Only a Poor Old Man (1952)
Only a Poor Old Man Review
Only a Poor Old Man is a 1952 Disney comic book written and drawn by Carl Barks. It is the first issue of Uncle Scrooge and it’s a tremendous comic.
This was the first and crucial Disney comic that for the first time centered entirely on Scrooge McDuck himself. Previous issues depicted the character, but only in a supporting role where Donald was the protagonist. Here, that was changed and history was made. It turned out to be the best Disney comics series of all time.
Only a Poor Old Man established its main character so well from the very beginning. He is this greedy guy who seems ruthless, but also has his human and more emotional side. But above all else his greed drives him and it’s the source of all great humor in this story and the entire series at hand.
His relationship with his nephew Donald was hilarious here. That final gag where he kicked him in the butt and took his part of the money was so funny and how Scrooge would stall him and the kids constantly never ceased to be amusing. The Beagle Boys were also very memorable and a lot of fun as these over-the-top villains whose greed equals Scrooge’s, thus they’re a perfect villain for him.
As for the story itself, it’s pretty good. It’s not great as the first half was somewhat slow and not as fun or as funny as the latter half, but the plot led to that superb ending where twist upon twist was piled upon the reader and all of it worked. The entire dam storyline involved so many hilarious instances of comic book logic or lack thereof with the highlight being Scrooge diving in the lake of money unharmed while the villains got knocked out when they did the same. The illustrations were phenomenal here as the comic has a great mix of cartoony character designs and a more detailed, gorgeous depiction of the landscapes surrounding them.
