Funny Books: Ducks and Covers! Disney's Donald and Scrooge...

 

Redartz:  Some of the first comics I ever read, and loved, were Walt Disney books featuring the adventures of Donald Duck, his nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie, and Donald's financially obsessed Uncle Scrooge McDuck. These stories grabbed my youthful  imagination, and held me fast even through the teen years and on into adulthood. Indeed, there were times when I stopped buying superhero comics, or dropped Archie comics, yet still maintained interest in these Disney Ducks. And much of the reason for that was the gargantuan influence of Carl Barks. 

Carl Barks was the writer /artist for Donald Duck for decades, and was the creator of many beloved Disney characters, particularly Scrooge McDuck himself. Barks' storytelling skills are the stuff of legend; going way beyond the limited 'gag strips' that were found in some "funny animal" books. Barks told humorous tales, cautionary tales, morality tales, and usually with a hefty dose of adventure. How could any kid resist titles like "Ghost of the Grotto", "The Cave of Ali Baba", or "The Lost Crown of Genghis Khan"? 

And the cast of characters Barks weaved into his 'Duck Tales': the Terrible Beagle Boys, Magica DeSpell, Gyro Gearloose, Flintheart Glomgold, just to name a few. Barks gave each character a unique voice and personality, and gave the world of Disney's Ducks a level of characterization rivaling that used later by Marvel. And that characterization certainly applied to the main cast: manipulative Scrooge, bemused Donald, and the nephews (who generally seemed the most rational and capable of the whole family). 

But there was much more to Carl Barks than just his writing. His artwork is equally legendary; not for nothing was he known as "The Good Artist" (for years there were no credits for Disney creators, but his rendering stood out from the rest earning him that sobriquet). Barks was unparalleled at giving emotive expression to his characters. 

  

He also excelled at , well, basically everything. He could beatifully render dramatic scenery, 

 

 

 animals, 

 bizarre monsters, 

 and intricate architecture.

 There weren't many humor books in which you found artwork that you could pore over and admire, regardless of the story. Barks' work, in that regard, puts him among the greats of the comics genre: Eisner, Kirby, Wood. And I'm not overstating things here; Barks' work has stood the test of time. Each generation rediscovers these great stories. In the bronze age, we had Gold Key and Whitman. In the 80's Gladstone Publishing kept them in the comics shops. Still later Disney itself published the books, and today we have Boom! and Dark Horse.

Don Rosa's first Duck cover

 

And what's more, there's more to it than simply representing the genius of Barks' work. Another artist/writer, Don Rosa, took on the Duck reins (where would one put reins on  a duck?) in 1987 and brought a whole new tradition of excellence to books like Donald Duck, Uncle Scrooge and Walt Disney's Comics and Stories. Like Barks before him, Rosa worked with intricate storylines and equally intricate artwork. I've come to love Rosa's work too, to the extent that I'm currently awaiting delivery of a copy of Rosa's magnum opus: "The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck"; a two-volume biography of the famous curmudgeon extrapolated from the whole history weaved by Barks. "Life and Times" won an Eisner for best story some years ago, and I'm finally going to enjoy it. 

 

 

 

Which brings me to one final point: the availability of the Disney Duck stories. One great strength of Gold Key was the variety of formats they used to present these comics. The regular comic series were supplemented by Digests, Giants, and large format collections. This practice has continued to the present day, as we have unprecedented access to finely bound collections of Barks (and Rosa's) works. 

 

 

To sum up: my love for the Disney ducks quite literally continues even today; a common reading thread that took me from childhood to grandparenthood! And chances are many among you are also fans of these books. Which is one way of saying it's time to hear from you; what are your thoughts about Donald, Scrooge, their creators, comics, casts, and all the rest? And while you compose those thoughts, here's some covers from the whole range of Duckdom...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

This & That: BitBA hits the C2E2 Convention!.

Redartz:  Hello again, everyone, and thanks for joining us. Today I'd like to share some thoughts and images about a pretty remarkable day. Last weekend, in Chicago, there was a comic/ pop culture convention known as C2E2 (Chicago Comics and Entertainment Expo). Also, last weekend (Sunday, specifically), was another notable event: the first face-to-face meeting between some of the folks who bring you BitBA, and also our predecessor the Bronze Age Babies. Representing the BAB was Doug, familiar to you all no doubt. He was joined by our friend and frequent commenter Charlie Horse 47. Also there were your cohosts, Martinex1 and myself. And if there's anything better than a comic convention, it's a convention in the company of friends (and how did we not get Charlie in the photo? My bad, pal; just wait until next year).

Martinex1, Doug and Redartz; as photographed by Charlie Horse 47

To give you a sense of how the day went, we have some comments by the attendees. And with no further ado, heeeeere's Doug:

Some fine wings on display

Doug:  I'd not been to C2E2 before, but was excited to check it out. As I expected, it was a massive show -- McCormick Place just allows that sort of sprawl. I had a little difficulty getting my bearings, as I'm used to the Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL and the way WizardWorld Chicago is generally organized. But once I finally ascertained where the back issue vendors were, I found my comfort zone.


However, it didn't take long before a severe change in my sensibilities set in. I had not been to a convention since I sold my comic book collection and quite a bit of my memorabilia over 2014-16. This time around, I did not feel any pull toward the endless rows of longboxes, nor the booths packed to the brim with Marvel Legends, Mini-mates, etc. That made me feel a little melancholy. So reduced to seeking out vendors with large collections of trade paperbacks/hardcovers, I found that there were really only a half dozen or so dealers that I spent any time with. I'd printed an inventory of my library ahead of the trip, and had an idea of what I'd buy should it present itself. I was able to come back home with six books: volumes 1 and 3 of The Batman Adventures, The "Behold the Vision" Avengers Epic Collection, the "Man Without Fear" Daredevil Epic Collection, volume 2 of the Silver Surfer Masterworks (tpb), and the Adventures of Superboy hardcover (reprinting the first 20+ appearances of the character from 1945-46). I got deals on all books below what I could get online, so felt the day was successful.

But the best part of the day was spending it with three like-minded friends. Some might think it odd to call a person you've never laid eyes on a "friend", but I'll say that right from the minute Redartz pulled up at my house last Sunday morning there was a familiarity, a collegiality forged over the past three or four years that melted away any apprehensions that might have existed -- and that sense continued once we arrived at our point of final departure and met Martinex and Charlie Horse in person. Socially, the entire day was easy; it was rewarding, fun, mentally stimulating, and on and on. We've already discussed turning this into some form of tradition!

And now, Charlie Horse 47 shares a convention tale:


Charlie Horse 47: I was enjoying my time perusing the books at Basement Comics’ booth and spied a nice copy of Police Comics # 40 (Plastic Man w/ cover and stories by the genius Jack Cole) that was reasonably priced.  I asked the dealer if I could open the book and inspect it and he said, “Sure!”  Then he said, “Wait, that’s a ‘Chop Collection’ book. “ He then proceeded to explain… 

Cap, with an incredible shield

Chop was a young lad whose mother only allowed him to have “X” number of comic books.  She would count his comics to make sure he never had more than “X” and only the same “X.”  (The dealer thinks Mom did this to ensure Chop focused on studies or whatever kids did in the 1940s.)  Well Chop, being a clever lad, figured out a way to beat mom’s quota system.  He very carefully took the "X" comics apart, keeping the covers. He would then secretly acquire new comics, disassemble them, and re-staple their pages into the "X" covers.  (Yep – the dealer had to tell me that twice to ensure I understood what I heard.)

So, there was no telling what was actually inside… presumably some Plastic Man, perhaps from #40, and other stories from other comics.  

The dealer then told me how he had a Chop Collection copy of (Punch #12) that had a picture of a skull on the cover and he had sold it for $4,000 in Poor condition.  Though the cover looked great, the contents were uncertain, so he sold it as “Poor” condition.  (Presumably the innards weren’t from Action # 1 or Detective #27, lol.)

Chop did a great job “copy/pasting” 1940s style, LOL. 

 Martinex1: I couldn't agree more that it was just fun hanging out with "old" friends.  There is a great ability in the BitBA comments for participants' personalities  to shine through.  So it was good to finally meet some of the group, and put faces to the commentary.  We had plenty of time as the parking gods were not smiling on us and we probably spent an extra hour in transit as we toured the city looking for a spot.  Topics rapidly rattled off and included everything from job friendly college degrees to security screenings to nudist colony landmarks to the UK Dennis the Menace to the merits of swiping.  It was kind of like a month of BitBA crammed into a morning commute.

I enjoyed walking the floor and particularly looking at the original comic art.  While I didn't purchase any pieces, we did see some wonderful Perez Avengers covers, Kirby art from Kamandi and a page from Avengers #1, and a Colan Daredevil cover.  Seeing those in their original state was a highlight.

I picked up some random book.  For my sons I grabbed Sonic the Hedgehog, Little Archie, and a Jughead Digest and I am happy to report they dove into and plowed through them.  They seemed to get a kick out of the story in which it is revealed that Jughead's real name is Forsythe.

 

For myself, I picked up  few floppies including an old Gold Key Mission Impossible and a Charlton Judo Master.  I enjoyed watching Dan Parent sketch and ink the Jughead images for the guys  And I arranged for a commission from Jeffrey Moy to reimagine the cover from Legionnaires #61 to be delivered later.  The best cosplay costumes I saw included the Black Panther, Mr. Freeze, and a gang of Disney characters.

All in all a great day.  I am glad we got together...but I have to say I don't know how people attend for three days straight.  That has to be tiring.

Redartz:  I started the day with an early drive, but that was quickly forgotten upon the warm welcome Doug offered! It was a treat to see his 'stash' in person. And another treat was soon to follow, when we met up with Martinex1 and Charlie Horse 47 (and the fine breakfast Marti had prepared for us all). Indeed, the highlight of the day for me was, really, all day long- enjoying the company of these fine gents. The conversation was rich, wide ranging and entertaining; and full of comic lore. As Doug noted, the camaraderie was instantaneous. Anyone would have thought it was a meeting of four old school chums. And it may as well have been; it seemed as though I'd known them all for years. The witty, friendly voices behind years of posts and  comments were the same I'd known, the only difference was that now there were smiling faces and audible laughter to go along with them!

These two stepped right off the CW...

As for the show: it was pretty big, bigger than most conventions I've attended, and it was a bit disorienting (or was that simply the years?). Nevertheless, there was loads to see. Cosplayers were all around, many with remarkably made costumes. Artist's alley was full; never got over to see Neal Adams but did get a Jughead sketch from Archie artist Dan Parent. Also got to meet Don Rosa, the great talent behind some excellent Disney Duck stories (and bought a very cool Will Eisner/ Spirit parody poster from him, as well). Then went down the row further, and met Erica Henderson (artist of, among other things, Unbeatable Squirrel Girl). She was kind enough to sign the book I purchased and added a small sketch. As I try to pick up some form of original artwork at each con I attend, this show was quite fruitful in that regard.

 Of course, I also picked up a few actual vintage comics- an old Justice League, the first issue of All-Star Squadron (have never read it, but it has had many recommendations). And I re-acquired Amazing Spider-Man 135- for the cover. Yes, the cover made me buy that book again. 



One cool thing I noticed: many families were wandering around the convention floor, and many couples, many folks of all shapes and sizes. Kids, teens, young adults, older folks- it seems everyone likes to hit a con these days. That gives  me a little bit of optimism for our hobby's future. So all in all, this was one fine day...