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? 

The Gottfredson Guessing Game!

In the Comments Section of our last post, our great friend Mouse Maestro announced plans for a series of Gottfredson posts for Unca Floyd's birthday month at his Blog!  

You all know the drill... go over there and read them once they're up! I will certainly do the same! 

As part of that exchange, I hoped he would do my favorite Gottfredson story - and I asked him to GUESS which one that might be... but why not open it up to ALL of you!  

Especially for those who know me long and well... What IS my favorite Gottfredson story?  

Cast your best-guess votes right here! It'll be fun to see what results!

 See ya real soon! 

Ripples in Time Redux!

What better way to "re-do" a "Ripples in Time Redux" post than by leading off with the "B" Cover of MICKEY MOUSE #3 / Legacy Number #333 (Fantagraphics Books, Non-Displayed Cover Date: April, 2026)!

Worry not because here's the "A" Cover for "Ripples in Time", right on its time-traversing heels!  

...And, speaking of "time-traversing heels"... The Rhyming Man bids a fond adieu, to our heroic two! 

So, why "re-do" a "Ripples in Time Redux"?  

Because our new and much-valued friend "Mouse Maestro" has written a great piece on his Blog on "Ripples in Time: Part Two", and we feel that it deserves a linking post of its own in addition to simply leaving it buried in depths of the Comments Section of our previous post!  

So GO READ IT - RIGHT NOW! 

And if, like Mickey, Uma, Goofy, and ol' Slimy Rhymey, you have the ability to travel in time, go back 30 minutes or so and ENJOY IT AGAIN -- for the FIRST TIME!  Repeat until done to a fine golden brown!  

And, if you get caught in an infinite time-loop of reading Mouse Maestro's piece again-and-again-and-again... well there are many worse ways to spend eternity!  

LIKE THIS ONE!

AND THIS ONE!

Naw, don't do that... Better to concentrate on FAR SUPERIOR THINGS... like THESE...

"Ripples in Time" Part One!

                    

Kari Korhonen's magnificent "McDuck Journals" series!

...And the fine works of Mouse Maestro! 

 ..."Casty and BEYOND", anyone?  

It's OUT and We're IN!

MICKEY MOUSE #3 (Legacy Number #333 - funny how that works out, eh?) from Fantagraphics,  concluding the "Ripples In Time" / Rhyming Man and Uma adventure, is OUT as of March 18, 2026. 

We are (finally) IN our new house and the literal construction dust is finally beginning to settle (...mostly onto the floors and furniture - necessitating more and more clean up) but, at last, we can begin discussing both - or any topic of your choice once again.  

Hopefully, more MICKEY than HOUSE... just to keep me from more sobbing!  

On Sale January 14, 2026: MICKEY MOUSE (Fantagraphics) #2 - Legacy No. 332!

EVERYBODY: Up an' At 'Em, Out an' Buy 'Em!!!

THE DATE: Wednesday, January 14, 2026.

THE PLACE: Your Local Comic Shop - or the Online Provider of Your Choice. 

THE THING TO BUY (Without Fail): MICKEY MOUSE (Fantagraphics) #2 - Legacy No. 332!

Here it is, just so we're "on the same page"... or COVER, as it were! ...And WHAT A COVER IT IS!  

Accept no substitutes... Unless you somehow failed to get MICKEY MOUSE (Fantagraphics) #1 - Legacy No. 331 back in November!

Then, it's okay to get 'em both! 

BUT THIS ONE'S GONNA BE A GOODY!  (...and, as the translator and dialogue writer for this great Italian story, I oughta know!) 

A perfect melding of three of the comics Mickey Mouse's greatest creators: Bill Walsh and Floyd Gottfredson, and Casty! 

Walsh and Gottfredson, of course, for The Rhyming Man from the amazing newspaper strip continuity "The Atombrella and the Rhyming Man"  ... and Casty for his time-exploring documentarian Uma as seen in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories 713-714 (2010)!  And writer Francesco Vacca does a fantastic job of bringing those two worlds of different eras together! 

When writing the American English script for this special story, and in order to lend authenticity to the story and fidelity to the original creators, I read both original stories by Walsh and Gottfredson and by Casty and studied them carefully before proceeding.  

I wanted to get everything right and, once you read The Rhyming Man's first line, you'll *know* I did my homework!  It's truly an HONOR to work with these characters and, especially as we have a (hopefully friendly) competition with other publishers, editor David Gerstein (the "Secret Weapon" that those "other guys" don't have) and I do everything we can to make these the best Disney comics they can be!  

We hope you'll all agree, once you read MICKEY MOUSE (Fantagraphics) #2 - Legacy No. 332!

Oh, The Rhyming Man, he has a plan, 

To throw the whole world a curve.

With sinister rhyme, he'll wreak havoc with time.

Does this villain ever have nerve!

Mickey, Goofy, and Uma, they know it's no rumor, 

And set out to stop this fiend cold.

Will they succeed, or will he do the deed? 

Let's hope it's the Rhymer who'll fold! 

...Sorry, Mr. Rhyming Man... I just couldn't help myself!  Are you a FAN, or giving it a PAN?  ...Heh! Nothing personal about that "folding stuff" up above, eh? ...Um, just hyperbole, you know "exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally" ...Heh? 

...Oh, and do ya think could I call you "Rhymey"?  ...No?  Oh, well...

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! 

BLOT (is) OUT!

On sale today, November 19, 2025, the FIRST ISSUE of MICKEY MOUSE from Fantagraphics' new standard comics line - #1 Legacy Number 331!

It's MICKEY!  It's GOOFY!  It's THE PHANTOM BLOT ...perhaps more than one! It's CASTY! ...and, finally, it's merely me! 

It's also me on the SUPER GOOF backup!  

All this and a two-page Floyd Gottfredson old-timey Sunday strip from 1933!

  BUT WAIT... THERE'S MORE!  

David Gerstein's extremely informative CROSSTALK column on Mickey and The Phantom Blot!

 SO, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!   

Blot out to your favorite comics retailer (...as I did today), and have yourself a Blot-ing Good Time (...as I *also* did today) with MICKEY MOUSE (FANTAGRAPHICS) #1 LEGACY NUMBER 331!

Unlike Mickey, I can't quite promise that you won't "have a care in the world" but, like that legendary "spoonful of sugar", it will definitely "make the medicine go down" much sweeter!  

...or maybe scarier?  

 ...See ya in the Comments Section! 

Now It Can Be Told!

 The time has come, the Walrus said... 

...To speak of many things!  

...Of why this Blog was left for dead...

...Despite your many "pings"! 

My sincerest apologies to all you wonderful friends (friends both to me and to this humble Blog) for your concern - and especially your continued contact with comments - and it's time I finally shared the long, long story.  

Frankly, from mid-summer until very recently, it's been a bad time for us.  

To those brave solus that inquired, my stock reply was "It's not health! It's not divorce! Anything else can work itself out!" 

And, after a long series of unpleasant experiences that brought us unprecedented levels of stress, things did - actually, and in total - work themselves out!  

I'll not go into details, as living through it once was difficult enough, but neither Esther nor I were at fault... and, paradoxically, we also both were!  

BUT, IT'S OVER NOW!  HOORAY! 

The end result is that we are moving! But a mere 6.30 miles from our present address. There were reasons having to do with the neighborhood - one that I've lived in (or around) since I was 14 (with only some small breaks) - but, having spent some time at our future address just this very day, we both love it, and can't wait until our closing date.  

So, I thank you for sticking with us, lo these many blog-barren months - and especially for all the comments, which kept coming in despite my lack of response.  I WILL (hopefully) GET TO THEM ALL IN THE NEAR FUTURE, among and around the herculean task of packing for the move!   

The comments actually meant a great deal to me as (...if you've followed some squarely-dropped hints) I was - and, to some degree, still am - considering ending this Blog.  I will do a post as to WHY at some point, but you're welcome to drop an opinion of your own!  

TO HAPPIER THINGS:  My work with Fantagraphics and Gold Key continues with great stuff coming from both publishers... and then there's THIS... 

YES!!!  IT'S MICKEY!!!  IT'S THE PHANTOM BLOT!!! ...and I'm there, too! 

I must have turned this in close to two years ago, but IT'S FINALLY HERE!  

And, if I've got the schedule right, Issues 2 and 3 will have an amazing story by Casty (...with me as a hanger-on... of the "for dear life" variety) using another villain from the Gottfredson/Walsh era who has been too seldom seen - and, as a writer, I can say - with good reason!  GREAT VILLAIN, but very hard to write.  Some of you should guess it pretty quickly, with THAT hint! 

It WAS the most difficult and effort-intensive task I ever performed for Fantagraphics (...and all those drop-out Disney publishers that preceded them)... but I did it for our esteemed editor David Gerstein, for Mickey, for the Very-Hard-To-Write-Villain... and especially for YOU!   

Gold Key is way too early to talk about, but I've taken on some interesting duties there as well.  

See you in the Comments Section (...I hope?)