The world of DuckTales is about to come to life in a way that is both frightening and fantastically original. Donald Duck's world-famous nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie, will be the first Disney characters to appear in a new line of illustrated novels - beginning with Duckscares: The Nightmare Formula - aimed at young readers who enjoy eerie adventures, and we have an exclusive first look!
Middle-grade novels mixing illustrations and chapter books have become big business for children's book publishers in recent years, with Dav Pilkey's books like Captain Underpants and Dogman being perhaps the best known. Companies like DC Comics have found similar success licensing their characters for books using the same general format, with an entire line of middle-grade, young-adult, and graphic novels, including Black Canary: Ignite (which details the origins of a tween Dinah Lance) and Lois Lane and the Friendship Challenge. Now Disney is entering into the arena with a Disney Spookyzone imprint devoted to scary stories based upon their characters.
The first book in the series, Duckscares: The Nightmare Formula, centers around Donald Duck and his mischievous nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie. The story finds the three brothers sent off to Germany as part of a student exchange program. Though confused by the local culture at first (such as why the game they call soccer is called football in Germany) the trio are quick to make friends in their new school. They are also quick to find trouble, as they are confronted with a mystery involving a haunted ball. Screen Rant has an exclusive preview of the book's cover and the first ten pages (all of chapter 1!):
The text of Duckscares: The Nightmare Formula was written by Tommy Greenwald, a beloved playwright and children's book author, best known for his Charlie Joe Jackson series. One of Greenwald's most recent novels, Game Changer, was chosen as both a Junior Library Guild Premier selection and an Amazon Best Book of the Month. The illustrations for Duckscares: The Nightmare Formula were created by Elisa Ferrari, a freelance artist from Italy. While primarily known for her work with various European comics publishers, Ferrari has worked as a storyboard artist for Winx Club and done some work for Dynamite Comics and Aspen Comics in the United States.
It should be noted that Ferrari's style is dramatically different from the usual Disney Comics' house aesthetic. Greenwald's script also establishes new personalities for Huey, Dewey and Louie, compared to how they acted on DuckTales, despite doing a good job of writing the brothers as brothers, with all the squabbling fans would expect. Despite these changes, those fans of DuckTales dismayed by the series upcoming end will find Duckscares: The Nightmare Formula a worthy way of continuing the adventures of the Duck family.
Duckscares: The Nightmare Formula by Tommy Greenwald and Illustrator Elisa Ferrari releases on May 4, 2021.
The preview images were provided to Screen Rant by Amulet Books, an imprint of Abrams Books.