“Next I’ll invent a machine that cleans up graffiti.”

Walt Disney’s Gyro Gearloose–Free Comic Book Day

Gemstone Publishing (May, 2008)

COVER ART: Carl Banks

COVER COLORIST: Susan Daigle-Leach

The remake of Ducktales may have gotten the art and story styles of the comics correct but the original was closer to the characterization. So if you’re expecting the cranky ego version of Gyro you’ll be disappointed. He’s just the absent-minded inventor in this comic. However in the comic he’s not a Scrooge employee with his own lab. He just uses a push cart to sell inventions and has some odd ways of coming up with solutions to problems…which actually causes more havoc than a more simple solution. The reprint contains three normal length stories (for this run anyway) and two shorts where Gyro teams with Ducktales original character Launchpad McQuack, so if you wondered what he would have looked like if Carl Banks had created him here’s your chance.

The Pied Piper Of Duckburg

(originally published in Uncle Scrooge Adventures #21; May, 1990)

WRITERS: Carl Barks & Don Rosa | ARTIST: Don Rosa | COLORIST: Mike McCormick | LETTERER: John Clark

Scrooge has rats in his overflow money bin (because he has one…probably ten or more minimum) and hires Gyro to get rid of them. He comes up with a cheese that can draw then out of Duckburg, but also draws them in from neighboring cities. This is the first time I heard of Duckburg’s neighbors besides St. Canard but it has been a long time since I’ve seen the original show and don’t remember them mentioned in the new one or any of the Walt Disney Duckverse comics I have. It’s a fun little story.

Cave Of The Winds

(originally published in Four Color #1095; April, 1960)

WRITER/ARTIST: Carl Banks | COLORIST: Susan Daigle-Leach

Scrooge needs a way to move money when the Beagle Boys try to break into his money bin. Gyro’s solution is to convert the money to savings bonds, but when Scrooge tries to hide them in a cave only accessible by helicopter…well, just look at the title. Gyro gets a lab this issue, but only because his helper bulb robot thingy changed his bill. It’s another good story, and given the age probably harder to find than this issue, which is rare for a Free Comic Book Day comic.

All Quacked Up!

(originally published in Walt Disney Comics #623; April, 1998)

WRITER/ARTIST: William Van Horn | COLORIST: Susan Daigle-Leach

Our first of two shorts co-starring Launchpad. If Gyro can’t stop Launchpad from crashing he decides to create a rubber plane that at least can’t be destroyed when he does. It’s Launchpad so some destruction is still coming in. I like seeing Launchpad in this version of Duckburg and he fits in pretty well with the style…I think, since these stories are only maybe four pages tops.

Rain-Dance Reversal

(originally published in Uncle Scrooge #315; November, 1998)

WRITERS: Larry & David Gerstein | ARTIST: Pedro Alférez Canos | COLORIST: Summer Hinton | LETTERER: David Gerstein

Gyro’s invention failures aren’t going over with his neighbors. It doesn’t help that his latest demonstration looks prepared to be rained out…though why Gyro thinks the storm will last two days I couldn’t tell you. He doesn’t look into it, he just assumes that’s the case. So Gyro decides to invent a “dry dance”, the opposite of the old “rain dance”, which causes a different set of problems but he does find a way to win his most annoyed neighbor over. This one didn’t impress me as much. A reverse rain dance seems unlikely and strange for Gyro to consider, plus there’s no reason to assume the rain won’t end two days from now.

“Just Another Hang-Up!”

(originally published in Walt Disney’s Comics #622; March, 1998)

WRITER/ARTIST: William Van Horn | COLORIST: Susan Daigle-Leach

Are all their stories just Gyro trying to keep Launchpad from crashing? That would be a bit disappointing if that’s all he does in this part of the franchise. This time Gyro tries to use hypnosis, but he doesn’t quite get his message right. I mean, this was fun too but I would hope that’s not all they do together in these shorts.

Most of the reprints are from the 1990s so I imagine they’d be easy to find, but this is a collection of just Gyro’s stories and one of them is from the 1960s so that might be a bit harder to find. That’s why I do recommend getting this edition if you find it.