am angry, but that's the correct button being pushed, because it's plausible. But Yolanda's family should be defending her, not grounding her. That was not her fault.
That masked Lizard dude is scary. Why does he want the Wizard's body?
Now let me get to the worst thing in the episode. The Pop-Tarts product placement was so obnoxious because it was so blatant. A successful product placement should occur without you noticing it, and you absorbing the ad without realizing you've just been sold a pile of goods. Basically the more insidious and subliminal a product placement is, the better off the quality of the show will be. I should probably call out Kellogg's and Pop Tarts themselves while I am at it. I have seen several Pop-Tarts product placements in TV shows I watch, and they are all terrible because that specific sponsor always demands the characters draw undue attention to it. Every time. If you see a Pop-Tart on a TV show, I'm guessing the scene you just saw it in majorly sucked. I think that specific company has far too much say in how their product is placed in the show.
You probably asked yourself back when the series was announced what was the worst thing that could possibly happen with DC Universe deciding to share this show with the CW. It's that we now get Pop-Tarts scenes. Thanks for nothing, DC Universe.
But honestly, outside of that pain I enjoyed everything else. But it WAS a legit pain. ****.
American Dad! "Exquisite Corpses"
You know what? I'm giving that five stars. Why not? Anything an American Dad episode can possibly do right, that did right.
Craig Robinson is no stranger to the show, but him playing himself was hysterical . I can't tell what's funnier, that he carries a hacksaw on his person, or that he calls David Denman "The guy who played Roy on The Office." Even HE doesn't remember his actual name.
Those incompetent cops made me laugh so much when one fell into the plow and the other got kicked in the head by a horse after confusing pepper spray for Binaca. And I love that the sandwich the guy was killing for at the end was brought back in celebration of the case being closed.
As badly as Hayley always treats Jeff, the reason I don't mind it is because Jeff doesn't at all. It doesn't register with the dude, and Francine and Roger had to point out the insult inherent in the ring. And just when he could get offended all over again at the end is why Hayley placates him with new Hot Wheels. Basically a good night for the guy is Hayley stopping interrupting Police Academy.
Which by the way was based on the police at Langley Falls. I miss Forest Whitaker as Terlington very much, but they could never do those specific kind of jokes with that character because he's not a TOTAL moron. The stupider the characters on this show are, the better off the show is.
This season is not going to go down as a classic, and the series will never come up with another episode as perfect as "A.T. The Abusive Terrestrial". But that was a solid half hour of comedy plus commercials. *****.
Uncle Scrooge And Donald Duck "The Three Caballeros Ride Again!" The Don Rosa Library Volume 9
The Penultimate Volume of Fantagraphics' Don Rosa Library contains a few great stories and a couple of okay stories. It contains not a single bad story. Even when Rosa is underwhelming me with stories like "Attaaaaaack!" he isn't actually sucking.
Best stories are the one with the McDuck Money Bin blueprints (The Beagle Boys Vs. The Money Bin), the first part of Scrooge's greatest treasure hunt ever (The Crown Of The Crusader Kings), and the best high-concept Rosa gag story of all time featuring Magica De Spell (Forget It!). Volume Overall: ****.
Uncle Scrooge "The Coin"
I sort of understood the conceit of following the coin's perspective during its travels, but it was hard to make that perfectly clear in a comic book. This premise would work better in an animated cartoon. I also find the notion of Donald believing he'll impress Daisy by winning her cake in a raffle outright dumb. Even if Gladstone isn't competing almost nobody wins raffles. And even if he did why would that actually impress Daisy? Like Barks Rosa often has old-fashioned notions regarding Donald and Daisy's 'ship. And this is one of them that does not work. Do you know what ship DOES work? The revelation that the quarter was the one of the ones Goldie threw in Scrooge's face in the Klondike. That was a pretty awesome resolution. I agree with Scrooge! Whatta woman! ***.
Uncle Scrooge "Attaaaaaack!"
This story is all right, but I kind of agree with Rosa's assessment in the forward that there is a little too much mayhem in it. I think Rosa is very good at mayhem when it suits a constructive purpose ("Cash Flow" is my favorite example of this). But this story boils down to a total misunderstanding, so instead of being exciting, the wanton destruction seems too chaotic. I am very glad the army guy said that he cleared out the McDuck building after Scrooge set off ALL of the booby traps at once, and blows off the side of the building. And then I am very disturbed to wonder why Scrooge didn't have the wisdom to do that himself. My favorite thing in the story is the small role for Arpin Lusene, outside of his Black Knight get-up. I was never crazy about the Black Knight sequel because Lusene struck me as the kind of original character that could have been brought back again and again, but because Rosa's nature is to always top himself, he tied him exclusively to the Universal Solvent and this is his only other appearance. It's a shame. Rosa created a villain worthy of standing up with the Beagle Boys, Flintheart Glomgold, or Magica De Spell and barely used him afterwards because he misguidedly thought fans would only like him in the destructive armor. It's a darn shame. But to be blunt, Carl Bark similarly wasted the notion of Flintheart Glomgold and brought him back super rarely, as great and memorable as the character was. Maybe someday in 30 years, the next fannish Duck Comic writer / artist that is solid enough for Disney to consider his or her stories canon to Barks and Rosa could do more with the Black Knight. He definitely deserved a larger place in the canon. ***.
Donald Duck "The Three Caballeros Ride Again!"
Pleasurable. Remember when Donald Duck had actual friends? What I love about Jose and Panchito's admiration of Donald is that it's not entirely misplaced. Yes, they frequently confuse his clumsiness with bravery. But when they start crying in shame because Donald is thinking of using the money to help his ninos they are right that that is completely admirable, and it's not even something Donald does grudgingly. It's the first place his mind goes to. Them being impressed at how much Donald knows about treasure hunting is also fair. Not everything in the story was perfect, probably because Rosa based it on a cartoon instead of the comics. The umbrella hat causing Yellow Hat to fly, and the chile in the gas tank giving the car a burst of speed are the kinds of things Rosa himself would complain about if DuckTales 2017 had done them, and completely broke the reality of the Ducks. I understand that the Three Caballeros are purely cartoons as far as the Duck canon is concerned, and that's probably why Rosa did some of those gags. But the story would not have been weaker if he hadn't done them, and it would have stayed more consistent with the reality of the rest of the canon. I love that Huey, Dewey, and Louie were permitted to see Donald happy and with friends, and Rosa allowed Donald that victory instead of doing the Super Snooper thing where Donald's feats are left unsung. The ending of the Caballeros joyfully laughing upon realizing the treasure was worthless is the selling point of the Caballeros. It sounds corny, but their friendship is the thing they really treasure. The musical numbers weirdly work too. One running gag made me uneasy. Donald's fear over Daisy learning about the Senoritas. Were they dating at the time? Because that sounds inconsistent with Donald's personality. Or does Donald believe that Daisy thinks he is not entitled to a romantic past? That was the thing that struck me as most likely, and it's another reason I find Donald and Daisy's "relationship" as it were, in the Duck Comics such an absolute trial. It was a fun story though. ****.
Uncle Scrooge "The Sharpie Of The Culebra Cut"
On the one hand it's tiresome that Hortense and Matilda are moon-eyed over the cowboys and chasing them like schoolgirls. On the other Hortense slugs Teddy Roosevelt and demands women the right to vote. As far as female empowerment goes the story isn't entirely good or bad things. One of the nephews expresses admiration for her cussing out the President of the United States and Donald's response is "That's my Ma!". The reveal that the trade was the world's first Teddy Bear was funny, but if Scrooge had even an iota of imagination he'd have seen the value there immediately himself. This story continues the continuity of Matilda and Hortense being increasingly concerned with Scrooge's alarmingly greedy behavior. Even Roosevelt is outraged by the end, leading to a funny fistfight that of course Scrooge is gonna win. Good "Lost" chapter of "The Life And Times Of Scrooge McDuck". ****.
Uncle Scrooge "The Beagle Boys Vs. The Money Bin"
Man, those blueprints of the Money Bin were excellent and detailed. My favorite thing in the story is the Narrator pausing to tell the reader that the layout of the Bin as seen in a cross-section gag panel is inaccurate due to a lazy cartoonist. I love that for several reasons. First Rosa isn't actually lazy. He puts more effort and details into his comics than almost anyone I know. I also appreciate it because it shows how seriously Rosa takes the reality of these characters and premise to tell us a part of the story isn't actually literal. That is amazing to me and that sort of thing influences how I tell MY comic book story. I would have loved to have seen a joke of the Beagles trying to jump into the money via the chute and smashing onto the hard coins. I get why Rosa didn't do it though. In real-life, they would have died. One of the Beagles reads DuckTales Comics which is the only time Rosa references that cartoon in his stories by name. Rosa always seems to save his most effort and details for his anniversary stories and this celebration of both the Beagle Boys and the Money Bin is no exception. *****.
Uncle Scrooge "The Crown Of The Crusader Kings"
If you ask me, this is one of the most important stories in the Rosa canon. It's the first part of a larger arc, but we don't realize that until the end. Right at the beginning of the story Scrooge bemoans all of the recent treasures he's discovered and lost due to other governments claiming rightful ownership of them. And Rosa is a modern writer, so that makes sense because it's not cool for a guy to go around looting treasures to a modern reader. But it was fine during the Carl Barks era, which is why I was frustrated that while Rosa was able to have Scrooge find the Lost Gold of El Dorado, he was never able to add that or the other major treasures of his tenure to Scrooge's famous trophy room. Rosa may believe that finding and losing the treasure is a part of what makes the story fun, but that's only if it happens sometimes, and not every story. This story is significant for the McDuck tartan which is Rosa setting up the idea that in the next installment Scrooge can hunt for both the Ark of Covenant and the Holy Grail, and be legally allowed to keep them at the end of the adventure. I don't just consider "A Letter From Home" the best Rosa Duck story. I don't just consider it the Duck story period. It think it's the best Disney Comics story of all time. And part of that is because of all of the work Rosa put into this story in laying the groundwork for Scrooge's ultimate treasure hunt. I have to say just based on the fact that the treasure of the Knights Templar involves the Ark and the Grail says at this point Rosa was probably not envisioning a ton of future Scrooge Adventures. He probably knew he was nearing the end of his tenure. And he DID retire shortly thereafter. But what a way to go out and this story is a perfect set-up for that. ****1/2.
Uncle Scrooge "Forget It!"
This is one of Rosa's famous high-concept Magica De Spell stories, and the concept here is not just great, but when you hear it you automatically laugh because you know good things are ahead. One of the things I love about Rosa's version of Magica (and this goes for Barks too) is that it's debatable whether or not she is actually doing magic. In other Duck stories and cartoons Magica does legitimate sorcery and is actually powerful. Everything Magica does in a Barks or Rosa story is something Gyro Gearloose could cook up. There is a very large chance Rosa's Magica is a total humbug, and is merely using the same sort of unconventional science Gyro does. Even in this story her spell is referred to as a form of hypnotism. What I especially love is that it's up for debate. Rosa never says for sure either way. But what it DOES do is make Magica more grounded, and a more plausible threat against Scrooge who doesn't have any superpowers. Scrooge should not going up against superpowered enemies, and that goes for Mickey and Donald too. But at some point the comics and cartoon actually thought Magica was a witch, and I think a great deal of the appeal of her and Scrooge's conflict is diluted by that. But this story was a scream because Rosa knows how to write the character best. *****.
Uncle Scrooge "Gyro's First Invention"
Of course it's Helper. There's nothing else it could be. That was a sweet origin story for Helper and Gyro's invention career. It also fills in the continuity hole left by the end of "A Christmas For Shacktown". I liked it a lot. Fun Fact: April, May, and June are mentioned by Gyro here. ****.
The Rosa Archives
Rosa did a LOT of international cover and pin-ups at this stage of his career. They are actually quite amazing. The D.U.C.K.'s are impossible to spot though. *****.
