Show Us Your Ducks! 15 15

[Bonds25]

I know nothing of this seller, but he has some great lots for bid with good prices and no shipping charges. If anyone is looking for some cheap Barks & Rosa readers, you might want to check these out

 

Ebay auctions

 

thanks for posting these matt. I have 30 albums and 11 rosa comics on the way

 

And I have 13 albums and 6 Rosa comics on the way!

[ciorac]

A new Duck flew in today, compliments of a Bird.

 

Thanks Ed!

 

 

 

[G.A.tor]

A new Duck flew in today, compliments of a Bird.

 

Thanks Ed!

 

 

good ole Miss watering hole!

[tb]

those life & times stories didn't do much for me. I think it gets brought up just because its a) a big project and b) were published in sequential issues of scrooge, unlike most of his work.

 

That's what I felt as well. I've tried to read them and thought some were kid of novel, but I just never got captured by the stories. On the other hand, I've been rereading the 6,000 Barks pages over the past 3 years and thought at least 2/3 were a pure joy to read. Perhaps it's just a generation gap thing(?). As I've pointed out before, however, one of the truely remarkable things about working for Pixar was observing how the super talented people the story department worked. They had an extreme case of the pressure cooker effect you get when you put some of the smartest, most creative, and hardest working artists together in a small space and let them challenge each other in friendly competition. My own theory is that what made Barks' stories stand out was a combination of raw talent and - just as importantly - what he learned from the story department at Disney in the 30s. At Pixar, _everything_ was about story and a lot of knowledge was not written down anywhere. It just was passed from artist to artist. Everything I've read about the Disney studios around the time of "Snow White" sounds remarkably like the environment that existed at Pixar. Based on this, it makes perfect sense to me why so few other comic book artists, including Rosa, have come close to Barks in terms of storytelling.

[adamstrange]

those life & times stories didn't do much for me. I think it gets brought up just because its a) a big project and b) were published in sequential issues of scrooge, unlike most of his work.

 

That's what I felt as well. I've tried to read them and thought some were kid of novel, but I just never got captured by the stories. On the other hand, I've been rereading the 6,000 Barks pages over the past 3 years and thought at least 2/3 were a pure joy to read. Perhaps it's just a generation gap thing(?). As I've pointed out before, however, one of the truely remarkable things about working for Pixar was observing how the super talented people the story department worked. They had an extreme case of the pressure cooker effect you get when you put some of the smartest, most creative, and hardest working artists together in a small space and let them challenge each other in friendly competition. My own theory is that what made Barks' stories stand out was a combination of raw talent and - just as importantly - what he learned from the story department at Disney in the 30s. At Pixar, _everything_ was about story and a lot of knowledge was not written down anywhere. It just was passed from artist to artist. Everything I've read about the Disney studios around the time of "Snow White" sounds remarkably like the environment that existed at Pixar. Based on this, it makes perfect sense to me why so few other comic book artists, including Rosa, have come close to Barks in terms of storytelling.

 

I think you make a good point about Disney being a training ground for Barks. As they've mined the Disney archives, which are very extensive, they have uncovered quite a few significant contributions that Barks made to Duck animated shorts in the 1930s so we know he was in the thick of things. And, at that time, Disney, one of America's finest story-editors ever, was very involved and Barks would have the opportunity to interact and hear Disney's critiques. There's a tremendous discipline to animation story-telling since every frame is so expensive and time-consuming and I'm sure that rubbed off on Barks. Commercial considerations in animation also meant that each scene be depicted as simply as possible and that every character, gesture, expression and object "count." So more than just being an outstanding environment for learning the art of story-telling it was about "lean" graphic story telling for a demanding of audience, the film going public. Barks could attend the theater and develop his own sense of the success of the story ideas that he and others were responsible for.

 

That training did not precisely prepare Barks for comics, which is a more individualistic medium and allows for more complex plot and characterization than in animated films. I'm sure he had many ideas that he developed during his animation work that, while unsuitable for film, he was later able to use or develop more fully comics. I really like Rosa's work and think he's told the most interesting non-Barks duck stories, but they don't have the same subtlety, complexity and sophisticated graphic story-telling of Barks. Then again he didn't have the same advantages as Barks.

[AJD]

those life & times stories didn't do much for me. I think it gets brought up just because its a) a big project and b) were published in sequential issues of scrooge, unlike most of his work.

 

That's what I felt as well. I've tried to read them and thought some were kid of novel, but I just never got captured by the stories. On the other hand, I've been rereading the 6,000 Barks pages over the past 3 years and thought at least 2/3 were a pure joy to read. Perhaps it's just a generation gap thing(?). As I've pointed out before, however, one of the truely remarkable things about working for Pixar was observing how the super talented people the story department worked. They had an extreme case of the pressure cooker effect you get when you put some of the smartest, most creative, and hardest working artists together in a small space and let them challenge each other in friendly competition. My own theory is that what made Barks' stories stand out was a combination of raw talent and - just as importantly - what he learned from the story department at Disney in the 30s. At Pixar, _everything_ was about story and a lot of knowledge was not written down anywhere. It just was passed from artist to artist. Everything I've read about the Disney studios around the time of "Snow White" sounds remarkably like the environment that existed at Pixar. Based on this, it makes perfect sense to me why so few other comic book artists, including Rosa, have come close to Barks in terms of storytelling.

 

This is a really insightful comment. I'm in the process of reading Malcolm Gladwell's 'Outliers' (a really great book), which shows how important the environment (and timing) is for generating high achievers. It's very clear that the sort of hothouse environment that Barks found himself in played a big role in his development. But, having said that, his earliest comic stories are too much like storyboards ('Pirate Gold' is almost unreadable, for example). It's the development of the more literary threads in his work that really elevates it above the pack - and that seems to have come from within.

Edited December 29, 2008 by AJD

[MrBedrock]

I don't recall hearing of Barks attending conventions but he definitely had visitors in the late 60s and 70s so it's very likely that there are a number of authentic signed items from that time.

He was the guest of honor at a Houston-Con around 1978.

He also did a signing at an animation/art gallery (The Circle gallery) in the Galleria (a big shopping mall) down here in the early '90s. I think that was part of some kind of promotional tour as Circle was part of a chain.

[Bonds25]

 

She was strangely insistent that I open it up and leaf through. Here's why

 

 

I'm glad I bought her a really nice present!

 

Great gift!!

 

I won this off of Ebay a while back, so it's possible your book was from the same collection:

 

 

 

[AJD]

 

She was strangely insistent that I open it up and leaf through. Here's why

 

 

I'm glad I bought her a really nice present!

 

Great gift!!

 

I won this off of Ebay a while back, so it's possible your book was from the same collection:

 

 

 

You are likely right. Those signatures are almost identical - and are both slightly different from the other Barks signatures (reproduced in books) that I was able to find. What's the back story on yours?

[Bronty]

I know nothing of this seller, but he has some great lots for bid with good prices and no shipping charges. If anyone is looking for some cheap Barks & Rosa readers, you might want to check these out

 

Ebay auctions

 

thanks for posting these matt. I have 30 albums and 11 rosa comics on the way

 

And I have 13 albums and 6 Rosa comics on the way!

 

(thumbs u

[Bronty]

those life & times stories didn't do much for me. I think it gets brought up just because its a) a big project and b) were published in sequential issues of scrooge, unlike most of his work.

 

That's what I felt as well. I've tried to read them and thought some were kid of novel, but I just never got captured by the stories. On the other hand, I've been rereading the 6,000 Barks pages over the past 3 years and thought at least 2/3 were a pure joy to read. Perhaps it's just a generation gap thing(?). As I've pointed out before, however, one of the truely remarkable things about working for Pixar was observing how the super talented people the story department worked. They had an extreme case of the pressure cooker effect you get when you put some of the smartest, most creative, and hardest working artists together in a small space and let them challenge each other in friendly competition. My own theory is that what made Barks' stories stand out was a combination of raw talent and - just as importantly - what he learned from the story department at Disney in the 30s. At Pixar, _everything_ was about story and a lot of knowledge was not written down anywhere. It just was passed from artist to artist. Everything I've read about the Disney studios around the time of "Snow White" sounds remarkably like the environment that existed at Pixar. Based on this, it makes perfect sense to me why so few other comic book artists, including Rosa, have come close to Barks in terms of storytelling.

 

when you say "them" are you talking about the life & times stories in particular, or rosa in general? At his best I like rosa every bit as much as barks. Very different, but just as good. At his worst, they don't capture, like you said. But he did some very, very good material and let's not forget barks had a few forgettable stories himself. Obviously I don't think anyone would put rosa above barks just for the huge difference in output alone, not to mention barks stories' intangible charm. But being second banana to barks is still pretty damn good in its own right.

[tth2]

those life & times stories didn't do much for me. I think it gets brought up just because its a) a big project and b) were published in sequential issues of scrooge, unlike most of his work.

 

That's what I felt as well. I've tried to read them and thought some were kid of novel, but I just never got captured by the stories. On the other hand, I've been rereading the 6,000 Barks pages over the past 3 years and thought at least 2/3 were a pure joy to read. Perhaps it's just a generation gap thing(?). As I've pointed out before, however, one of the truely remarkable things about working for Pixar was observing how the super talented people the story department worked. They had an extreme case of the pressure cooker effect you get when you put some of the smartest, most creative, and hardest working artists together in a small space and let them challenge each other in friendly competition. My own theory is that what made Barks' stories stand out was a combination of raw talent and - just as importantly - what he learned from the story department at Disney in the 30s. At Pixar, _everything_ was about story and a lot of knowledge was not written down anywhere. It just was passed from artist to artist. Everything I've read about the Disney studios around the time of "Snow White" sounds remarkably like the environment that existed at Pixar. Based on this, it makes perfect sense to me why so few other comic book artists, including Rosa, have come close to Barks in terms of storytelling.

 

I think you make a good point about Disney being a training ground for Barks. As they've mined the Disney archives, which are very extensive, they have uncovered quite a few significant contributions that Barks made to Duck animated shorts in the 1930s so we know he was in the thick of things. And, at that time, Disney, one of America's finest story-editors ever, was very involved and Barks would have the opportunity to interact and hear Disney's critiques. There's a tremendous discipline to animation story-telling since every frame is so expensive and time-consuming and I'm sure that rubbed off on Barks. Commercial considerations in animation also meant that each scene be depicted as simply as possible and that every character, gesture, expression and object "count." So more than just being an outstanding environment for learning the art of story-telling it was about "lean" graphic story telling for a demanding of audience, the film going public. Barks could attend the theater and develop his own sense of the success of the story ideas that he and others were responsible for.

And there's also the fact that Barks was just a genius!

 

That training did not precisely prepare Barks for comics, which is a more individualistic medium and allows for more complex plot and characterization than in animated films. I'm sure he had many ideas that he developed during his animation work that, while unsuitable for film, he was later able to use or develop more fully comics. I really like Rosa's work and think he's told the most interesting non-Barks duck stories, but they don't have the same subtlety, complexity and sophisticated graphic story-telling of Barks. Then again he didn't have the same advantages as Barks.

I like Rosa a lot too, although I agree that his humor tends to be a bit harsher and more in-your-face than Barks, but you could just attribute that to Rosa being a product of his generation. Most forms of entertainment since the 1960s are harsher and more in-your-face than the genteel products of the pre-1960s era (except for Bugs Bunny and other Warner Brothers cartoons, and other purveyors of funny animal violence such as Tom and Jerry).

[tth2]

those life & times stories didn't do much for me. I think it gets brought up just because its a) a big project and b) were published in sequential issues of scrooge, unlike most of his work.

 

That's what I felt as well. I've tried to read them and thought some were kid of novel, but I just never got captured by the stories. On the other hand, I've been rereading the 6,000 Barks pages over the past 3 years and thought at least 2/3 were a pure joy to read. Perhaps it's just a generation gap thing(?). As I've pointed out before, however, one of the truely remarkable things about working for Pixar was observing how the super talented people the story department worked. They had an extreme case of the pressure cooker effect you get when you put some of the smartest, most creative, and hardest working artists together in a small space and let them challenge each other in friendly competition. My own theory is that what made Barks' stories stand out was a combination of raw talent and - just as importantly - what he learned from the story department at Disney in the 30s. At Pixar, _everything_ was about story and a lot of knowledge was not written down anywhere. It just was passed from artist to artist. Everything I've read about the Disney studios around the time of "Snow White" sounds remarkably like the environment that existed at Pixar. Based on this, it makes perfect sense to me why so few other comic book artists, including Rosa, have come close to Barks in terms of storytelling.

 

when you say "them" are you talking about the life & times stories in particular, or rosa in general? At his best I like rosa every bit as much as barks. Very different, but just as good. At his worst, they don't capture, like you said. But he did some very, very good material and let's not forget barks had a few forgettable stories himself. Obviously I don't think anyone would put rosa above barks just for the huge difference in output alone, not to mention barks stories' intangible charm. But being second banana to barks is still pretty damn good in its own right.

Well said! What's kind of sad is that Disney/Gold Key entrusted the Ducks to such hacks for so long, and even the non-Rosa/Barks work in Gladstone has been lame. It's kind of amazing that with such long-running characters and a rich story universe to work with, that Barks and Rosa so clearly tower over everyone else who has ever worked on the Ducks.

[Bronty]

Thanks, and I totally agree with your points. I shared a couple of emails once with Rosa and I was shocked to find out he had no leverage with his employer. I would have thought they'd be kissing his feet and fanning him with palm leaves, but according to Don in europe the duck books sell incredibly well without or without him, and of course in the US they sell incredibly poorly with or without him. So I can see why it wouldn't be the most appealing area of comics for a young cartoonist to work in. In europe your talent is kind of irrelevant and in the US its not appreciated Kind of a lose lose scenario.

[Scrooge]

So I take it that no one here likes Scarpa's work? What's everyone's position?

 

I remember his work fondly.

 

Or what about Branca's art duties on the ducks?

[tb]

when you say "them" are you talking about the life & times stories in particular, or rosa in general? At his best I like rosa every bit as much as barks. Very different, but just as good. At his worst, they don't capture, like you said. But he did some very, very good material and let's not forget barks had a few forgettable stories himself. Obviously I don't think anyone would put rosa above barks just for the huge difference in output alone, not to mention barks stories' intangible charm. But being second banana to barks is still pretty damn good in its own right.

 

I was only referring to the Lo$ run. I read a lot of Rosa stories back in the early 90s but only the first half of Lo$ since then. Some of the early stories were really cool and had their own character, whereas Lo$ seemed to attempt to fill gaps that never were meant to be filled with stuff that wasn't that interesting. Perhaps I was put off by that and lost interest in the other stories. It's time to get hold of the reprints.

 

Recently, the thing that most made an impact on me was how the eBay auction of the Rosa artwork was received on European Disney forums. Literally dozens of young collectors, who grew up with the Rosa stories, wanted to pitch in hundreds of dollars from their student stipends to get a page from that sci-fi story.

 

> Pirate Gold

 

Good point that this story was near impossible to read, but it was a very special case. The quality of the Duck stories picked up very quickly after that. Perhaps because Barks realized the potential for working full time as a comic book artist which gave him more of an incentive(?). "Pirate Gold" was written as a side job while he still worked for Disney. I like telecommuting myself and could certainly relate to why the comic book career might have appealed to Barks and motivated him to do his best.

[adamstrange]

So I take it that no one here likes Scarpa's work? What's everyone's position?

 

I remember his work fondly.

 

Or what about Branca's art duties on the ducks?

 

 

I may or may not have read stories by Scarpa or Branca but everything I've read other than Barks and Rosa has been a drop-off from those two.

[tth2]

Thanks, and I totally agree with your points. I shared a couple of emails once with Rosa and I was shocked to find out he had no leverage with his employer. I would have thought they'd be kissing his feet and fanning him with palm leaves, but according to Don in europe the duck books sell incredibly well without or without him, and of course in the US they sell incredibly poorly with or without him. So I can see why it wouldn't be the most appealing area of comics for a young cartoonist to work in. In europe your talent is kind of irrelevant and in the US its not appreciated Kind of a lose lose scenario.

Well, I think Rosa tends to be a pretty cynical guy sometimes. At the CGC Dinner at the SD Con a couple of years ago, he did acknowledge that he was pretty popular in Scandinavia and even had groupies there(!), although he did say this mostly to highlight how relatively little adulation he received in the US.

[Bronty]

I'm not that big on scarpa. As far as non barks/rosa talents my favorite (took me a long time to remember the name right, got him confused with branca) is Carpi.

 

I've only read about 10 or so stories of his but they were amazing. If any of you can read Italian I highly recommend a series called "I Maestri Disney". I bought a few of them in Italy and enjoyed it a lot.

 

http://stp.ling.uu.se/~starback/dcml/countries.html says: [November 1999:] I Maestri Disney has been cancelled. It re-printed memorable stories of the following 7 Disney creators: Carpi, Murry, Bottaro, Cavazzano, Gottfredson, De Vita, and Scarpa. It will be resurrected in better shape, more like a book than a magazine.

 

I can't remember if I have the "book" or "magazine" issues/series but the stories were brilliant and had a 50s barks feel. I'm sure at least part of the reason for that is that they were also 1950s stories! The stories I read were no 1980s stories trying to be a 1950s stories, they were plain 1950s stories by another talented creator. That was the closest to barks I can remember reading.

 

(Rosa is great too but different as I said above).

[tth2]

So I take it that no one here likes Scarpa's work? What's everyone's position?

 

I remember his work fondly.

 

Or what about Branca's art duties on the ducks?

How about posting some examples, because neither name rings any bells.