Donald Duck Classics: Quack Up by various authors

I was really surprised I didn't enjoy these comics more. I love Donald Duck and have a huge collection of his cartoons, which I watch frequently. Somehow, these stories just didn't grab me. Maybe I wasn't in the mood for them. The first story, "Luck of the North" is an encounter between Gladstone Goose and Donald Duck, where Donald's bad luck gets worse and worse, while Gladstone's good luck goes up to astronomical heights....until the surprising twist at the end! "The Master's Touch" shows Donald with a successful photography business; but one little mistake and it all falls to pieces around him. The third story, "The Paper Route Panic" has Donald taking over his nephews' paper route while they're at camp. They're horrified when they return and discover that Donald was so taken up with his new invention that they've lost their route - how will they ever get enough money to start a Paisley Mantee fan club now? But a few twists of luck and everything is all right in the end. "Donald the Milkman" has Donald showing unbelievable patience and courtesy as he strives to be the best milkman ever; despite a nasty customer who's trying to take over his route! Surprisingly, despite losing his temper, Donald actually wins out in the end on this one! I didn't read the last two stories, "Mission: Moldfinger" and "Nothing New".

There's a strong continuity in the art and storylines, even though these were written as far apart as the 50s and 2007. One complaint I've had from kids with the longer comics from Boom! - specifically some of the Muppet comics, is that the print is too small. However, although there's quite a lot of text in these it's in a nice bold typeface which should appeal to younger readers. I'm looking forward to seeing if we have any Donald Duck fans who will be interested in this. We have two old Donald Duck comics that have a brisk circulation and the Uncle Scrooge collection I purchased is traveling about the system, so these should be popular as well.

Verdict: I just wasn't in the mood, but we'll have to wait and see what the kids think


ISBN: 978-1608865406; Published April 2010 by Boom! (out of print); Borrowed from the library; Purchased for the library