I will put a disclaimer here, that I am going to include some spoilers. I prefer not to do that with these comic reviews, but I feel it is necessary in this case.
Disney Comics are among the most popular comics in the world, and the most popular among them are Donald Duck comics. there have been many interesting tales told of Donald, his nephews, and his Uncle Scrooge, with the most famous being the works by Carl Barks and those of Don Rosa. But the most famous story not by either of them is The Call of C’Russo. It is famous ( or perhaps infamous) for taking its story in a very different direction than a typical Disney Duck story.
The story starts off innocently enough, with Donald auditioning for a singing contest and being rejected for his bad voice, only to get an offer of fixing his voice. Donald wins the contest, but things change direction from here. Rather than go for a humorous tale of Donald being exposed at the worst moment like one would expect, the story changes its genre completely. Shifting away from humor to horror, the story ends up becoming a Lovecraftian tale where the entire world exists only in the dream of a monster sleeping at the bottom of the sea in the sunken city of Sp’too. The monster, named Ar-Finn originally and Pf’legmwad in the English translation, is a clear Cthulhu analog, and the horror of a world reorienting itself to the monster’s ideals is shown in its entirety.
Donald and his nephews manage to save the day, but for a time, the world is lost. Not devoured, but gone as Ar-Finn is no longer dreaming of it. The realization of the characters that the world is gone is a powerful image, as is the fear on their faces. Donald and the nephews are also briefly transformed, as the remaining parts of the world change to become more in line with Ar-Finn’s reality and not his dream. The scary part is that even after saving the day, Donald is left a mess, and horrified to know he only exists in a monster’s dream. While the monster has gone back to sleep for now, he may one day awaken and the world will end and the knowledge of what he encountered has traumatized Donald.
The Call of C’Russo is an amazing story that sets up the mood and atmosphere perfectly. The pace moves along in the right way, and the art is spot on for the tale being told. I have left a number of details out of the story so that new readers can still enjoy it when they read it for the first time. The story has been translated into a number of languages after its original release in Germany, and IDW Publishing has recently reprinted it in English in two collections, here and here.
I highly suggest reading this, to see just how different some Disney comics can be.