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TaleSpin Comics: Flight Of The Sky Raker Rant

Reviewed: 09/03/2016-09/04/2016
Additional Commentary/Edited: 12/14/2025

Welcome To The Wacky World Of TaleSpin Comics!

Original Release: 04/00/1991 (Part One), 05/00/1991 (Part Two).

Well, we have finally come to the new articles in this celebration of TaleSpin nearly two years after starting this whole thing. This is the second new comic book story I have reviewed and it's the debut of TaleSpin's monthly series after a somewhat successful Takeoff mini-series with the adaption of Plunder and Lightning. (2025 Gregory Weagle Says: Yeah, it would have been better if a lot of the stuff that made Plunder and Lightning great wasn't excised in the comics, nor the emoting was changed to make it look like they were sabotaging the show.) I have already seen the final TaleSpin stories in number seven with "The Long Flight Home" and I know Bobbi Weiss can bring it in terms of neat story lines and even at times better continuity then the television series. (Absolutely! When Bobbi Weiss was writing new stories, it was magical. When Bobbi tried to adapt the television stories, it fell a bit flat. The Volcano Of Gold was at least a new story that she was translating from a Super Baloo comic story and that effort was not flawless.) Our first story covers two issues of TaleSpin as it's what I called the "TaleSpin Comic Book Pilot" as Baloo, Kit and WildCat get entangled in a conspiracy by Shere Khan to steal the plans for a revolutionary new plane. (Read: Think driverless cars and you are almost there.) It was created by one of the greatest airplane designers of all time; who has gone missing and only his daughter remains with the prototype plane. Baloo and company must prevent Khan from getting the plane while at the same time save the daughter and WildCat along with the plane from Don Karnage because he wants it too. Then in the second issue, Baloo and Kit figure out a way to save WildCat and Lillian from Don Karnage and somehow try to keep the Sky-Raker away from Shere Khan; who has enough snitches to make it impossible to try to hide said plane. Yeah, the new commentary will be doing this in all one run. This is what TaleSpin is all about and I'm glad Bobbi didn't skimp on the plot for this one. How does this story fare?! Let's rant on shall we...?!

Flight of The Sky Raker story is written by Bobbi JG Weiss with artwork done by Robert Bat and Oscar Saavedra. Robert Bat according to Comic Vine: Robert Bat began providing artwork for foreign market Disney comics in 1975, which he continued until 1989. During this time he was affiliated with the Jaime Diaz Studio, which operated out of Buenos Aires and provided most foreign-maket art during this time. He worked on Bambi, Chip 'n' Dale and Mickey Mouse comics, among others. Beginning in the early 1990s he provided artwork and inks for Duck Tales, Darkwing Duck and Rescue Rangers, among others. Oscar Saavedra has done artwork for comics through the Jaime Diaz Studios in the 1990s. He has drawn stories for Disney Comics ('Talespin') and DC's Looney Tunes, Foghorn Leghorn and Porky Pig in the 1990s, and cartooned for Condorito magazine. He founded the SB Pruducciones studios together with his brother Horacio Saavedra, and cooperated on several animation projects. (I believe one of those productions is Billy The Cat along with The Adventures of the Scrabble People in a Pumpkin Full of Nonsense.) Mas Manos did the artwork and I have nothing on Mas Manos so it could be a ghost artist name for someone else. I have no idea who. I also note that Gaff does the coloring and it might be a ghost name for someone else; because that someone else did a piss poor job coloring in certain spots. It makes Walt Disney Animation France look great in comparison.

Opening Moment #1: The cover of this comic book is the typical recklessness this show is known for: Kit saving a tied up Rebecca (Whom isn't kidnapped nor captured in the actual story; so it's false advertising, although having Lilian in this position would spoil the whole thing anyway. So yeah; dumb.) from Don Karnage who is hanging from a rope as the SeaDuck is not being piloted by Baloo because Baloo is hanging onto the rope. Did I mention Don Karnage is flying his CT-37 during this? Do I have to mention that bullets are flying everywhere near Kit and Rebecca? Yes; the people who did the comic books were in another world in certain aspects; but when it comes to TaleSpin, they were dead on here. Okay; unlike the comparsion rants; I will not be commenting on the ads on this show. However; I will rant on MailSpin because I always get a kick out of the sheer transparent bias those letters deliver right out of the starting gate.

Flight Of The Sky Raker Part One: We begin this one in the air over the ocean near an island as we the SeaDuck flies overhead. The narrator calls Baloo's voice less than melodious, even though it's a comic book. Baloo is singing the folk song "Oh, Susanna!"; but Baloo replaces it with "Oh, Rebecca!" Because Baloo is coming back from Louie's with a burger on my knee. Of course! Who says there are no fart jokes in this show?! (Compared to some of the fart jokes I have seen and heard even from this show, this one was clean.) Kit is clapping and whistling at this as Baloo asks if Kit likes folk songs that much. Kit admits no; but they are way funnier when Baloo was messing with the lyrics. Kind of like the sort of thing I saw in Fish Hooks with the "Come Sail Away From Me" knockoff song they did in "Labor of Love". (Except Fish Hook did it on television and not in the comics. Also, "Oh, Susanna!" is closer to public domain parody than "Come Sail Away From Me" in terms of fair use.) Kit looks out the window and yells "Air Pirates" as Baloo is confusing it with a song about them. I'm sure there are millions of songs in this world (and the real world) about Air Pirates, so I can understand Baloo's confusion. (Remember that for "Flim Flam Flyboy" because there is an entire comic book story based on the fact that Don Karnage is considered a folk hero.) Baloo then panics as five CT-37's head straight for the SeaDuck. The SeaDuck barely flies past the CT-37's. (Don Karnage, Dumptruck, Mad Dog, Ratchet and Hacksaw I do believe because we'll be seeing them later on.) Kit and Baloo are rightfully confused as Baloo wants to check this out. Kit thinks this is not a good idea and wants to count his blessings that they weren't caught. Baloo isn't so sure about this since Don didn't even care to wave at the SeaDuck. Apparently; Karange has his "pants on fire" about something not related to the two main babyfaces and Baloo wants to know what it is. The SeaDuck flies west as the five CT-37's surround a lime-green plane with dark green trim as Kit deduces that the pirates wanted a bigger shipment to raid. Baloo then realizes that this is Wiley Pole's plane. Huh. I swear Wiley's plane was white. I guess he painted it in between the comics and the television series. Get used to this color; you'll be seeing it a lot in this comic book.

Wiley Pole is calling a mayday inside his plane. Then, the CT-37's use a hook to hook onto the top of the green plane and come down. Kit is yelling at Baloo to help Wiley. However; Baloo has a Krackpotkin Plan as it involves giving Don Karnage a false sense of security by letting them break in first. This confuses Kit, however. Then mere moments later, we see the SeaDuck charge at the green plane with Kit at his airfoil outside cloud surfing. Sadly; his airfoil is silver in color here, which is kind of silly when his airfoils changes colors on a constant basis in the comics. (Even funnier, if you get access to the TaleSpin comics in Super Baloo fashion, watch the color stylist literally prove Steet's point that they were trying their damnest to make it look extremely colorful. Sadly, INDUCKS has disappeared down the memory hole to show the evidence of this.) A change I actually like, thank you. (Memo to Seth Rogan if TaleSpin is rebooted: You can have that one for free. Besides, it's Disney canon in the comics, so create that angle and do it. Having Kit Cloudkicker being creative with his Airfoils/Skyfoils is MONEY, MONEY, YEAH, YEAH and then can be used to sell model skateboards in this fashion.) Baloo buzzes one of the ropes to free a CT-37 while Kit cuts the remaining ropes with his trusty knife from Louie's Last Stand. While this is going on, we head into the back of Wiley's plane as Ratchet and Mad Dog are inspecting the cargo and finding nothing except tomatoes. (This is looking like another failed mission by the Air Pirates.) Ratchet looks green to the grills and Mad Dog's hat looks like it's ready for Breast Cancer Month. (A lot of pink being used here former self noted.) Hacksaw and Dumptruck are pointing guns at Wiley and a dognose wearing a red shirt, blue pants, shoes and has either blond hair or a yellow doo rag. It's hard to tell. (Yup, our first comic book story that isn't an adaptation and the guns are pulled out. So far, that means only the Old Man & The Seaduck comic adaption was a special day. Get used to this, the comics are no better than the television series in terms of showing off their guns, if you know what I mean.)

The thing about the comics is this: Outside of the well known characters and any new characters; most artists would default back to the Ducktales comics and just add dog noses, pigs and birds because that is what they know. Here; it's perfectly fine since there is one dog nose because TaleSpin does have dog noses and ducks; albeit it's rare. The comics make it so that they are a lot more common. (Also, TaleSpin was a rush job and thus coordination wasn't nearly as tight in the comics as it was with the television series, and even the television series coordination wasn't flawless because the whole show was rushed since the show was a time buyer for the more focused show named Darkwing Duck, despite Darkwing Duck having bigger problems with animation and writing than TaleSpin ever did. Yeah, I said a lot of words to suggest that the artists had to take some shortcuts to complete a rushed project.) This also lead everyone to believe that the TaleSpin world is the Ducktales world circa 1937 which makes little sense since that implies that the furries suffered a mass genocide. It also implies that the furries are visible minorities while ducks and dog noses are considered white folks. (Ouch! That would explain a few Tumblr fans on why they thought TaleSpin rules and Ducktales sucks. They didn't have an opinion on Darkwing Duck though, which I found more problematic than Ducktales, mostly because of my biggest annoyance of that show which was Drake Mallard/Darkwing Duck himself.) Yeah; that's why I think Zootopia's world is TaleSpin's world circa 2016, which makes more sense. Heck; even Robin Hood works in a pinch. (Of course it does since most of the character designs for TaleSpin came from Robin Hood. At least in structure. Kit Cloudkicker design was based on Bongo The Bear in Fun & Fancy Free actually.) Anyhow; Don Karnage is pissed off because Wiley is hiding gold from them when Wiley is only delivering tomatoes. Wiley of course denies this because he's not hiding gold. Don calls Wiley a verminous victim. BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Projection much there, Dog Garbage?! POW! OUCH! Ummm... (Verminous means "infested with vermin" or "noxious", a pretty dehumanzing term if you ask me.)

Don claims that his troops claim that a large shipment of gold and wants to know how many long bars of tomatoes might be hidden in these boxes. (Maybe it's time to hang your intelligence by the pinkies and hire some real intelligence. Hiding drugs in tomatoes is really stupid, and gold bars is even more so.) He really thinks gold is tomato colored. I knew that super glue from Stuck On You would make him dopey in the head forever. I just needed the evidence to prove it. (No wonder Mad Dog and Dumptruck wanted to jettison him as Captain in that episode as well.) Dumptruck notices that the CT-37's are dropping like flies and tries to tell Don that. However, Don blows him off because he's intimidating Wiley who he has grabbed and is in Wiley's face. (Some things never change in terms of arrogrance.) Dumptruck has the blond haired dog nose and points out the window trying to get Don's attention; which he does. Don looks out the window and panics as he and Mad Dog pop out of the roof of Wiley's plane. Mad Dog notices Don's plane is taking a nosedive as Don blows off Baloo for being pestilence basically. That's projection moment number two on Don's part. HEE HEE! Mad Dog climbs the rope up to his plane, the only one not cut by Baloo; but Don Karnage cuts the line anyway. Don threatens to hang Mad Dog by his pinkies; so Weiss has been watching Plunder and Lightning tapes lately. (Amazingly enough, this gag would be paid off in such a way in the comics that I could never look at this threat the same way ever again. It involved another bar and a pink rabbit in a comic book story that was never released until 2025! I'm serious here, at least two comic book stories that had been unreleased got released as part of a Disney Afternoon omnibus book. Heck, some of the non-English only comics from other DTVA shows made the cut. Sadly, none of the Super Baloo non-localized comic have been officially translated to English yet. Those stories are the only other ones besides two additional unused North American stories left to me to read and rant on!) Mad Dog is a slow-poking sloth and this is before Pokemon ever existed.

Don grabs onto the broken rope and swings down landing in his plane while giggling and calling himself a dashing fellow. And really, who can argue with that?! Sure; he's also a psychopathic murderous terrorist; but he is cool! (Probably another reason why TaleSpin was extremely problematic to reboot and why the Sky Pirates from Ducktales 2017 was toned down as such.) Mad Dog and Don Karnage follow the SeaDuck as Kit has apparently returned into the cockpit at this point. Don wants to skin Baloo to the teeth for this. What? No sewing Baloo back with dull needles? That's awfully gross of you Don. (Don Karnage is slipping in the hilariously evil and cool threats, methinks.) Cut to Hacksaw looking up from the roof halfway as he wants to kibble his brisket. EWWWWWW! GET HIM AWAY! GET HIM AWAY! (Hacksaw wants to make dog food out of brisket, which is kind of gross since Dumptruck is involved here.) Basically; he says that Don and Mad Dog went after Baloo and there are no planes left. Dumptruck still has the gun pointed to Wiley as Wiley and his navigator whisper yell at each other with a plan of their own. Wiley and the navigator shove Dumptruck who bonks into Hacksaw and Ratchet -- yes; this comic also has Teddy Ruxpin Feet Syndrome as well; but whatever -- whom fall into a heap. Dumptruck loses his gun, Wiley finds a tomato and splats it on Dumptruck's head saying "BANG!". (Okay, what was the joke Bobbi Weiss was shooting for here, because this made no sense unless Dumptruck actually shot the gun, or the gun unintentionally went off.) Dumptruck sells it as if he was legit shot in the head as the tomato remains run down his face. This would have been more effective if Wiley picked up the gun, Dumptruck turns around and notices it. (Yes, they did a fake headshot with the tomato as fake blood. Which explains the wrong sound effect words being used here. Wow, just wow. That wouldn't past muster today for obvious reasons.) Death reference number one ensues from Dumptruck as the navigator foolishly picks up a red painted gold bar. Oh, snap! Wiley and the navigator then throw red painted gold bars at Hacksaw and Ratchet. (Wow, this idea of painting gold bars is not only stupid from a hiding standpoint, it's also stupid because it lowers it's value.) Ratchet gets one on his right foot and Hacksaw gets it in the chest. OW!

Then Wiley and the navigator proceed to throw Hacksaw, Ratchet and Dumptruck out of the side door of their plane and they are forced to parachute. Wiley also knows Italian it seems as the navigator tells them to write when they get brains. Cut back as the SeaDuck has in fact made it to the Cape Suzette cliffs with Mad Dog and Don Karnage shooting at the SeaDuck. Even in the comics; the guns do in fact get pulled out and there is a shootin'. That would be two for three in that department in the comics. (Four of the five comic book adaptations have guns pulled out for obvious reasons, along with this two parter so far.) Stupid line of the day comes from Baloo: "Hoo Boy, Karny's madder'n a bull in a red room." Ummm; Weiss: Bulls only get mad on the motion of the cape; not the color. Even cartoons understand this; so why don't you?! (Considering Baloo's educational problems in storyline, I wouldn't be bashing Bobbi Weiss for that one. I no longer believe that was a gaffe on Bobbi's part, but no Baloo's part as a character.) One of the wings get nailed as Kit notices Wiley's plane coming up from behind as Baloo wants to get near the cliff guns. The smoke comes from the cliffs as a giant red rocket like missile barely misses Mad Dog and Don Karnage's plane. Don in shadow is pissed off yelling that he hates the cliff guns thrice. (And it sure wasn't nice!) Mad Dog and Don Karnage fly their planes in opposite directions as we discover that Wiley's navigator is named Mack. Mack and Wiley are all right thanks to Baloo. Next, we head to Higher...For...Hire and inside the office as we see Rebecca shuffling papers as Baloo and Kit are talking about how great the whole thing was and Rebecca just stands there saying how nice this was. She tells them to load the crates outside and head to Pratt Falls (See what Weiss did there?) before they hopelessly fall behind schedule...again. Rebecca is beaming with pride as Baloo tells Kit not to fall for her cold fish routine because he's busting with pride; but isn't letting on because she doesn't want it to go to their heads. Kit sees it and Rebecca is instantly stammering on cue. HEE HEE! I think Kit noticed this in that lullaby that Disney had cut out of Plunder and Lightning, except in the comics where Weiss butchered the whole scene. (Say what you will about the comic book adapation of Plunder and Lightning, this was funny seeing Rebecca get humbled the instant Kit Cloudkicker notices. Also, a nod to A Bad Reflection On You as well.)

We head outside as Baloo, Kit and WildCat are loading up cargo. Baloo tells WildCat to strap the crates real tight because there is crystal in these crates and if they break, Rebecca will have their heads. WildCat thinks this is bullshit because what would Rebecca want with their heads. You do not want to know Puma, you do not want to know. (I changed Charles to Puma because according to Len Smith: WildCat's last name is Puma and Charles was just a cosplay name with Molly cosplaying the Queen in Flight Of The Snowduck.) That is the definition of TMI right there. (Considering that their heads are like animal heads and not human heads, you can see where this gag is going.) Baloo and Kit get in the SeaDuck as Baloo wants to stop by Louie's for more burgers and malts because he's an eating machine. (Rebecca: Some things never change with those two crude matted furballs.) We head in the skies and past the cliff guns as even the comic books retain Baloo's gimmick of piloting the SeaDuck with his feet. (First time in a non-adapation of a story. That didn't take long.) I swear that I seem to be the only one who cares about this. If only because people keep screaming bloody murder when modern cartoon resort to irresponsible behavior like this. (I'm shocked Kit Cloudkicker didn't stoop to this in Ducktales 2017, so he is a bit more responsible than Baloo is, and has the justification Baloo lacks. Probably BS&P stepping in and probably for the best.) Kit asks Baloo for some more folk songs as Baloo has the Gruffi pose on saying that he'll do anything for his navigator's entertainment. I got a suggestion: Shake Teddy Ruxpin's hand. That would be instant comedy for him and me. (Mary Lamb can vouch for evidence on that HANDSHAKE OF DEATH.) WildCat heads into the cockpit as they are surprised that WildCat is even here. Why?! WildCat was in the SeaDuck in "Citizen Khan" with Baloo and Kit, so I'm not understanding why they are surprised. (Even more so when WildCat was in the hardcover edition of "The Old Man & The SeaDuck" to replace Rebecca Cunningham when they toned down the episodes for the books due to the age target of the audience.)

WildCat was basically checking the cargo when they suddenly took off. (Forpole is not a word Puma. Just so you know.) However; that's okay because it's coffee break time and he asks if they have any coffee. HAHA! (Once again, Baloo and Kit don't check to see if everyone is off the plane that they don't want nor need. Yeah, WildCat, Kit and Molly have been hitchhiking in this show.) Scene changer and we see Baloo and Kit in the cockpit as Kit is checking his maps. Kit then notices that they are over the same area Wiley was attacked. Baloo is still piloting the plane with his feet as Kit says that they should skirt around it; just to be safe. Baloo blows it off because the Air Pirates should be long gone by now. Problem; we see that Don Karnage and Mad Dog with their working planes are sitting on the water next to the three planes that the ropes were cut from Wiley's plane earlier. Holy crap; what the hell happened to their CT-37's?! How could any of them be that damaged? Something tells me Don was really pissed off or that's a huge logic break. (I think huge logic break, although I put nothing past Wiley Pole nor Don Karnage that they were destroyed in the previous dogfight. Anyhow, maybe Baloo should listen to his navigator more because Kit's logic seems a lot more sound than Baloo's.) Don Karnage and Mad Dog's planes are fine though as Don gasps because the SeaDuck was stupid enough to come back to the scene of judgment and the crime. See what I did there?! Baloo retakes the stick and proclaims that he spoke too soon. Idiot. Mad Dog and Don Karnage chase after the SeaDuck as Baloo asks why they were hanging around that area. Kit's answer: "Waiting for the Iron Vulture to get the damaged planes". Geez; Baloo, Kit is a former air pirate, why are you asking that question?! (Baloo is our GEEK OF THE WEEK~! Kit Cloudkicker has far more expertise on Air Pirates than you, although some of it will probably not be spoken by Kit due to truama. I don't think we have seen the full extent or even a tenth of this and I doubt we ever will even if the show gets rebooted because the last thing Disney wants is it's viewers requiring therapy.)

Anyhow; cut to Don Karnage on the transmitter as Mad Dog on the transmitter is telling Don that they are entering the pass now. Don tells him to hold his position and makes chickens on the chopping block analogies since he wants Baloo to prepare for a grand plucking. See; you don't have to say "die" here; because the analogy pretty much tells the fate. We're not stupid, critics. (Especially since torture is a lot worse than murder on the problematic scale.) Back to the SeaDuck as Baloo is piloting, Kit is checking the map, while WildCat is looking on talking about not being shot anymore. (Good luck on that last one, WildCat. The skies are a death trap and shooting is actually the least of your problems.) Baloo calls Don Karnage stupid because his plan apparently is to chase them into the mountains until they run out of gas, even though he knows he cannot catch up to them. (Good thing this is a big kids comic because if this were a pre-school book like Peppa Pig, parents will complain about someone saying the word "stupid", even if it was a racist stereotype name that caused an episode in the USA to be cut from the rotation.) They fly through the mountains as Baloo notices WildCat's point and here comes the Iron Vulture as it opens it's mouth and there are dozens of CT-37's coming out shooting at the SeaDuck. YOWZERS! TaleSpin corkscrews and dodges all as Baloo claims Don Karnage holds a grudge. You don't say! Although; he seems to have yet to hold a grudge against Kit all these years. Probably because Don Karnage got screwed by Kit twice; not including the comics. (That third time that took place in "Pirate For A Day" is absolutely glorious. You thought the Gummi Bears were hardcore on Sunni Gummi's tradition bullcrap, watch Kit handle the most hilariously bad kidnapping plot of all time. Even Aunt Louise couldn't top this one.) Baloo calls for desperate measures and Kit asks for a plan; to which Baloo doesn't even know because when he thinks them, he tells them. Having Baloo thinking out plans is like trying to get a pig clean. It only makes the pig dirty and it frustrates you. Kit checks the map and proclaims that they are more than lost. (Uh-oh! This is big trouble when Kit Cloudkicker, the best navigator in that world, cannot figure out where to go now.)

The SeaDuck is corkscrewing around as Baloo claims that he has no choice, demanding that Kit point a direction to get them out of here. Kit claims that he has no idea where they are so WildCat wants them to lose them in the heavy fog. Baloo thinks this idea is crazy; but the bullets are flying and they are thicker than the fog; so we move on into the fog. (This sounds like a bad piloting error waiting to happen.) WildCat still notices a big rock coming. Baloo and Kit think WildCat is being funny -- when it's not funny -- as the SeaDuck flies out of the fog and bonks into a mountain side. This causes the SeaDuck to hyperbole and then fall, landing next to an island in the middle of nowhere. Even Kit is confused as Baloo is asking Kit where they are. Baloo, Kit and WildCat get out of the SeaDuck as Baloo is certain that Don will have a hard time finding them. Kit answers that one for me as WildCat notices a blue/black painted plane with the four propellers above the roof of the same plane hiding in the bushes. Baloo and Kit inspect the plane as Kit notices that there is no dirt on the hull; as if the plane was here recently. Baloo calls the design strange and asks WildCat about it. You know; if I was writing this, I would have Baloo asking Kit about it first since he's supposed to be the expert on plane models. (Which Kit responds with: "I have never seen anything like this." to further the suspense about the uniqueness of the Sky Raker and then defer to Wildcat.) WildCat calls this awfully familiar and then WildCat trips backwards over a vine. This causes a net to spring up and catch the three babyfaces up into the air into a net. Out comes a grey bear wearing a torn purple sweater and torn red pants with a yellow ribbon around her belly and her blue anime like hair like a ponytail. (This is one of the few characters in this show with this kind of hair.) She is also packing a pistol threatening to shoot the babyfaces. (Probably one of the few babyfaces to use a gun in this show and one of two who know how to use it properly. Maybe she should teach firearms training to Rebecca, since Rebecca got the hand to hand combat stuff down pat in "Kung-Fu Mistress".)

Baloo tells her to back off on the heavy artillery; so he is an advocate of gun control. (Kit Cloudkicker in Ducktales 2017 should have played that role since the showrunner hates guns in children's cartoons anyway. Plus, Kit has the street cred to hate them unlike the showrunner in storyline.) Then Baloo notices something, calls her princess and he cannot believe it. Once the woman hears that; she realizes that it's Baloo. In other words, she knows him and not only that, he played hopscotch in her father's workshop. (That means they are childhood friends, and judging by the color of her fur, maybe Baloo's sister as well.) Also; we discover that WildCat Puma worked for her father at the same workshop. Yes folks; this is WildCat Puma's origin story that was never explained in the television series. If you want any proof that Disney didn't care about this show, that would be it. (I love the TaleSpin comics because despite their flaws in artwork and furry selection along with some miscues in voice translation to paper, they more than made up for it in new characters and they also explored the characters, giving a lot of backstory to characters who really didn't have one. WildCat got a huge boost from this and Baloo got some more backstory on himself. Kit, Molly and to lesser extent Rebecca will be getting even more backstory in "The Long Flight Home". Heck, Baloo's first plane wasn't even the SeaDuck! One story actually addressed how involved Kit Cloudkicker was with the Air Pirates! Answer: A lot more than you would think. More on this in later comic book stories.) WildCat at first is confused; but then admits that he worked for this woman's father. Then the woman aims her pistol and the shot is teasing that she is going to shoot Baloo in the head! (Why not?! Kit Cloudkicker getting guns pointed to his head is a regular feature. Heck, it was so absurd that at least one scene that aired in the Plunder and Lightning TV Movie had to be excised because the bullet actually would have hit Kit Cloudkicker in the damn head, for goodness sakes! Saying "It fucking worked!" is far less problematic than a botched spot where someone gets a headshot.)

Baloo protests this; but she shoots the top of the rope holding the net and the net falls down as the three babyfaces crumple to the ground. OUCH! The net is taken off as all four babyfaces start exchanging notes on the situation. We discover that the woman's name is Lillian Ravenwood, the daughter of Professor Harrison Ravenwood, whom Kit calls the greatest aircraft designer in aviation history. Was he the one who crafted the original SeaDuck?! Because it's not mentioned here; even though it would be a great angle. I'm certain if this made television, that angle would be mentioned. (I get why this didn't make television because TaleSpin was a time buyer for Darkwing Duck and rushed all to hell. Seriously though, this would have made an excellent two parter to start the next season and give TaleSpin a 100 episode run that it should have gotten like Ducktales. Sure, it would need some changes to pad the running time and fix some of the flaws. This is why Disney frustrates me. Heck, having the SeaDuck designed by Harrison Ravenwood and sold to Conwing would have been an great connection to the SeaDuck as a character.) Anyhow; the story is that Lillian and Harrison went on one of their planes and disappeared causing the Ravenwood Workshop to close down. No one knows what happened, because it's 1937 and forensic science wasn't a big thing until a long time later. It turns out that this incident happened three years ago as she addresses the grasshopper-equse plane as the Sky Raker which is the last plane Harrison designed. (That would be circa 1934 I should note since the show taking place in 1937 in it's own world is canon according to the specs.) Apparently; the engines malfunctioned and they had to make an emergency landing on the island. Lillian starts to cry in Baloo's arms as she pretty much admits that Harrison is more or less dead. Although later on, we find out that he didn't die in the plane crash. (Since the main TaleSpin comic books series exploded, there is no real way to tell if they were planning a massive angle and somehow Harrison is actually alive or something even more sinister. Outside of a possible "Stuck On You" comic adaption, a possible Kit Cloudkicker MailSpin segment and "The Spy Who Bugged Me" comic, there is no evidence of anything else planned for the series.)

Lillian goes over to the Sky Raker as she explains that the engine and radio was damaged. Also, the fog never lifts so no one can see the island, and it's not on any maps nor nowhere near any cargo routes. Baloo tells her that it's over now and she can come back with them; but Lillian refuses to go without the Sky Raker, even though Baloo points out that it cannot fly right now. Lillian offers WildCat the chance to fix it as she claims that Harrison has claimed that WildCat could fix anything with a bobby pin and a wad of gum. (Hey, I can believe that and so does...) Kit looks amused by this for some reason as WildCat thinks that Lillian is calling him smart. Nah; she's calling him wacky, basically. (No lies detected here.) WildCat points out that there is not enough gas in the SeaDuck to get both planes back to Cape Suzette. Lillian points out that the gas tank is not damaged and there's still gas in it. Kit then points out a major problem since they don't know where they are and if they use the radio, Don Karnage will start noticing and attack them. Lillian then claims that she knows where they are as Baloo then plays investigator noticing a flaw in Lillian's story because she is supposed to be lost. Lillian claims that there are maps in the Sky Raker, which means nothing because Kit has a map too, and he was lost when this happened. Lillian seems to be a teenage girl version of Kit Cloudkicker in that she lies by omission about as much as Kit does. (Nah, she's clearly an adult at this point since she's clearly about the same age as Baloo. Baloo looks 30 years old to me.) Lillian wants to go home to find her father -- so she believes that he's not dead -- even though she acted like she was expecting him to be dead when she cried in Baloo's arms. So, I'm guessing she's looking for his body. (There's more to this story than Lillian is telling I see.) WildCat inspects the Sky Raker more and discovers bullet holes as Baloo asks if Lillian was leaving gaps in her story. Lillian at first teases claiming that the holes were something else, then props against the rock and admits that she's just scared of telling the whole truth. Baloo asks what; but it's whom as Lillian admits that Shere Khan is responsible for this causing the males to be shocked.

We head to a flashback and somehow Lillian vividly remembers all this despite the fact that she was only in the flashback in one brief scene when Harrison was being escorted...nay...forced into an antique car outside the Ravenwood Woodshop by two generic dog noses in regular Ducktales gear. Just odd. (Par for the course in the comics. It's only odd when you are used to seeing a diverse set of furries in any given background scene on television.) Anyhow; the flashback starts in Mr. Khan's office as a rat furry in a suit, tie and shoes is telling Khan that there are rumors that Harrison has created a plane that can blow current theories of aerodynamics right out of the window. Khan basically says that he'll have a word with Ravenwood at "his" convenience. Which is carny talk for Khan's convenience, of course. Khan has a Yes-Man who is a dog nose by the way. (Yup, the Duck comics effect has consumed this series. Get used to it, you will be seeing even more.) Then we see Harrison who is a grey bear in a white lab coat, white pants and glasses on being escorted to the car as I mentioned earlier and then we head to inside Khan's office. I think he was supposed to be a cat since he had whiskers in one panel; but then lost them in the next panel. (I'm guessing Lillian is using deduction to paint the scene when she lacked eyewitness powers based on whatever Harrison said. Usual detective work in this case.) Anyhow; Harrison no sells the deal and tells Khan to erase his plans to buy the plane and the blueprints because the plane has not been perfected yet and he has no interest in selling them anyway. (Even Harrison knows the ethical concerns stemming from what is an airplane version of the Auto Aviator. Someone on X mentioned that this should be the main show wide angle for the TaleSpin reboot. I love it as a finale, maybe even the end of the series in general; but not as a wide spearding angle, especially in the first season where you are retelling the story of the characters themselves as reboots often do.) Harrison storms out telling Khan to not threat him anymore as Khan looks more confused than angry when he responds with his good day.

Anyhow; Lillian was informed of this, so it's not like she doesn't know what is going on. Lillian also informed us that Harrison knew Khan wouldn't give up as we see the Sky Raker in the sky being shot at by Khan's planes. So, the Sky Raker basically crashed because the engines malfunctioned since the Sky Raker was still in the testing stage and not all the bugs were worked out. (The manual organic humans win again...for now anyway.) We cut to the island as Harrison is in a life raft sailing away from the fog to get help; but he was never seen again, which indicates he's probably dead because we never saw him again for the rest of the comics. (At least as far as I would know since the TaleSpin comic series lasted only seven issues before it imploded.) Lillian cries in Baloo's arms again. Baloo apologizes as WildCat admits that he asked around for information; but got none as Lillian blames Khan for keeping it out of the newspaper. Which makes sense since Harrison is the best airplane designer in the world. How could it not be a big deal that he's missing and probably dead?! Baloo thinks Khan is powerful to keep the truth out of the newspapers. Somehow; I doubt that and it's just a "nobody cares" situation. (Or they had zero leads and Mr. Khan covered his tracks well turning the trail of the killer go colder than Shere Khan's emotions. It is 1934 after all and technology hasn't advanced enough to make it more likely to find out the facts as it is in 2025!) However; Lillian is alive and they are getting the Sky Raker home in the morning. Somehow. (They found a way, former self. Don't worry.) It's nightfall as WildCat is fixing the engines of the Sky Raker while Baloo, Kit and Lillian are at the campfire drinking tea and eating a feast of fish and fruit. The kettle is over the fire which a lamp is flashing on a tree branch. Lillian is drinking tea as well as Baloo thinks the fare is making him sleepy. I doubt that; I think it's your lazy biological clock acting up again like it always does, Pop-A-Bear. Kit then gets in a really stupid line: "Baloo, shouldn't we radio Miss Cunningham and tell her where we are?" I say it's stupid because Kit was the one who pointed out that using the radio is a bad idea because Don Karnage would be in the sky. And you know it's stupid because Baloo even admits that they cannot use the radio. (Yeah, this was one of those moments I don't see often in Kit Cloudkicker, outside of the Super Baloo comics and maybe The Lost Cargo Of Kit Cloudkicker, although the later was funny and I can laugh at it.)

However; Baloo admits that they are out of range and he already tried. Aren't you risking Don Karnage's presence doing that?! That's really stupid. That exchange would have be changed if this was for television, I assure you of that. Kit is eating an apple as Baloo thinks it's all fine since Rebecca will think he's at Louie's and won't know by morning. Geez Baloo; you really think Rebecca is that dumb?! Bigot. Lillian looks worried as Baloo tells her to relax because WildCat can be trusted to fix the Sky Raker since he's in seventh heaven with it. Oooookkkkaaayyyyy. (Considering that heaven is likely the final circle of hell, according to Dante's Inferno; that is not really a term of endearment there Pop-A-Bear.) Baloo then snaps his fingers and runs off as he has a surprise, which causes Kit to groan because it's Baloo and a surprise with him could be anything. Compared to Kit being an ex-pirate?! (Yeah Kit, you are being paranoid now.) Baloo's surprise cannot be that; unless Baloo knows that his brother is one of them as seen in the Ghost Ship Golden Books cover. (That story sucked I should note, but Baloo having an Air Pirate brother would be both amazing and ironic at the same time. Another idea for the TaleSpin reboot if it happens.) Kit and Lillian talk about being impressed with surviving the island for three years. Lillian proclaims that the Sky Raker was with her; like saying that God was with her more or less. (At least in storyline, the Sky Raker is real and useful, moral issues aside, which is a lot less problematic than anything God did in the Holy Bible.) Considering Kit's life and Magon's head canon; it's difficult to be impressed with this; but it's still more impressive than anything Baloo did, so there you go. Baloo returns with three bottles of strawberry pop. (Or strawberry soda -- same thing --; which is one of the main tastes of this series. Sadly; the strawberry soda thing never got mainstreamed like cola did.) Lillian is instantly happy to see it since she hasn't had the stuff in three years. Baloo, Kit and Lillian take the bottles and drink up as Baloo admits that Harrison showed him a few tricks in modifying the SeaDuck including a hot dog warmer that fits underneath the pilot's seat. They give tribute to Harrison and clank the bottles together in a toast for him in a really heartwarming spot. (With great acting, this would be an awesome moment on television.)

Morning arises as Kit gets up from his sleeping bag and Lillian is putting on blue boots for no reason I can think of. (Maybe she's preparing for a tickle fight. Maybe Kit should have the same forthought.) The sun rises as WildCat looks groggly; but has his wrench as he informs Baloo that the engines are fixed and the radio is too. WildCat also claims that he has had as much fun as rewiring the control panel on the SeaDuck after Baloo fried it. (Bobbi Weiss somehow remembered Captains Outrageous's finish is a sight to behold. It's too bad TaleSpin ended at 65 episodes because Bobbi Weiss would be perfect for the second season since her strength is new stories and any problems can be ironed out by either Jymn Magon or Karl Geurs.) Baloo responses that he'll have to break things more often. Of course! (Why would you say that?! Lillian is right there and you know she'll snitch on Baloo for a laugh.) Baloo has a Krackpotkin Plan in mind as they will fly to Louie's to refuel the planes and then disguise the Sky Raker to get it back to Higher For Hire without Khan knowing about it. That's really stupid because we have seen that at Louie's; Khan's men regularly hang out at that bar. Shouldn't you disguise the Sky Raker first?! (Baloo not thinking his plans through to the letter is a trait, get use to it.) Baloo tells WildCat to fly the Sky Raker and offers Lillian to come in the SeaDuck; but Lillian no sells because she stays in the Sky Raker. Baloo basically says that Lillian has basically inherited Harrison's personality. Which is basically Kit's personality as well. (Very stubborn and has diffculty trusting male adults. On television, they would have Kit and Lilly paired in stories, it's too obvious!) We head into the skies as the SeaDuck is flying high in the sky as Baloo is on the transmitter to WildCat asking why the Sky Raker hasn't taken off yet. WildCat admits that the engines won't start. Then the Air Pirates attack right on cue; thus proving that using the radio was a bad idea. Even Kit cannot believe they were spotted so early. We cut to inside the Sky Raker cockpit as WildCat inspects the control panel and he assumes the control panel is shot as Baloo is yelling that he's being cut off and drive back into the mountains.

However; Lillian proclaims that she can start the engine and she commands the Sky Raker activate audio control mode, engage engines and turn the mechanical pilot on. The Sky Raker speaks back through the radio as WildCat is in awe. Yes folks; the Sky Raker is a pilot-less plane, why do you ask?! It just amuses me how this show is making their world as believable as the modern world is now, despite the animal chimeras in this show. (Yup, the driverless car theory. This is just asking for trouble now since it's basically AI in a larger scale.) The Sky Raker's wings boost up allowing the propellers to become like a helicopter as the Sky Raker. We discover that the mechanical voice is Harrison's voice as WildCat notices this. Lillian proclaims that she'll explain later as she wants to save the SeaDuck from the Air Pirates now. (A fair and reasonable response I should note.) Cut to Don Karnage chasing the SeaDuck with three other CT-37's from behind as Don calls Baloo an interpolish aviator for screwing him out of gold bullion and he's going to take it out of his hull. Nice one, Weiss; nice one. (Believe it or not, there is a comic book story called "Beans to Bullion" which is one of two unreleased stories left. Hopefully, the Disney Afternoon omnibus books don't implode before this episode gets released along with "I've Got A Gold Mine, You Got A Gold Yours" because that would be tragic. I would love to see them localize the remaining Super Baloo comic stories that were not released since only three French stories were fan translation by Steet and myself in a very poor manner in my case since I'm not a good French speaker at all.) Then we see the Sky Raker next to Don Karnage as Don notices this unusual plane and calls it unusual. Don Karnage is speaking like he's from Mensa or something. (Don Karnage trying to sound smart is a fool's errand since he mangles all languages he can speak.) He sees a great plane to steal for his own and gets on the transmitter to inform Mad Dog and Dumptruck to follow him; while the rest of his minion go after the Sky Raker. He also threatens to punish them in hideous and unmentionable ways if they damage it. Cut to inside the cockpit of the SeaDuck as Kit sees the Sky Raker and Baloo is ordering WildCat to fly the Sky Raker back to the island and wait while he loses the pirates.

Lillian no sells this because she thinks the Sky Raker can handle it; but Baloo doesn't think so and wants WildCat to support him over Lillian. WildCat is of course confused as Baloo flies some more and Don Karnage shoots the right wing engine causing oil to spill out on cue. Cut back to the Sky Raker cockpit as Lillian has the Gruffi pose on and she's angry about something. I assume it was Baloo's response to her regarding landing the Sky Raker on the island; but it's hard to tell. (Yup, she's slowly getting Kit Cloudkicker's trust issues.) Before she can go on a real rant; WildCat points out that the Iron Vulture is heading towards them. Lillian sees it and calls for "Evasive Maneuver Number Fourteen" as the Sky Raker flies up to dodge the CT-37's while they attached grappling hooks on each other, and causing the pilots to fly out of their own planes. That looked cool actually. (The Sky Raker is becoming Baloo Von Bruinwald XIII now.) More CT-37's come out of the Iron Vulture as Lillian yells at the Sky Raker to dive. Sky Raker sells as we cut to the SeaDuck diving down as oil is spilling like crazy and Don Karnage and company are shooting at the plane. Don Karnage calls himself a naughty bad boy and then proceeds to nail the opposite wing causing it to spill oil. The SeaDuck dives and lands on the water with a splash as Don Karnage, Mad Dog and Dumptruck fly towards the Iron Vulture beak. Don Karnage orders the rest of them to get the Sky Raker as we cut back to to the cockpit of the SeaDuck as Kit wonders what they can do now; but Baloo doesn't know other than the SeaDuck wings are clipped. Cut back to the Sky Raker in the sky as four CT-37's have grappling hook rope attached to it. WildCat panics as Lillian orders the Sky Raker to cancel spin. The Sky Raker sells and WildCat is dizzy inside the cockpit saying that he cannot wait to not do that again. Heh heh. Lillian wonders where Baloo and Kit are and assumes that they have been shot down. WildCat assures her that it would never happen to Baloo as Baloo is on the radio and confirms that he has been shot down. Oh, snap! By the way; I should note that the comics keep claiming there is this thick fog; but we rarely ever see it. That would change if this was converted to television.

Baloo asks what is going on with the Sky Raker as we hear thumping sounds while WildCat is talking on the radio. Somehow, the Sky Raker's wings are back in the upright position as we see Mad Dog, Gibber, Hacksaw and Ratchet on top of the plane. Wait; wasn't Mad Dog with Don Karnage in shooting down the plane?! Shouldn't Sadie be the one with this group? That would be changed for television, that's for sure. (I'm not surprised that there are flaws in this comic books. When you are doing a rushjob, polish is harder to execute.) Ratchet basically tells them to ease up and claims that if they rip up the plane too much, then they'll be used for target practice. (Ah, so that is what Don Karnage was talking about something unmentionable. Ratchet shall be the first for target practice since it was supposed to be unmentionable.) Somehow; I think that will happen anyway. Back inside the cockpit of the Sky Raker and WildCat isn't liking this; but Lillian isn't done yet as she orders the Sky Raker to invert itself. This causes the heels to flip over; but the heels remembered to tie themselves against the plane this time and nail it down with plungers. Cut to Dumptruck flying his plane proclaiming that this worked like a charm as Gibber gives the thumbs up. Now; the Mad Dog appearance on the Sky-Raker was dumb; but the next logic break is even dumber. Head back inside the wheelhouse of the Iron Vulture as Don Karnage is saying his usual promo and orders Hal to open the bomb bay doors. Now granted; this is a great shout out to Plunder and Lightning Part Three. There's one major problem though: The guy in the room responding is not Hal. Hal in TaleSpin is a yellow fat tabby cat, known for his performance in Jumping The Guns. This dood is a weasel furry wearing brown jacket, blue pants, a magazine machine gun bullet belt and a green headband and has black hair. Even if it cost too much to bring Hal back, you could change his name to something else. How about Switchblade?! We never saw him in TaleSpin; so why not?! (How about Will, Don Karnage's real second mate?!) We cut to outside the Iron Vulture as the Sky Raker flies up into the trap door below the Iron Vulture and this would have worked better if the propellers were in helicopter mode during this. I'm just saying. WildCat and Lillian do get the money shot line of the episode:

WildCat: Miss Ravenwood; I think we're in trouble.
Lillian: You have an amazing gift for understatement, WildCat!

I love real comments that aren't supposed to be real comments. We cut to the SeaDuck on the ocean as Baloo and Kit are in a lifeboat with the jury rigged radio and transmitter. Baloo tells Kit to send a distress call while he paddles to see out of the fog. Kit yells for a mayday as we cut to inside the cockpit of the Sky Raker with Mad Dog, Gibber, Hacksaw and Ratchet inside with WildCat and Lillian. Ratchet takes the microphone to give the all clear signal to Don Karnage. Mad Dog is pointing his gun at WildCat as Don calls for the JAWS OF HALF LIFE. The JAWS OF HALF LIFE come down and attach to the Sky-Raker. Cut to a shot of Baloo and Kit in the life raft as we hear Don Karnage cutting a hell of a promo calling Baloo a floundering flier as he declares victory. He also calls all this mayday nonsensical because it's June. HAHA! (Don Karnage just trolling Baloo on this will never get old for me. I'm guessing this took place sometime in June of 1938, at least in theory.) Baloo takes the microphone and calls him a pompus two-bit second-rate, dime-store rotten no good sorry excuse for a pirate. Isn't that admitting that Kit is the better pirate than Don Karnage?! If so...good. (If not, you need to work it!) Don retorts that Baloo is naughty and that just cost him one Sky Raker and his two friends, which mean he plans to kill at his earliest convenience. Yeah; like I don't know what "you'll never see your friends again" implies, BS&P. (When they say "going missing", the mob means "dead". Personally, I prefer "retire from life" as said by Kevin Sullivan.) Don Karnage basically claims that Baloo doesn't have a good enough vocabulary to taunt Don Karnage, which is in fact true. Don also tells them that he's leaving them up to their own demise on the lonely seas as he calls himself their most humblesome enemy. BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I'm sad this comic book never made television. Can you imagine the ratings for this?! (TaleSpin was already doing very well in the ratings at that point and it probably would have done great ratings here.) Yeah; I'm ending part one on that note. I must say that it's almost as good as "The Long Flight Home"; but not quite since Bobbi Weiss still hasn't gotten the memo about certain characters looking certain ways. (I blame that one on artists and not writing.) The story is awesome and Lillian is great for the most part, but it does have it's flaws. Call this **** (80%).

Flight Of The Sky Raker Part Two: We begin this one at the SeaDuck as Kit is at the tail section of the SeaDuck on the ocean next to the yellow life raft looking at the sky with his binoculars. The narrator does a recap of the situation as we actually get a sloppy flashback of the SeaDuck heading into the clouds off a dive by three CT-37's. I say sloppy because the only way you can tell that it's a flashback is that the panels are trimmed like clouds. Anyhow; outside of that, the recap was straight and to the point as we head back to Kit sighing at the tailsection door of the SeaDuck with the binoculars. Yeah; this is really a bad situation for everyone involved except for Don Karnage of course. (Also including Mr. Khan as we'll see later on because Khan now has to deal with Don Karnage's interference and it will cut into his profits so to speak.) Baloo is in the cockpit on the radio as he yells to Kit that he has someone on the radio. Kit goes to the cockpit and we discover that Wiley Pole is on the radio. There is barely a signal; but it's enough for Baloo to try to guide Wiley Pole to the SeaDuck. We scene change to Baloo on the right wing with Wiley Pole on the right wing of his lime green plane each with the gas hose filling up the tank. Wiley Pole explains that he went off-route and did a little exploring on the way as the gas should be enough to get to Louie's. Kit is happy about this; but Baloo proclaims that they aren't going to Louie's as they are going pirate hunting. Wiley Pole of course is against this because of the numbers game; so Lillian and WildCat are screwed. Baloo wants to try as Wiley then states that distracting them might do it. However, before he can ask how, Baloo then calls Wiley a genius and wants to go to Louie's after all, causing Kit to be confused. I betcha he's confused because Baloo probably shouldn't have said that they were not going to Louie's outright. (Yeah, let's give Rebecca an excuse to disbelieve them not doing the job they were supposed to be doing.) We head into the hanger of the Iron Vulture as Don Karnage is admiring the Sky Raker in the hanger along with Ratchet and Dumptruck. WildCat and Lillian are in the hanger as well and Lillian has lost her boots for some reason.

Don calls this all most interesting as Don points out that Lillian's clothes need a good tailoring. What a bigot Don Karnage is?! I mean; shouldn't he say the same thing about Kit too?! (I know that Don's supposed to be the heel, but it's still bigoted all the same.) Don asks about the Sky Raker and WildCat gleefully tells the truth about it causing Lillian to be steamed. HAHA! Don gets the LIGHT BULB OF BLOODY CLAIRTY and admits that he knew about this plane indicating that Shere Khan did not go to the newspapers to cover up the truth. In other words; no one cared about Lillian or Harrison. Why doesn't that surprise me?! (Probably because there were no leads and thus the trail went cold.) Bobbi Weiss has clearly seen all the Don Karnage episodes of TaleSpin and probably has gotten close to Jim Cummings because Don Karnage's promos sound exactly like something that would come out of Don Karnage's mouth. "The light of my memory dawns at the end of the tunnel now." is a prime example of this. Lillian is called a brat by Don as Don demands answers from her and Lillian says nothing at all. Don calls her the silent type -- which he likes out of females because he's a bigot of course -- and decides to go into the plane and figure this all out by himself. Ratchet and Don Karnage enter the Sky Raker as WildCat whisper yells to Lillian to assure her that they won't touch anything without knowing how it works. That is so reassuring Puma. Not. Then the Sky Raker starts rumbling as soon as Ratchet fiddles with the controls causing Don to leap literally out of the Sky Raker. HAHA! Ratchet calms him down claiming that it's just a defense retort. More like the rumble pack from Nintendo 64; but yeah, come back Karnage! Karnage giggles and Dumptruck forces Lillian and WildCat towards the Sky Raker. Ratchet found something else as Don, Lillian and WildCat enter the Sky Raker. Lillian doesn't want them to throw the switch. (I would listen to her if I were you, Don. THE SWITCH was not funny; ask Negaduck about it. Or better yet, ask Anti-Nintendo fanboys about it, they wish for another WiiU moment that might not happen now.). However, Ratchet does and we discover that it's basically an audio diary.

We discover that the first entry is for May 24th which I'm guessing is around 1934ish as we hear Harrison talking about Khan finding out about the Sky Raker. Don throws the switch and wants more audio played since he wants more information. Meanwhile; we return to Louie's as Mack has now dyed his hair black for no reason whatsoever. (Another coloring mistake from the artists. Polish, you have to have that even in a rush job.) We are at the island counter as Louie is asking Baloo why he doesn't go to the police and tell them that Lillian is in danger?! Kit and Wiley Pole are with Baloo and Mack as Baloo explains that he cannot since that will only serve to get Shere Khan involved in this mess again. (Because Shere Khan loves attracting attention, you see. Like a serial killer actually.) As this is happening, there is a racoon in a blue trench coat and blue hat sipping lemonade on the island. Is that the same crook from Vowel Play?! (If so, amazing!) Anyhow; Baloo has a Krackpotkin plan and this requires help. Wiley Pole, Louie and Mack agree to help him as Baloo whispers in their ears what the plan is. Wiley isn't sure about this since it's risky. Louie calls it risky and it'll work as Baloo and Kit decide to go back to Higher For Hire to inform Rebecca on the situation. (I wonder what Rebecca's reaction is to all this considering that Baloo was supposed to deliver fragile crystal in storyline.) Louie, Wiley and Mack have calls to make on the radio. So, everyone leaves, including the racoon snitch who appears to have take the lemonade with him as the glass is no longer on the table. We return to inside the Sky Raker as Don has his feet up amused at the audio log finishing this story that we already knew beforehand. Don then gets inspired as he wants the blueprints to the plane so he can sell them at a really high price for Shere Khan, which is about four million dollars. But he gets to keep the prototype of course. Yeah; because Don has to have the buggy type of plane due to the defects in his head. Very apporos. (Even Don Karnage has extremely bad bouts of stupidity and this is no exception.) Don gets out of the Sky Raker as he proclaims that Ratchet will fix the plane to include machine guns and the logo on the side; because goodness knows, we don't have enough bullet shooting guns in this product. Don calls this perfect for leisurely Sunday Plunder. HAHA!

Don asks where the blueprints are and Lillian is still silent. Don points his sword at Lillian's nose -- which is good because if he went to the chin; Toon Disney would have edited it out -- to remind the senorita Ravenwood that he is dastardly pirate of unreputable renown and that she is merely his prisoner. Lillian tells him to do his worst; which is a bad idea. WildCat's already been tortured once and Kit has been twice by this guy. (Don's torture methods are crude, but they do torment people as much as Don Karnage torments at least three different languages, depending on his mood and the writers.) Don decides that he likes her so much that she will not be tormented. (BS&P strikes again!) Don decides to let her keep her secrets and that Ratchet will tear the Sky Raker apart piece by piece. Lillian panics as she teases confessing and then as Don is asking; she no sells the deal anyway. Yes; she knows BS&P isn't going to allow her to be tortured. Don decides that when she confesses, their lives will be spared as we see the Iron Vulture land near an island. (It might be the same island as in the first issue for all I know.) The mouth is open as Don is walking out. Basically; he admits that Lillian doesn't know where the plans are and is ordering Ratchet to dismantle the Sky Raker until he finds them. Don's promos are awesome in the "barking up the wrong road" and "the more you waffle iron" around. (Which means Bobbi Weiss did in fact know what she was doing and it makes me sadder that she didn't join the television rotation for the most part, because she can write. Especially on this show which by now, was moot because you guessed it.) WildCat and Lillian are led to the holding cells from A Bad Reflection On You Part Two by Dumptruck. Cut to Lillian and WildCat in the holding cells as Lillian is sitting on a wooden bench while WildCat and Lillian exchange notes. Lillian is crying since the Sky Raker is the only part of her father that is left. Okay Lillian; is Harrison dead or not?! (She sounds like she has weightlifting issues which everyone thought when Molly addressed her father's fate in "The Long Flight Home".) I love how WildCat claims that thing cannot get any worse; and then he instantly realizes that this was a terrible thing to say. HAHA! (Finally, someone who gets how stupid this line is, and it's WildCat Puma getting it. Sad!)

Lillian stops crying and gets up to look for some crack or some area that might help them get out of there. (She's like a young adult version of Kit Cloudkicker now. It's too bad TaleSpin stopped the way it did because I would have loved to see Lillian and Kit paired up in a platonic way -- since the age difference prevents it to be anything else -- because then writers can bounce their own flaws off of each other. It worked with adult Kit Cloudkicker and Dewey Duck in Ducktales 2017 and it would work even better here if Bobbi Weiss was the writer.) Not much luck there as WildCat asks Lillian to wait for Baloo and Kit to come. Lillian blows it off because Kit and Baloo are stranded in the middle of nowhere and cannot help them. (It's not gaslighting because Lillian doesn't know Baloo and Kit were rescued earlier. Kind of like Kit Cloudkicker not knowing about the overdrive in Plunder and Lightning Part Four which changed Kit's message to Baloo in that episode in terms of context.) WildCat assures her that they will be rescued and cannot be let down. Lillian admits that she really doesn't have a lot of trust in others. Geez; where have I heard that one before?! Oh yeah; Kit Cloudkicker. WildCat claims that she does have trust in WildCat; as Lillian points out that WildCat never knew about the Sky Raker's super engines and audio log and then asks if she told him anything else about the Sky Raker. WildCat says no and Lillian says bingo to prove her point that she is afraid to trust others as she grabs onto the bars. Yeap; she's Kit in a more adult form. So, why isn't Kit the prisoner instead of WildCat?! Because they need a character who trusts people too much to offset it. (Hey, it's a perfectly logical response and you can make it work if it's executed properly.) I mention this because the next scene has Baloo and Kit returning to Higher For Hire as apparently, there is a huge radio set up in the office. Baloo is on the transmitter with Louie as Louie asks Baloo to name the time and Baloo says the time is now. Baloo and Kit are about to leave; but Rebecca wants to go with them. Now; the reason for this should be simple as the SeaDuck is her plane and she has every right to be in the plane for that very reason. That's not what her reason was. (This was both hilariously stupid and perfectly reasonable at the same time.) Here's the conversation:

Rebecca: I'm coming too, Baloo.
Baloo: Aw, not this routine again! Look, Beckers; this is gonna be dangerous and...
Rebecca: ...And Lily is a young woman who might appreciate having another woman around to offset all the hysterical men she's going to be surrounded with!
Baloo: (Throws his arms up in defeat.) I'm supposed to argue with that?!

Yes; this promo Rebecca cut sounds like a pro-feminist promo doesn't it?! (Which is Rebecca's character to a T. Progression was always there, bigots; weither it was good or bad.) Granted; it did make me laugh because Bobbi had a perfectly sound reason that I mentioned earlier and yet, she went for this one instead. Even better; this set the tone for the comic books as we saw in "The Long Flight Hone" where Molly is all alone with scruffy older men -- and a scruffy older boy -- that as Brendala once said would terrify most grown women; and yet Molly just didn't give a damn about that at all. All she cared about was getting Kit to stop freaking out and go home. The comics seems to have it's female character be even stronger than in the television series and in many aspects, it's for the better. Still; this conversation was funny since Rebecca really didn't even need to give out that reason. She owns the SeaDuck and thus has every right to be there if she wants to. We head to Shere Khan's office which is a penthouse suite inside the tower. (Like it always was, former self.) Mr. Khan is at his desk as his Yes-Man is wearing a green shirt and lighter green pants looking on. Yes; he is a dognose instead of that goofy tiger from the television, thus he has more than one "Yes-Man". So, it doesn't matter if this would be changed for television. (To be fair, CEO's have a lot of "yes-men", so this still makes sense, but for goodness sake, enough of the dognoses, comics!) The raccoon snitch -- whom I'm convinced is the raccoon crook from Vowel Play -- is there as Khan is happy that Baloo has found the Sky Raker for him. Khan pushes money on the table towards the snitch and the snitch is happy. The snitch tries to grab the money; but Khan grabs the snitch's hand and informs him to never tell anyone about this. The snitch goes on and on about his promise until Khan stares at him saying good. Which is enough for the snitch to stop talking, taking the money and going out of the office. Khan goes to his Yes-Man and tells him to inform Captain Quarry. The Yes-Man sells it like walking death and obeys Khan. Uh-Oh! Sounds like Khan is pissed off today as we head into the skies with the SeaDuck, Wiley's plane (The Key Lime Pie, my words not theirs), and a half dozen other planes flying over the ocean, getting the plans from Baloo and selling it.

Basically; they are told to look for the Iron Vulture and if they find it, signal back to the SeaDuck so they can regroup and begin Operation Ravenwood. (This was the title name for the second issue of this comic book! "The Plane Facts" was the title for the first issue.) Cut to inside the cockpit of the SeaDuck with Baloo piloting, Kit in the navigator's chair and Rebecca in between them. Rebecca is hoping that Baloo knows what he's doing because he's putting freelance pilots at risk to help him. Baloo proclaims that sticking together is what it's all about because Harrison was there for them, implying that he designed their planes, including the SeaDuck! (Huge, if true.) They cannot let him down. Of course not. Then we head to inside the wheelhouse as Don Karnage is filing his nails and singing the most mangled, funniest version of "Oh, Susanna" you ever heard in your life. I cannot do it justice; this was so funny. (Hey, a payoff to Baloo singing his version of the song in the first issue of this comic. Great!) Of course; Mad Dog runs in to completely ruin the moment to inform Don that they are under attack. (At least Mad Dog was justified in doing it, unlike Hacksaw and the "Iron Vulture is taking on water" incident.) Don goes to the window and invokes the telescope as he sees Baloo and company approaching the Iron Vulture. Don calls this "no army" as he calls Baloo an impertinenting pilot for making war with him and so he is going to teach him not to mess with him all and for once. HAHA! (Of course, impertinente means "cheeky", or "rude" in a six dollar term that Don Karnage mangles and somehow Don Karnage sounds more logical than the official word!) Everything that comes out of Don Karnage's mouth is comedy diamond! We see the SeaDuck hyperbole over the Iron Vulture as seven CT-37's come out against EIGHT planes. To be fair; none of the eight have guns; so the 8-7 advantage babyfaces, isn't that much of an advantage when the seven heels have weapons that can take down planes and kill you. (Sometimes the numbers game is not enough. Might as well be 14-8 advantage heels here.) The SeaDuck lands on the roof of the Iron Vulture as Baloo hopes Wiley can provide enough cover and Kit proclaims that he has to. Which is funny considering that Wiley Pole was calling Kit out for his awesome idea at the finish of A Bad Reflection On You Part Two.

Baloo asks if Kit has Rebecca's perfume and Kit says he does. Rebecca is asking what the point of this is as Kit, Baloo and Rebecca run on the launchpad. Kit pulls a lever (JESUS~!) saying that he knows where the brig is and to follow him. (Instantly, Kit reveals he knows the Air Pirates. Great!) We head to the holding cells as we see a guard who looks like a dognose with short black hair and really big with a rifle that disappears literally in the next shots. (SUZY SHEEP~?! Probably the first time I have used it in a TaleSpin rant.) He's also wearing a lot of green with shoes and pink pants. Kit opens the perfume bottle -- much to Rebecca's confusion -- as we get the PERFUME ETHER OF DEATH as the guard smells it and likes it. This is enough of a distraction for Baloo MURDERS the guard in the head with a metal steel bar which somehow only bends part way. This one has the "KWONG!" sound with explosion this time around. Kit takes the keys and tosses them to Baloo as WildCat points out to Lillian that real friends don't let others down. Baloo unlocks the door and all the babyfaces run off stage left. Lillian is first thanking Baloo; but she's not leaving until she has the Sky Raker. Baloo tells her to keep her pants on; usings an ancient word called "khakis"; which are pants that military people wear. Which is dumb because Lillian is clearly wearing red pants. (Baloo needs help in understanding words again. More education episodes are requested.) The babyfaces run down the steps as Kit informs us that the pirates are at battle stations and everything should be all right for them. However; as they go to the Sky-Raker; they notice that the whole thing is in pieces as the alarm sounds ensue. Baloo tells WildCat to get the pieces in the SeaDuck and check the status of the Sky Raker. Baloo and Kit are in the Sky-Raker putting the pieces inside as WildCat informs us that the engines are all right. He thinks; which is enough for Baloo to say that this is fine. Baloo tells Lillian to go with Rebecca and WildCat in the SeaDuck. Lillian no sells that deal of course because she's not leaving the Sky Raker alone. Rebecca actually takes Baloo's side in this; and Lillian proclaims that she's not arguing with her, she is telling her.

Now I know what you are thinking: Why not just have her say: "Because the Sky Raker can only work if I'm commanding it?" Well; in storyline, Lillian is scared of trusting other people. Baloo giggles that she is just like Harrison. More like she's Kit pre-Plunder and Lightning. Anyhow; the comedy relief has arrived in the form of three Air Pirates in banana yellow shadows. Amazing. Baloo, Kit and Lillian get into the Sky Raker as Rebecca and WildCat run up the steps to the left side of the hanger as two of the Air Pirates in Gedo shadows run after them. Baloo gets into the cockpit and has no idea how to fly this thing. Lillian talks about lessons later as she orders the engines to engage and we hear Harrison's voice as Kit is in awe of this. The engines start as one of the Air Pirates in yellow shadow -- who looks like a character straight out of the Bearstein Bears children's book -- running towards the Iron Vulture control panel. Baloo demands answers on who's flying the plane and starting the engines. The pirate is closing the beak -- as Kit was saying -- as Lillian admits that she's controlling the plane as Baloo is telling her to let him fly the plane out since they would be scrap metal if they miss the beak. Lillian no sells because only she can fly the Sky Raker. Geez; and you thought KIT didn't trust adults this hard?! (To be fair, Harrison never knew Kit was born nor existed, but knows Lillian since she's his daughter after all. So, it made sense that Lillian would be the back up in case something goes wrong. Lillian has trust issues, but this is not one of them.) Baloo tells her to trust him because he does this for a living. That is awfully distressing; but Lillian finally relents and orders the plane back to manual control. It sells as the Sky-Raker is flown out of the Iron Vulture mouth. However, the tight squeeze is a wee bit too tight as the Sky Raker tail section get bitten off when the Sky Raker leaves the Iron Vulture. (Well, so much for Don Karnage's dream of not damaging the prototype, although he can blame his crew for that one at least.) Cut to Don in his CT-37 noticing the Sky-Raker is outside the Iron Vulture and he is pissed off. Don goes to his transmitter to inform his minions that there is a slight altercation in the priorities; and they need to follow him after the Sky-Raker. Of course we have too; since the Sky-Raker has to be involved in a dogfight somehow.

Don and company chase the Sky-Raker underneath the Iron Vulture and then Don is shocked and horrified because here comes six planes from Mr. Khan! Oh yeah; now we have a real full-scale dogfight that this series would be proud of. Heck; it might even surpass Bygones if this was on television. We cut to the cockpit as we see a black panther in a red coat with the Shere Khan logo and hat talking into the transmitter as he addresses himself as Captain Quarry. Wow; that was lame. He's just another generic black panther part of Khan's air force. I was expecting something more unique considering how scared the Yes-Man was earlier. Anyhow; he calls Karnage "renegade sky scum" as Don Karnage blows him off because their planes do not scare him and he's the awesome dread pirate. (Hey, being "renegade sky scum" is Kit Cloudkicker's gimmick!) He's also really stupid as Quarry threatens to blow them out of the sky as the squad fires on the CT-37's causing Don Karnage to order the minions to cease and detest the attack real fast. They shatter and fly away as Wiley Pole and Mack aren't so sure about Khan's arrival in this as the orange plane contains a dog nose pilot saying that this is great and that Khan's helping them. Yeah; I'll bet. Don then looks up and notices the SeaDuck flying above the Iron Vulture and gets the LIGHTBULB OF BLOODY CLAIRTY because he thinks Baloo put the blueprints in the SeaDuck to keep them away from the Sky Raker allowing the Sky Raker to be a decoy. And to think; outside of the blueprints, this is exactly what the plane was. Don Karnage orders Mad Dog and Dumptruck to go after the SeaDuck now as Dumptruck has gone full-on dog nose. Geez; this makes the coloring mistakes in Plunder and Lightning and Bygones look good. Mad Dog is confused as hell as we get a charming sequence of Wiley Pole and Mack in their plane noticing the SeaDuck being attacked by pirates and the Sky Raker being attacked by Khan's pilots forcing the fleet to spilt in two. (Well; there are four per team, not including the Sky Raker and SeaDuck of course.) Cut to the cockpit of the SeaDuck with Rebecca and WildCat as Rebecca has heard the pirates are after them and she wants WildCat to get the hell out of there. WildCat agrees and so we cut to the cockpit of the Sky Raker as Kit is telling Baloo that the pirates are after the SeaDuck and they need to do something.

Baloo proclaims that they are in trouble because the tail of the Sky-Raker was munched and he can barely steer the plane. Cut to the cockpit of Quarry's plane as he is calling on the transmitter to "Base One". We discover that "Base One" is Shere Khan at his tower. Quarry informs him that the target has been spotted and they will force the Sky Raker to land. I just realized that Kit is literally sitting in Lillian's lap the whole time in the back seat. Yeah. Kit gulps at the thought of Captain Quarry. (I'm guessing he was one of the panthers in Baloo Thunder.) Baloo calls him the king of goons showing that Khan isn't screwing around this time. This is a huge problem now because the Sky Raker cannot land; plus the tail damage won't allow the Sky Raker to stay in the air much longer. Lillian then has a plan. (Goodness; I wish her name was Mimi right about now.) Lily explains that there are things about the Sky-Raker she hasn't told anyone, including WildCat. Baloo thinks this is a bad time to mention Harrison again; but Lillian explains that with clear audio model, the Sky Raker can mimic voices, ala Kit from The Idol Rich. Kit and Baloo are confused as Lillian explains that the Sky Raker needs to hear a radio voice once in order to mimic the voice from anyone. Cut back to the cockpit of Quarry as Baloo is speaking from the transmitter as Kit is pushing a button and switches from the backseat with Lillian. (Damn, I was hoping for Kit to mimic voices here because it makes more sense, but since the audio model uses voice sweetening, Baloo will have to do.) This allows Baloo to sound like Mr. Khan as Baloo orders Quarry to break off the pursuit and return to Cape Suzette. Quarry cannot believe this; but Baloo yells at him to comply at once. Quarry sells and Khan squad turns around and flies away from the Sky Raker without further incident. Kit praises Baloo; but Baloo gives the credit to Harrison on that one. Cut back to WildCat flying the SeaDuck and doing hyperboles as Rebecca is air sick now while the pirates shoot at the SeaDuck. We are at 3.0 Trigun now; and that's three too many in the modern era of Disney. (Word, former self.) WildCat claims that he's not as good of a pilot as Baloo is. Baloo has these awesome skills as a pilot that prevent air sickness. I thought Baloo was above such quackery?! (Super Baloo comics, Vertigo Baloo. Former self is correct here.)

In comes Wiley and the planes as two pilots from the grey plane shove down boxes of apples and oranges; nailing Mad Dog and Gibber in the process as Gibber now has yellow shading on his face. Kit looks on from the binoculars as he proclaims that more air pirates are coming after the SeaDuck and asks Baloo what they are going to do. Baloo proclaims that they will crash as Lillian is shocked and appalled. The Sky Raker goes into a tailspin (BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!) as the tail has sustained too much damage. Rebecca and WildCat notice and want to help the Sky Raker; but the pirates shoot at the SeaDuck forcing the SeaDuck to pull up into the sky as the Sky Raker spirals and lands in the ocean. KA-BLASH? That was odd. (These sound effects infliction has no idea what they are doing at this point.) Baloo, Kit and Lillian recover as they are fine. Kit proclaims that the pirates must be stopped but Baloo doesn't know what to do and then realizes that there is an audio model for Don Karnage's voice as they replayed Don Karnage's blow off of Captain Quarry. Kit and Lillian believe that Baloo is going to make the pirates retreat like Captain Quarry, but Baloo disagrees because he has a better idea. We head back to the cockpit of Captain Quarry (UH-OH!) as Baloo is speaking -- via Don Karnage's voice model -- from the transmitter taunting Quarry into a fight and claiming that he has the blueprints and the prototype. Quarry is ticked off and the urge to kill is rising as he accepts the fight and turns around towards Don Karnage, who is in his CT-37 listening to the radio. UH-OH! He's gonna wish he didn't jury rigged the radio now. All CT-37's in the area turn around and fly away stage left and basically turn on him. UH-OH! Don pleads for mercy because he didn't say that. No he didn't; but who cares? He calls them liver-lillied fraidy-gatos. Which is hilarious considering that only Hal is a legit cat and in this story; Hal is not a tabby cat; but a generic Ducktales dog nose. (These artists do not care anymore and keep sabotaging Bobbi Weiss' otherwise great story.) WildCat looks on from the SeaDuck admitting that he's tired as Rebecca wipes her hands clean of this. We head back to the Sky Raker as it is bobbing on the ocean and is much more damaged than it should have been. The doors open. Rebecca, WildCat, Mack and Wiley are on the wings as Baloo is embracing Lillian who is in tears again. (She knows the Sky Raker is toast now.)

Then the control panel completely sparks and fizzles out as Lillian calls out for Harrison again. Baloo points out that the console shorted out and WildCat can fix it in no time. Baloo calls Don Karnage a stupid pirate as he proclaims that Don Karnage was hellbent on getting blueprints that don't exist at all. However, Lillian then admits in tears that there are blueprints in the console control unit. Harrison photograph the blueprints and put them in microfilm which were hidden in the console control unit. Oh; and there is only one set of blueprints and the original was burned. (Somehow, I think this was supposed to lead to something. However...) We head back to Khan's office as Khan is very disappointed in Quarry's actions as Quarry explains that they shot the plane down, which is a lie since the Sky Raker itself went down because the Iron Vulture snipped the tail of the Sky Raker. Quarry claims Don had the blueprints causing Khan to get in his face and tell him that Quarry lost him. However; Quarry is lucky because if it was really Karnage, Karnage would have sold the blueprints to Shere Khan anyway for a lot of money. Khan then asks about Lillian as I discover she is supposed to be eighteen years old. (Which means Baloo is a probably twenty-one years old in storyline.) Quarry says he never saw her -- which is true -- and Khan dismisses him from the office. We head to Higher For Hire as all the babyfaces are on the docks with the Sky Raker completely fixed and re-painted in a green color. That's a nice thing to do as WildCat explains that the control console with the blueprints are gone as they were jogged out of the Sky Raker during the tail biting and it fell into the sea. WildCat also explains the sparks were caused by the tubes being so wet. Lillian sobs a lot here as the blueprints are gone and the Sky Raker cannot talk to her anymore. This sounds like she is childish; but she doesn't know if her father is dead or alive and that voice is the only thing that connects her to her father. Baloo tells her that the Sky Raker can still fly and it's still a great design according to Baloo. Baloo even thinks Lillian can figure out the blueprints of the Sky Raker on her own which causes Lillian to stop crying and calls Baloo wonderful.

So, several weeks later -- according to the narration --, which is odd because the previous scene seemed to also be weeks later. (Not a big deal, it really doesn't matter at this point.) Anyhow; they are at the docks as Baloo gives Lillian a picture of Harrison and Rebecca gives Lillian some money to get started in her new place. WildCat gives Lillian a hug as she is wearing purple on the first shot and then as she gets into the Sky Raker; she's wearing a red fur coat. Lillian is so happy as she thanks everyone for getting her confidence back in trusting people again. Lillian waves farewell as she is leaving in search of Harrison again as everyone waves goodbye in response. Sadly; Kit didn't give her a gift, which I wanted to see so badly. We head back to Khan's office as Khan is looking out of the window with binoculars as he sees the Sky-Raker in the sky and wonders about it. The closing shot of this two part story is at the beach of an island as we see the control console box in pieces and on the sand is a microfilm containing the Sky-Raker blueprints. Something tells me this comic was the beginning of something and while I don't know what the story is; I'm guessing that this series was planned to go 13 comic books with the Sky-Raker being involved as a grand finale. Of course, the series only went seven issues before the plug was pulled. In fact; issue eight's preview was supposed to be called "The Spy Who Bugged Me" featuring a character named Agent Booker. (Which some claimed it was a remake of "A Spy In The Onitment", but it clearly was an original story. There were also rumors of Detective Thursday making a return, but that was speculation at best.) However, issue eight was scrapped along with most of the comics of this series. (Only two new stories since the run ended have been found and released.) It also didn't help that many of the comic book writers didn't really want to handle TaleSpin since it wasn't considered a Duck Comic book series by any measure. That explains the overuse of Darkwing Duck and Ducktales stories while TaleSpin got the crumbs. (Actually, only Ducktales since Darkwing Duck didn't get a lot of stories either due to the implosion of the comics.) Too bad; since this story was great for the most part and I was looking forward to seeing Lillian again after this; under the knowledge that somehow, Disney Comics cared even less about TaleSpin than Eisner did for television. (Rush jobs and culture can kill the best, you see.) Luckly; Bobbi Weiss did care and we got a **** 1/2 (90%) comic story out of it. Bobbi does a better job writing new stories than adapting television ones; though.

MailSpin #1: Finally; we have the MailSpin segment as they announced that the TaleSpin characters will all be reading your personal letters about this series. I don't think Kit ever got a chance to answer letters; which makes me sad. (Rumors suggest that he would have read letters during the planned adaptation of "Stuck On You" since he was on a pencilized drawing of the cover, although it could have easily been a cover for the hardcover version of the same episode due to the "Old Man & The SeaDuck" removing Rebecca completely and keeping WildCat in the SeaDuck from the start.) Kirk Czarnicki claims that Don Karnage is like Bob Hope a little bit. Also, there is a letter from one of my TaleSpin fan fic writers, none other than Dan Green. In an amazing moment; he doesn't mention Kit here, because Kit was the reason he got hooked into this show according to him. Lisa Auslander's letter is really sad in a sense because it just goes to show you that Disney wasn't too kind to deaf people back then and I feel bad for Lisa because the adaptation of Plunder and Lightning is nowhere near faithful to the television version and thus she'll probably never know about it unless she read my transcripts on the Rant Shack. Also of note: David Cody Weiss (beloved of Bobbi JG Weiss) isn't carrying back issues and tells us to go back to the store. And that Michael Hill is moving on from Disney Comics to DC Comics. So there you have it; this was a boring MailSpin segment which kind of kills the joke.

THE REVIEW LINE

Well; I finished my second and third comic story in this series, not including the five comic books adaptions of television episdoes, and this felt like a step below a great two part episode. The storyline is great and I do like Lillian a lot; but this story had a few problems; mostly with the unusual green shading effects and of course the mistake with Hal not looking like Hal at all. With some editing and seasoning; I betcha you can make a kick ass two part episode out of this story. I would have added some extra stuff in like mentioning that the SeaDuck was designed by Harrison to further ingrain the connection between Baloo, WildCat and Lillian even more than in this story. I like Flight Of The Sky Raker and I really liked that they built this all episode up in order to set up a possible grand finale that no one is ever going to see because the comic books got scrapped due to low sales -- story of TaleSpin's merchandise life , indeed - as it was your typical TaleSpin love in: Great characters, a wicked dogfight which would have been kick ass on television, and the characters were what you would expect from the television series. The only problems are the coloring errors; which looks more laughable than when Walt Disney Animation France makes them. Lillian is still very good and I didn't mind her crying since it was understandable that she's upset about losing the last connections to her father. I also like her lack of trusting others because she was playing Kit Cloudkicker's gimmick to the hilt while at the same time not trying to act like a jerk. There were some really funny moments; including Rebecca's motive for joining Baloo in this plan and I was amused by Kit sitting on Lillian's lap. Overall; this was a really great story that with some really good editing; it would be a great way to start a second season of TaleSpin. Heck; Lillian can even be a main recurring character for it since she isn't a stereotype like Bubba was in Ducktales and is more dramatic than Gizmo Duck was. However; it was not to be since Disney didn't care about TaleSpin. Next up is Idiots Aboard! and this I believe is the only Trader Moe comic story in the series. This one's a humdinger since Bobbi actually has a clue unlike most DTVA comic book writers and actually paid off the whole "I need new goons" angle that the television writing team didn't. (This one also featured a shooting gallery and the fourth nephew reference! Stay tuned!) So...

Thumbs up for this story (both issues) and I'll see you next time.

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