Review by Frank Plowright

There may be now be some concerns about the ignorant attitude toward native Amazonian tribesmen in lead story ‘A Spicy Tale’. They’re first depicted in loincloths with spears while cooking a crocodile in a large pot, and Huey notes their tribal name translates as “Shrinka de head”. On the racism scale it mirrors the patronising 1950s style of National Geographic, automatically assuming ‘civilised’ urban life to be superior, rather than being ill-intentioned, but such depictions inform stereotypes.

Donald has been sent to Curo De Coco as a Tutor Corpsman to supply business smarts to the locals, which immediately undermines any level of competence. These are the same people now refusing to supply the nutmeg Scrooge loves for his daily zesty tea, so he hatches a plan to harvest his own while Donald keeps the tribesmen occupied. Eventually Barks opts for reversing his successful shrinking of the ducks a year earlier (see Uncle Scrooge Adventures 33) by having the local wildlife grow to giant proportions. Barks fills the panels with exotic animals, and while everything turns out okay in the end, it’s a close call. While it could also be viewed as patronising, there’s something joyous about the Amazonians preferring to learn to play the bongos than listen to Scrooge’s economic theories about generating wealth. It’s as if Carl Barks knows which lifestyle he’d prefer.

Having emphasised nature in the longer story, it’s the turn of technology in the back-up, where for once Scrooge is unconcerned about the Beagle Boys raiding his money bin. He’s devised a new foolproof system. We’ve been here before, of course, most recently in Uncle Scrooge Adventures 37, and as before the adage of pride preceding a fall plays out to a great final panel of Scrooge in the middle of a police line-up flanked by Beagle Boys on either side. It’s perhaps a measure of just how good Barks is. Anyone who read ‘Tricky Experiment’ as their first Uncle Scrooge story would find lively, expressive drawings, a selection of good jokes, and a plot that heads into unpredictable areas. Yet for Barks it’s just a run of the mill effort. Do we undervalue him?

This album is extremely difficult to find these days, so it’s just as well the stories are also available in Uncle Scrooge by Carl Barks: Cave of Ali Baba.