Jim Cummings 1:1 from Melissa Molina on Vimeo.

This is one of my favorites so far out of this press tour. It starts out with the video above and then becomes a text interview. You can read the rest of that here.

I love the part when he’s all mad at Mickey for stealing Pete’s boat in Steamboat Willie.

You can buy individual comics at $3.99 per an individual comic from BOOM kids! here. Or, if you are feeling thrifty and patient, you can pre-order the entire first series of comics in graphic novel form here for under $15.

Now for madammina’s review:

Sitting at my computer, I can see on my right a stuffed Darkwing Duck I got when I was little. To say I am a Darkwing Duck fan is an understatement. Which was why, when I heard about the comics, I was ecstatic.

And this comic completely lives up to my expectations.

As you can see from the title page, this comic is a love letter to the fans. The pages look like they were scanned from the cartoon, and I mean that as a complete compliment. The “Awkward Goodbye” forgives the sudden cancellation, and they more then make up by having everyone’s vocal pattern down pat. Drake sounds like himself, and his internal Darkwing Narration is spot on. Gosalyn’s “Spirit” seeps off the page (even with her wearing a skirt!) and when one villain appears, he is still acting like himself quirks and all. It didn’t take much imagination to imagine Jim, Terrence, Christine, and others back in their roles.

Onto the actual review. This story takes place at some undisclosed time after the series ended. (it’s fuzzy on exactly when. While the characters all look the same, Honker is clearly shown using an up to date Apple computer) A year after a Megavolt caper, everyone in St. Canard is now working for a “Quackwerks Corporation”. And with Quackwerks Crime robots having taken over the need for a police force, Darkwing can’t even fight against “big crime, little crime, white crime” This leaves Drake who- after retiring due to a lack of Supervillians- very frustrated and bored with his new job.

I won’t talk about much else, out of fear of spoilers, so onto some good news.

Due to a very high demand, before comic #1 came out, Darkwing Duck was extended from a limited edition series to an unknown ending series. So, keep on buying these comics, and they will keep on being made. Besides allowing us with a new Darkwing fix, this also allows for dangling plot threads and ideas from the series to return. (This last bit is just speculation though, the only remarks made for the series future concern the current arc)

I did have one minor complaint, but that is more an issue with the medium then anything else (minor spoilers)
When liquidator appears, he doesn’t move, at all. Normally you would say “no, duh” but with Liquidator, who is in constant motion, it was weird. His bubbles don’t move, he’s not splashing, and nothing is dripping off of him. As I said, though, this is a medium transferal issue and I did get more used to it after I kept on rereading the comic.
(end of spoilers)

Yes, this first comic may be a lot of set up and recap, but it is done so well you just don’t care. Welcome back,our favorite Terror.

The official teasers say “Darkwing’s worst villain is behind this, and he has teemed up with a villain in the Disney Duckverse.” That being said, I had no idea who the second villain is. I’m pretty sure Negaduck or Taurus Bulba is the first though. Even if Negaduck isn’t in the comics now, he’s our Joker and should show up soon.

A huge thanks to madammina for taking the time to write up this review.

If you’ve gotten a chance to read this first issue, let us know what you thought of it below.

**NOTE**
Some of the following links are busted. I will fix them soon so please bear with me in the meantime and bookmark this page to revisit soon. Thanks!

It’s true! That man of man vocal talents is also a fantastic singer! And while you have most likely heard these songs before, I’ll bet in many of them you never realized that it was Jim Cummings! So, hear (hee hee) for your enjoyment are selections from and full songs from different spots in Jim’s Career.

Disclaimer: Several of these files are in MP3 or WAV format for the sake of space so that I could fit them on my website. They are intended for you to listen to and then delete. Please purchase the actual CD’s to support Jim’s career!

As Singing Voice:

• Be Prepared (from The Lion King)- Jeremy Irons did sing some of this song but Jim Cummings takes over after the phrase “You won’t get a sniff without me!” which is where this clip begins.

• In the Dark of the Night (from Anastasia)- Christopher Loyd may have played the voice of Rasputan, but check Jim out as the villain’s singing voice. His chilling best!

• Savages (from Pocahontas)- Russell Means may have been there to represent ethnic diversity, but when it came time to do some singing, Jim Cummings sang for both of his two characters. You can hear them both in this clip.

• Steady As the Beating Drum (reprise) (from Pocahontas)- Here is Jim’s big solo from the Disney classic.

Singing As His Own Characters:

• Birthday (from Bugs and Friends Sing the Beatles)- After Mel Blanc died, Jim Cummings took over most of the projects which involved the Tazmanian Devil (though oddly, not Space Jam). This CD Features Jim on many different tracks and is a very worth while and amusing addition to your collection.

• The King (from Darkwing Duck)- Darkwing Rocks! Check out this great number from the days of the old school Disney Afternoon. Full song!

• Little Girl Blue (from Darkwing Duck)- This is one of my all time favorite parts from the pilot episode when DW and Goslyn first meet. Really sweet!

• Theme (from Bump in the Night)- This is Jim flexing his vocals in his Annie Nominated performance as Mr. Bumpy.

• Rough Tough Burly Sailor Song (from Gummi Bears)- This song is from the very hard to find Disney Afternoon Soundtrack and features Jim singing as Zummi Gummi.

• Friends For Life (from Tale Spin)- This selection is also from the elusive Disney Afternoon Soundtrack and is a duet between Baloo (Ed Gilbert) and Louie (our boy Jim).

• Theme (from Bonkers)- OK, so Jim himself doesn’t sing this one, but since he played both main characters and he makes funny screaming in the background of this song, I just had to add it.

Jim Speaks!

For those of you that still doubt Mr. Cummings’ amazing vocal range, we have included wavs of many of his most quotable quotes form his most memorable characters.

We tried to represent as many voices as possible but any wavs of that you find of characters that are not represented here would be greatly appreciated! Just send them to us. . .

Mini Biography

Born in 1952 in Youngstown, Ohio, Jim Cummings worked as a traveling salesman, as a deckhand on a riverboat, and designed and built parade floats before he and his wife moved to California where he worked in a video store. When a customer in the store offered to show Jim’s demo tape to Don Bluth (All Dogs Go to Heaven), Jim soon found himself as a regular voice in the cast of Disney’s Dumbo’s Circus.

He began his voice career then in earnest in 1985 at the age of 31. After a golden age of ruling the Disney Afternoon as the “voice of Disney”, playing such favorites as Monterey Jack, Fat Cat and Nimnol on Rescue Rangers, Zummi Gummi on Gummi Bears, Louie and Don Karnage on Tale Spin, Darkwing Duck and Negaduck on Darkwing Duck, Pete on Goof Troop and both Lucky and Bonkers on Bonkers, Jim Cummings became one of the most in demand voice over actors in Hollywood.

His status as a cultural icon was solidified when Jim Cummings was given the permanent role of Winnie the Pooh for not only the New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh tv show, but also all upcoming movies, specials, talking toys and Disney theme park attractions. Furthermore, in 1998, when Disney fired Paul Winchell over a salary dispute, Jim also took the role of Tigger on as well.

In addition to his work with Disney, Jim has also been the voice of Looney Tunes’ Taz since the passing of Mel Blanc as well as Cat on Nickelodeon’s CatDog to name just two of the hundreds of roles. He has also starred in several feature films, video games, and has been the announcer for numerous commercials and movie trailers.

Memorable quotes from Jim Cummings