NSH GA RESULTS - 15 to 11

[comicdonna]

# 13 - Four Color 199

Total Points - 67

# of votes - 10

# of 1st place vote - 2 (ComicBookGuy, Mica)

 

ComicBookGuy tells us:"Anyone who's been in this hobby a while knows that Barks has been The Artist for quite a while. I'm not sure any comic artist ever - including Kirby and Adams - has enjoyed the fanbase that Barks has. As the comic-reading population ages, it is difficult for younger collectors to understand how popular he was in the early days of fandom. Duck books routinely sold over a million copies a month for years. He ruled comics at a time when all kids read comics and they were a part of mainstream culture. Not that anyone knew who Barks was, at first (he was just the "good" artist), but those who grew up reading the Barks books have a love of his work that cannot be surpassed by any other comic artist. I did not read Barks or Disney books as a kid but came to appreciate him as an adult after always hearing about how great he was from older collectors. With all that said, I hope I'm making it clear that no childhood nostalgia was fogging my vision when I rated this #1.

 

I thought this was the best non-superhero GA cover because Barks pulls off several feats effortlessly. First, Donald is getting hit by bullet after bullet and even has holes in his hat, yet the cover still has a humorous effect. How? It's that priceless "Donald" expression. When he gets ticked off, we laugh. He's the duck with the major attitude. I never understood how Mickey Mouse was more popular than Donald Duck. Next, I've always loved the way he draws Huey, Duey, and Louie. This is not a reference to the "cuteness" of the renderings, but they always look exactly the same, except their expressions always distinguish them each as completely different. Barks is The Master of expression and any lesser artist has always made the three indistinguishable from each other. Finally, I like the way the badge functions in the picture. It is emblematic of GA comics to tell simple stories of good versus evil. It's the best story around. Always has been and always will be. Since Donald is the good guy, he won't be hit, no matter how many bullets they shoot at him. The lesson for kids is to be good, don't be afraid, and everything will be all right if you do the right thing and are good and stand up to evil. Sure it's propaganda, but it builds and encourages a better world than a cynical one in which the bad guys win. In the GA, the bad guys could be the Nazis or the Beagle Boys. They were bad, and you the reader related to the good guys and become good yourself in the process. A different time, a different world, a slice of history, and Barks captures it all in an image beautifully drawn and without the aid of words. A true master. "

 

I ranked this cover #2