Issue #5: Ducks

Hey, gang.

Fantagraphics recently released Donald Duck: Lost in the Andes, the first in a series of hardcover books dedicated to the Disney comics of Carl Barks.

If you're roughly the same age as me, you grew up with "the Disney Afternoon": a syndicated programming block consisting of shows like "TaleSpin" and "Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears". These shows represented Disney's first venture into TV animation, and held children in thrall every afternoon for almost a decade.

Tuskernini, motherfucker!

Now, it almost goes without saying that the most important of these shows was the beloved "DuckTales", which ran for 100 episodes (plus a movie!) between 1987 and 1990.

"Life is like a hurricane..."

Look, if you're 30ish, and the conjured memories of giant-robot high fives; Huey, Dewey and Louie getting chased by angry mummies; or Gyro Gearloose's stylish pince-nez don't give you some kind of heart boner -- then just kill yourself.

I mean it.

Alright, now that those idiotic boobs are dead we can get down to bidness.

This is Carl Barks...

As you can see, Mr. Barks (1901-2000) was a big fucking nerd -- but he's also one of the only reasons you had a decent childhood. So, stop laughing.

Between 1949 and 1966, Barks wrote and penciled what are arguably the most cherished and important comic book stories of all time. And the amazing thing is... that's almost an understatement.

Things that Carl Barks invented, go!

1) The giant boulder trap in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

2) Uncle Scrooge McDuck.

3) The color yellow.

4) Short-sleeved dress shirts.

5) The Beagle Boys.

All hijinks aside, the man was hugely important. Everything great about "DuckTales" is probably attributable to Barks' inventiveness, and the children of the '80s owe him a debt of gratitude. Sadly, he did most of his best work anonymously thanks to Disney's draconian publishing practices. It's inconceivable in 2012 that an artist could single-handedly raise a comic book's circulation to 3.5 million per issue... only to have his name appear NOWHERE within its pages.

I am exhausted by the folly of man.

OK, just buy Lost in the Andes. It's a wonderful, inexpensive edition that contains both the foundation of Barks' work and some of the most influential adventure comics ever written.

See you soon!