My First Emo Manga

It's been a whirlwind of events, but i try to blog something really dear to me.

The last time I got myself emotional over reading a manga or comic-strip was at the age of twelve. It's a 15 page colored syndication of Scrooge Mcduck entitled 'Of Ducks Dimes and Destinies' that I managed to lay hands on from my favorite news-stand. Almost a perfect prequel depicting him as one of those malnourished, low-educated yet full of gumption child stepping out into the real world to earn a living, before he became the wealthiest and canniest duck alive.

The first page, the full plot here.

While Scrooge was a mere 10 year old, trying out hard to earn his first dime as a shoe polisher, the witch Magica made her appearance by traveling back in time for an hour. Her goal, to snatch Scrooge's first earning, purported to be the Number One Dime where she can use it for her main ingredient to create a powerful incantation.

The story revolved around how an American dime was picked up by Scrooge's sister and landed with his father. The dime seemed to be of no use in Scotland. Eventually, a plan was being hatched by his father to teach him a lesson about the crooked world of business. A deal was struck where the dime was given to a digger. Magica intercepted the digger and exchanged the dime with two schillings instead.

Scrooge got his first job settled cleaning and shinning up a muddy pair of boots from the digger. Exhausted, he fainted while the digger went off to a nearby bar without paying him. Watching the scene nearby, a flabbergasted Magica turned sour and realized that Scrooge did not earn his first dime at all. She managed to leave the dime with him before her time was up.

Gaining consciousness, Scrooge made a statement about how the society was full of unscrupulous people and the only way to get out of poverty were to develop the smarts, be hard-working and relentless. He continued to waddle around shouting, 'Shoe-shine for a dime!'.