TaleSpin Comics: The Gates Of Shambhala

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TaleSpin Comics: The Gates Of Shambhala Rant

Reviewed: 09/16/2016
Additional Commentary: 12/21/2025

Welcome To The Wacky World Of TaleSpin Comics, Part Six!

Original Release: 03/00/1992 (The Silver Tongue), 04/00/1992 (Idol Chatter), 05/00/1992 (The Voice Of Wisdom).

Okay; we now focus on one of the big epic stories that was written for the comics. This edition features a story about a business man who wants to find a mystical paradise in order to cure the pain in his heart. This story is a big one because it revealed a fair bit of story about Kit Cloudkicker, Shere Khan, Rebecca and Don Karnage that the television series didn't do because they were too afraid of moral guardians, or Michael Eisner's mandate on Baloo being milked. (2025 Gregory Weagle Says: Or, to invoke Occam's Razor: Buy time for Darkwing Duck and just put on a good show.) The story appeared in Disney Adventures Volume 2.05/2.06/2.07 split into three weeks of comics. I really like this comic; but is this a great story?! Let's rant on shall we...?!

The Gates Of Shambhala is written by Bobbi JG Weiss and art was done by Oscar Saavedra, Carlo Paura, Raul Barbero, Ruben Torreiro, Jose Massaroli and Robert Bat. Carlos Paura drew several comics for the American Disney studios through the Jaime Diaz Studio in the 1990s. Often as an inker for his fellow studio artists Oscar and Horacio Saavedra, but also as an occasional penciller, he has worked on stories with TV characters like 'Talespin', 'Gummi Bears' and the 'Rescue Rangers'. Rubén Adalberto Torreiro is a comic artist from Buenos Aires, who has mainly done inking duties on Disney comics. He worked as an inker for Editorial Dante Quinterno from 1964 to 1976 and then joined the Jaime Diaz Studio. Until 1997, he worked as an inker on many Disney stories created for European publications, that were penciled by studio colleagues like Hector De Urtiága, Horacio Saavedra and Anibal Uzál. He also worked in cooperation with fellow inkers Carlos Valenti and Roberto Bat. Torreiro's credits include mainly the 'Goofy' history comics and 'Duck Tales' and 'Rescue Rangers' stories. He also did pencils on a couple of 'Gummi Bears' stories. Since 1992 he is additionally an inker of 'Animaniacs', 'Bugs Bunny' and 'Looney Tunes' stories for DC Comics. From 1997 to 2005 he was affiliated with Daniel Branca's studio and since 1997 he is also working for Studio Duendes del Sur on Disney stories for the Dutch Donald Duck weekly, as well as series like 'Monster Allergy'.

Jose according to lambiek: José Massaroli was born in Ramallo, Buenos Aires. He studied arts at the Instituto Ida with Angel Borisoff, Narciso Bayón and Pablo Pereyra. He published his first comic stories in the magazines Hijitus and Larguirucho in 1973. That same year, he contributed to Más Allá del Terror. He learned the finer points of the profession from Lito Fernández, with whom he worked on series like 'Dennis Martin', 'Haakon' and 'Precinto 56'. In 1975, he commenced drawing realistic stories for the publishing houses Columba, Record, Universo (Italy) and D.C. Thomson (UK). He switched to humour in 1981 and cooperated on Ja Ja and Rico Tipo. He created 'Orquídeo Maidana' for Caras y Caretas in 1982 and made comic biographies of Juan Moreira, Manuel Dorrego, Facundo Quiroga and Chacho Peñaloza for the daily La Voz in 1983. In 1985, he joined the Jaime Díaz Studios as a lay-out man and participated in TV series like 'Aladdin', 'Timon & Pumbaa', 'Scooby Doo', 'The Smurfs', 'The Jetsons' and 'The Pink Panther', while continuing to contribute terror stories to Gespenster Geschichten for Bastei in Germany. He also published in magazines like Sex Humor, Fierro, Satiricón and Zona 84. In the early 1990s, Massaroli began drawing stories with Disney television and movie characters for the American Disney Adventures periodical. He additionally made stories with 'The Flintstones' and illustrations for Look and Find. Under the guidance of Daniel Branca, he was introduced to the Danish publisher of Disney comics, Egmont. Massaroli has drawn 'Duck' stories for Anders And & Co. magazine since 1997. By 2010 he was additionally drawing 'Savage Beauty' for Moonstone Publishing in the USA.

Act 1- The Silver Tongue: We begin this one in Khan's office as Khan is on the phone sighing that one of his planes went down again. Khan then tells him not to do anything since he wants evidence that the Air Pirates are responsible since they never attacked that area before. (Or Khan's admitting that this might be drug trafficking or even human trafficking.) In comes a black dognose wearing a green sweater and brown pants in a panic telling Khan that someone has walked past sercuity and no one can stop him despite not having an appointment. In comes a blond lion furry in the exact same clothes as Khan, only his tie is red, shirt is pink; has blond hair and is carrying a cane with an eyepatch on his left eye. Khan tells his officers on the phone to lure Don Karnage into a false sense of security and trap him if he is indeed working the area. Khan hangs up as the lion furry calls Karnage clever. If only sir, if only. Khan is not amused as he demands answers to this outrage and the lion furry wants to shake hands. Khan addresses him as Lucius, who is an old friend of Mr. Khan for some reason. They shake hands as Khan asks why Lucius is even here and Lucius states that he's here to see a local pilot named Baloo. We logically head to the offices of Higher...For...Hire as Rebecca is at her desk reading papers while Baloo is whining and complaining about hauling boring stuff like kamquats, door knobs and chicken feed. He wants to do exciting stuff for a change of pace. Rebecca can offer him nothing more exciting than hauling dental floss to the Jamtooth Peanut Brittle Factory. I betcha it's on the island of Jamtooth too. (Believe it or not, there is a Jamtooth Baking company in Akron, Ohio that started in 2024. Otherwise, I have nothing to work with here.) Baloo groans in pain as we see Kit at a desk doing homework and Molly wants to play secret agent with it. I'm guessing secret agent Kit would be a double agent named EvilKit~! AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! (I had played with the idea that Evilkit would be Kit's villain identity in Danger Woman.) The pirate turned double secret enemy agent. That would be MONEY, MONEY, YEAH, YEAH! Or maybe not. Kit calls homework a way to torment him by adults. That's a load of bull, Kit. Everyone knows tickling is the perfect way to torment you. AHHAHAHAHAHAHA! POW! OUCH! Ummm...

The doorbell rings and Rebecca goes to answer while blowing off everyone. Rebecca opens the door; a hand gives her a letter and then disappears without responding at all. Rebecca opens the letter and it's from Mr. Khan of course. Rebecca reads the letter as we are told that Higher For Hire is to be at Khan Tower at two o'clock for a meeting to take part in an unusual and highly profitable business venture. It's signed "The Silver Tongue", not Shere Khan. Rebecca is shocked at this because he studied his life in business school and even wrote a thesis paper on him! I just love how Bobbi Weiss is fleshing out every character in this series. Except for Colonel Spigot; as you'll see in "Rise Of The Pillager Queen" later on, but who cares about the ultimate short joke anyway?! (Believe it or not, the television show did an amazing job with Colonel Spigot and Sgt. Dunder when it came to character development, even though most of it was for comedic effect.) Baloo thinks Rebecca wrote a thesis on a tongue as Rebecca explains that it's Lucius. Lucius is called "The Silver Tongue" because he can make people do things for him! It's the basis of his success. In other words; a non-bigoted version of Donald Trump; which is still deplorable in it's own way. Lucius is a treasure hunter and explorer who later became one of the richest businessmen in the world. I'm guessing he's fifth on the rich list, behind Shere Khan, David Xantatos, Flintheart Glomgold and Scrooge McDuck. (Only one of those DTVA characters is a homo sapien.) We also discover that Khan studied business from Lucius as Baloo calls him a con man right off the bat. However, Rebecca is so happy that she wants to meet him in person and even talk investment in her business. Baloo tells her to calm down and stop jumping to conclusions. Yeah; because that's Kit's gimmick. POW! OUCH! Ummm... Rebecca pulls Baloo towards the stairs, but Baloo pulls the arm away since Rebecca is trying to get him to look presentable upstairs. Yes; you can say heaven in the comics; but not hell. (I probably have said this before: A location called Hell can be said, but not a location called Heaven can be said in the real world.) Although Bobbi does find a way around that in Volcano Of Gold, sort of. (The "Lake Of Fire" everyone.)

Baloo isn't liking this and Molly agrees telling Rebecca to watch out for enemy agents. HEE HEE! We head to the conference room as Baloo, Rebecca, two extra black panther pilots, a fox furry in a red shirt and a rabbit furry in a blue shirt with a fur skin hat. Khan is propped against the wall with the Gruffi pose on as Lucius is on stage. Lucius cuts the hard sell promo as he proclaims that he is setting up an expedition to search for something the business world has never proved which is something greater than any treasure the mundane world has to offer. He is looking for...wait for it...wait for it...Shambhala! Which sounds like heaven; but it's basically the city of wisdom according to legend. (It's more closer to Valhalla than Heaven actually.) The fox furry scoffs at this myth while claiming no offense, which usually means what the guy said was offensive. Lucian takes no offense to it because no one has found it yet, so it might be a myth. (He has a silver tongue, but is as cool as Khan's cucumber, if you know what I mean. Sigh. I'll get my coat...) However; he has new insight into the location and he seeks traveling companions apporos to the tests. See, all of them share a common trait that they are the best in their fields and should be able to pass the tests of such a grueling journey. He also assured them that they will be paid according to that value. Baloo is not impressed because he's not that awesome as Rebecca rightfully elbows him in the shoulder. (Because in business, you don't look a gift horse in the mouth no matter how dangerous it is. So, being humble is not an asset here.) Lucius explains that Baloo's flying skills are renowned and are indicative of other useful traits he might not be aware. Like his ability to do back flips at five hundred pounds?! That kind of useful trait?! Lucius claims that he has a trustworthy ability to evaluate people and his assessment is apporos for his own needs. He briefly mention Kit and notices that he's not present as Baloo tells him that he is home doing homework. I'm surprised Lucius didn't sell the fact that he was doing homework because that implies that Kit is a child and that would be unusual. Lucius claims that he has read about Higher For Hire and Rebecca should find it intriguing. Rebecca asks what she has to offer and Lucius points out he needs resourceful people and she's resourceful.

An hour later, everyone except Baloo, Lucius, Rebecca and Khan leave the conference room as Baloo is now fully convinced that Lucius is on the up and up and this is like a paid treasure hunt. Rebecca isn't so thrilled because Lucius didn't want to invest in her business but Baloo doesn't care because he's going to pay them three times the amount in the same amount of time they normally get paid. Rebecca admits that it's true and then walks off claiming Baloo was bored an hour ago. Baloo giggles and said he was as he leaves with Rebecca. (Hey, the silver tongue routine worked then!) Lucius proclaims that they will do and he'll hire native guides and packmen once we're there. Khan claims that Lucius still needs security to guard them as he mentions that the people of Ubet Mountains are savages and it might take an army to protect him. Khan suggests his own security company could take care of that; but Lucius cuts off that deal because he has a plan as Khan asks what he has in mind. We head to Louie's and to the island counter as Don Karnage is choking the life out of Louie. I'm not joking, folks; Don Karnage has Louie by the neck as Don threatens to cut a third nostril out of Louie's nose. (Hell of a way to start the journey there, Bobbi.) Louie is blowing him off as Don is demanding a treasure map of some kind. Baloo and Kit enter the bar as the Bandalog wearing red coats and pants today. Only at Louie's would this be considered "casual Friday". AHHAHAHAHA! Mad Dog, Dumptruck and Gibber -- looking totally charcoal in the face today -- are distracted as the Banda-log attacks the heels while guns go off and coconuts get bonked off heads, making sure we get gun fire and concussions all in the same panel. Well played Bobbi, well played. (Sigh.) Coconuts get thrown by Baloo, which Kit only offers coconuts to him as the heels flee. Don Karnage gets one more parting promo before getting bonked in the head with a coconut before bailing for good; because you see, concussions are funny. Which they are not. Baloo wipes his hands clean of any responsibility, which is his gimmick in this show as he asks Louie what the problem is. Louie points out that Don is demanding a treasure map that he doesn't know what Karnage is talking about otherwise. We go to the island counter as Baloo and Louie exchange notes about Shambala as Baloo is going to Ubet.

Louie blows it off because he believe that Shambala is a myth paradise done by people who hate life and are depressed. (In other words, by god wannabe who cannot conquer anything and refuse to let themselves die.) Kit claims that it isn't a myth and the Valley Of Light is somewhere in the Javalava mountains in Ubet. (Wow, even Kit has been convinced by "The Silver Tongue" and Lucius hasn't officially met him in storyline! SUZY SHEEP~?!) Louie tells him to go to Thembria because it's cheaper to freeze out your eyeballs. (Also, cheaper in getting oppressed because Thembria in storyline is real.) Baloo points out that they are being paid a fortune and Lucius is providing everything as Louie asks why Baloo was picked. Baloo cuts a cocky promo; which causes Kit to blow him off because pilots need navigators, while Louie claims they need a reality check. Meanwhile; we see Don looking from the entrance with a cartoon bump on his head wondering about this whole thing. We head to inside the large Air Pirate plane as Don Karnage is looking at a map of the northern part of the Ubet Mountains. Strangely; there are towns listed in the area called Hydiho (Now and AI-first advisory firm), Haudidu (Now, an Estonian cemetery app), Bobbidav (!!) (Clearly a Bobbi Weiss self-insert), Kuri (A kitchen in a Zen monastery), Havanotta (A misspelling of Havan, a Brazilian retail chain) and the destination the SeaDuck is headed to as shown on the map: Lhas Ah Rizon. (Nowadays, these would likely have been erased in order to make to easier to translate into other languages, or are too offensive. I mention this because the new Disney Afternoon comic onmibus collection will contain this story as I write this.) Mad Dog is piloting the plane as he whines about this mission as Dumptruck thinks this is a snark hunt. I think he meant shark hunt as Don blows him off because there are no snarks in Shambhala. Don wants to steal it's treasure of course; because he's a heel pirate you see. Don calls the people wimpy little sheepie types with no weapons and that they grow flowers and smile all day along. Don paces around proclaiming that they are easy pickings and it will be the greatest plunder in the history of the Air Pirates. We see the SeaDuck land in Lhas Ah Rizon as Baloo proclaims that this place makes makes Thembria look like a summer resort. Oh come on; Pop-A-Bear!

I have seen Thembria; Lhas Ah Rizon is already a summer resort in comparison. You just don't like Asian stereotypes, bigot. After they land; Baloo, Kit, Rebecca and Lucius head to the base of some icy step as the palace is at the top of the mountain which Baloo complains about. Baloo asks why Lucius wants to see the Helu Dali Llama at the palace known as Potala. We head to the Grand Receiving Room as we see that the Helu Dali Llama is an old smiling brown dog wearing a Tibetian style robe and is sitting on a throne with vases. He greets the strangers and since they desire an audience, they shalt speak and he shalt listen. Lucius bows and asks about the legends of tunnels that lead directly from the palace directly to the valley of light. Helu asks why and Lucius honestly states that it's to seek the gate to Shambhala. Helu proclaims that no tunnels exist and that the "Valley Of Light" is a dream. Huh. Lucius asks to check the palace ground and Helu basically tells him to go away and seek his curiously elsewhere since it has gone astray and to seek the truth is to understand all. His thought goes to him as Baloo whisper yells about Helu's promos while Rebecca tells him to shut up basically. The babyfaces all walk out as Baloo is already convinced that Helu is lying because of his eyes which Kit asks why he would lie. Lucius doesn't care if he's lying because he asked a question, he got an answer and as a guest he cannot press further now. Baloo then asks Lucius why he cannot silver talk him and Lucius blows him off because the term is to motivate people, not order them with a magical whip. Lucius was pissed off at that and Baloo backs off as the babyfaces walk away stage left. Helu has a peaceful look on his face in the throne room as Lucius proclaims that if the tunnels do exist and Helu is lying, he's fine with it because he'll find them one way or the other. We head into the skies outside Lhas Ah Rizon as the SeaDuck is flying. Lucius wants to go south into the mountains to check the other cities on the map previously as the compass goes haywire, helpfully pointed out by Kit. Rebecca asks what is wrong and Baloo's flight stick goes haywire as if it was in a whirlwind; only with no wind. The SeaDuck is s-curving towards a running waterfall as Baloo apologizes for his flying skills and that ends Part One of the story. So far, so good even though it feels a bit slow at this point.

Act 2 - Idol Chatter: We begin with a narrator recap as Baloo still cannot steer the SeaDuck away from the waterfall. Anyhow; the narrator informs us that the Air Pirates are gaining on them and speaking of them; here comes the Air Pirate plane as we head into that cockpit. (That's an awfully weird logic break since they didn't mention the Air Pirate coming in until the beginning, when seeing them at the end of part one would have been more effective.) Don Karnage is shocked and appalled for flying straight into the mountain as the SeaDuck disappears into the waterfall. Then the Air Pirates plane goes haywire and then splash into the waterfall. I'm guessing it's called Magentic Waterfall. Don is calling everyone stupid like a dick who tortures the English language. (Oh, that was mean former self. Seems a little bit mean...) This leads to a funny moment inside the darkness:

Dumptruck: Are we dead?
Don Karnage: If so, heaven is disappointing.

Yes; Don Karnage truly believes that he is going to heaven and it's disappointing. He is such a tool! (Heaven is empty, Dog Garbage! Heaven is the final circle of hell where God tells you that life is meaningless. Kefka said this in double-speak, so it must be true.) The pirates plane flies through the mountain into the sky which somehow the hole is smaller than the airplane, so that requires some nasty movement. Anyhow; Don Karnage cuts a promo about Lucius being a tricky fellow; but Don cannot be given the slip-up so easily. We head to a small village of dog noses as the SeaDuck has landed in town. Lucius proclaims that the village is called "Meddo Py", which is not on any map and he's never heard of it. (Well, maybe the "Valley Of Light" is real after all...) All he knows that they must go on foot now. Baloo protests this because he's afraid the villagers will use the thing as firewood. Kit is worried about Lucius' ability to "silver tongue" Baloo into leaving the SeaDuck, but Baloo finally relents somewhat. (Didn't Lucius already say that it's motivation, not slavery....Oh wait, Kit is not trusting this male adult and not taking any chances with him.) Lucius assures Baloo that the SeaDuck will be fine as they head into the village as the fox furry, rabbit furry and two black panthers have also arrived in the square with Lucius with Baloo, Kit and Rebecca. (Okay, I get that the waterfall has magnetic properties and thus the reinforcements arrived earlier in finding the village via their airplane, but seriously this doesn't make much sense as there seems to be no backup plane.) The supplies, horses and six packmen have been bought and hired in that order. However, they still need a guide according to the fox furry. One of the black panthers states that if the maps are no long accurate that it would be foolish to travel without one. Then in comes a nobleman lizard furry proclaiming that he'll be the guide. He sounds scatterbrained and he pronounces "sir" as "sah" as Lucius is now wearing a grey coat to cover his shirt and tie. The lizard addresses himself as Himau, which is a location in Papua New Guinea. Lucius asks if he knows the area. Baloo whispers yells that if Himau is not a Ilama salesman, he'll eat his hat. Himau proclaims that he does and cook a mighty fine stew; which prompts Lucius to shake hands with him. Kit gives Baloo the pilot's hat and asks if he wants to bite in. HAHA! (Open mouth, insert foot.)

As this is happening, the heels are hiding behind a tent as Don proclaims that they are forming a carapace to travel deeper into the mountains. Thus this calls for some Krackpotkin plan making, or something along those lines. We head to an orange tent as the babyfaces are inside while Lucius is in a brown fur coat with boots on. (Why bother?! Oh wait, Lucius is rich and powerful, my mistake.) Himau is inside showing off various coats as Lucius tells them to make themselves at home. Next, the babyfaces get suited up with new clothes from the native seamstress as Kit is wearing a green jumpsuit and boots. Baloo is wearing a brown fur coat along with Rebecca -- although Rebecca's is a white trim -- and boots. Baloo is amazed by this special treatment. Lucius proclaims that he's only making sure his employees don't freeze when they climb higher into the mountains. (Lucius don't care about costs because the payoff risk is worth the highest rewards possible. Lucius is somehow a lot more benevolent David Xanatos. It's too damn bad that TaleSpin was a rush job because seeing two rich powerful men trying to bankrupt themselves while developing character would be a great thing to see.) After they have yak stew and drinks, which Himau is pouring from a wine bottle; Lucius starts to confess that he hired the three babyfaces not just because they have the skills he needs; but because he needed people who believed in his goal in order to stay true with the mission. You see; Baloo is not a mountaineer and Rebecca's investment skills do him no good. Kit is amazing; but still hasn't graduated from grade school yet, so in storyline, Kit is still in grade six. (That would be consistant with his age.) Also, Lucius notes that Shambhala is merely a place and what he seeks something greater than that, causing Baloo to think that the screw job is coming now and Louie told him so. Lucius explains that wealth was never his goal even though he didn't realize of this until recently. See; as his wealth has grown, the emptiness in his own life had grown as well. What he really wants is wisdom you see (And don't we all?!) in order to understand why he is alive, why he's successful and yet still bring him emptiness?! And Shambhala is the source of all wisdom according to the legends. If there is an answer to the pain in his heart, he will find it there.

Baloo tells him to cut the engine and tells Lucius that if he wants to go on a treasure hunt, then he doesn't have to have a sneaky reason for it. Lucius claims that he's honest about finding this wisdom stuff and finding it before it's too late. He also praises them for understanding wisdom that Shere Khan lacks. Rebecca states that this still doesn't explain how they can help him and Lucius doesn't know that yet; but is certain something will happen. (That's not a good look for Lucius, methinks.) Meanwhile outside; there are three dark-skinned furries with colored robes, turbans and swords outside talking about destroying the travelers because they are way too trustworthy. Don Karnage, Dumptruck and Mad Dog all run in and grab the three dog noses as Mad Dog whines. I discover to my amusement that Mad Dog has the brains of a toad. (While Dumptruck has the brains of a bone. Mad Dog is still smarter than Dumptruck. Somehow.) We soon discover that the dog noses were supposed to be the babyfaces; and the pirates screwed it up. How could they screw this up when two of the furries are the same height?! That's really stupid! (Normally this would be a SUZY SHEEP~ moment, but this is not the writers fault, nor the artists. The Air Pirates are suppose to be stupid in storyline.) However; the heels turn the tide despite dodging sword blows and subdue the minions and steal their clothes ala Locke Cole from Final Fantasy VI. WHEW! A lot of birthday suits in that fight. AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! The fox, rabbit and black panther furries hear the noise and run over as the pirates are in the minion outfits. (Okay; if this made television, they would have names. It's only fair.) Don Karnage yells bandits and murderers while Mad Dog is still whining about the dress. (Well, it's nice to know that murder can still be allowed in the Disney Comics at this point.) This is just great because even though the pirates are heels; they subdues the other heels who were going to kill the babyfaces anyway. The babyfaces run in as one of the black panthers confirms that the three minions who were plotting to kill the babyfaces were in fact double packmen. Lucius thanks them -- really he should -- asks if they need anything and Mad Dog is fine with anything without a yak in it. Don elbows him in the ribs as he cuts his usual mangling English promo. Think Ultimate Warrior; only funnier.

Dumptruck whistles as as Lucius offers them meals and shakes Don's hand. The pirates are scooted stage left by Don as he doesn't want Kit to notice. Which Kit notices anyway and is deep in thought while Baloo asks what is the matter. Kit decides to let it go and walk off stage right with Baloo. (Kit figures that the Air Pirates are so stupid that being the rearguard of the team would make his enemy look even worse than it already is.) It's been days later in the morning as the babyfaces and heels are all riding on horses away from the village. Himau and Lucius exchange notes as Kit is riding a horse with Himau as Himau is explaining that he's guiding them to Sizhizzia home of the great temple of infinity. Baloo and Rebecca are also riding horses. Rule #45 - Baloo riding a horse should be considered animal cruelty, in my humble opinion. (Rule #54 - Adult Molly riding on Adult Kit's back is millions of buys. Seth Rogan: You can have that one for free!) Himau explains that there is an idol of wisdom which grants them wisdom for the ages. Geez; I wrote a fanfic about this, everyone told me to stick to reviewing cartoons. No, not really. (No, not at all. Former self made that one up. Bobbi's version is much better than my fanfic I should note.) The heels grumble as they are carrying much more than their weight; but Don wants them to shut up as Himau explains that the idol cannot be touched by mere humans since the mortal world is corrupt. One day; the person who is the High Llama will come and take the idol, and with the power to bring peace to the world. (Uh-oh! This world is doomed to be a dead husk since peace can also happen when you are dead.) So, the Great Ilama -- Baloo from "Destiny Rides Again" -- is not the High Llama. (Hey, we got to make sure the differences are shown between the two. Sadly, Destiny Rides Again was an average episode that would have sucked without Kit Cloudkicker carrying it.) Then again; the High Llama would be someone who would be the Rob Van Dam of this world. AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! POW! OUCH! Ummmm... (Why do bigoted men hate chill dudes?! Isn't a chilled dude the most confident person in the world? Maybe smoking the weed (within reason of course) would do them some good. It's not like their views are any more pure than the weed anyway.)

Oh, and the idol remains in the temple guarded by the mystic guardian known as Dodalla. (An Indian diary company.) Lucius proclaims that finding Sizhizzia is a good omen and want to set up camp outside the city. (Sizhizzia is a misspelling of "split", so it's Splitizzia. Sigh.) Wait; so the city is to the west. I would have flipped the image so the city was to the right. That was dumb. (Why did you give this comic story a perfect rating?! It's a very good story so far, but the flaws are clearly showing at this point.) It's AFTER HAPPY HOUR (after dark) as the heels are at the temple and they open the doors while Don calls them stupid for keeping the doors locked. (Yeah, because it's somehow smarter to keep the doors open and let the robbers rob. Did the Ontario Police take Cleveland Notes from Don Karnage?!) They head inside and through the hallways as Don has his pistol. (Which is a rare sight in the series; since he normally uses his sword. Most of the time when he shoots guns, it's often with his airplane machine guns.) Don Karnage proclaims that he has nothing but good ideas. Pirate For A Day states that you are bull shitting everyone, including yourself there Don. (It's a good thing Kit Cloudkicker wasn't there to hear it, Kit would probably laugh himself to death and Don Karnage would be there to take credit for it.) Also; he calls the locals scheme a foolish-proof plan. Yeah; I'll bet. (He's going to regret those actions and Dodalla is much more powerful than Kit ever was.) They walk underneath a stone throne above a doorway as there is a dog nose furry sitting cross-legged on the throne with Viking gear. She opens her blue eyes and I'm guessing that she is Dodalla. Don makes it to an alter lit with stone torches of flame as the idol is shown. ( A golden pyramid like structure with jewels and an eye on it. Not quite the Eye Of Providence used a lot in Gravity Falls; but it's very close.) Don is giddy; but this is clearly a big error on his part because the rule is: If anything is lit up in the temple, you know that this is a big setup. (Yup, that is EXACTLY was it is. Don Karnage is dumber than Daddy Pig.) Down comes Dodalla with her red cape and spear.

Then, all the dog nose statues come alive and drop down to surround the heels. (Doing a better job at deception than the Jurals ever could. And they are not supposed to be heels. Tweeners maybe, but not heels.) Somehow; Himau followed them to the temple; and overhears that Dodalla is going to kill Karnage; and somehow knows his name. (SUZY SHEEP~?!) Lucius panics, runs out of the temple towards camp and slams right into Baloo's belly on the way. HEE HEE! I can only imagine how great this was if this made television. But that would require Disney execs having a clue; and they didn't at the time. Anyhow; Himau went to the temple to meditate. So, in other words; he worships Dodalla! Wow; what a barbaric goddess she turned out to be! Must be God's beloved. (Wow, no one punched me in the neck on that one. You so called true Christians are slipping here. Oh wait, a true Christian is supposed to hate God and Dodalla is a woman. My mistake.) Baloo tells him to lay off the spicy food as Himau explains that someone wanted to steal the idol, got caught by Dodalla and Himau believes that she is going to kill him next! Well; there's a good reason to rescue Karnage then. (Yeah, to save Himau from himself.) Baloo scoffs at the notion that Karnage is here, which he should know better than that. (Maybe Kit should have told Baloo earlier after all.) Then they go to the temple and Baloo realizes that it is Don Karnage. They are at the idol and somehow Mad Dog isn't in the room. (Uh-Oh! They killed Mad Dog...Oh wait, he appears later. My mistake!) Himau proclaims that they cannot do anything for them as Dodalla wants to execute them. Kit asks what to do and Baloo proclaims that Karnage is more rotten than a black banana; but no demon is going to cash his chips on them. (That sounds a wee racist there, Pop-A-Bear.) Funny since; it's clear Dodalla is a woman, unless Baloo is implying that Dodalla is a man that looks like a woman. (Somehow, I wouldn't be surprised if that were true to Baloo.) Dodalla orders the minions to take Don Karnage and company to the pit and they are marched out of the room. Baloo and Kit try to run in as Baloo has lost his boots now. Baloo bumps into the table containing the idol in which they were hiding behind their backs. Baloo grabs the idol and it shocks Baloo, forcing him to drop it on the table. (Baloo, you are NOT the High Illama!) This causes Dodalla to return, yells for her minions to seize them and that ends part two of this story. Now we are finally getting into the meat of this story as this is another classic TaleSpin story with magic and mystic things in worlds yet not seen.

Act 3 - The Voice Of Wisdom: We continue on with Himau running from the temple snorting wind as he runs to Rebecca and tells her to come to the temple while running into the tent to get Lucius. (Himau's endurance sucks if he is blown up by now. Time to seek a new religion there, sir.) Rebecca runs into the temple and experiences horror beyond belief. Don Karnage is hanging from his wrists from a pulley rope through a lava pit. Baloo, Mad Dog and Dumptruck are tied to the wrists and ankles; but somehow, Kit is the only one who isn't. Wow; Bobbi didn't like Citizen Khan for some reason. (I club BS&P! Personally, I would have a storyline reason and invoke the "chosen child" angle here to justify this. However, at this point, it doesn't matter since TaleSpin was doomed as a "just there to protect the Disney Afternoon block until Darkwing Duck, our lord and savior, arrives" show.) Dodalla sees Rebecca right away and she is grabbed as this is the chamber of death. Seriously, that it what it is called. (No walking around the lake of fire here, no siree!) Rebecca asks her to let Don go, but Dodalla no-sells because she thinks Rebecca is tricking her into believing that she cares about releasing her friends; but not really Don, which brings the idol no honor. She is just another sociopath asshole then, using inanimate objects to justify her behavior. (Which one?! POW! OUCH! Ummmm. Okay, it's Dodalla.) Don Karnage blows off Rebecca as he has two different color boots now. (It's little things like this that make a perfect rating harder to justify, former self.) As they lower Karnage, Lucius runs in as Dodalla demands answers to this outrage. Lucius claims a grave injustice and knows what happened here claiming Baloo is innocent. Dodalla no sells because he touched the idol and Don tried to steal it, thus the idol must be cleansed to stop the transgressions. She really is a brutal deity. (She might as well be a flying nun.) Lucius then has an offer, whisper yells to Baloo to follow his lead and Baloo decides to go along with it. (Lucius' "Silver Tongue" is working it's magic, I see.) Lucius then demands that they forgive Don Karnage shocking every single one of the babyfaces. And why should they?! Don Karnage is a terrorist in storyline.

However; Lucius claims that he forgave them for abusing his trust in them and also forgave them for using him to reach the city and descrate it. (Hey, this is a good idea and it makes Dodella look like the horrible person that she is, thus forcing her hand to release him in order to save face.) Baloo, Rebecca and Kit sort of forgive him as Rebecca seems the most honest and Kit is the least honest of the three. (Baloo is in the middle. Kit really has no reason to forgive him unless you play "blame the victim" here.) Don is amazed at this as we wait for a few moments and she just walks off with her troops. I suppose she spared them; but doesn't say anything. Lucius thanks her and we head outside. I got to admit; I like this scene; but Lucius sounded more honest than the babyfaces here and they still got away with it. Lucius calls out Don Karnage's evil ways, but also states that he has some nerve. Lucius offers a deal to them: Come with them legit to his expedition as he needs some good fighters. Kit isn't so sure about this deal and I share his concerns. Although they are for a different reason: Have you seen these three fight?! (Yeah, Kit is still not happy that he has to work with the guy who made him into a horrible heel for a year. More on that later because there is a really big revelation that eliminates any doubt about Kit's involvement with the Air Pirates.) They suck at it; except for Don of course and he couldn't beat Captain Hook from Peter Pan in Raw Toonage. (Ooooh, that was a sick burn. On whom?! Good question. I'll leave the answer as an exercise to the reader.) Mad Dog whines about this so Don smacks Mad Dog in the face because he is going to pay a debt to Lucius after saving him. Besides; he also wants the treasure anyway and you cannot look a gift horse in the mouth on that. Mad Dog apparently has sinus problems which is a sign of a broken nose. (I know he's supposed to sound nasel, but he never had sinus problems like this.) Don and Lucius shake hands on the deal and that is that. We head outside the area and they are stuck at a dead end cliff. Kit is still riding his horse with Himau as there is ground crumbling from the gorge up above. Himau panics as he sees Nomads raiders who legit kill people. (Well, I shouldn't be surprised considering the comic books' relation to the Donald Duck/Uncle Scrooge comics being loaded with such stereotypes.)

Kit brings out his airfoil and it is bloody red in color. This was a popular color in the tie-in materials, coloring books and other comics and almost never made television. (Old Man & The SeaDuck is likely a coloring error.) However, if TaleSpin is ever rebooted: I hope they do the angle of Kit having multiple colored airfoils -- and also have all of them have unique strengths and abilities -- which would make the entire idea of custom airfoils be more than a stylist's choice. You should see some of the colored airfoils in the Non-English versions of these comics. One French comic has a purple airfoil with a blue middle. (Listen TaleSpin fans: TaleSpin was a show made for 6-12 year olds despite the writers doing what is really a protest in making it an "adult show" disguised as a kids show. The reason TaleSpin is on the reboot short list was due to Kit Cloudkicker and Molly Cunningham being children and Baloo being a manchild to a far less extent! Kit Cloudkicker was the reason the original TaleSpin got approved in the first place. Reminder: The execs rejected a mostly adult B-Players show featuring Baloo, yet one photo of Kit Cloudkicker cloudsurfing was enough to get TaleSpin approved and that Baloo was just there to justify the re-release of The Jungle Book movie. Kids are the main audience of these cartoons. So, it makes perfect sense and money to have Kit Cloudkicker have different colored airfoils! Again to Seth Rogan: You can have that one for free.) Kit is thrown by Baloo into the air and Kit surfs on the airfoil into the air. This completely violates the laws of gravity and physics, but by god, it looks cool! Lucius is as shocked as I am. Baloo states that Kit is scanning the back of the trail and Kit has such amazing eyesight that he can see sentires on horseback even though we cannot see them. That's quite a talent Kit has there. Rebecca wants to bail; but the black panther dressed in a green coat and hat states that it's useless since the area is a maze and could hit another dead end. However; Don Karnage has a plan as he remembers setting up a trap for the silver air carriers in Fibi. (I'm guessing it's a parody of The Fiji Islands.) That is not important in itself. However, what is important is that Kit remembers it because he was one of the ones who carried out the plan.

Yes; we have our first sign of Kit actually comitting a legit crime for the Air Pirates in this series. (Which means all the theories about Kit Cloudkicker not being involved in any of the terrorist acts the Air Pirates did is completely out the window now. It's called accessory, folks.) Kit remembers that they used planes and dynamite for that one; but Don insists that they will modify the plan with horses and big rocks. Baloo is confused at this as Kit explains that this is an old Air Pirate trick. This makes the whole "Kit is the first killer of DTVA" even more believable now. (Goodbye, alibi!) Kit tells Lucius to follow the orders of Dumptruck and Mad Dog as Baloo is unsure of this. Yes; Kit is accepting Don Karnage at face value and it's Baloo who is dismayed. That is the exact opposite of what I was told about this story from others. Don grabs Kit as there is no time for tender bye-byes. Kit tells Baloo not to worry as they did this before, sort of. Kit is literally cloudsurfing from a riding horse as Don Karnage rides taunting the Nomads, who are as generic stereotypes as you can get. Kit tells Karnage to turn right into a gully, then turn right at the fork and down the next pass as Kit lets go of the rope. Don Karnage sells it as if they are partners. If you ever want to know where Ted Heinz got the Kit & Karnage meme from, this is the story you want to look at. Keep in mind; this is not a fanfic! This is straight from a comic book that Disney sold to kids! We head to a dead end as Kit sees Mad Dog waving with something as Kit proclaims that they are ready. Kit lands on the edge far away from Dumptruck and Baloo as Don jumps off his horse and bails behind the rocks. All the male babyfaces and heels push two large rocks as Kit flies up over the gorge as one of the nomads says one word. ("Uh-oh!" Yeah.) The rocks tumble down and bury them. Mad Dog and Dumptruck tease robbing them; but Lucius tells them to back off because saving their lives is enough. Don calls for Lucius as he and Baloo comes down and notice something that was caused the rocks to be loose. I'm guessing that they were supposed to climb up, but Lucius bails away from the wall. Don calls Baloo's attempt to save them from the temple an even deal as Baloo wasn't keeping score.

Anyhow; much later on, we head into a snowy area as the winds are whipping. Lucius is looking for something as Himau proclaims that they have waited for hours and found nothing, but Kit actually thinks this is the spot. Don Karnage blows this off as stupid and it's so cold even Rebecca and Baloo are shivering, along with the heels. Notice Don Karnage's stuttering seems to make him not torment the English language. That's awesome! (He's turning into Ducktales 2017 Don Karnage now! Sadly, it's clear that Dan and Anthrax are not the same guy!) Baloo wants Lucius to call off the search and return to Sizhizzia to regroup; but Lucius doesn't want to turn back which causes Don to really get steamed at Lucius, calling himself a fool to listen to Lucius. Lucius tells them they can leave, but he is staying. Lucius feels the wind and flicks on air which causes light from the skies to expose a giant golden door. The door opens and a woman wearing a purple dress robe with golden trim, a tiara hat and large earrings comes out of it. We then discover that it's Dodalla herself who defends the gates, guardian of the idol and is the patron of truth. Yes folks, she is the goddess of Shambhala because she is also the High Llama as well. This actually makes sense because she left the temple with her followers earlier in the story. She simply went back to the gate and knew Lucius was coming. Dodalla is suddenly praising everyone for making it this far and praises Lucius for passing the tests set before Lucius. Lucius is confused about this as Dodalla explains that Lucius is a child of wisdom because he rejects his vast material wealth, ventured forward to seek a greater treasure and he had the courage to pass each test put forward. We then get flashbacks of each scene where Lucius passed every test from the test of judgment, fortitude, mercy, compassion and even cleverness. Especially when he created the map rumor just to lure the pirates and bend them their savage impulses to their worthy goals, which the High Llama respects that. Dumptruck and Don Karnage cannot believe this as Baloo chuckles that everyone was duped on that level. Dodalla invites Lucius to walk among them and walk through the gate. Lucius asks if he can enter Shambhala; but there is a problem: His companions cannot enter and they must be killed...again! Remember that she backed off and left; but never said that she wouldn't spare their lives?! Yeah; we should have seen this coming a mile away. Lucius cannot believe this in spite of the pirates helping him as Dodalla doesn't want anyone to see the sacred gates since Don is along and everyone else is accessory after the fact. Geez; Dodalla would make a great police chief in a corrupt city methinks.

Don has to be restrained by Baloo and the black panther furry. I guess his second mate is dead or missing. Dodalla tells Lucius to make his choice now. Lucius basically tells Dodalla to sod off to bed as he declines the terms and is walking away from the gate because she has booked him into an impossible and immoral corner. He refuses to enter because it's basically trading his desires for their lives. Dodalla then proclaims that he passed the final test which is the test of sacrifice. Which means he can enter Shambhala without having his companions murdered by her troops. Of course -- if they prove themselves worthy -- they can enter Shambhala as well as Lucius hugs Baloo and company, saying his goodbyes to them. I can imagine this being a really emotional moment if this made television. Lucius waves goodbye as he walks through the gates into Shambhala and the golden doors disappear in a flash of light. Lucius was amazing here, as he literally is now the opposite of Shere Khan and Xanatos all in one fell swoop. I ended up respecting him in the end and he really cared about everyone involved in the project, including the Air Pirates. This is an awesome story and I'm sadden that this wasn't considered as a series finale. Sometimes, Eisner sucks. But you already knew that. So, the final scene is the SeaDuck and the Air Pirate plane flying through the mountain and out of the water fall. Don is on the transmitter as he wants to fly back in Tandemonium as Baloo likes that as Rebecca proclaims that Lucius has changed everyone for the better. Kit notices that Don Karnage is nice now as Don offers to go back to Cape Suzette to explain everything to Shere Khan and then have dinner at Louie's. After they go through the waterfall; Don Karnage instantly catches himself, screams and blames Baloo for all this. Don shoots at the SeaDuck. "YOU'RE FIRED~! LALALALALALALALALALA!" Bea's Dad is so great and this was hilarious as well. (Don Karnage caught himself because if he flies into Cape Suzette, he is basically turning himself and Kit in for being terrorists! AWESOME~! This turn is for the best, Kit.) Kit cannot believe this as Baloo proclaims that somethings never change as that ends the story. What a great ending to an epic story?! Lucius was awesome and it felt like a story written by a professional who knows the characters instead of paying for a pay cheque or thinking that no one knows Kit's life. (This was an awesome story, but I can no longer ignore the flaws in said story, so I'll give it **** 1/2 (90%).)

THE REVIEW LINE

Well, we went through one of the largest stories in the comic book series and this one is the best one of the entire series. Yes; "The Long Flight Home" was special; but that one had some flaws in it. This was nearly flawless in story as Lucius was awesome as hell in showing his human side, while being a businessmen on par with Mr. Khan, which was badly needed. I also like how they told the story of Dodalla (Although if this made television; the characters would have to fit the TaleSpin world rather than the Ducktales world; but the comics cannot help themselves anymore.) in making her look like the most barbaric character ever while at the same time being a goddess of peace and making me believe that she could pull this off. Everyone was perfect in their roles and I really respect Bobbi for not only making sure to everyone that Kit and Don Karnage know each other; but actually show a tease of Kit's life with them during the climax sequence with the nomads. It's awesome because the television series never touched the Kit/Karnage relationship. (Although, this will make the moral guardians really pissy now, if they haven't been already.) It also shows to a certain extent that Plunder and Lightning did spook execs because Kit's past with Karnage was never brought up again on television. However, you would think it would extend to the comics; but it doesn't. Himau was entertaining and Don Karnage was Don Karnage and even included a quirk of him talking in proper English when he's freezing to death. That means that he's intentionally tormenting the language like he does his prisoners. (This is the kind of nuance of detail that would make anyone want to watch this show, in spite of the problematic nature.) Overall; this was a story which with a few modifications; could have easily made television as a three or even four part season one finale. Next up is a shorter story called "It's A Plunderful Life", which is so short that I'm including "The Why Of The Beholder" and MailSpin as part of that package. So...

Thumbs up for the entire story and I'll see you all again next time.

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