By Carl Barks (Gladstone)
ISBN: 0-944599-04-4
From the 1940’s until the mid-1960s Carl Barks worked in productive seclusion writing and drawing a brilliantly timeless treasure trove of comedic adventure yarns for kids, creating a Duck Universe of memorable and highly bankable characters like Uncle Scrooge McDuck, Gladstone Gander, the Beagle Boys, Gyro Gearloose, and Magica De Spell to augment the stable of cartoon properties from the Disney Studio, but his most exciting works inevitably involved the rowdy, know-it-all nephews of Donald Duck: Huey, Dewey and Louie.
Their usual assigned roles was as sensible, precocious and a little bit snotty kid-counterfoils to their “unca†whose irascible nature caused him to act like a overgrown brat most of the time, but they too often fell prey to a perpetual temptation to raise a ruckus…
Gladstone Publishing began re-releasing Barks material and a selection of other Disney comics strips in the late 1980s and this album is another of the very best. Whilst producing all that landmark material Barks was just a working guy, drawing unforgettable covers, illustrating other people’s scripts when necessary and always contributing perfect comics tales to the burgeoning canon of Donald Duck and other Big Screen characters. His output was incredible both in terms of quantity and especially in its unfailingly high quality.
Printed in the large European oversized format (278mm x 223mm) this terrific tome reprints the lead tale from Dell Four Color Comics Series II #199 (October 1948) and draws much of its unflagging energy and trenchant whimsy from Barks’ own love of cowboy fiction – albeit seductively tempered with his self-deprecatory sense of absurd humour – for example, a wanted poster on the jailhouse wall portrays the artist himself and offers the princely sum of $1000 and 50¢ for his inevitable capture…
Donald is an expert on the Wild West – he’s seen all the movies – so when he and the boys drive through scenic Bullet Valley, a wanted poster catches his eye and his imagination. Soon he’s signed up as a deputy, determined to catch the rustlers who have been plaguing the locals. Unfortunately for him the good old days never really existed and today’s bandits use radios, trucks and Tommy-guns to achieve their nefarious ends. Can Donald’s impetuous boldness and the nephew’s brains defeat the ruthless high-tech raiders?
Of course they can…
Also included here is a delightful comedy of farmyard errors from Daisy Duck’s Diary (Dell Four Color Comics Series II #1150 December 1960) which pits the well-meaning busybody against luck-drenched Gladstone Gander in ‘Too Much Help’ whilst Donald and the nephews also find themselves at odds with the self-same fowl of fabulous good-fortune in an untitled tale from Walt Disney Comics & Stories #212 (May 1958), wherein he and Gladstone race around the world in rocket-ships, courtesy of that feathered modern Edison Gyro Gearloose, whilst the little ducky boys can only watch in nervous anticipation of disaster…
Even if you can’t find this specific volume (and trust me, you’ll be glad if you do) Barks’ work is now readily accessible through a number of publications and outlets and every one of his works is well worth reading. No matter what your age or temperament if you’ve never experienced his captivating magic, you can discover “the Hans Christian Andersen of Comics†simply by applying yourself and your credit cards to any search engine.
Always remember, a fan’s got to do what a fan’s got to do…
© 1988, 1960, 1958, 1948 The Walt Disney Company. All Rights Reserved.