Review by Ian Keogh
As English language fans of Disney duck material grow older and fewer, the effect is a concentration on the golden age of Carl Barks, who’s rightly revered. However, in Europe the characters haven’t experienced a sharp decline in popularity since the 1960s, and if anything they’re more popular than ever they were in the USA. As exceptional as Barks’ work remains, European creators are permitted a greater ambition and length to their stories, which are serialised, and a vibrant sub-genre is infusing classic literature with Disney characters. These two stories come courtesy of Giovan Batista Carpi, originally published during the 1980s, and only now translated into English.
Both original novels deal with the turbulent European history of the 1800s, although Carpi sensibly omits Victor Hugo’s lectures on society during Les Miserables, and the finer philosophical points made by Leo Tolstoy in the course of War and Peace.
A different approach is taken to each adaptation. ‘The Secret of the Candlesticks’ is Carpi’s take on Les Misérables and he sticks broadly to the plot, contracting a portion of it to his needs with an admirable efficiency. It’s almost a sitcom, whereas Carpi’s version of War and Peace is a headlong dive into farce. The other difference is the opener relying almost entirely on Uncle Scrooge cast as Jean McJean for familiarity, aiding the put upon child Daisette, while the tenacious Inspector Javert chases escaped prisoner McJean. Beyond Scrooge, though, the remainder of the cast are stock characters until the pivotal appearance of the bungling Donald late on.
For War and Peace Carpi presents Count Donald Dukzukhov standing in for Bezukhov, and unlike the first story, so vast is the cast there are plenty of other familiar faces. Here Carpi treats the source material as a farcical backdrop, in effect producing the Carry On version, but with the duck cast instead of Sid James, Joan Sims and Kenneth Williams chasing each other around in costumes. The vitality of Carpi’s art is well suited to such scenes, and he’s great with exaggerated character moments. Eyes bulge, mouths open impossibly wide, and the characters are sometimes caught in mid-air for greater effect, while the finale to War and Peace contains two great and incredibly busy battle spreads. The imagination behind the layouts is also fist rate, with Carpi a master of technique. Each page is a joy to look at, never mind read.
He might be dealing with slapstick, but Carpi stages good jokes, such as a servant having to dive into Scrooge’s money bin, pull him out and pump the coins out through his mouth, or Scrooge attempting an escape by crawling out through the back of his coat. He’s also able to incorporate stock Scrooge plots, such as his having to hide his money from the invading Beagle Boys, and Gladstone’s incredible luck.
Great cartooning and the clever fusion of ducks and literature, make for a constantly engaging treat.
