THE RICHEST DUCK IN THE WORLD

 Who is the richest duck in the world?  The answer is obvious...Scrooge McDuck...the scion of Duckburg and Donald's uncle and Huey, Dewey and Louie's great-uncle.

He was created by Disney comics artist Carl Barks for an episode in Dell Comics Four Color #178, dated December 1947, titled "Christmas on Bear Mountain."  (The issue also carries the title Walt Disney's Donald Duck and is considered to be the third Donald duck comic book.)  Barks originally intended for this to be a single appearance but the character proved to be too popular.  As originally presented, Scrooge McDuck was a venal and greedy antihero; he soon morphed into a thrifty hero, adventurer, and explorer -- becoming one of the most popular characters within the Disney comic book stable.  Barks later admitted he made the character too old and too weak; the character had to be modified to allow him his many later adventures.  By 1952, Uncle Scrooge became a major force in the Donald Duck universe with the introduction of his own title, Uncle Scrooge (1952-1984).  It would be many years before Scrooge McDuck would emerge from the pages of the comic book to animated cartoons.  One of the actors who would voice Scrooge was David Tennant (yeah, the tenth Doctor himself) in the 2007 reboot of Duck Tales and Chip and Dale's Rescue Rangers.

Disney, being Disney, has a tight control on its properties and Four Color #178 is not available for viewing on the internet, but the title is currently available on eBay for $2395.00 (plus $49.00 shipping -- there are currently 13 watchers), so you may be able to latch onto this one.  The episode "Christmas on Bear Mountain" has been reprinted several time in Disney magazines (again, none available to be viewed on the internet) and may be far more affordable.  [https://inducks.org/story.php?c=W+OS++178-02]

Normally i link to a copy of the comic book I am discussing for these Saturday posts, so why am I discussing this book?  No real reason.  I happened to be  remembering Jack Chalker's book, An Informal Biography of Scrooge McDuck (Mirage, 1974), and fell down the rabbit hole.