tb Posted May 1, 2011 Share Posted May 1, 2011 Gorgeous book. (thumbs u I'd love to get a few single-digit WDCSs sometime. I've been working seriously at a high grade run for over 10 years now. The confluence of nice condition and rarity is always a particularly happy place for me. One critical thing about early Disney in high grade is that supply is so dependent on the existence of file copies which is hit or miss. Aside from 2-3 VF-range copies of WDCS 2 that surfaced around 4 years ago, I am not aware of the existence of high grade file copies of early WDCS. That and the relatively low circulation make a book like the #4 above extra cool to me. Btw., I forgot to mention a background story about the Mickey Mouse Magazine V1#2 a little above. Around 2003, Metropolis listed this for sale on their website. I was busy at the time and missed it. When I saw it and ordered it, it had already been sold. I wrote to them and offered more than twice the listed price in the hope that they could convince the buyer to give it back, but it didn't work. It was the most painful lost opportunity I'd ever felt as a collector. Until the book came up for sale again 7 years later. It feels extra nice to secure a book in circumstances like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
50YrsCollctngCmcs Posted May 1, 2011 Share Posted May 1, 2011 Oo, homework. Fun! If only my teachers has assigned this kind of homework I would have been in hog heaven. Instead I used to bring comics into my own assignments, including an essay on the role of comics as WWII propaganda entitled "OK Axis Here we Come!" I believe I borrowed the title from All in Color for A Dime. That one really put my English teacher over the edge a I read it in class and he accused me of promoting comic books as literature! I agreed. Then I did a comic adaptation of Hamlet, called Ducklet with heavy lifts from Barks. I believe Gladstone was the villian.Wish I had kept those but they are long gone. Anyway, I can't help but think you might enjoy my little research project if you have an interest in Barks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
50YrsCollctngCmcs Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 Good answer. Personally, I think a lot of the popularity of Barks' stories can be attributed to his experience at Disney's story department where he worked from the mid-1930s until the early 1940s. Earlier in my own career, I worked on R&D at Pixar Animation Studios. During this time, I got a lot of insights into why Pixar's shorts and features stand out from most other animation houses. I am convinced a lot has to do with the pressure cooker effect that existed in the story department where a small group of ungodly talented and accomplished individuals worked very closely together, constantly learning from each other. What makes a character or a story compelling is not something you can read in a book. You _need_ to be in such an environment to to be able to create stories like Barks'. It is the combination of all the little things that you don't notice that make his work special. The "Only a Poor Old Man" story that 40YCC mentioned is a brilliant example. The story starts with a very clever sequence that builds Scrooge's character and makes the reader relate to him and his problems. This sets up a really whimsical and original storyline followed by an ingenious ending that explains Scrooge's unique fascination with money. I refuse to believe that such an understated masterpiece of a story would have been possible if it had not been for what Barks learned at Disney. I see very similar differences between Barks' work compared to other comic book artists that I see between Pixar's stories and those developed by other teams without the same background. Surely not the shortest answer you'll get, but I think these observations are very important towards understanding why Barks is so beloved compared to other Disney artists. I got to tour Pixar about two to three years ago and certainly felt the creative energy brewing in there. I contrast that sharply with a tour of Disney Animation about ten years ago during one of its worse creative periods; they were working on a horrid animated feature on cows. The palapable lack of creative energy there was astouding. Your assessment in regard to Barks is interesting although one must remember that Barks worked in isolation for many many years on his duck books. He lived way out in the boonies most of this time. Bottom line, I think he was a uniquely gifted individual who was able to create these stories from his own life's experiences and insights. Obviously, these included his time at the Disney studio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJD Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 Got this book a couple of years ago from what I am pretty sure must have been the auction of either Geppi's or Snyder's WDCS run. Gorgeous book. (thumbs u I'd love to get a few single-digit WDCSs sometime. +1 That is one gorgoeus book! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tth2 Posted May 2, 2011 Author Share Posted May 2, 2011 Interesting. So it's not just the art, it's the stories too. Did Barks write them? Or do you mean the story telling he does through his artwork? While Barks was initially known to early collectors as "the `good` Duck artist", the truth of the matter is that it`s the combination of his artwork AND his writing that made him the legend that he is. If he were only an excellent artist but had been a mediocre writer, or been paired with a mediocre writer, he might still have a small following among collectors for his artwork but nothing close to the fanatical following that actually exists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamstrange Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 Oo, homework. Fun! It's the good kind of homework -- like building a model of an exploding volcano, but without any mess to clean up afterwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamstrange Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 Bottom line, I think he was a uniquely gifted individual who was able to create these stories from his own life's experiences and insights. Obviously, these included his time at the Disney studio. I've watched several short and long documentaries related to Disney in the past year and every person who spent any extended time with Disney told of what a remarkable man and storyteller he was. I've no doubt Barks direct involvement with the other story writers and Disney must have had a significant influence on him. That said, comic books are not animation and he quickly developed an approach to telling more sophisticated stories than could be accomplished in the cartoon shorts as well as utilizing techniques that would only work within the context of a comic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tth2 Posted May 2, 2011 Author Share Posted May 2, 2011 Oo, homework. Fun! It's the good kind of homework -- like building a model of an exploding volcan What do you have against Mr. Spock and his people? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Point Five Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 As a complete non-initiate, can someone clue me in on what distinguishes Carl Barks from other Disney Duck artists? At this point I have zero ability to tell his art for the others... Dan, others have commented well re Barks' superior storytelling, so: In terms of the artwork itself, Barks has a beautifully clean, crisp and fluid style compared to any other then-current duck artist. Compare some of those iconic stories to other run-of-the-mill stories and I think you'll see what I mean pretty quickly. His characters are incredibly expressive, and there's an attention to detail and nuance even when not many lines are being used. Makes his work quite a pleasure to look at! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
50YrsCollctngCmcs Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 As a complete non-initiate, can someone clue me in on what distinguishes Carl Barks from other Disney Duck artists? At this point I have zero ability to tell his art for the others... Dan, others have commented well re Barks' superior storytelling, so: In terms of the artwork itself, Barks has a beautifully clean, crisp and fluid style compared to any other then-current duck artist. Compare some of those iconic stories to other run-of-the-mill stories and I think you'll see what I mean pretty quickly. His characters are incredibly expressive, and there's an attention to detail and nuance even when not many lines are being used. Makes his work quite a pleasure to look at! And to add to that there is also an incredible fun attention to detail in the background. Picture frames are filled with humourous shots, city and landscapes are convincingly rendered and Barks wrote the archictectural digest on Money Bins! Don Rosa comes close to the spirit of Barks but his tales don't have the same goofy humor and are more adult. Barks had a raw humor, probably the result of his years on the farms and ranches before he became an artist. He was close to forty when he began working on the comics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedy-D Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Neither of those is really available on Amazon.com. Looks like I'll actually have to go to a store! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
selegue Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 It's been WAY too long since I've had time to look at this thread. Interesting discussion of Barks. But it's been far too long since the last discussion of BEAK ABUSE! Just sold on Dr.X's Four Color thread (not to me ). Possibly the finest beak abuse cover not by Barks or Kelly. (Birds besides ducks are fair game in this thread, right?) Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
50YrsCollctngCmcs Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 Neither of those is really available on Amazon.com. Looks like I'll actually have to go to a store! It being Free Comic Book Day this weekend, sounds like the trip is worth your while. Might even find some free Duck books! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tb Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 The early Taliaferro covers are among my favorites. This was from the early days before beak abuse became popular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Point Five Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 The early Taliaferro covers are among my favorites. This was from the early days before beak abuse became popular. Man, that is a sweet one. You never see it in HG, nor with those deep cover blues. Well done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tb Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 (edited) Here is a cover that I like a lot. My native country was occupied by Germany in 4-40. The contrast between the time and these happy, innocent covers is strange to think about. Holding a near mint book from this era always gives me an amazing feeling of being transported back in time. I actually don't like hoarding multiple copies of hard-to-find books and try to offer them to friends whenever I upgrade (although it always is hard for me to sell anything from my collection). I'm not particularly proud of a shot like this but at least it's something you don't see every day... --- Edit: Just to be absolutely clear, I did not mean to hint that the duplicates would be for sale. Absolutely no books that post in this forum will be for sale. Edited May 8, 2011 by tb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tth2 Posted May 8, 2011 Author Share Posted May 8, 2011 The early Taliaferro covers are among my favorites. This was from the early days before beak abuse became popular. That is a phenomenally good-looking book! I`m not a big fan of Taliaferro, but this cover is great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sacentaur Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 Stunning copy with great colors and superb page quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yellow Kid Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 Your three beautiful copies of the April, 1940, MMM, remind me of the title of the second Barks litho: AN EMBARRASSMENT OF RICHES! Your WDCS #10 is the nicest copy that I have ever seen--the colors are just beautifiul. Great books! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tb Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 Thanks everyone. Yellow Kid, it certainly says a lot when you have not seen a nicer copy of a book. I actually had another very beautiful copy (CGC 9.0) but I reluctantly sold it to a good friend when I bought this one. The day I no longer can make myself help a friend in a case like that is the day it is time to stop collecting. Here's another book that I like a lot. I know it is not a Duck, but neither was that stupid woodpecker above and no one seemed to mind. Anyway, I just get a kick out of seeing books from this era in virtually perfect condition. This one hit the stands (well, actually it didn't since it's a file copy from the Disney Archives) the month before "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" premiered ( ). Today, it is easy to forget that the cover characters, which at best seem secondary today, must have been just as fresh and recognizable in 1937 as Lightening McQueen or Spongebob Squarepants are now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
