The Disney character Scrooge McDuck appeared in comics 77 years ago, with his famous nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie predating him by ten years. While all four characters have been seen in various iterations through the decades, the quartet are typically grouped together, going on wild and raucous adventures in Disney’s cartoons and comics.
Modern audiences largely associate the anthropomorphic ducks with the popular Disney series DuckTales, a staple of afternoon cartoon viewing, debuting in 1987. The four were joined by a whole host of supporting characters, including Launchpad McQuack and Gizmoduck, facing off villains such as the Beagle Boys and Magica De Spell, with stories set in their native Duckburg, under the sea, across time and space, and beyond. DuckTales has since popped up in comics, on film, in video games, and even in a 2017 reboot cartoon series.
And this fall, the franchise is getting a new comic series thanks to Dynamite Entertainment. Helmed by writer Brandon Montclare, artist Tommaso Ronda, letterer Fabio Amelia, and editor Nathan Crosby, DuckTales will focus on the touchstones that have made the franchise so popular over the years, while wowing readers and fans with the action and adventure they’ve come to expect from Scrooge and company’s exploits.
I spoke with Brandon Montclare recently about the debut issues of DuckTales, working with artist Tommaso Ronda, his favorite era of the DuckTales mythos, and why, with DuckTales, you don’t have to and you shouldn’t reinvent the wheel. Brandon Montclare is no stranger to writing all ages books, so fans look to be in good hands with this romp into Duckburg.
FreakSugar: Before we get into the book itself, what is your own personal history with Scrooge and the gang?
Brandon Montclare: I watched the cartoon when I was a kid. There were a zillion things to watch: Transformers, Thunder Cats, He-Man, Robotech, G.I .Joe, the Real Ghostbusters, the Ghostbusters with the ape… I liked DuckTales a whole lot, and with all due respect to everything else: DuckTales holds up!
I read a ton of comics too… but whatever Disney new stuff or reprints that floated about when I was young, I missed them. It was probably only a few years later that Don Rosa started doing Uncle $crooge to tremendous acclaim and many awards. In my mind it seems like a big gap in time, but I guess time moved slower back then! I was getting more and more into the ins-and-outs of comics, but I didn’t even read the Don Rosa stuff when it was new. But sometime in my 20s—while I was working in my comics store and before I got involved in the publishing or creative side of things—someone said: “Carl Barks is my favorite cartoonist of all time.” And he wasn’t the first person to say it. So I picked up some of the Carl Barks reprints, and all those guys were right on: it was beautiful stuff.
FS: Where do we find the cast and Duckburg at the beginning of DuckTales?
BM: We find the cast in Duckburg. Scrooge built it. And Huey, Dewey, and Louie are growing up there. The first few issues are very specifically focused on the mysteries that lurk in familiar places: like the Duckburg library, or Duckburg’s movie theater. Every place has a story—you don’t have to travel the world for adventure, like Scrooge did. That being said: DuckTales always had exotic locales, or time travel, or magical worlds… it wouldn’t be Duckburg without those. So in these first five issues, we have some flashbacks to Scrooge’s globe-waddling treasure hunts. And later issues will get us out in the wider world… and beyond!
FS: How did you become involved with the comic? Is this something you pursued or were you approached to write it?
BM: The way it usually happens in the comics biz. Editor Nate Cosby reached out and asked if I had any interest in a “Disney” monthly. It’s been a while since I did a monthly comic… I did Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur for Marvel every month for four years, but my last issue was a few years ago… and I missed that rhythm. When we got together viva voce to talk about what title I might fit on, he said “DuckTales” and I said “yes!”
Uncle Scrooge is an iconic character in the world of comics. And I’m no dummy. Turning down Uncle Scrooge is like turning down a run on Superman. The character is, and has been for decades, a titan internationally. But a lot of people—especially people outside of comics—just know him from the same DuckTales cartoons we watched as kids. And that’s cool too.
FS: What has been the most satisfying part of writing DuckTales so far?
BM: Seeing those first pages from artist Tommaso Ronda. Fans can see how great this book is going to be from the preview. He works out of a studio in Italy that does a lot of Disney comics for the European market, and this is his showcase for the top character. It’s top-notch stuff.
FS: I assume with writing for a property like DuckTales, there’s a balance of adding your own interpretation of the DuckTales world, while also staying true to their world. How do you approach that?
BM: It’s a perfect concept that’s stood the test of time. It’s a book I want to work on, not reinvent. Of course: a creator always brings his individuality to the page. But my perspective on DuckTales is that I bring some big ideas and some small special moments.
I have had plenty of opportunities to do my own thing in creator-owned comics (including working on a few future original graphic novels). I am very lucky to have co-created a new character in the shared Marvel universe that’s been popular in not just the comics, but all kinds of media including the Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur cartoon. So maybe that’s why I don’t have the kind of ego on DuckTales where I have to make it my own. And besides: the big reinvention of DuckTales for the 2017 cartoon was already done. So our book is very comfortable sticking to not just the continuity, but the feel of the classic 1987 show.
FS: When you became attached to the book, was there a character or concept that you were most excited to tackle?
BM: Uncle Scrooge! He’s too iconic—especially if you know a lot about the history of comics. So I’d just be being contrary if I picked someone else. But there’s also an infinity of cool stuff I can do with every character. Launchpad is a fan-favorite. It fun to put words in Gizmoduck’s mouth. It’s even more fun (for different reasons!) to put words in Glomgold’s mouth. You know something’s going down between Duckworth and Mrs Beasley. I can think of a hundred cool visuals to play with the Beagle Boys—so that means Tommaso Ronda can think of a thousand.
FS: You’re no stranger to writing all-ages books. Is there a different frame of mind or gear you get in when writing all-ages books? What is most gratifying about writing for that genre?
BM: I take special pride in making all-ages books for ALL AGES. A lot of kids’ literature these days, it seems to me, are written for parents-buying-for-their-kids. And sometimes that works… but a lot of times it backfires. “Backfire” is too cool a word for it… that stuff can just seem so weenie. So you have to make a kids book where maybe parents don’t want their kids to read it! But then you have the other half of all-ages: the adults (whether they’re old enough to have kids, grandkids, or are only a few years removed from being kids themselves). The Simpsons have done that for decades. Bugs Bunny did that decades ago. Those two are humor—you can do it with adventure too: Star Wars, Indiana Jones. Not everyone can pull it off… but I can.
FS: Tommaso Ronda’s art is so vibrant. What has that collaboration process been like?
BM: We go together like TNT. The collaboration isn’t really any different than most books: I write a full script; Tommaso Ronda draws it. Including his dynamite colors. What’s special about this book is there’s been no learning curve. It usually takes a few issues to mindmeld with a collaborator. But from Page One, Tommaso grokked what I was saying AND THEN he makes it better.
FS: Do you have a favorite era in the DuckTales mythos?
BM: We’re locked into the 1987 cartoon. But since that pulls from Carl Barks and Don Rosa (and so many other great creators—including some of whose names are lost to history, unfortunately), all of that has a place in the new DuckTales.
FS: What are you reading right now?
BM: I read a lot of stuff… it’s all over the place. I mean that in the colloquial way regarding the types of comics; but also if I just look around my desk. Everything I have here has a reason behind it—a lot of it is from people I know. I’ve got issues of Dynamite’s (and DuckTale’s editor) sister-book ThunderCats by Declan Shalvey and Drew Moss. I’ve got the collected edition of Carmilla: the First Vampire, with art by Soo Lee (who’s writing Dynamite’s Disney Malificent)… but I happened to pick it up because I saw writer Amy Chu what seems like only a few weeks ago—but it was a few months! Jason Aaron & co.’s Uncle $rooge and the Infinity Dime so I can keep up with the Joneses. A volume of my bound copies of my old Groo comics; Sergio Aragones just celebrated his 87th birthday. And he has a new Groo book from Dark Horse a week or two ago that I don’t have yet. Aragones is a huge influence. The recent Marvel 50th Anniversary issue of Deathlok—which I read (and loved) for an upcoming Marvel project, which has zero to do with Deathlok! And a pile of books with Creees Lee art, who’s an up-and-coming artist—recent issues of Invincible Iron Man, a Giant-Size Fantastic Four, and some bonkers Marvel collected edition called Tiger Division.
FS: Is there anything you can tease about what we can expect to see in the book?
BM: As I mentioned: while the first five issues focus on the Duckburg version of the world-outside-your-window, there are flashbacks to Uncle Scrooge’s earlier adventures. We have a special approach to how these play out on the page. They’re stories-within-the-story drawn as 8-panel grids– the style Carl Barks used almost exclusively in the original Uncle $crooge comics. You’re gonna love ‘em!
DuckTales #1 goes on Wednesday, November 6, 2024, from Dynamite.
From the official issue description:
The ridiculously wealthy Scrooge McDuck is the most famous resident of Duckburg – but his fortune goes far beyond mere currency. To his young nephews, “Unca” Scrooge is rich in something even more important than money – stories!
Whether it’s the saga of how he dug his first million out of the Klondike, or the many times he saved his lucky Number One Dime from the clutches of Magica De Spell, the feisty tycoon is a font of mesmerizing tales – and Huey, Dewey, and Louie can’t get enough!
But even as they pester their Uncle to share more yarns of his legendary quests and globetrotting treasure hunts, the three boys are about to learn that the most valuable item Scrooge McDuck owns isn’t locked up in his absurdly capacious Money Bin – it’s the lifetime of wisdom he’s got stockpiled inside his head!
Writer BRANDON MONTCLARE (Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Rocket Girl) and artist TOMMASO RONDA (Kalya) uncover a vein of solid gold adventures with DuckTales #1 – burnished by billion-dollar covers from IVAN BIGARELLA, FRANCESCO TOMASELLI, CARLO LAURO, and ALAN QUAH!