The Beagle Boys; Cosmic Con-Trick (1988)

Synopsis: In order to rob the bank without being spotted by streetlight, The Beagle Boys trick everyone in Duckburg into thinking a never-before seen comet will pass by that night, but the town must be blacked-out first in order to see it.

Cosmic Contrick (D 9118) | I.N.D.U.C.K.S.

“Cosmic Con-trick” (Which is a very stupid name that’s not even spelled correctly on Inducks), if one of the many hundreds of comic stories that not only feature Scrooge’s #1 worry, The Beagle Boys, but also makes them the main characters of the story. While this does sound like something completely unique to Europe, with how much they heavily adore any of the characters Carl Barks created, this was actually originally done first in America. When Western Publishing’s comic book division was now under Gold Key, they started new different comic book series and spinoffs to get as many kids’ attention as they could. While I argue that Looney Tunes had the biggest amount of these (why in god’s green name is one of the spin-off series of issues “Daffy Duck and The Roadrunner”), Disney was no stranger to these, with The Beagle Boys having a good amount of solo issues to their name. When places like Italy and Denmark slowly got ahold of these stories, naturally, they figured it would be cool to create their own solo Beagle Boys stories. That’s where this story comes in, as the only characters presented here are the titular criminals. No ducks, ganders, chickens or geese present.

As for this story itself, It’s alright. Xavier Vives Mateu is the artist behind this one, who originally started out doing mostly nothing but stories and front covers of the Beagle Boys for a couple of years in the late 80s. His artstyle, while nothing completely unique or different compared to most of the other solid duck artists in Denmark, still is very clean, solid and expressive with just the amount of detail on the characters to make them fully formed. The actual story itself is… fine. I’m not sure why they thought that the entire Duckburg police squad would stand around watching comets and not be on the lookout for the same exact criminals that always pull off some crazy heist, get arrested, get out and then repeat the never-ending cycle. Then again, they keep letting these guys OUT of jail every single time they try to steal something, so they probably just like going after them like if they’re all playing a game of Cops-and-Robbers. I mean, their biggest worry is an insanely hot-tempered Duck who can’t hold a job for a single day without burning half the town down in the process, so The Beagle Boys are probably alot easier to handle for the police.

Everyone in Duckburg must have no worries in life if a literal firework shop, with uncovered and unprotected loaded rockets and missiles no less, has their empty store door unlocked and completely wide-open. Either they ain't making any kind of cash or they just legit do not care. I'm going with the latter.

I don't know why but an official Disney comic ending with one of it's characters having massive stomach pains and implying that he's gonna have the runs later is so oddly gross, it's fascinating to me.

Cupids at Work

Happy Valentine's Day to anyone who partakes in anything related to the old holiday. I, myself, do not.

Betty forgetting that she can’t just walk around completely bare topless like a mis-managed rugrat doesn't really shock Tom at all. He’s just more annoyed at the fact that his one and only real chance of being able to fly got ripped away from him (quite literally). But hey, He'll do anything to make his girl happy, which is the most anyone can do for their partner in this special occasion.

 Cheers to Another Year of Romance

I would say “Don’t act like Jr. here on Valentine’s Day”, but my single A double-S would honestly have the same thoughts around people who are already in a relationship. I just wouldn’t say it out loud in front of their faces of course.

Ice-Ball

The idea of this sketch came in the wake of the upcoming addition to the Super-Bowl. I will say, for this year’s edition, I’m NOT paying for it personally, considering I don’t see a green eagle anywhere in that field! One of my partners, Hunter, gave me the suggestion of using Pepsi’s 2018 Super-Bowl ad with the added bonus of making sure the opposite opponent of the kickoff is the Dallas Cowboys (and honestly, who can blame them. Most of what I hear from that team is complete trash lol).

Let a Smile Be Your Umbrella

I think nothing is better in life than knowing who you can always trust; who your friends are. If you ever feel upset or distressed about something, you can always count on your closest friends by your side to talk about what’s been bothering you. I can tell you from multiple different experiences of mine that the best kind of friends you can ever have are the ones who like being with you. They don’t have to say hi all day around the clock of course (sometimes, it’s nice to just sit down and relax), but them talking to you and enjoying your company is all you need to know that you got a keep by your side. That’s why I personally love being with people who, not only are some of my partners for the artwork shown here and especially in the future, but whom I also consider my closest friends. We can always trust each other with anything and, well, they’re just very sweet people to be around.

*Also, side note, but drawing raincoat hats is a complete nightmare for me. I can never tell how to start it and how to make it look like what it's supposed to be.*

 Deep In the Snowstorm

Since it’s late-January, that means that Mother Nature's in the mood for some fresh shaved ice for… some reason. I have no idea why she decides to do near the end of Winter and not during the beginning of Winter like how it should be, especially since most of the frozen water pellets decides to pour down areas like the Midwestern region in the ass-crack of November and then decide to take their sweet time to rain hard ice in areas like the northeastern region as early as late-January or as late as mid-February. Like a scared child doing everything he can NOT to study for the PSSAs because even though he KNOWS it’s coming and he’s gonna have to study for it, he just doesn't feel like it and would rather do literally anything else. The end result is the same here; completely confused.

Not helping is that when she does "accidentally” spill out her bowls of vanilla ice cream onto the floor (i.e. the EARTH), it ends up becoming a full-blown snowstorm. Complete with hectic winds, nearly sharp hail and folded layers of clear white snow blankets that reach over 2 ft in length. It becomes nearly impossible not only for us people to move around properly, but also for the many pets of mother nature to navigate for food and shelter. And when they can’t find said food and shelter, they get angry. VERY angry. Although, provoking said VERY angry animals doesn't help much. Hence, picture above.

Frozen Gold

Just because “Treasure Island" invented and started the notion that pirates bury their treasure chests on tropical islands (more specifically, during the warm summer season when Mother Nature turns the dial on her smart thermostat to exactly 74 degrees), that doesn't mean that’s the ONLY way to do it. Some do it during the slightly warm but still nippy spring season, when the most dangerous thing protecting the loot is your pollen allergies unexpectedly kicking (then again, that honestly would be WORSE than being devoured by the kraken for me considering how AWFUL my allergies are). There’s also the complete and utter nutcases who decide it’s a great idea to go out when Jack Frost is at his busiest. The ocean is nearly nothing but a hard sheet of ice, snowflakes falling from the sky quickly become snow-BALLS being chucked down like cannon balls, Hail, which is the equivalent of knives being sling-shot like children messing around with bows and arrows, and the entire island is completely coated from top to bottom with snow. 8 feet of heavy hard snow. But, you know, Lotta and Betty love treasure (more specifically, Betty) and Jade can’t say no to her two only crew members. She’s a good sport despite the consistent annoyed look on her face. So, Land Ho! Impossibly hard to navigate ice island ahoy!