Donald Duck and Friends #351
Written by Fausto Vitaliano and Marco Bosco
Art by Marco Mazzarello and Franco D’Ippolito
BOOM! Studios
Release date: February 24, 2010

Remember the days when Donald Duck wasn’t as much of a talker as he was a loud and angry quacker? Well those days are all over. In BOOM! Studios’ Donald Duck and Friends #351, Donald Duck has been re-imagined as a secret agent, working among other secret birds in an attempt to retrieve a disk full of code names from an international criminal named Marlo Burke, all while dealing with a fellow agent named Kay and a pair of crooked agents named B.Berry and B.Black.

To tell you the truth, I was surprised with the complexity of the Donald Duck and Friends comic. The plot was a maze of crossings and double-crossing that could match with any classic spy thriller, from Mission: Impossible to Ronan. For a kid’s comic, it was surprisingly sophisticated. Yet the writers Fausto Vitaliano and Marco Bosco still maintain the cartoonish elements. Donald Duck is still constantly getting in trouble with his cartoon girlfriend Daisy Duck, and he still drives that bright red cartoon jalopy, even though everyone around him drives modern cars.

The story’s ability to blend classical Disney cartoon elements with a more modern storytelling style insures that the classic cartoon character will survive long into the next century. However, the one criticism I have of the Disney comic is that it often pushes too far into the modern direction. I would have liked to have seen some of the more classic components of Donald’s character maintained in the story. His classic lack of patience, his clumsiness, his temper tantrums, and his inability to speak articulately would have been a nice touch in maintaining the comic’s authentic feel.

Marco Mazzarello and Franco D’Ippolito’s art is in a classic Disney style, combined with more modern elements. Everything from big cities, to cell phones and modern dress is included.

All in all, Donald Duck and Friends #351 presents a surprisingly smart children’s comic with a modern spin on the classic Disney style.

RATING: 3 out of 5 Duck Bills.