This November, Dynamite and Disney will release DuckTales with writer Brandon Montclare leading the new comic centering on the famous fowls of DuckBurg. Montclare chatted with The Beat about the upcoming book and what fans old and new can expect from Scrooge and the crew.
DEANNA DESTITO: How excited were you to get to write DuckTales?
BRANDON MONTCLARE: It’s always exciting when an editor reaches out to you because they’re a fan of your work and they want to work with you on a title. Nate Cosby contacted me about doing a Disney book. Because I’d done so much Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur for Marvel, I keep an eye on kids’ books in the Direct Market. The Dynamite/Disney stuff was well received. A good band of creators on all the titles. And a really interesting mix of characters. And I was also starting to itch for a monthly series again. You know the story of the tortoise and the hare? I’ve got a few original graphic novels… and they’re all tortoises! So I was interested in being on the shelves again. And the fast (albeit you’re forced to be fast) pace of a monthly felt right.
I know a lot of Disney properties but not all of them. And I’m lucky enough that in my entire career, I’ve gotten to work on titles I love or with creators I love… and almost always both. So I’m spoiled. And I didn’t know what Nate had in mind until our follow-up. But it was a quick yes from me, as soon as I heard “DuckTales.” I don’t remember what I expected or hoped for… whatever it was, I must have quickly forgotten because I was so excited.
DESTITO: As a kid, I watched the show religiously. What can old and new fans expect from this book?
MONTCLARE: The new Dynamite book is set squarely in the 1987 cartoon continuity. And since a lot of the original cartoon pulls from the classic comics, we get to bring all that into our story. So there’s a lot of Carl Barks and Don Rosa. And rightly so: because when you have a legacy of legends, you use it!
Something we’re bringing to the book for fans of the classic comics is how we use flashbacks. The new adventures of Scrooge McDuck would be enough to match the excitement of any hero: but Huey, Dewey, and Louie always want to know how their uncle made his gazillions. Nobody tells a better story than Scrooge. So to do that, Tommaso Ronda and I are giving a nod to the master: the flashback—and there’s a couple in every issue—will be done in the classic 8-page style of Uncle Scrooge’s creator, Carl Barks.
And as far as the main story in every chapter… and every time you see your favorite character from the show… it’ll feel awesomely familiar. I think when you have something that works perfectly, you don’t mess with it. That’s just me, and it’s not the only way to do things. Take the Incredible Hulk: my pitch for that series would be a-scientist-who-when-he-gets-mad-he-blacks-out-and-unleashes-the-monster-within-and-when-he-wakes-up-he-hopes-he-didn’t-do-anything-too-bad-but-as-the-story-goes-on-you-see-it’s-the-monster-that’s-really-the-hero. In other words: no different than a Stan Lee and Jack Kirby take on the character. But Bill Mantlo and Peter David and Greg Pak (to name a few) have taken Hulk in all kinds of cool directions.
But, again, on DuckTales: I think it’s a perfect set-up. And I am perfectly happy telling a hundred stories that don’t change it one bit. I’ve been lucky enough to have a lot of creator-owned stuff that’s all me. I’m very lucky to do a thousand pages of Moon Girl: a new character in a shared universe. So there’s no creative itch that I never got scratched. As such, the new DuckTales will in some ways feel the old DuckTales.
DESTITO: Will we see fan-favorite characters?
MONTCLARE: The first five issues very intentionally focus on the “core four.” Scrooge, Huey, Dewey, and Louie. That story is titled “Four Corners of Your World.” On the surface, that’s about DuckBurg and the mysteries that are right outside your door. But that title also means the four characters that move the entire narrative of the series. Three boys who hero-worship the coolest cool uncle you can imagine. And what that kind of effect that adoration has on an old man who ostensibly spent a lifetime only caring about money. That’s what it’s about… mostly… but it’ll also about Launchpad crashing-with-style, what Webby is actually capable of, the mind of Gyro Gearloose, the dynamo Gizmoduck, the misterioso Magica De Spell, what (if anything) makes the Beagle Boys different, Doofus getting yet another big chance, what’s going on behind Duckworth’s rigid demeanor, and what’s up with Bubba the Cave Duck?
DESTITO: Are you introducing anything new to this universe?
MONTCLARE: New stories about old favorites! It’s a love letter to the 1987 show (and the comics that inspired it). And that being said: what’s new is what Tommaso and I and the rest of the team can bring to it with our skills and our style.
DESTITO: How has it been working with this creative team?
MONTCLARE: It’s early in the collaboration. So we’ll have to see. But what’s truly amazing is how well this book comes together on the page. It usually takes a few ISSUES to get into a team rhythm. But the first few PAGES are beating like a tight drum. A lot of that is down to Tommaso having worked in a studio that produces a lot of Disney books for the European market. But even more of it is down to what a huge talent he is. DuckTales and Uncle $crooge are huge internationally—I don’t know the guy (yet), but I think the feeling is the same as if I were writing Superman. It’s a character you associate so much with “comics” itself, that you’re both thrilled and terrified (so work hard!) to be showcased.
DESTITO: If you could do a DuckTales crossover, what world or characters would you pick?
MONTCLARE: There are too many ways to answer this! A spend-off between Uncle Scrooge and Richie Rich? Star Wars with Scrooge as Obi-Wan, Launchpad as Han Solo, Huey & Dewey & Louie as three Lukeskywalkers… that’s starting to run dry… who’s going to play Darth Vader? Scrooge trades three nephews for Seven Dwarves, before realizing that blood is more important than mountain mining rights?
I’ve got a good one: Indiana Jones. George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg are fans of the classic Uncle Scrooge comics. Go and google the inspiration for the big, rolling boulder in Raiders of the Lost Ark. And maybe Indy is the only character that has as good a knack as Scrooge McDuck when it comes to adventuring for ancient treasure!
Check out some preview pages here!