Uncle Scrooge #295 page 8 by Don Rosa (Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck)

Wow, did Don Rosa always draw in this style? This looks like "What if Art Adams drew an issue of Scrooge McDuck?". Or was it just a product of the time, when almost everyone at any publisher was being pushed to "Do it like the Image guys!"? I find it hard to believe that a Donald Duck publisher would ever put that edict into place for Duck comics, but at the same time, maybe I wouldn't be so shocked. Really gorgeous either way!

He did this style on his own.  It was his undertaking to create a lasting long form story in The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck (Origin story/Year One) that would leave a mark, unlike the usual one and done tales.  This is a controversial story where Scrooge gives into evil with his devil horns here as he works with the Beagle Boys to plunder and destroy a native people's land because they would not sell out to him.  You really want to see Scrooge get his ass kicked or get double crossed by the Beagle Boys here.   

Thanks for the background on it, Marcus. But since it sounds like it depicts racist tropes and was done as recently as the 90's, then can I assume the only reason the racist tropes were included is because the early part of the story takes place around the time the first Uncle Scrooge comics were being published? In other words, anyone complaining about the racism needs to keep the story in context with the time during which it takes place?

Sure Ruben, but if you were doing a movie of that time period today, would you still use white actors in face paint as the natives like they did back then?  Those are choices made by Rosa that didn't age well for US readers seeing it now.  Rosa's main audience back then was in Europe so they had different views about this then.  Matt even brought up Eisner and Ebony White in your show 3/17/24.  They had that debate about the 1970's reprints.  They didn't include the character in the 2008 movie.    

Trust me, I'm not defending it, I'm just trying to figure out what exactly the context was. The fact that the story, written in 1994, features Uncle Scrooge working with the Beagle Boys to plunder and destroy a native people's land in retaliation for not selling out to him, would've left me shaking my head. I had left the hobby less than a year before this comic was published, so I've never heard of it until now.

Oh and yes, I remember Matt bringing up Ebony White on the show. Problem is, I wasn't familiar with it and didn't want to interrupt him.

Disney had Gladstone (Diamond) as their distributor in the US.  No one could get it unless you ordered it at your comic book shop (unlikely because attention was on the crowded comics boom period) because they didn't have reach into retail chains like supermarkets.  Which is why you will always get the story from Rosa that he's more celebrated in Europe and South America than in the US.

Right on. Though in fairness, I think it's fair to say that Rosa is rechnically right, as pretty much ANY Duck artist has always been far more celebrated in Europe and South America than in North America. This is definitely the land of superheroes, not ducks.

There is Barks and there is Rosa as far as Scrooge is concerned (in US production).