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Don Rosa Library Vol. 9: The Three Caballeros Ride Again! Review

The Don Rosa Library

Fantagraphics debuted the first volume of the Don Rosa Library, The Son of the Sun, in 2014. Since then, they have released two volumes each year. In November 2018, the tenth and final volume, The Old Castle’s Other Secret, was released. The library contains the complete chronological collection of all of his Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck stories. There were a total of 88 stories by Don between 1987 and 2006.

The Three Caballeros Ride Again!

Don Rosa Library Vol. 9 is 224 pages, and it includes stories published between 1999 and 2002. Vol. 9 was released on July 24th, 2018. The majority of the pages are the stories, but there are behind the scenes pictures and stories about each and every story that is included in this edition. We also get treated to pin-up posters that Don drew. I am glad that these bonuses are included in this volume and every volume of the Don Rosa Library.

Don Rosa Library Vol. 9 is available in hardcover and Kindle versions. It is also included in a two pack that includes both Don Rosa Library Vol. 9 and Vol. 10. A link to buy this book can be found at the end of this review.

Included Stories

There are 8 Disney Duck stories included in the Don Rosa Library Vol. 9:

  • The Coin
  • Attaaaaaack!
  • The Three Caballeros Ride Again!
  • The Sharpie of the Culebra Cut
  • The Beagle Boys vs. the Money Bin
  • The Crown of the Crusader Kings
  • Forget It!
  • Gyro’s First Invention

In The Coin, Scrooge gives Donald a coin to buy a newspaper. Shortly after giving Donald the coin, Scrooge remembers that the coin he gave Donald has special sentimental value to him. Donald loses the coin, and the coin then makes a journey that passes through the possession of Gus Goose, Gyro, Gladstone, and the Beagle Boys twice before finally returning home to the Money Bin where it belongs. Why does the coin hold sentimental value to Scrooge? You will have to read the story to find out.

In Attaaaaaack!, Scrooge is really busy defending his money bin from all of his enemies. Donald gets an Early Warning System for Scrooge from Gyro Gearloose. Gyro’s latest invention works as expected, but maybe it works too well as it warns him of all threats from the Black Knight to a colony of ants.

Three Caballeros hype is at an all time high with the recent DuckTales episode and the upcoming Legend of the Three Caballeros show on the new Disney streaming service Disney+. Jose Carioca made his debut in the Disney Animated Feature film, Saludos Amigos, and Panchito joined Donald and Jose in the sequel Disney Animated Feature Film, The Three Caballeros. In Don’s story, The Three Caballeros Ride Again!, Donald is in Mexico with his nephews for a Jr. Woodchuck Jamboree. Donald surprisingly runs into his two friends from long ago, Jose and Panchito. The three of them go on a treasure hunt for silver. This is a fun story, and I know that you will enjoy reading of The Three Caballeros adventure. Will they find the riches they seek? Beware the man in the yellow sombrero!

The Sharpie of the Culebra Cut is another great addition to the epic story of the Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck. In this chapter, Scrooge holds the deed to a mountain that is in the middle of the route for the construction of the Panama Canal. The mountain is supposedly full of gold. Scrooge’s friend, Teddy Roosevelt, wants the deed to the mountain so that the Panama Canal can Complete it’s construction. This will either be the worst deal that Scrooge has ever made or his best.

Don Rosa celebrates the 50th anniversary of Carl Barks’ creations, the Beagle Boys and Scrooge McDuck’s Money Bin in The Beagle Boys vs. the Money Bin. The Beagle Boys fund the original blueprint of Scrooge’s Money Bin, and they use that to try to find all of the hidden entrances to get inside the bin to get Scrooge’s fortune. The physical architecture of the Money Bin has other plans as it traps all seven Beagle Boys throughout the building. The blueprint of the Money Bin that Don created details every square inch of the magnificent and iconic structure.

Scrooge is searching for a new crown for his treasure room in The Crown of the Crusader Kings. The crown is an important asset that will ultimately be needed to find the Templar Knights Treasury in one of Don Rosa’s most popular stories from the Don Rosa Library Vol. 10, A Letter From Home, or the Old Castle’s Secret.

Forget It! is a fun gag story where Magica casts a spell on Scrooge and Donald with a new magic wand. This new wand, which she bought cheap at a Sorcerer’s Bazaar in Cairo, makes the person under the spell get hypnotized to forget all knowledge of whatever the next word comes after his/her name is uttered.

Gyro’s First Invention is a 50th anniversary story celebrating the character Gyro Gearloose. Gyro’s First Invention is a sequel story for the Carl Bark’s story A Christmas For Shacktown. In that story, Scrooge’s money gets trapped in a cavern below his money bin. Gyro’s First Invention tells the story of how Scrooge gets his money back from the cavern. We also get treated to the origin story of Gyro’s little Helper friend.

Final Thoughts

In this packed volume, Don gifts his fans with some great gag stories, anniversary stories, adventure stories, and the reunion of the Three Caballeros. It is hard to pick a favorite story from this volume because they are all so epic. Readers will love the Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck story of Scrooge’s third encounter with Theodore Roosevelt, The Sharpie of the Culebra Cut. The same readers will geek out and sing along with Donald, Jose, and Panchito in The Three Caballeros Ride Again! The Beagle Boys vs. the Money Bin and Gyro’s First Invention will bring some nostalgia feelings to the reader’s life as you celebrate anniversaries of great Carl Bark’s characters. The gags in The Coin, Attaaaaaack!, and Forget It! will bring laughter to the reader’s life. Finally, The Crown of the Crusader Kings will set the reader up with the beginning part of one of Don’s fan favorite stories that concludes in Don Rosa Library Vol. 10. As you can tell, I loved this volume.

It would take a lot of time and money to compile a comic collection that included all of these stories. Anything that takes a lot of time and money would not be approved by Scrooge McDuck.

The behind the scenes content on each story really completes this volume for a comprehensive experience. For an extra bonus, we get a series of pin-up posters that Don worked on for his stories and others.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

You can order the book at the following link:

Don Rosa Library Vol. 9: The Three Caballeros Ride Again!

Don Rosa Library Vol. 9 and 10 Combo Pack

*By purchasing from Amazon.com through this link above, you are supporting DuckTalks at no additional cost to yourself!

5 comments

  2. In re-reading many of these stories, I’ve come to the realization that Don Rosa doesn’t receive nearly the credit he deserves for his comic ability.

    Generally, we tend to think of epic narratives and daring adventures in exotic locations when we think of Rosa’s efforts. Whether it’s Son of the Sun, or the renowned Life and Times anthology, Rosa definitely has the adventure genre covered.

    But as we see in efforts such as “Attack!”, there’s a very dry, sharp sense of humor at work too. There were quite a few moments where I laughed out loud, and it wasn’t because of a particular gag. Instead, it was a subtle reaction to a situation, or a payoff to a running plot device.

    His humor doesn’t hit readers over the head, but it’s quite rewarding for those who pay attention and read the story at a slower pace.

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