Review by Frank Plowright

Who’d be Scrooge McDuck? He has all the money in the world, yet his compulsion is to hoard rather than spend, so instead of enjoying what he’s earned, he’s constantly anxious about losing it. This album combines two stories, each showcasing an attempt by his greatest enemies to divest Scrooge of his money.

As ever with Carl Barks, they’re comedies with a subtle moral, beautifully drawn and conceptually inventive. The foreshadowing is in 1963 a little more obvious than earlier days, but Barks never lost sight of his primary audience being children, and if they pick up on the glue that sticks to money having later relevance, then it’s empowering for them.

It’s the cover featured Beagle Boys who’re the star turn, having absolutely no qualms about spending money, especially as it’s Scrooge’s. The cover shows them as the kings of bling, living life to excess with their newly purchased mansion in the background. Barks designs a preposterous car for them, and the entire story is filled with nice little touches, such as the Beagle Boys having tattoos of their prison numbers, the involvement of lawyers and Scrooge having to solve a mystery.

Magica De Spell’s ongoing attempts to steal the first dime Scrooge ever earned begin here with some magnificent atmospheric effects from Barks as Magica channels the power of the gods to send lightning storms crashing down on Scrooge’s money bin. This is a story of two halves, though, and in the second Magica takes a more personal role by using the ability to appear as someone’s exact duplicate. It leads to the strangely disconcerting sight of Scrooge with teeth, possibly the only time Barks drew him that way. Magica’s appearances usually feature a slapstick chase, and this doesn’t break the pattern.

This isn’t peak Barks on Scrooge, but anyone picking up these two stories will surely be more than satisfied. However, good luck finding the stories in this format, but the ongoing Fantagraphics reprints of Barks’ work will eventually catch up.