Biting the Barks Bullet!

Okay, readers, followers, and friends, I've stalled around long enough by running some older (...though rather entertaining in their own right) filler posts, but it's time to (as the title says) "bite the Barks bullet"!  

Yeah, lots of things have been going on, but I've promised the revelation of my favorite Carl Barks story for too long a while... 

So, without further ado... 

That greatest of works from the greatest Master of Duck that ever lived... 

Is...  

You know it.... 

You love it... 

You wanna give it a big bear hug - except it would downgrade the condition... 

The one... 

The only... 

The incredible...

LOST IN THE ANDES!!!

From DONALD DUCK FOUR COLOR #223 (Dell Comics, 1949)...

GCD LINK: https://www.comics.org/issue/7367/

...And THE BEST OF DONALD DUCK #1 (Gold Key Comics, Cover Date; November 1965) where I first read it in sheer awe...

GCD LINK: https://www.comics.org/issue/19707/

...And DONALD DUCK ADVENTURES #3 (Gladstone Series I, Cover Date: February, 1988)...

GCD LINK: https://www.comics.org/issue/44021/

..And DONALD DUCK AND FRIENDS #325 (Gladstone Series II, Cover Date: March, 2005)...

GCD LINK: https://www.comics.org/issue/293795/

I like the Daniel Branca cover, as I like everything Branca does, BUT, WHY-OH-WHY DID THEY NOT USE THE CLASSIC COVER FOR THIS REPRINT??!! 

...And the various Carl Barks Library Collections by Gladstone and Fantagraphics...

...Like this one! 

Not only is it my FAVORITE CARL BARKS STORY, I'd go as far as to name it my FAVORITE COMIC BOOK STORY OF ALL TIME - PERIOD!  

No exaggeration, I made up a TOP TEN LIST a number of years ago, and this one topped it!  

As you might expect, there's Barks, Gottfredson, Murry, Mickey, Donald, Scrooge, Superman, Batman, and even one Judge Dredd!  

This one, to be exact! 

As to the merest hint of why LOST IN THE ANDES is my "FAVORITE COMIC BOOK STORY OF ALL TIME - PERIOD", you may wish to check out <a href= ><b>MY THIRD EVER POST</b></a> to this humble Blog!

...Go on, delve into a piece of TIAH history... No charge!  ...Step back, Scrooge... my readers go first!  

Congratulations to everyone who chose this great story as your guess, and we'll finally get to Favorite Gottfredson as soon as we can!  

Adventures in Comic-Boxing: Leave MOLE Enough Alone!

Here's another great one from from the TIAH Archives - seen here for the first time - while we catch up on other matters. Favorite Barks and Gottfredson posts are coming ...uh, soon? 

No matter how well you think you know these comics, every now and then you have an unexpected "laugh-out-loud moment", as in DELL FOUR COLOR # 791 JIMINY CRICKET (1957).

In the story "The Meandering Mole", a mole... er, "meanders" up from beneath the ground.  Tired of his subterranean life, he decides to try living on the surface. 

Click to Enlarge, but you can get the gist even at this size!  

Problem is that, from living underground and in darkness, moles have notoriously POOR EYESIGHT!  Jiminy, ever the good-intentioned, well-meaning busybody, takes it upon himself to discourage the mole from transitioning to surface life, lest he inadvertently imperil himself when encountering the many dangers of the forest! 

Among the tricks our Cricket Conscience tries is to scare the mole into thinking a WOLF is lurking nearby! 

But, to Jiminy's surprise, and my involuntary outburst of hilarity, the mole is prepared for such an eventuality...

EEK! is right, Jiminy!  

"PHOOF"?  Gotta LOVE IT!  

Yeah, let's not think about THAT, eh, "Jimbo"!  

What REALLY SELLS IT is the mole "blowing on his gun barrel" after the shot...

...Not unlike the many times James Cagney (of all folks) did the same - over and over again, actually playing to the audience, in "The Oklahoma Kid", an unlikely western starring New York tough guys Cagney and Humphrey Bogart!  ...Imagine that! 

Perhaps our "Meandering Mole" could star in the sequel... "The Okla-MOLE-a Kid"! 

Art is by the great Al Hubbard, who was so perfectly suited for this type of story, and written by the great - and very prolific - Carl Fallberg! ...Who, uncharacteristically, borrows Vic Lockman's trademark "EEK!" for the occasion! 

Glad to see they both survived the encounter... and that it was JIMINY who "learned a lesson" for a change! 

I’m Not an Artist, But… Reading is Family Fun-damental!

Here's another oldie, while we tread the blogging equivalent of water, until we get to the promised Barks and Gottfredson posts...

And YES, I know Geox had already done this but - believe it or not - I'd actually done the post and sent it to my Reserve Archives well before his post appeared.  

Then, for a long while, I hesitated posting my version, so as not to compete with his... or (horrors!) be considered a plagiarist!  Anyway, at long (delayed) last, here it is!  Enjoy!  

I'm Not an Artist, But... let's examine a cover I've liked for a very long time... until I thought a little too hard about it as a writer... that of DELL GIANT # 38 Uncle Donald and His Nephews Family Fun (Dell Comics, Cover Date: November, 1960).

First of all, shouldn't it have been "UNCA Donald and His Nephews Family Fun", given the uncountable number of times that the WRITERS of these comics have referred to the character as "UNCA Donald" vs. calling him "Uncle Donald", but I'll chalk that up to a matter of branding and get to the heart of the matter. 

To give you a peek into my mind (...dare you accept the invitation?), this first occurred to me when updating the index to the issue at GCD. 

At a first glance, I gave this cover a synopsis of "Each member of the Duck family indulges in the reading preference of their choice.", because that's exactly what it looked like.  In furtherance of this, whoever indexed the original issue for GCD gave it an "Unofficial Title" of "All reading" - a seemingly accurate, if uninspired, description of the cover illustration.  

But is that earlier title, as well as my later synopsis, truly accurate?  

I'd say not... Why? Because not all the ducks ARE READING!  

The nephews are putting together a jigsaw puzzle... and Uncle Scrooge is just admiring a thousand-dollar bill!  I suppose you could argue that Scrooge *could* be "reading" the bill's serial number, name of the Secretary of the Treasury, or the line about "In Whomever Ducks Trust"... but sorry, Scrooge, I'm not buying it!  

You could even make the tenuous case that Daisy is WRITING in her Diary, and Grandma Duck is REMINISCING over her old photo album, leaving DONALD as the only one actually READING... but, since he's "reading" the "Investment News", he's probably just daydreaming, or something!  

Now, I'm Not an Artist, But... I must lay a goodly amount of the blame on the (choke!) writer (gasp!) - or more likely the editor, or designer who came up with and/or approved this particular image - and not artist Tony Strobl who, as he once told me, had little or no input into that stage of the creative process.  

While "I'm Not an Artist, But..." I am a WRITER, and here's how I would have "written" this scene... if, indeed, things like this are ever actually "written"...

Donald would be reading the latest issue of "Super Snooper Comics"! ...'Nuff said! 

Grandma Duck would be reading farm reports - or something touting these "newfangled electric cars" to come in the future, and wondering what all the fuss is about since she's had an old electric car since about 1910! 

Daisy would be reading a romantic novel... and becoming increasingly displeased with Donald over his lack of romanticism. 

Scrooge would be reading "The Web Street Journal", or some other financial publication... provided he found a discarded copy on the street. Scrooge gets free info AND there's less litter on the streets of Duckburg?  Win/Win, I'd say! 

And anyone who thinks that Huey, Dewey, and Louie would be reading anything other than The Junior Woodchucks Guidebook is banned from my Blog for at least a month!  

...Aaaaand, maybe I wouldn't put Donald so far in the background of what purports to be his own comic book!  Switch him with Scrooge, maybe!  

 ...Your thoughts? 

HAPPY NEW YEAR - 2026!

 HAPPY NEW YEAR - 2026!

We open with Donald Duck ushering in the new year with that little-known Duckburgian tradition (…Golly, Duckburg sure has a lot of little-known traditions, doesn’t it?) of smashing open the Official Glass New Year’s Pineapple!  It’s kinda like the Times Square Ball Drop, only more breakable and with a shorter distance to travel before it’s done!

 So, let’s join him in raising a Glass New Year’s Pineapple, and smashing it to little pieces on the floor! 

And, while you’re at it, please join *me* in another year of Blogging – sporadic as it (…and everything else I do) will be until our move is completed and our lives return to what passes for “normal”! 

We'll get to the joyous backlog of comments very soon.  Please keep ‘em coming, as it remains my favorite part of what we do here! 

Finally, I’ve all but abandoned any thoughts of shuttering this humble Blog, sporadic as it may continue to be.  Thanks for the support you’ve all given me to arrive at that decision! 

 Happy 2026! 

Dinky and Donald Duck: "Separated at Mirth" and United by Other Factors!

One of the things I love most about indexing comic books for the GRAND COMIC DATABASE (GCD) is the optional assignation of "Unofficial Titles" to untitled stories and covers.  My unofficial title for the cover of  DINKY DUCK #8 (St. John Comics, Cover Date: February, 1954) is... (wait for it...)

"Schematic for a Good Ski-Medic"

There's a title even *I'm* impressed by :-)  I also LOVE this cover!  Perfectly capturing the characters of obnoxious egotist Rudy Rooster, and his overly-loyal and faithful pup Dinky Duck. 

A similar Carl Barks cover had HD&L "standing-by" with a med-kit as Donald was about to ski, but Dinky actually going down the mountain AFTER Rudy, shows his (oft-misplaced) concern AND much better carries the gag!  

Of course, it could (...and probably SHOULD) be said that, as good Junior Woodchucks, you'd expect the Duck boys to take the more sensible approach!    

WALT DISNEY'S COMICS AND STORIES #149 (Dell Comics, Cover Date: February, 1953) - one year earlier! 

Whichever one you prefer, I think it's safe to say that it's "snow fun" being Donald or Rudy when they carelessly demonstrate "tropes on the slopes"! 

Adventures in Comic-Boxing: How Bambi SHOULD Have Turned Out!

 (Sigh!)  If only Bambi and his mother were jungle denizens, rather than of the forest variety! 

...Love the cover anyway!  

From TARZAN #127 (Dell Comics, Cover Date: November-December, 1961) - Painted Cover by the great George Wilson. 

I’m Not an Artist (...or Colorist), But… WHAT Massive Fist?!

I am not an artist, nor am I a colorist.  If I WERE a colorist, I would be a worse colorist than I would be as an artist.  

It's not just a matter of specific skills of art and coloring that I have never possessed, it's also my admitted lack of creative imagination in those two areas!  

Oh, I have an almost limitless creative imagination in the area of WRITING!  This Blog, my many APA and fanzine writings of yore, and my professional comics work bear testament to that.  But, even if I had sufficient skills in the areas of art and coloring, my work would at best rank as pedestrian, as I have scant (all together now) creative imagination to apply to said work. 

Art is, of course, a matter of subjective taste.  Meaning that while I (and, presumably, most of you) really like things like THIS...

 ...Or THIS...

 ...Or THIS...

...I do allow for the possibility, remote as it may be, that there COULD BE some folks who actually like THIS...

...Even if it's only the artist himself, and possibly his editor!  

But, when COLORING fails, it's pretty much universal!  For instance, take the cover of HAWKMAN #6 (DC Comics, Cover Date: February-March, 1965) and its titanic struggle between Hawkman and a great winged-gorilla. 

Hawkman says: "Got to bring my mace UP -- before that massive fist comes crashing DOWN!" 

MASSIVE FIST?!  WHAT MASSIVE FIST?!  Without squint-staring really hard, do you see any massive fist?  

Quick aside: It has nothing to do with the quality of the digital image used above.  I have the actual comic here beside me as I write this, and the "real thing" looks exactly the same!  

It would seem to be a matter of too much dark brown concentrated in what should be a critical area of the illustration!  

Let's assume there was insufficient room for artist [The Great] Murphy Anderson to position the gorilla's arm and fist elsewhere on the cover, as the dramatic focus of the piece is the gorilla about to smash Hawkman into a fine Hawk-puree! (Sorry, but my keyboard doesn't allow for the accent mark, and spell-checker isn't offering it either!) 

But, perhaps just the slightest bit of gradation in the dark brown might have made a difference, or maybe a better-defined outline of the gorilla's arm and fist to separate it in depth relative to the  gorilla's wing! 

Then again, the coloring techniques of the Silver Age were far more limited than they would be beginning in the 1980s, so I don't have a definitive solution to offer.  

But, that's why I’m Not an Artist (...or Colorist), But… I'm still left to ask "Massive fist? WHAT massive fist?!"

Oh, and for a "massive fist" that you actually CAN see clearly, try this on for massive-size!  

Oh, THAT massive fist! Got it!  

No, actually Superman got it... right in the super-breadbasket! 

There's Just Something About a Pink Bow...

A universal shorthand technique in creating a female counterpart to a male character - in animation and in comics - is to give that counterpart a HAIR BOW... usually pink!  

But, how would that play out in real life?  Well, Cici's here to show you!  

...And doesn't she look CUTE?  With or without the bow!  

Adventures in Comic-Boxing: Somebody Stole Donald's Gag!

When the great editor Julius Schwartz was in charge of certain Silver Age DC Comics titles, he used to say (...and I'm paraphrasing as best I can) that the story should, in some way, highlight - or otherwise showcase - the particular hero's individual powers.  

The Flash's powers are "showcased" in... SHOWCASE!  

Meaning that a FLASH story should be geared toward velocity, a GREEN LANTERN story should feature "power ring" stunts, and an ATOM story should involve its star becoming very small!  

Otherwise, you just have a generic story that could be told for any old generic hero.  

I was reminded of that when I read the Inside Back Cover Gag from ADVENTURES OF MIGHTY MOUSE #151 (Dell Comics, Cover Date: July-September, 1961) titled "The Free Book", with art by Dan Gormley...

More than simply not catering to Mighty Mouse's powers - or his very existence as a super powered mouse - this gag doesn't even need to star a superhero!  

We'll enlarge it below for your reading pleasure... 

In fact, this gag would seem to be best suited to DONALD DUCK, what with his impatient nature and trademark slow burn, and would have made a dandy one-page gag for a Dell or Gold Key comic, or an Al Taliaferro Donald Sunday newspaper strip.  

This cover, which I'd like much more if Carl Barks or Tony Strobl had drawn it, will give you an idea of what I mean! 

You could even pare it down to four panels and make it a weekday strip.  

But instead it is MIGHTY MOUSE who usurps Donald's gag.  And, hey... It's not like, in return,  Donald could... you know, like become a superhero and "Save the Day"... 

...Aw, skip it!  

Separated at Mirth: Pick Your Poison(ed Water)!

If faced with a choice of soapy bath water as in POPEYE #50 (Dell Comics, Cover Date: October-December, 1959), or soapy wash water as in YOSEMITE SAM #27 (Gold Key Comics, Cover Date: April, 1975), what would YOU do to keep from dying of thirst?   

 

The oddball thing about poor Sam's predicament is that Bugs Bunny DOESN'T WEAR ANY CLOTHES, so what is he washing?