Behold! Carl Barks! Barks’ legacy strides thorough kids’ comic book history like a T-Rex, a member of the dominant breed. His work with Disney's ducks made him one of the immortals.
One of the things that made Barks so cool was the level of research he put into his stories. Catch a gander here of the detail concerning the salmon hatchery and the business thereof; one can almost see a drawing table littered with magazine articles and photo references. Also, Barks commented on heavy themes with the grace of a feather blowing across granite. Here, he takes on Nietzsche’s Will to Power and the concept of Superman without a bit of fuss.
You know what else is cool? Barks was a bit mad. If you value your sanity, don’t stare at the fish in the first panel very long. Oh, did I mention? He could draw anything and everything perfectly. This comes from Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories No. 192, September 1956. All scans are from my own comic. Just click the image for the big picture!
One of the things that made Barks so cool was the level of research he put into his stories. Catch a gander here of the detail concerning the salmon hatchery and the business thereof; one can almost see a drawing table littered with magazine articles and photo references. Also, Barks commented on heavy themes with the grace of a feather blowing across granite. Here, he takes on Nietzsche’s Will to Power and the concept of Superman without a bit of fuss.
You know what else is cool? Barks was a bit mad. If you value your sanity, don’t stare at the fish in the first panel very long. Oh, did I mention? He could draw anything and everything perfectly. This comes from Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories No. 192, September 1956. All scans are from my own comic. Just click the image for the big picture!
Here’s an ad from the same comic. Then as now, celebrity endorsements sometimes seemed a bit incongruous. Here, Andy Devine promotes Scotch Brand cellophane tape.
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22 comments:
I love Carl Barks together with Don Rosa - there's none like them, especially Carl Barks.
I truly love the posts you've done for this blog thus far.
Sebina: I just knew this post would get your attention. I think you mentioned to me at some point that you were a Barks fan! What true person of good taste isn't?
Rosa, yes, yes. I will get to him before long. I want to include some modern disney artists here as well; like Rosa, Romano Scarpa, Noel van Horn, etc.
Thanks for reading! -- Mykal
Wow, a classic Carl Barks comic! I haven't read it for years, so thank you! There must be a lot of work behind that scanning, you must be a real duck lover like me :)
My favorite Donal Duck cartoonist though is Don Rosa. All tributes to Carl Barks and all education pressed into those few pages in such an entertaining way is wonderful.
And yes, that fish in the bowl do scare me a little!
Wow! Lolita and Sebina commenting on the same post! I know I'm doing something right now!
Yes, I am a huge Donald fan. That's the second vote for a Don Rosa post, though, so I am going to have to begin my search now for some great first printings of Rosa's wonderfully detailed work (which I love as well).
Thanks for coming by, Lolita! - Mykal
i've got a handful of Carl Barks Donald Ducks & Unca Scrooges that i've been planning on posting forever, i'll have to check with you before i do so we don't overlap...anyway, great idea for a blog, how am i gonna keep up with all this great stuff? oh, and thanx for you-know-what-else, too...
Prof.: What a fine class of readers thus far! I have long admired your taste in comic scans! I say don't overworry the overlap - the Blogosphere needs all the truely cool it can get. If you ever feel like cherrypicking from this blog - please be my guest. Comics were meant to be shared, not hoarded like coins in Uncle Scrooge's money vault!
Oh, and no prob, buddy! -- Mykal
I read Sabina's comment after I published mine, so I was a little surprised that we both requested Don Rosa! Keep up your good work, you seem to be on the right track ;)
Lolita: I have just ordered a bunch of Rosa Uncle Scrooge comics. Stay tuned! -- Mykal
Mykal~ great post~ keep the Barks coming ! I especially enjoyed the clever kingfisher sequence (in 3 rounds). Of course, I must point out that the battle wasn't fair from the outset~ as Prof. Utterbunk states that MAN is the master of beasts~ and Donald, clearly, is a DUCK !
Lysdexicuss: Thanks for stopping by. Rest assured, I'm gonna keep Barking! That Kingfisher sequence is so classic Barks - I bet he researched the behavior of the Kingfisher.
The question of Man and Duck is a fascinating one, in that Duckburg is actually largely populated by dogs that stand on their hind legs, like the hatchery boss; with a spattering of pigs now and then. Then occasionally (and this is the fascinating part to me) there is the actual, occasional human being without the teltale dog nose.
You are correct at any rate, because Donald always knows that he is a duck! Maybe he thinks of himself as a Man Duck?
(I know, I know – you were must making a joke) As you can see, I spend far too much time thinking about the anthropomorphized denizens of the Disney universe. Don't get me started on Mousetown!
See you soon! -- Mykal
Lovely stuff - Barks is a hero of mine. I'm slightly surprised that anybody actually prefers Don Rosa to Barks - I've always thought of Rosa as a Barks Tribute Band, lacking the master's featherlight touch and easy grace, as I think Rosa would be the first to admit. (Which is fine - Rosa has other virtues and is still quite wonderful.)
Hey, Roger, thanks for stopping by. Like ways for Barks being a hero. It's true, Rosa has a huge following. I think of him as sort of an heir apparent. I will always prefer Barks by a fair margin, though! -- Mykal
Regarding the man vs duck thing. I've always thought of the "duck" and "dog" identities within the Disney storyworld to be ethnic differences, rather than species differences. Otherwise, how do you explain Goofy talking, standing upright, and wearing clothes, while Pluto wears just a dog collar and acts like a mutt?
Donald is essentially a man who also has the ethnic or racial identity of a duck.
Note that Barks titled the story in the first issue of Uncle Scrooge (Four Color 386) "Only a Poor Old Man," not "Only a Poor Old Duck."
Mark: I love the level of thought you have put into this. Never thought of if as an ethnic thing, but that is certainly an intriguing idea. The Pluto/Goofy conundrum has plagued Disney fans for decades. Also, I remain ultimately fascinated by the occasional Homo Sapiens that appears in the comics via Barks, sans dog nose or duck bill. What must their life be like?
Ultimately, I think of all as Barks' magical, surreal take on things. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. -- Mykal
So man is the master of the beasts! Wow-- What beginning bearing in mind that's a story starred by disney characters! In which place this assertion leaves Donald, being a duck? Mostly when it's of a word inhabited by countless anthropomorphic animals and it looks like there's no room for the human bean! it's man just a paradigm. It could be. Anyway, is this a comic for kids? No way!
Unless kiddies from the 50s were much more wise than I am right now (well, in all probability, it is--)
Great post, great story, greatest blog.
By the way, I was writing this comment when I've received yours on my last post. Happy coincidence! I'm going to visit your new Gold Key blog right away--
Gabriel: Well, how do you do! Yes, the man/animal thing can really make your head spin! Thanks so much for the kind words, and I'm a big fan of Joyville as well. Thanks for stopping by! Your pal, Mykal
Mykal,
What a fanstastic blog...and also your Radiation Cinema is tops (your graphic design and layout is about the best out there). I have loved Barks for a long time too. I had many of the old Russ Cochran CBD b&w hardbound sets back in the mid 80s (I think it was Cochran, the guy who did the EC sets) but had to sell them when I went back to school. While not have many of the Gold Keys, I had ALL the books put out by Geoff Blum's Gladstone and much of the later Gemstone and Disney/Marvel books. I feel very fortunate to have discovered your contributions to the things I love. AND MEGA thanks for becoming a "follower" of my little blog. With your act of generosity my "followers" DOUBLED!! You're a cool guy (plus you and me share a love beer, Brian Eno, the Ramones and 'ol Blue Eyes)
best,
r/e
RE: hey, thanks for joining my blog. It's gonna be fun. I also like the way your blog is shaping up. It looks great and I like what you've done so far. Keep it up.
I have all the old EC hardbacks done by Cochran (Another Rainbow), and 7 of the 10 of the bark's sets he did. I had a bid on ebay for volume 10 just today and got beat out. Drat! It's amazong what the sets are going for these days.
Hoist a beer for me, but don't forget to drink in moderation ;-) - Mykal
You sure did. They did this Don Rosa book series (8 books) with all the comics he's ever done, with comments from Dona Rosa to each story - I treasure those books so much.
Again, I love the work you're putting into this blog :=D
Sebina: I know that Gemstone is soon coming out with the Don Rosa Library in hardback in multiple volumes - these will be like the magnificent Carl Barks Library sets done in the 1980s (I mention these in a previous comment - I am so sad I lost that bid on eBay for volume 10 - but the price just got to high). Do you have any of the Carl Barks Library?
While I will always prefer Barks (he is the master), but Rosa's work never fails to amaze in it's astonishing level of detail. I can't wait to post some Rosa! -- Mykal
I don't have the Carl Barks Library collection, though I really really want to -- especially because they're in English as I have all his stories in Danish. I've had to pass on items on ebay that I really wanted , due to the price, as well.
The series I'm working on getting with the focus on different Disney comic artist is called Hall of Fame which has been released in DK. Here's a link:
http://www.faraos.dk/design/index.php?shop=2
I really look forward to your Don Rosa post :D
Wow, I followed the link! Magnificent! I am so jealous! Dang, I wish that was published in USA or in English.
Rosa coming up with a couple of weeks. - Mykal
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