Manga, Manga, Duck

Oops! Here we are, May almost over, and I still haven’t gotten around to writing up a review of the first omnibus of Takahiro Arai’s manga adaptation of Les Misérables, and I just discovered that the second one is already out! I’m going to pick that up and pre-order the third (July 25) and fourth (December 5) volumes now before I forget, and make a point to review the first two before Barricade Day! [Update (June 5): so much for that plan. I bought volume two but I haven’t read it yet.] That should complete the story: Four English-language omnibus editions, each collecting two of the original Japanese volumes.

While I was looking those up, I found another surprise: Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck in Les Misérables and War and Peace. Yeah, I did a double-take. Italian comic book artist Giovan Battista Carpi, known for his extensive work on Donald Duck comics for Disney, drew dozens of literary parodies with Donald, Daisy, Uncle Scrooge and the rest from 1960 through 1989. And Fantagraphics is reprinting them (presumably in English). This volume is scheduled to be out on August 29:

It’s Victor Hugo… duckified! When French gendarme Javert thinks that poor Jean McJean (Scrooge McDuck) stole two candlesticks, he swears to run him down–even years later, when McJean has become town mayor and guardian of Daisette (Daisy Duck). Are the candlesticks the key to a fabulous treasure lost in Paris? And do the freres Beagle and Peg Leg Thénardier want it? (Silly question!)

I’m going to have to pick this up too, aren’t I? (Also a silly question!)