Today in Comics History, March 27: Happy birthday, Carl Barks!

Born on this day in 1901: comic book writer, artist, painter and animation story director Carl Barks. He's the creator of Scrooge McDuck, Duckburg, The Beagle Boys, Flintheart Glomgold, the Junior Woodchucks, Gladstone Gander, Gyro Gearloose, Magica De Spell and many more, and has created hundreds of Donald Duck and Scrooge McDuck stories that chronicled the adventures of the Duck Family and laid the work for future artists and for the two DuckTales animated series. He is, quite simply, "The Good Duck Artist."


from Walt Disney's Donald Duck [Halloween Special] one-shot (Fantagraphics, 2011), art by Carl Barks
Happy birthday, Unca Carl!

Today in Comics History, February 14, Valentine's Day: Duck, out of luck, runs amok, thinks Gladstone Gander is an obnoxious #@%&*

from "[My Lucky Valentine]" in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #150 (v.13 #6) (Dell, March 1953); script, pencils, inks and letters by Carl Barks; colors by Western Publishing Production Shop
(*Jerk.)

Today in Comics History, February 6: Happy birthday, Mamie Van Doren!

Put on your 3-D glasses because it's time to salute Miss Mamie Van Doren on her birthday today! Mamie's the titular star of Untamed Youth and Girls Town (both spoofed on MST3K), High School Confidential, The Las Vegas Hillbillys (prequel to Hillbillys in a Haunted House), Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women, Sex Kittens Go to College (well, good for them!) and Francis Joins the WACS, but she didn't make many appearances in comic books, unless you count this amalgam gal in a dog-face world blend of her and Brigitte Bardot spotted in Duckburg among the race cars, lasers, and aeroplanes:


from "Sitting High" in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories v.21 #5 [#245] (Dell, February 1961); script, pencils, and inks by Carl Barks; colors by Western Publishing Production Shop; letters by Garé Barks
Happy birthday, Mamie van Ducken Doren!

Today in Comics History, December 24, 1956 and 2016, Christmas Eve: How the Phantom Blot Almost Stole Christmas (using Gyro Gearloose's Time Machine and Miniature Santa Clones)...Look, it's a holiday story, let's just chalk it up to Christmas magic and enjoy it.

from "'Tis No Season" in Mickey and Donald's Christmas Parade #2 (IDW, December 2016), script by Byron Erickson, pencils and inks by Massimo Fecchi, colors by Digikore Studios, letters by Travis Seitler and Nicole Seitler

Today in Comics History, June 29: Happy birthday, Don Rosa!

Born on this day: the second Duck Master, Don Rosa! Don has written and drawn dozens and dozens of Scrooge McDuck and Donald Duck family stories for various companies around the world publishing Disney comic books, including the definitive Scrooge biography The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck!



from Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge #317 (Gladstone, January 1999), text by Michael Naiman, photographs by Jim Mitchell
Happy birthday, Don! This post is not DuckTales!

Today in Comics History, Friday the 13th (of March): The bad news is that Uncle Scrooge wants to water-ski

cover of Walt Disney's Donald Duck in Big Fishing Contest one-shot (W.G. Publications/Wogan Publications (Australia), 1950?), artist unidentified
Also, I don't think today is Donald Duck's birthday.

Today in Comics History, March 1: Duck is amuck

cover of Walt Disney's Comics and Stories v4 #6 [#42] (Dell, March 1944), pencils and inks by Walt Kelly

Teniversary Countdown #8: Huey told Louie about a thing he saw / Had two big horns and a wooly jaw

Panels from Uncle Scrooge (1953 Dell series) #10 (June-August); script, pencils, and inks by Carl Barks, colors Western Publishing Production Shop, letters by Garé Barks

Today in Christmas Comics History: Donald's meds finally kick in

Panels from Donald and Mickey Merry Christmas 1947 (1947); script, pencils, inks and letters by Carl Barks, colors by Western Publishing Production Shop

Bear Attack Month, Day 29: Duck, Bear, Duck!

And now, panels from the greatest Bear Attack story in the history of comics!*








Panel from Four Color #178 [Donald Duck in Christmas on Bear Mountain] (December 1947); script, pencils, inks and letters by Carl Barks

*And yes, Chris Sims, I have read that one about the Punisher and the polar bears.

Today in Comics History: Cereal company headquarters mysteriously burns to ground

Donald Duck gag strip from Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #132 (September 1951), script by Bob Karp, pencils and inks by Al Taliaferro

Today in Comics History, Wednesday the 10th: Donald Duck discovers he weighs less than Daffy Duck

from "The Crazy Quiz Show" in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #99 (Dell, December 1948); script, pencils, inks and letters by Carl Barks

Today in Comics History, Tuesday the 9th: Roving gangs of hooligan library books harass and beat up Donald Duck

from "The Crazy Quiz Show" in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #99 (Dell, December 1948); script, pencils, inks and letters by Carl Barks

Today in Comics History, Monday the 8th: Donald Duck teaches himself to read Morse Code

from "The Crazy Quiz Show" in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #99 (Dell, December 1948); script, pencils, inks and letters by Carl Barks

Today in Comics History: Donald Duck crams for his Senate Confirmation Hearings

Splash panel from "The Crazy Quiz Show" in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #99 (December 1948); script, pencils, inks and letters by Carl Barks

Today in Comics History: Daisy Duck hatches

Inside back page from Walt Disney's Christmas Parade #3 (November 1951), artist unknown

Things in Comic Books That Are Not Other Things, Part 239

Donald Duck is Not Thor.

Panel from "The Village Blacksmith" in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #239 (August 1960),
script, pencils, and inks by Carl Barks; letters by Garé Barks

Next time on Things in Comic Books That Are Not Other Things: Daredevil is Not Little Lulu!

The Official Comic Book Panels of the Day of the 2012 Olympics: Closing Ceremonies

There's a type of Carl Barks Donald Duck story commonly termed "the brittle mastery of Donald Duck," in which everymanduck Donald initially shows incredible and astounding skill at some profession or occupation, only to have the entire situation collapse in on him in a Rube Goldbergesque slapstick finish, leaving him to give up his work (or, sometimes, to be chased right out of town). Barks's story in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #188 (unofficially titled "The Olympic Hopeful") is no such brittle mastery—Donald shows no skill at any competitive sports right from the beginning! Like "The Olympian Torch Bearer" in WDC&S #286, Mister Duck's grand dreams of glory are doomed from the start. But this story, unlike the other, carries with it a message and a gentle ending that exemplifies the spirit of the Olympics and should be taken to heart by every athlete: man, woman, or fowl.

Duckburg is holding competitions to send its athletes to the Olympics, and you-know-who wants in on that:


Panels from "The Olympic Hopeful" in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #188 (May 1956), script, pencils, and inks by Carl Barks


His first attempt, at the 100 meter dash, looks promising when his more athletic competitor is held out of the race:




But even with that advantage, Donald doesn't exactly have the eye of the tiger. or even the feet of the tall mouse. Looks like he didn't eat his Wheaties this morning!




Take two: another competition, another potential competitor taken out of the race in a humorous way (he's struck oil on his land and decides to retire immediately from athletics). Does Donald have a chance in this event? Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...no.




By now you've gotten the rhythm of the story, and Barks doesn't disappoint. Another event, another potential Olympian disqualified (his schoolmarm arrives to announce he can't compete until he learns his A-B-Cs). And yet again, in an unopposed field, can Donald triumph? Nope.




He's certainly not making any fans among the judges...




...or the onwatching crowd!




Everyone has given up on Donald by the last event, the 1500 meter run.




Everyone, that is, except for those rhyming-named sons of fun, Huey, Dewey, and Louis! Go, Donald, go!




So no athlete from Duckburg will go onto represent that little Calisota town in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, and what's more, Donald is now (or, more accurately, once again) the laughing-stock of all. Except for three Donald fans who show their appreciation and respect for his athletic attempts:




Man, you've gotta hand it to them...those Junior Woodchucks know the true meaning of sportsmanship. As this Olympics draws to an end, so many we all! Even if we wear pants.

The Official Same Story, Different Cover of the 2012 Olympics: Say, do I smell roasting duck?

Left: Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #286 (July 1964), pencils by Tony Strobl, inks by Larry Mayer
Right: Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #535 (December 1988), pencils and inks by Daan Jippes

(Click picture to Prometheusize)


Say, did you read my post this week showing off some the excellent Carl Barks panels inside these covers? No? What are you waiting for?

And, just for fun, here's another totally different Donald Duck Olympic torchbearer comic book cover. Huey, Dewey, and Louis are for once being helpful on this one.


Cover of Donald Duck Adventures #28 (September 1992), pencils and inks by Jim Franzen, colors by Jo Meugniot

The Reason Why Donald Duck Was the Only Eligible Athlete to Carry the Olympic Torch in Duckburg

If you came to this post first, it actually begins here.

Panels from "The Olympian Torch Bearer" in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #286 (July 1964), script, pencils, and inks by Carl Barks, colors by Western Publishing Production Shop, letters by Garé Barks