Carl Barks (March 27, 1901 – August 25, 2000) was a famous
Disney StudioThe Walt Disney Company , often simply known as Disney, is the largest media and entertainment conglomerate in the world, known for its family-friendly products...
illustrator and
comic bookA comic book is a magazine made up of narrative artwork, often accompanied by dialog and often including brief descriptive prose...
creator, who invented
DuckburgDuckburg is a fictional city which appears in Walt Disney's comic books and animated projects. In the comics and cartoons, Duckburg is the home of Donald Duck, Scrooge McDuck, Huey, Dewey and Louie Duck, Daisy Duck, and most of their supporting cast...
and many of its inhabitants, such as
Scrooge McDuckScrooge McDuck or Uncle Scrooge is a Glaswegian anthropomorphic duck created by Carl Barks that first appeared in Four Color Comics #178, Christmas on Bear Mountain, published by Dell Comics in December 1947....
(1947),
Gladstone GanderGladstone Gander is a Walt Disney fictional character created by comic artist and writer Carl Barks for Western Publishing. Gladstone first appeared in the story "Wintertime Wager" in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #88 ....
(1948), the
Beagle BoysThe Beagle Boys are a group of fictional characters from the Scrooge McDuck universe. They are a gang of criminals who constantly try to rob Scrooge McDuck and were created by Carl Barks...
(1951),
Gyro GearlooseGyro Gearloose is a fictional character, an anthropomorphic chicken created by Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company. He is part of the Scrooge McDuck universe, appearing in comic book stories as a friend of Donald Duck, Scrooge and anyone who is associated with them.-Fictional character...
(1952),
Flintheart GlomgoldFlintheart Glomgold is a fictional character in Disney comic books. Glomgold is one of Scrooge McDuck's main rivals, and also holds the title of being The Second Richest Duck in the World...
(1956),
John D. RockerduckJohn D. Rockerduck is a fictional character from the Scrooge McDuck Universe. He is one of Scrooge McDuck's main enemies. His name is a play on that of John D. Rockefeller, the American capitalist and philanthropist. He was created by Carl Barks, who used him in one story: Boat Buster, first...
(1961) and
Magica De SpellMagica De Spell is a fictional character of the Scrooge McDuck universe, a witch created by Carl Barks. She constantly steals or attempts to steal Scrooge McDuck's Number One Dime, which she believes will play a vital role in magically obtaining the same fabulous wealth of its owner.-Publication...
(1961). The quality of his scripts and drawings earned him the nick names
The Duck Man and
The Good Duck Artist. Fellow comic writer
Will EisnerWilliam Erwin Eisner was an acclaimed Jewish-American comics writer, artist and entrepreneur. He is considered one of the most important contributors to the development of the medium and is known for the cartooning studio he founded; for his highly influential series The Spirit; for his use of...
called him "the
Hans Christian AndersenHans Christian Andersen was a Danish author and poet noted for his children's stories. These include "The Steadfast Tin Soldier", "The Snow Queen", "The Little Mermaid", "Thumbelina", "The Little Match Girl", and the "The Ugly Duckling".During his lifetime he was acclaimed for having delighted...
of comic books."
Biography
Barks was born in
Merrill, OregonMerrill is a city in Klamath County, Oregon, United States. The population was 897 at the 2000 census.Merrill is an agricultural area and home to an annual Potato Festival...
to William Barks and his wife Arminta Johnson. He had an older brother named Clyde. His paternal grandfather was named David Barks and his maternal grandparents were Carl Johnson and his wife Suzanna Massey, but little else is known about his ancestors.
Childhood
According to Carl's description of his childhood, he was a rather lonely child. His parents owned one square mile (2.6 km²) of land that served as their farm. The nearest neighbor lived half a mile (800 m) away, but he was more an acquaintance to Barks' parents than a friend. The closest school was about two miles (3 km) away and Carl had to walk that distance every day. The rural area had few children, though, and Barks later remembered that his school had only about eight or ten students including him. He had high praise for the quality of the education he received in that small school. "Schools were good in those days," he used to say.
The lessons lasted from nine o'clock in the morning to four o'clock in the afternoon and then he had to return to the farm. There he remembered not having anybody to talk to, as his parents were busy and he had little in common with his brother.
In 1908, William Barks (in an attempt to increase the family income) moved with his family to
Midland, OregonMidland is an unincorporated community in Klamath County, Oregon, United States, about eight miles south of Klamath Falls on U.S. Route 97. The site was platted in 1908 and named Midland, with a post office established in 1909...
, some miles north of Merrill, to be closer to the new railway lines. He established a new stock-breeding farm and sold his produce to the local slaughterhouses.
Nine-year-old Clyde and seven-year-old Carl worked long hours there. But Carl later remembered that the crowd which gathered at Midland's market place made a strong impression on him. This was expected, as he wasn't used to crowds up until then. According to Carl, his attention was mostly drawn to the
cowboyA cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century became a figure of special significance and legend. A subtype, called a wrangler,...
s that frequented the market with their
revolverA revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. As the user cocks the hammer, the cylinder revolves to align the next chamber and round with the hammer and barrel, which gives this type of firearm its name...
s, strange nicknames for each other and sense of humor.
By 1911, they had been successful enough to move to
Santa Rosa, CaliforniaSanta Rosa is the county seat of Sonoma County, California, United States. As of January 1, 2008, the population of Santa Rosa was approximately 161,496 residents...
. There they started cultivating vegetables and set up some orchards. Unfortunately, the profits were not as high as William expected and they started having financial difficulties. William's anxiety over them was probably what caused his first nervous break down.
As soon as William recovered, he made the decision to move back to Merrill. The year was 1913, and Carl was already twelve years old; but, due to the constant moving, he had not yet managed to complete grade school. He resumed his education at this point and finally managed to graduate in 1916.
1916 served as a turning point in Carl's life for various reasons. First, Arminta, his mother, died in this year. Second, his hearing problems, which had already appeared earlier, had at the time become severe enough for him to have difficulties listening to his teachers talking. His hearing would continue to get worse later, but at that point he had not yet acquired a hearing aid. Later in life, he couldn't do without one. Third, the closest high school to their farm was five miles (8 km) away and even if he did enlist in it, his bad hearing was likely to contribute to his learning problems. He had to decide to stop his school education, much to his disappointment.
From job to job
Barks started taking various jobs but had little success in such occupations as a farmer, woodcutter, turner, mule driver, cowboy and printer. From his jobs he learned, he later averred, how eccentric, stubborn and unpredictable men, animals and machines can be. At the same time he interacted with colleagues, fellow breadwinners who had satirical disposition towards even their worst troubles. Carl later said he was sure that if not for a little humor in their troubled lives, they would certainly go insane. It was an attitude towards life that Carl would adopt. Later he would say it was natural for him to satirize the secret yearnings and desires, the pompous style and the disappointments of his characters. According to Carl this period of his life would later influence his best known
fictional characterA character is the representation of a person in a narrative or dramatic work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr through its Latin transcription character, the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its...
s:
Walt DisneyWalter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon and philanthropist. Disney is famous for his influence in the field of entertainment during the twentieth century. As the co-founder Walter Elias...
's
Donald DuckDonald Duck is an American cartoon character from The Walt Disney Company. Donald is a white anthropomorphic duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He usually wears a sailor shirt, cap, and a red or black bow tie, but no trousers...
and his own
Scrooge McDuckScrooge McDuck or Uncle Scrooge is a Glaswegian anthropomorphic duck created by Carl Barks that first appeared in Four Color Comics #178, Christmas on Bear Mountain, published by Dell Comics in December 1947....
.
Donald's drifting from job to job was reportedly inspired by Carl's own experiences. So was his usual lack of success. And even in those that he was successful this would be temporary, just until a mistake or chance event caused another failure, another disappointment for the frustrated duck. Carl also reported that this was another thing he was familiar with.
Scrooge's main difference to Donald, according to Carl, was that he too had faced the same difficulties in his past but through intelligence, determination and hard work, he was able to overcome them. Or, as Scrooge himself would say to
Huey, Dewey and LouieHuey, Dewey, and Louie Duck are a trio of fictional ducks who appear in animated cartoons and comic books published by the Walt Disney Company. Identical triplets, the three are Donald Duck's nephews. Huey, Dewey, and Louie were created by Ted Osborne and Al Taliaferro, and first appeared in a...
: by being "tougher than the toughies and smarter than the smarties." Even in the present of his stories Scrooge would work to solve his many problems, even though the stories would often point out that his constant efforts seemed futile at the end. In addition, Scrooge was quite similar to his creator in appearing often to be as melancholic, introspective and secretive as he was.
Through both characters Carl would often exhibit his rather sarcastic sense of humor. It seems that this difficult period for the artist helped shape many of his later views in life that were expressed through his characters.
Professional artist
At the same time Carl had started thinking about turning a hobby that he always enjoyed into a profession: that of drawing. Since his early childhood he spent his free time by drawing on any material he could find. He had attempted to improve his style by copying the drawings of his favorite
comic stripA comic strip is a sequence of cartoons that tells a story, often humorous, though adventures and soap opera-like dramas are also prevalent. They are written and drawn by a comics artist or cartoonist, and many are published on a recurring basis in newspapers and on the Internet.In the UK and the...
artists from the newspapers where he could find them. As he later said, he wanted to create his own facial expressions, figures and comical situations in his drawings but wanted to study the master comic artists' use of the pen and their use of color and shading.
Among his early favorites were
Winsor McCayWinsor McCay was an American cartoonist and animator.A prolific artist, McCay's pioneering early animated films far outshone the work of his contemporaries, and set a standard followed by Walt Disney and others in later decades...
(mostly known for
Little NemoLittle Nemo is the main fictional character in a series of weekly comic strips by Winsor McCay that appeared in the New York Herald and William Randolph Hearst's New York American newspapers from October 15, 1905 – April 23, 1911 and April 30, 1911 – July 26, 1914; respectively...
) and
Frederick Burr OpperFrederick Burr Opper is considered to be one of the pioneers of U.S. newspaper comic strips and in his time was considered a leader in the creation of comic characters appealing to popular culture...
(mostly known for
Happy HooliganHappy Hooligan was a popular and influential early American comic strip by Frederick Burr Opper.Happy Hooligan, the first major comic strip by already celebrated cartoonist Opper, debuted with a Sunday strip on March 11 1900 in the William Randolph Hearst newspapers, and was one of the first...
) but he would later study any style that managed to draw his attention.
At sixteen he was mostly self-taught but at this point he decided to take some lessons through correspondence. He only followed the first four lessons and then had to stop because his working left him with little free time. But as he later said, the lessons proved very useful in improving his style.
By December 1918, he left his father's home to attempt to find a job in San Francisco,
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
. He worked for a while in a small publishing house while attempting to sell his drawings to newspapers and other printed material with little success.
First marriage
While he continued drifting through various jobs, he met Pearl Turner (1904-1987). In 1921 they married and had two children:
- Peggy Barks, born in 1923.
- Dorothy Barks, born in 1924.
In 1923 he returned to his paternal farm in Merrill in an attempt to return to the life of a farmer, but that ended soon. He continued searching for a job while attempting to sell his drawings. He soon managed to sell some of them to
Judge magazine and then started having success submitting to the Minneapolis-based
Calgary-Eye-Opener, a racy men's magazine of the era. He was eventually hired as editor and scripted and drew most of the contents while continuing to sell occasional work to other magazines. His salary of 90 dollars a month was considered respectable enough for the time. A facsimile of one of the racy magazines he did cartoons for in this period,
Coo Coo #1, was published by Hamilton Comics in 1997.
Meanwhile he had his first divorce. He and Pearl were separated in 1929 and divorced in 1930. After he moved to
Minneapolis, MinnesotaMinneapolis is the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Hennepin County. The city lies on both banks of the Mississippi River, just north of the river's confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Saint Paul, the state's capital. Known as the Twin Cities,...
, where "Calgary-Eye-Opener" had its offices he met Clara Balken who in 1938 became his second wife.
Disney
In November 1935, when he learned that
Walt DisneyWalter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon and philanthropist. Disney is famous for his influence in the field of entertainment during the twentieth century. As the co-founder Walter Elias...
was seeking more artists for his Studio, Carl decided to apply. He was approved for a try-out which entailed a move to
Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the second largest in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California...
. Carl was one of two in his class of trainees who was hired. His starting salary was 20 dollars a week. He started at Disney Studios in 1935, more than a year after the debut of
Donald DuckDonald Duck is an American cartoon character from The Walt Disney Company. Donald is a white anthropomorphic duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He usually wears a sailor shirt, cap, and a red or black bow tie, but no trousers...
on June 9, 1934 in the short animated film
The Wise Little HenThe Wise Little Hen is a Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies cartoon, based on the fairy tale The Little Red Hen. This cartoon marked the debut of Donald Duck. Donald and his friend Peter Pig try to avoid work by faking stomach aches until Mrs. Hen teaches them the value of labor. This cartoon was...
.
Carl initially worked as an inbetweener. This involved being teamed and supervised by one of the head animators who did the key poses of character action (often known as extremes) for which the inbetweeners did the drawings between the extremes to provide smoothness to the illusion of movement. While an inbetweener, Carl submitted gag ideas for cartoon story lines being developed and showed such a knack for creating comical situations that by 1937 he was transferred to the story department. His first story sale was the climax of
Modern InventionsModern Inventions is a Donald Duck cartoon. Released on May 29, 1937, and directed by Jack King.Donald visits "The Museum of Modern Marvels", which showcases various futuristic electronic appliances and inventions. In the museum, Donald encounters and struggles with many strange and whimsical...
, for a sequence where a robot barber chair gives Donald Duck a haircut on his butt.
In 1937 when Donald Duck became the star of his own series of cartoons instead of co-starring with
Mickey MouseMickey Mouse is a comic animal cartoon character who has become an icon for The Walt Disney Company. Mickey Mouse was created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks and voiced by Walt Disney. The Walt Disney Company celebrates his birth as November 18, 1928 upon the release of Steamboat Willie...
and
GoofyGoofy is an animated cartoon character from the Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse universe, and is one of Mickey Mouse's best friends. His original concept name was "Dippy Dawg" in cartoon shorts created during the 1930s; then his name was given as "George Geef" or "G.G. Geef" in cartoon shorts during...
as previously, a new unit of storymen and animators was created devoted solely to this series. Though he originally just contributed gag ideas to some duck cartoons by 1937 Barks was (principally with partner
Jack HannahJack Hannah was an animator, writer and director of animated shorts.He began his career at the Walt Disney Studios as an animator in the short Modern Inventions...
) originating story ideas that were storyboarded and (if approved by Walt) put into production. He collaborated on such cartoons as
Donald's NephewsDonald's Nephews is a Donald Duck cartoon which features Donald visited by his three nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie.-Synopsis:Donald receives a postcard from his sister, Dumbella, which says that her three "angelic" boys, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, are coming for a visit. At first Donald is excited...
(1938),
Donald's Cousin GusDonald's Cousin Gus is a 1939 Walt Disney cartoon in which Donald Duck is visited by his gluttonous cousin, Gus Goose, who proceeds to eat Donald out of house and home...
(1939),
Mr. Duck Steps OutMr. Duck Steps Out is a Donald Duck cartoon made by The Walt Disney Company. The film was released on June 7, 1940 and featured the debut of Daisy Duck. The short was directed by Jack King and scripted by Carl Barks....
(1940),
TimberTimber may refer to:*Lumber, i.e. wood materials* Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S. state of Oregon* Timber , a 1984 arcade game by Bally Midway* An alternative spelling for Timbre...
(1941),
The Vanishing PrivateThe Vanishing Private is a 1942 animated cartoon by the Walt Disney Studios, starring Donald Duck in the World War II years.-Synopsis:This clip begins with Donald Duck, who volunteered to do some camouflage painting, painting a cannon...
(1942) and
The Plastics Inventor (1944).
The Good Duck Artist
Unhappy at the emerging wartime working conditions at Disney plus bothered by ongoing sinus problems caused by the studio's air conditioning, Barks quit in 1942. Shortly before quitting, he moonlighted as a comic book artist, contributing half the artwork for a one-shot
comic bookA comic book is a magazine made up of narrative artwork, often accompanied by dialog and often including brief descriptive prose...
(the other half of the art being done by story partner
Jack HannahJack Hannah was an animator, writer and director of animated shorts.He began his career at the Walt Disney Studios as an animator in the short Modern Inventions...
) titled
Donald Duck Finds Pirate GoldDonald Duck Finds Pirate Gold is a comic book starring Donald Duck that was originally printed in Four Color #9 in October 1942. In this story Donald and his nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie meet a parrot named Yellow Beak and they wind up searching for the lost treasure of Henry Morgan...
. This 64 page story was adapted by Donald Duck comic strip writer
Bob KarpRobert Louis Karp was an American comics writer. He began working for the Walt Disney Company in the 1930s, and from 1938 to 1974, he wrote the scripts for the daily Donald Duck newspaper strips. These were illustrated by Al Taliaferro and by Frank Grundeen after Taliaferro's death in 1969.Bob...
from an unproduced feature, and published in October 1942 in [Dell]
Four Color ComicsFour Color, also known as Four Color Comics and One Shots, was an extremely prolific American comic book anthology series published by Dell Comics between 1939 and 1962...
#9. It was the first Donald Duck story originally produced for an American comic book and also the first involving Donald and his nephews in a treasure hunting expedition, in this case for the treasure of
Henry MorganAdmiral Sir Henry Morgan , was a Welsh privateer, who made a name in the Caribbean...
. Barks would later use the treasure hunting theme in many of his stories. This actually was not his first work in comics, as earlier the same year Barks along with Hannah and fellow storyman Nick George scripted
Pluto Saves the ShipPluto Saves the Ship is a comic book story scripted by writers Carl Barks, Jack Hannah and Nick George from a plot devised possibly by a publisher, and drawn by an unidentified illustrator. It was originally printed in Large Feature Comics #7 in 1942, and is one of the first American Disney comics...
, which was among the first original Disney comic book stories published in the United States.
After quitting the Studio, Barks relocated to the
HemetHemet is a city in Riverside County, located in the San Jacinto Valley and it covers a total area of 27.1 square miles, or about half of the valley, which it shares with its neighbor to the north, the city of San Jacinto. In 2007 the city's population was estimated to be 74,185 according to the...
/
San JacintoSan Jacinto is a city in Riverside County, California, U.S.A. It was named after Saint Hyacinth and is located at the north end of the San Jacinto Valley, with Hemet to its south...
area in the semi-desert
inland empireThe Inland Empire is a large metropolitan area located in Southeastern California, consisting of two counties, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. With a population of over 4 million people, it is the second largest metropolitan area in Southern California, third in California, 14th largest in...
region east of Los Angeles where he hoped to start a chicken farm.
When asked which of his stories was a favorite in several interviews Barks cited the ten-pager in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #146 (Nov. 1952) in which Donald tells the story of the chain of unfortunate events that took place when he owned a chicken farm in a town which subsequently was re-named Omelet. Likely one reason it was a favorite is that it was inspired by Barks' own experiences in the poultry business.
But to earn a living in the meantime he inquired whether
Western PublishingWestern Publishing, also known as "Western Printing and Lithographing Co." was a publishing firm based in Racine, Wisconsin, that was responsible for Little Golden Books.-History:...
, which had published Pirate Gold, had any need for artists for Donald Duck comic book stories. He was immediately assigned to illustrate the script for a 10 page Donald Duck story for the monthly
Walt Disney's Comics and StoriesWalt Disney's Comics and Stories, sometimes abbreviated WDC or WDC&S, is an anthology comic book series that has an assortment of Disney characters, including Donald Duck, Scrooge McDuck, Mickey Mouse, Chip 'n Dale, Lil Bad Wolf, Scamp, Bucky Bug, Grandma Duck, Brer Rabbit, Winnie the Pooh, and...
. At the publisher's invitation he revised the storyline and the improvements impressed the editor sufficiently to invite Barks try his hand at contributing both the script and the artwork of his follow-up story. This set the pattern for Barks' career in that (with rare exceptions) he provided art (pencil, inking, solid blacks and lettering) and scripting for his stories.
The Victory GardenThe Victory Garden is the first ten page comic book story starring Donald Duck that was done by Carl Barks. In this story Donald tries to grow a victory garden but three crows keep eating his seeds...
, that initial ten-page story published in April, 1943 was the first of about 500 stories featuring the Disney ducks Barks would produce for Western Publishing over the next three decades, well into his purported retirement. These can be mostly divided into two categories:
- Ten-pagers, comedic Donald Duck stories that were the lead for the monthly flagship title Walt Disney's Comics and Stories, whose circulation peaked in the mid-1950s at 3 million copies sold a month.
- Humorous adventure stories, usually 24-32 pages in length. In the 1940s these were one-shots in the Four Color
Four Color, also known as Four Color Comics and One Shots, was an extremely prolific American comic book anthology series published by Dell Comics between 1939 and 1962...
series (issued 4-6 times a year) that starred Donald and his nephews. From the early 1950s Barks undertook the quarterly adventures of Uncle Scrooge and the duck clan in Scrooge's own title.
He surrounded Donald Duck and nephews
Huey, Dewey and LouieHuey, Dewey, and Louie Duck are a trio of fictional ducks who appear in animated cartoons and comic books published by the Walt Disney Company. Identical triplets, the three are Donald Duck's nephews. Huey, Dewey, and Louie were created by Ted Osborne and Al Taliaferro, and first appeared in a...
with a cast of eccentric and colorful characters, such as the aforementioned
Scrooge McDuckScrooge McDuck or Uncle Scrooge is a Glaswegian anthropomorphic duck created by Carl Barks that first appeared in Four Color Comics #178, Christmas on Bear Mountain, published by Dell Comics in December 1947....
, the wealthiest
duckDuck is the common name for a number of species in the Anatidae family of birds. The ducks are divided between several subfamilies listed in full in the Anatidae article; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered ducks...
in the world;
Gladstone GanderGladstone Gander is a Walt Disney fictional character created by comic artist and writer Carl Barks for Western Publishing. Gladstone first appeared in the story "Wintertime Wager" in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #88 ....
, Donald's obscenely lucky cousin; inventor
Gyro GearlooseGyro Gearloose is a fictional character, an anthropomorphic chicken created by Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company. He is part of the Scrooge McDuck universe, appearing in comic book stories as a friend of Donald Duck, Scrooge and anyone who is associated with them.-Fictional character...
; the persistent
Beagle BoysThe Beagle Boys are a group of fictional characters from the Scrooge McDuck universe. They are a gang of criminals who constantly try to rob Scrooge McDuck and were created by Carl Barks...
; the sorceress
Magica De SpellMagica De Spell is a fictional character of the Scrooge McDuck universe, a witch created by Carl Barks. She constantly steals or attempts to steal Scrooge McDuck's Number One Dime, which she believes will play a vital role in magically obtaining the same fabulous wealth of its owner.-Publication...
; Scrooge's rivals
Flintheart GlomgoldFlintheart Glomgold is a fictional character in Disney comic books. Glomgold is one of Scrooge McDuck's main rivals, and also holds the title of being The Second Richest Duck in the World...
and
John D. RockerduckJohn D. Rockerduck is a fictional character from the Scrooge McDuck Universe. He is one of Scrooge McDuck's main enemies. His name is a play on that of John D. Rockefeller, the American capitalist and philanthropist. He was created by Carl Barks, who used him in one story: Boat Buster, first...
; Daisy's nieces April, May and June; Donald's neighbor Jones, and
The Junior WoodchucksIn Disney's fictional universe, The Junior Woodchucks are the Scouting organization to which Donald Duck's nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie, belong. They have a uniform with a coonskin cap. The Junior Woodchucks were created by Carl Barks in 1951, in the story "Operation St. Bernhard"...
organization.
People who work for Disney generally do so in relative anonymity; the stories only carry
Walt DisneyWalter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon and philanthropist. Disney is famous for his influence in the field of entertainment during the twentieth century. As the co-founder Walter Elias...
's name and (sometimes) a short identification number. However, through the sheer quality of his work, people started realizing that a lot of the stories were written by one person, whom they started referring to as the Good Duck Artist. Later it was discovered that the Good Duck Artist went by the name of Carl Barks.
Barks' stories (whether humorous adventures or domestic comedies) often exhibited a wry, dark irony born of hard experience. The 10 pagers showcased Donald as everyman, struggling against the cruel bumps and bruises of everyday life with the nephews often acting as a
Greek chorusThe Greek chorus is a group of twelve or fifteen minor actors in tragic and twenty-four in comic plays of classical Athens. They could be portraying any characters - for instance, in Aeschylus' Agamemnon, the chorus comprises the elderly men of Argos, whereas in Euripides' The Bacchae, they are a...
commenting on the unfolding disasters Donald wrought upon himself. Yet while seemingly defeatist in tone the humanity of the characters shines through in their persistence despite the obstacles. These stories found popularity not only among young children but adults as well. Despite the fact that Barks had done little traveling his adventure stories often had the duck clan globe trotting to the most remote or spectacular of locations. This allowed Barks to indulge his penchant for elaborate backgrounds that hinted at his thwarted ambitions of doing realistic stories in the vein of Harold Foster's
Prince ValiantPrince Valiant in the Days of King Arthur, or simply Prince Valiant, is a long-run comic strip created by Hal Foster in 1937. It is an epic adventure that has told a continuous story during its entire history, and the full stretch of that story now totals more than 3700 Sunday strips...
.
Third marriage
As Barks blossomed creatively, his marriage to Clara deteriorated. This is the period referred to in Barks' famed quip that he could feel his creative juices flowing while the whiskey bottles hurled at him by a tipsy Clara flew by his head. They were divorced in 1951, his second and last divorce. In this period Barks dabbled in fine art, exhibiting paintings at local art shows. It was at one of these in 1952 he became acquainted with fellow exhibitor Margaret Wynnfred Williams (*1917, †March 10, 1993), nicknamed Garé. She was an accomplished landscape artist, some of whose paintings are in the collection of the
Leanin' Tree Museum of Western ArtThe Leanin' Tree Museum of Western Art is a private art museum located in Boulder, Colorado. It exhibits the private art collection of Ed Trumble, founder and chairman of Leanin' Tree, Incorporated. Trumble is a publisher of fine art greeting cards since 1949...
. During her lifetime and to this day note cards of her paintings are available from Leanin' Tree. Her nickname appears as a store name in the story "Christmas in Duckburg", featured on page 1 of Walt Disney’s Christmas Parade #9, published in 1958. Soon after they met she started assisting Barks, handling the solid blacks and lettering, both of which he had found onerous. They married in 1954 and the union lasted until her death.
Later life
Carl Barks retired in 1966 but was persuaded by editor Chase Craig to script stories for Western. The last new comic book story drawn by Carl Barks was a
Daisy DuckDaisy Duck is one of Walt Disney's cartoon and comic book characters. She was created as a female counterpart and girlfriend to Donald Duck, and first appeared in the cartoon "Mr. Duck Steps Out" in 1940....
tale ("The Dainty Daredevil") published in
Walt Disney Comics DigestWalt Disney Comics Digest was one of three digest size comics published by Gold Key Comics in the early 1970s. The other two were the Mystery Comics Digest and Golden Comics Digest....
issue 5 (Nov. 1968). When bibliographer Michael Barrier asked Barks about why he drew it, Barks' vague recollection was no one was available and he was asked to do it as a favor by editor Chase Craig.
He wrote one Uncle Scrooge story, three Donald Duck stories and from 1970-1974 was the main writer for the Junior Woodchucks comic book (issues 6 through 25). The latter included environmental themes that Barks first explored in 1957 ["Land of the Pygmy Indians", Uncle Scrooge #18]. Barks also sold a few sketches to Western that were redrawn as covers. For a time the Barkses lived in
Goleta, CaliforniaGoleta is a city located in southern Santa Barbara County, California, USA. It was incorporated as a new city in 2002, after a long time as being the largest unincorporated, populated area in the county...
before returning to the Inland Empire by moving to
TemeculaTemecula is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States with a population of 102,604. It was incorporated on December 1, 1989....
.
To make a little extra money beyond what his pension and scripting earnings brought in, Barks started doing oil paintings to sell at the local art shows he and Garé exhibited at. Subjects included humorous depictions of life on the farm and portraits of Native American princesses. These skillfully rendering paintings encouraged fan Glenn Bray to ask Barks if he could commission a painting of the ducks ("A Tall Ship and a Star to Steer Her By", taken from the cover of
Walt Disney's Comics and StoriesWalt Disney's Comics and Stories, sometimes abbreviated WDC or WDC&S, is an anthology comic book series that has an assortment of Disney characters, including Donald Duck, Scrooge McDuck, Mickey Mouse, Chip 'n Dale, Lil Bad Wolf, Scamp, Bucky Bug, Grandma Duck, Brer Rabbit, Winnie the Pooh, and...
#108 by Barks). This prompted Barks to contact George Sherman at Disney's Publications Department to request permission to produce and sell oil paintings of scenes from his stories. In July 1971 Barks was granted a royalty-free license by Disney.
http://www.cbarks.dk/thecorrespondence1970s.htm When word spread that Barks was taking commissions from those interested in purchasing an oil of the ducks, much to his astonishment the response quickly outstripped what he reasonably could produce in the next few years.
When Barks expressed dismay at coping with the backlog of orders he faced, fan/dealers Bruce Hamilton and Russ Cochran suggested Barks instead auction his paintings at conventions and via Cochran's catalog
Graphic Gallery. By September 1974 Barks had discontinued taking commissions.
http://www.geocities.com/~jimlowe/barks/images/barkcard.jpg
At Boston's NewCon convention, in October 1975, the first Carl Barks oil painting auctioned at a comic book convention ("She Was Spangled and Flashy") sold for $2,500. Subsequent offerings saw an escalation in the prices realized. The buyer of this painting, Jerry Osborne, quickly became one of Carl's close friends. Carl even painted Osborne into the scene of his 1976 "July Fourth in Duckburg." Jerry Osborne delivered the eulogy at Carl's funeral at Grants Pass, Oregon.
In 1976, Carl and Garé went to Boston for the NewCon show, their first comic convention appearance. Among the other attendees was famed
Little LuluLittle Lulu is a comic strip character, created by Marjorie Henderson Buell. Little Lulu first appeared in The Saturday Evening Post on February 23, 1935 in a single panel, appearing in her debut as a flower girl at a wedding, strewing the aisle with banana peels.Little Lulu replaced Carl...
comic book scripter
John StanleyJohn Stanley was a comic book creator, best known for his scripting of Little Lulu's comic book exploits from 1945 to approximately 1959. While mostly known for his scripting Stanley also was an accomplished artist who drew many of his stories, including the earliest issues of Lulu...
; despite both having worked for
Western PublishingWestern Publishing, also known as "Western Printing and Lithographing Co." was a publishing firm based in Racine, Wisconsin, that was responsible for Little Golden Books.-History:...
this was the first time they met. The highlight of the convention was the auctioning of what was to that time the largest duck oil painting Barks had done, "July Fourth in Duckburg", which included depictions of several prominent Barks fans and collectors. It sold for a then record high amount: $6,400.
Soon thereafter a fan sold unauthorized prints of some of the
Scrooge McDuckScrooge McDuck or Uncle Scrooge is a Glaswegian anthropomorphic duck created by Carl Barks that first appeared in Four Color Comics #178, Christmas on Bear Mountain, published by Dell Comics in December 1947....
paintings, leading Disney to withdraw permission for further paintings. To meet demand for new work Barks embarked on a series of paintings of non-Disney ducks and fantasy subjects such as Beowulf and Xerxes. These were eventually collected in the limited-edition book
Animal Quackers.
As the result of heroic efforts by
Star WarsStar Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, originally released simply as Star Wars, is an American 1977 space opera film, written and directed by George Lucas. It was the first of six films released in the Star Wars saga: two subsequent films continue the story, while a prequel trilogy contributes...
producer
Gary KurtzGary Kurtz is a two time Academy Award nominated film producer whose list of credits include American Graffiti, Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back. He later produced The Dark Crystal and Return to Oz after departing from the Star Wars series...
and screenwriter
Edward SummerEdward Summer has been an award winning painter, motion picture director, screenwriter, internet publisher, magazine editor, journalist and science writer, comic book writer, novelist, book designer, actor, cinematographer, motion picture editor, documentary film maker, film festival founder, and...
, Disney relented and in 1981, allowed Barks to do a now seminal oil painting called "Wanderers of Wonderlands" for a breakthrough limited edition book entitled
Uncle Scrooge McDuck: His Life and Times. The book collected 11 classic Barks stories of Uncle Scrooge colored by artist
Peter LedgerPeter Ledger was an Australian artist and illustrator. In addition to studying art, he worked with surveying teams in the Australian outback, hunted deer for the government in New Zealand, was a professional scuba diver, a leathermaker and a gourmet cook...
along with a new Scrooge story by Barks done storybook style with watercolor illustrations, "Go Slowly, Sands of Time". After being turned down by every major publisher in New York City, Kurtz and Summer published the book through Celestial Arts, which Kurtz acquired partly for this purpose. The book went on to become the model for virtually every important collection of comic book stories. It was the first book of its kind ever reviewed in Time Magazine and subsequently in
NewsweekNewsweek is an American weekly newsmagazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
, and the first book review in Time Magazine with large color illustrations.
In 1977 and 1982, Barks attended the San Diego Comic Con. As with his appearance in Boston, the response to his presence was overwhelming, with long lines of fans waiting to meet Barks and get his autograph.
In 1981, Bruce Hamilton and Russ Cochran, two long-time Disney comics fans, decided to combine forces to bring greater recognition (and revenue!) to the works of Carl Barks. Their first efforts went into establishing
Another Rainbow Publishing, the banner under which they produced and issued the award-winning book, "The Fine Art of Walt Disney´s Donald Duck by Carl Barks", a comprehensive collection of the Disney duck paintings of this artist and storyteller. Not long after, the company began producing fine art lithographs of many of these paintings, in strictly limited editions, all signed by Barks, who eventually produced many original works for the series.
In 1983 Another Rainbow took up the daunting task of collecting the entire Disney comic book ouvré of Barks — over 500 stories in all — in the ten-set, thirty-volume
Carl Barks LibraryCarl Barks Library is a series of 30 books with all Disney comics and covers written and/or drawn by Carl Barks. A few stories were modified, sometimes for production reasons and sometimes due to censorship. The books are collected in ten sets with three books in each, a total of about 7400 pages...
. These oversized hardbound volumes reproduced Barks´ pages in pristine black and white line art, as close as possible to the way he´d originally drawn them, and included mountains of special features, articles, reminiscences, interviews, storyboards, critiques, and more than a few surprises. This monumental project was finally completed in mid-1990.
In 1985 a new division was founded,
Gladstone PublishingGladstone Publishing was an American company that published Disney comics from 1986 to 1990 and from 1993 to 1998. The company had its origins as a subsidiary of "Another Rainbow", a company formed by Bruce Hamilton and Russ Cochran to publish the Carl Barks Library and produce limited edition...
, which took up the then-dormant Disney comic book license. Gladstone introduced a whole new generation of Disney comic book readers to the wondrous storytelling of such luminaries as Barks, Paul Murry, and Floyd Gottfredson, as well as presenting the first works of modern Disney comics masters Don Rosa and William Van Horn. Seven years after Gladstone´s founding, the Carl Barks Library was revived as full-color, high-quality squarebound comic albums (including the first-ever Carl Barks trading cards)- the
Carl Barks Library in Color.
Barks relocated one last time to
Grants Pass, OregonGrants Pass is a city in, and the county seat of Josephine County, Oregon, United States . The city is located on Interstate 5, northwest of Medford. Attractions include the Rogue River, famous for its rafting, and the nearby Oregon Caves National Monument located south of the city...
near where he grew up, partly at the urging of friend and
Broom Hilda artist
Russell MyersRussell Myers is an American cartoonist best known for his newspaper comic strip Broom-Hilda. He received the National Cartoonist Society Best Humor Strip Award for 1975....
, who lives in the area. The move also was motivated, Barks stated in another famous quip, by Temecula being too close to Disneyland and thus facilitating a growing torrent of drop-in visits by vacationing fans. In this period Barks made only one public appearance, at a comic book shop near Grants Pass.
From 1993 to 1998, Barks' career was managed by the "Carl Barks Studio" (Bill Grandey and Kathy Morby). This involved numerous projects and activities, including a tour of 11 European countries in 1994,
IcelandThe Republic of Iceland is a European island country located in the North Atlantic Ocean. It has a population of about 320,000 and a total area of 103,000 km². Its capital and largest city is Reykjavík, whose surrounding area is home to approximately two thirds of the national population...
being the first foreign country he ever visited, appearances at several
DisneyanaDisneyana is a term for toys, books, animation celluloids, theme-park souvenirs, and other collectibles produced by The Walt Disney Company, featuring such characters as Mickey Mouse and Tinker Bell...
conventions and the release of prints of paintings along with high-end art objects (such as tiles and statutes) based on designs by Barks.
Also, in summer 1994 and until his death, Carl Barks personally assigned Peter Reichelt, a museum exhibition producer from Mannheim, Germany, as his agent for Europe. In 1997, tensions between Barks and the Studio eventually resulted in a lawsuit that was settled with an agreement that included the disbanding of the Studio, after which Barks was represented by Gerry Tank and Jim Mitchell.
During these years, he created two more stories: the script for "Horsing Around with History", which was published in 1994, and the outlines for "Somewhere in Nowhere", published in 2000.
Austrian Artist
Gottfried HelnweinGottfried Helnwein is an Austrian-Irish fine artist, painter, photographer, installation and performance artist.-Work:Helnwein studied at the University of Visual Art in Vienna...
curated and organized the first solo museum-exhibition of Carl Barks. Between 1994 and 1998 the retrospective was shown in ten European museums and seen by more than 400,000 visitors.
At the same time in spring 1994, Reichelt and Ina Brockmann designed a special museum exhibition tour about Barks's life and work. Also represented for the first time at this exhibition were Disney artists
Al TaliaferroCharles Alfred Taliaferro , known simply as Al Taliaferro, was a Disney comics artist who used to produce Disney comic strips for King Features Syndicate...
and
Floyd GottfredsonArthur Floyd Gottfredson was an American cartoonist best known for his defining work on the Mickey Mouse comic strip. He has probably had the same impact on the Mickey Mouse comics as Carl Barks had on the Donald Duck comics...
. Since 1995, more than 500,000 visitors have attended the shows in Europe.
Reichelt also translated the
Michael BarrierMichael Barrier is an American animation historian. Barrier was the editor of Funnyworld, a groundbreaking journal devoted to comics and animation studies, which began as a contribution to the CAPA-Alpha amateur press association. Starting in 1970 it expanded to being a magazine of general...
Barks biography into German and published it in 1994.
Final days
Still living in a new home in Grants Pass, Oregon which he and Garé had built next door to their original home, Barks died in 2000 at the age of 99 just a few months short of his 100th birthday and seven years after Garé died.
Although he was undergoing
chemotherapyChemotherapy, in its most general sense, is the treatment of disease by chemicals especially by killing micro-organisms or cancerous cells. In popular usage, it refers to antineoplastic drugs used to treat cancer or the combination of these drugs into a cytotoxic standardized treatment regimen...
for
leukemiaLeukemia is a cancer of the blood or bone marrow and is characterized by an abnormal proliferation of blood cells, usually white blood cells . Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
he was, according to caregiver Serene Hunickle, "funny up to the end."
Barks' influence
Barks' Donald Duck stories were rated #7 on Comic's Journal list of 100 top comics; his Uncle Scrooge stories were rated #20.
Steven SpielbergSteven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer. In a career of over four decades, Spielberg's films have touched on many themes and genres. Spielberg's early sci-fi and adventure films, sometimes centering on children, were seen as an archetype of modern...
and
George LucasGeorge Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, director and chairman of Lucasfilm Ltd. He is best known for being the creator of the epic sci-fi franchise Star Wars and joint creator of the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
have acknowledged that the rolling-boulder booby trap in the opening scene of
Raiders of the Lost ArkRaiders of the Lost Ark is a action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by George Lucas, and starring Harrison Ford...
was inspired by the 1954 Carl Barks Uncle Scrooge adventure "The Seven Cities of Cibola" (
Uncle ScroogeUncle Scrooge is a comic book with the stingy Scrooge McDuck "the richest duck in the world" as the main character. The series also featured Donald Duck and his nephews as supporting characters. The first 70 issues mostly consisted of stories written and drawn by Carl Barks, the creator of Scrooge...
#7). Lucas and Spielberg have also said that some of Barks's stories about space travel and the depiction of aliens had an influence on them.
Lucas wrote the foreword to the 1982
Uncle Scrooge McDuck: His Life and Times. In it he calls Barks’s stories "cinematic" and "a priceless part of our literary heritage".
The
Walt Disney TreasuresThe "Walt Disney Treasures" are two-disc DVD sets of classic Disney works, covering work from the studio's earliest days to more recent work....
DVD set Chronological Donald, Volume 2 includes a salute to Barks.
Carl Barks has an
asteroidthumb|260px|right|[[253 Mathilde]], a [[C-type asteroid]] measuring about across. Photograph taken in 1997 by the [[NEAR Shoemaker]] probe.Asteroids, sometimes called minor planets or planetoids, are small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun, especially in the inner Solar System; they are...
named after him,
2730 Barks2730 Barks is an asteroid discovered by Ted Bowell in 1981. The asteroid was named for comic book artist Carl Barks who wrote "Island in the Sky", an Uncle Scrooge adventure.-External links:*...
. A
CornellCornell University is a private university located in Ithaca, New York, USA, that is a member of the Ivy League.Cornell counts more than 255,000 living alumni, 28 Rhodes Scholars and 41 Nobel laureates affiliated with the university as faculty or students...
scientist was inspired by Barks' tale "Island in the Sky".
In the city of
AlmereAlmere is a city and municipality in Flevoland, the Netherlands, bordering Lelystad and Zeewolde. The municipality of Almere comprises the districts Almere Stad, Almere Haven, Almere Buiten, Almere Hout, Almere Poort and Almere Pampus .Almere is one of the youngest cities in the Netherlands: the...
, The Netherlands, close to Amsterdam, a street was named after him: Carl Barksweg. The new subdivision in which this street is located also includes, among others, a Donald Ducklaan and a Goofystraat.
A 1949 Donald Duck ten-pager features Donald raising a yacht from the ocean floor by filling it with ping pong balls. In December 1965 Karl Krøyer, a Dane, lifted the sunken freight vessel
Al Kuwait in the Kuwait Harbor by filling the hull with 27 million tiny inflatable balls of
polystyrenePolystyrene , sometimes abbreviated PS, is an aromatic polymer made from the aromatic monomer styrene, a liquid hydrocarbon that is commercially manufactured from petroleum by the chemical industry...
. Although the suggestion is often made, Krøyer denies having been inspired by this Barks story. Some sources claim Krøyer was denied a Dutch patent registration (application number NL 6514306) for his invention on the grounds that the Barks story was a
prior publicationPrior art , in most systems of patent law, constitutes all information that has been made available to the public in any form before a given date that might be relevant to a patent's claims of originality...
of the invention. However no definite proof of this story is available. Krøyer later successfully raised another ship off Greenland using the same method, and several other sunken vessels worldwide have since been raised by modified versions of this concept. The television show
MythBustersMythBusters is a popular science television program produced by Australian company Beyond Television Productions originally for the Discovery Channel in the United States. The series has since been distributed by a number of international broadcasters, including SBS in Australia and BBC2 in the UK...
also tested this method and was able to raise a small boat.
For those currently drawing Disney Duck comics, the influence of Barks cannot be overstated.
For artists such as
Daan JippesDaan Jippes is a cartoonist, who has worked with Disney and other comics. He is admired by his fans for his lively emulation of Carl Barks' drawing style, and was therefore chosen by Egmont to redraw some old Junior Woodchucks stories from the 1970s, originally written by Carl Barks and drawn by...
and
Freddy MiltonFreddy Milton is a Danish comic-book writer-artist, best known for his work on Disney comics, Woody Woodpecker and Gnuff. He also in 1974 founded and was editor/publisher of the fanzine Carl Barks & Co.-External links:* page on Lambiek.net...
, Barks' comics have made a great impact.
Don RosaKeno Don Hugo Rosa is an American comic book writer and illustrator best known for his stories about Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck and other Disney characters. He was born in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. His most famous work is The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, which is now out of print...
, one of the most popular living Disney artists, and possibly the one who has been most keen on connecting the various stories into a coherent universe and chronology, considers (with few exceptions) all Barks' duck stories as
canonA canon, in terms of a fictional universe, is a body of material that is considered to be "genuine" or "official", that can be directly referenced as, or as if it were, material produced by the original author or creator of a series...
, and all others as
apocryphalIn the context of fiction Apocrypha includes those fictional stories that do not belong within a fictional universe's canon, yet still have some authority relating to that fictional universe. The boundaries between canon and apocrypha can often be blurred....
. Rosa has said that a number of novelists and movie-makers cite Carl Barks as their 'major influence and inspiration'.
The popularity of Barks' work in Europe is high, and has been that way for years. When the news of Barks' passing was hardly covered by the press in America, "in Europe the sad news was flashed instantly across the airwaves and every newspaper — they realized the world had lost one of the most beloved, influential and well-known creators in international culture."
Dozens of noted comic book artists have taken up elements of Barks' style, especially his ink and pen work. In the US elements of Barks' oil painting style of the ducks were evident in the computer animated, 3-D look
Mickey's Twice Upon a ChristmasMickey's Twice Upon a Christmas is a computer-animated direct-to-video movie on VHS and DVD made by The Walt Disney Company in 2004. It is the sequel to Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas from 1999. The segments in this video feature Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Goofy, Max, Donald Duck, Daisy...
released to video in 2005.
The video game
Donald Duck: Goin' QuackersDonald Duck: Goin' Quackers, known as Donald Duck: Quack Attack in Europe, is a platform game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and Disney Interactive and published by Ubisoft for various consoles and Windows-based personal computers...
is dedicated to the memory of Carl Barks.
Carl Barks drew an early
Andy PandaAndy Panda is a cartoon character who starred in his own series of animated cartoon short subjects produced by Walter Lantz. These "cartunes" were released by Universal Pictures from 1939 to 1947 and United Artists from 1948 to 1949...
comic book story published in
New Funnies #76, 1943. It is one of his few stories to feature humans interacting with
funny animalFunny animal is a cartooning term for the genre of comics and animated cartoons in which the main characters are humanoid or talking animals, with anthropomorphic personality traits. The characters themselves may also be called funny animals...
characters (another is
Dangerous Disguise,
Four ColorFour Color, also known as Four Color Comics and One Shots, was an extremely prolific American comic book anthology series published by Dell Comics between 1939 and 1962...
#308, 1951). See
List of Fictional Pandas.
Notable stories
- "Donald Duck Finds Pirate Gold
Donald Duck Finds Pirate Gold is a comic book starring Donald Duck that was originally printed in Four Color #9 in October 1942. In this story Donald and his nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie meet a parrot named Yellow Beak and they wind up searching for the lost treasure of Henry Morgan...
", Four ColorFour Color, also known as Four Color Comics and One Shots, was an extremely prolific American comic book anthology series published by Dell Comics between 1939 and 1962...
#9, October 1942
- "The Mummy's Ring" (Four Color
Four Color, also known as Four Color Comics and One Shots, was an extremely prolific American comic book anthology series published by Dell Comics between 1939 and 1962...
#29, September 1943) presciently dealt with the repatriation of antiquities to their country of origin. This has become a major issue in the contemporary art world.
- "Christmas on Bear Mountain
Christmas on Bear Mountain is a Donald Duck story by Carl Barks, first published in Dell Comics Four Color Comics #178. It was the first appearance of Scrooge McDuck...
", Four Color #178, December 1947, first appearance of Scrooge McDuckScrooge McDuck or Uncle Scrooge is a Glaswegian anthropomorphic duck created by Carl Barks that first appeared in Four Color Comics #178, Christmas on Bear Mountain, published by Dell Comics in December 1947....
.
- "The Old Castle's Secret
The Old Castle's Secret is a Donald Duck story written by Carl Barks. Besides having status as one of Barks' best stories, The Old Castle's Secret is also notable for being Donald and Huey, Dewey and Louie's first treasure hunt with their uncle, Scrooge McDuck.- Plot :Scrooge McDuck, in his second...
", Four Color #189 June 1948
- "Sheriff of Bullet Valley
Sheriff of Bullet Valley is a Donald Duck comic story from October 1948, written and illustrated by Carl Barks.In this story Donald applies for a job as the Sheriff of Bullet Valley and his nephews plan on helping him despite how dangerous he tells them it is...
", Four Color #199, October 1948
- "Lost in the Andes!", Four Color #223, April 1949
- "Donald Duck in Old California!
Donald Duck in Old California! is a Donald Duck comicbook story written and illustrated by Carl Barks and first published in May, 1951.- Plot synopsis :...
", Four Color #328, May 1951
- "A Christmas for Shacktown
A Christmas for Shacktown is a Donald Duck/Uncle Scrooge story written and drawn by Carl Barks and first published in the comic book Donald Duck, #367 in January, 1952. The story line revolves around the Duck family attempting to raise money to throw a Christmas party for the poor children of the...
", Four Color #367, January 1952
- "Only a Poor Old Man
Only A Poor Old Man is a comic story written by Carl Barks for the first issue of Uncle Scrooge. It was the first story with Scrooge McDuck as its main character . The story was published in 1952 and is one of the most reprinted Uncle Scrooge comics. Gemstone selected it as the Free Comic Book of...
", Four Color #386 (Uncle ScroogeUncle Scrooge is a comic book with the stingy Scrooge McDuck "the richest duck in the world" as the main character. The series also featured Donald Duck and his nephews as supporting characters. The first 70 issues mostly consisted of stories written and drawn by Carl Barks, the creator of Scrooge...
#1), March 1952
- "The Golden Helmet
The Golden Helmet is a Donald Duck comic strip story written by Carl Barks in July 1952. Donald and his nephews go on a treasure hunt for a mythical helmet that apparently gives the possessor legal claim of North America.- Plot :...
", Four Color #408, July 1952
- "Back to the Klondike
Back to the Klondike is a Donald Duck comic strip story written by Carl Barks in March 1953. Scrooge McDuck returns to Klondike where he has made his fortune, bringing Donald and the three nephews along, to find back gold he has left there....
", Four Color #456 (Uncle Scrooge #2), March 1953
- "Tralla La
Tralla La is a Scrooge McDuck comic book story by Carl Barks. The story was first published in Uncle Scrooge #6 . In the story, Scrooge searches for a utopia in which money plays no role.- Plot :...
", Uncle Scrooge #6, June 1954
- "The Fabulous Philosopher's Stone
The Fabulous Philosopher's Stone is an Uncle Scrooge comics story written and drawn by Carl Barks in October 1954. The story was first published in 1955.-Plot:...
", Uncle Scrooge #10, June 1955
- "The Golden Fleecing
The Golden Fleecing is a Scrooge McDuck comic book story from 1955, written and drawn by Carl Barks. It's about Scrooge who wants the Golden Fleece to make a jacket.-Storyline:...
", Uncle Scrooge #12, December 1955
- "Land Beneath the Ground!
Land Beneath the Ground! is a Scrooge McDuck comic strip story from 1956, written by Carl Barks.-Plot:Scrooge is worried about earthquakes damaging his money bin and is determined to find out what causes them so he and his nephews Donald Duck, Huey, Dewey and Louie go underground and meet two types...
", Uncle Scrooge #13, March 1956
- "The Money Well
- Storyline :Scrooge and his nephews are at his Money Bin where they find out that the Beagle Boys are using oil rigs to steal Scrooge's money. Scrooge and his nephews use a secret escape tunnel built during the time of Fort Duckburg to bury the money on a homestead that he bought...
", Uncle Scrooge #21, March 1958
- "The Golden River
The Golden River is a comic strip story written and drawn by Carl Barks in 1957 and first published in 1958. It is somewhat based on the fairy tale "The King of the Golden River", by John Ruskin.- Plot :...
", Uncle Scrooge #22, 1958
- "Island in the Sky
Island in the Sky is a Donald Duck story written by Carl Barks in March 1960.The asteroid 2730 Barks was named after Barks by a scientist at Cornell University who was inspired by the story.- Storyline :...
", Uncle Scrooge #29, March 1960
- "North of the Yukon
North of the Yukon is a story featuring Scrooge McDuck and his nephews, Donald Duck and Huey, Dewey, & Louie. It was written and drawn by Carl Barks. This was his last story involving Scrooge's adventures in Alaska. It was published in September 1965, and later reprinted in May 1993...
", Uncle Scrooge #59, September 1965
Partial (up to December, 1951) chronological
List of Disney comics by Carl Barks.
Awards
- The Shazam Award for Best Writer (Humor Division) in 1970
- The Academy of Comic Book Arts Hall of Fame Award in 1973
- The Inkpot
The Inkpot Award, bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International, is given to professionals in comic book, comic strip, animation, science fiction, and related pop-culture fields, who are guests of that organization's yearly multigenre fan convention, commonly known as Comic-Con or the San...
in 1977 from the San Diego Comic ConComic-Con International: San Diego, commonly known as Comic-Con or the San Diego Comic-Con was founded as the Golden State Comic Book Convention and later the San Diego Comic Book Convention in 1970 by Shel Dorf and a group of San Diegans...
- Inducted into the Eisner Awards Hall of Fame in 1987.
- Inducted into the William Randolph Hearst Cartoon Hall of Fame.
- The Comics Buyer's Guide
Comics Buyer's Guide is the second longest-running periodical reporting on the comic book industry. Only the Dutch monthly Stripschrift, first published in February 1968, has been running longer.-History:...
Fan Award for Favorite Writer in 1996.
- The Walt Disney Company bestowed a Duckster award in 1971 and their Disney Legends
Established in 1987, the Disney Legends program recognizes men and women who have made an extraordinary and integral contribution to The Walt Disney Company. The honor is awarded annually during a special ceremony....
award in 1991
- The series Carl Barks Library received the Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Award for Favorite Reprint Graphic Novel/Album for 1996.
Further reading
- Michael Barrier
Michael Barrier is an American animation historian. Barrier was the editor of Funnyworld, a groundbreaking journal devoted to comics and animation studies, which began as a contribution to the CAPA-Alpha amateur press association. Starting in 1970 it expanded to being a magazine of general...
, Carl Barks and the Art of Comic Book, USA 1981, see Inducks file.
- Donald Ault
Donald Ault is a professor at the University of Florida and is primarily known for his work on British Romantic poet William Blake and American comics artist Carl Barks...
, Carl Barks Conversations, University Press of Mississippi, Jackson (MississippiMississippi is a state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi . The state is heavily forested outside of the...
) 2003, see Inducks file. The book by the University of FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
professor contains some of the most important interviews Barks made between 1962 and 2000 (Thomas Andrae, Michael Barrier, Bill Blackbeard, E. B. Boatner, Glenn Bray, Paul Ciotti, Sébastien Durand, Bob FosterBob Foster is a native of Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA whom many boxing critics consider to be one of the greatest Light Heavyweight world champions in history. As an amateur he won a silver medal at the 1959 Pan American Games....
, Didier Ghez, Stephen Gong, Leonardo Gori, Bruce HamiltonBruce Hamilton is an Emmy award winning television and radio journalist. He first realized his broadcasting dream while in high school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Bruce began his radio career while still in school at Northeast High in Philadelphia. His first radio job was at WBCB in...
, Gottfried HelnweinGottfried Helnwein is an Austrian-Irish fine artist, painter, photographer, installation and performance artist.-Work:Helnwein studied at the University of Visual Art in Vienna...
, Markku Kivekäs, Michael Naiman, Bill Spicer, Francesco Stajano, Klaus Strzyz, Edward SummerEdward Summer has been an award winning painter, motion picture director, screenwriter, internet publisher, magazine editor, journalist and science writer, comic book writer, novelist, book designer, actor, cinematographer, motion picture editor, documentary film maker, film festival founder, and...
, Erik Svane, Don Thompson, Maggie ThompsonMaggie Thompson , is the editor of Comics Buyer's Guide, a monthly comic book industry newsmagazine.Thompson and her late husband, Don Thompson , were among the instigators of what developed in the 1960's into comic book fandom...
, Malcolm Willits, Nicky Wright, and Lynda Ault).
- List of Carl Barks interviews and articles in the international press
- Carl Barks,Edward Summer
Edward Summer has been an award winning painter, motion picture director, screenwriter, internet publisher, magazine editor, journalist and science writer, comic book writer, novelist, book designer, actor, cinematographer, motion picture editor, documentary film maker, film festival founder, and...
Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge McDuck: His Life and Times, Berkeley, California: Celestial Arts, 1981 (first trade edition 1987).
- The Unexpurgated Carl Barks, Hamilton Comics, 1997
- Gottfried Helnwein, 'Wer ist Carl Barks' (Who is Carl Barks?), texts by Roy Disney, Gottfried Helnwein, Carsten Laqua, Andreas Platthaus und Ulrich Schröder, (ISBN 3-8118-5341-4).
- Thomas Andrae, Carl Barks and the Disney Comic Book, University Press of Mississippi, 2006 (ISBN 1578068584, ISBN 97815780658586).
- Alfons Moliné, Carl Barks, un viento ácrata, Madrid: Ediciones Sinsentido, Colección Sin palabras / serie A, núm.16 (2007).
External links