Numerous books and articles have been published about Carl Barks since his identity was revealed by the first fans in 1960. A few of these items are speculative but most are both valuable and instructive. Many of the books mentioned below are sold out but you might still be able to track them down through special stores or the Internet. At a price...

 

 

The Carl Barks Library comes in 10 boxed sets each containing 3 books. It consists of every comic book story that Barks produced for Disney's as well as front pages, model sheets and mountains of background material and articles.

Contents:
Set 1
.........Four Color
Set 2
........ Four Color and Donald Duck
Sets 3-5
... Uncle Scrooge
Set 6
....... Giveaways, Annuals and Miscellaneous
Sets 7-10
. Walt Disney's Comics & Stories

 

The Carl Barks Library in Color consists of 141 albums divided into 6 categories. It resembles The Carl Barks Library except that the stories are in full colour and it comes with additional new material in the form of articles and interviews.

Contents:
55 albums of Uncle Scrooge
51 albums of Walt Disney's Comics & Stories
26 albums of Donald Duck
..6 albums of Gyro Gearloose
..2 albums of Uncle Scrooge one-pagers
..1 album of Christmas stories

 

The lavish edition of The Fine Art of Walt Disney's Donald Duck by Carl Barks contains photographs of his first duck paintings. Many of the pages can be unfolded for the best presentation. The book - which was limited to 1,875 copies - comes in two front cover colours and is personally numbered and signed by Barks.

Contents:
2 articles
First appearance of Silent Night
All 122 duck paintings from the 1970s

 

Barks Treasury contains 40 of a total of 80 crayon sketches Barks made shortly before his 96th birthday. The book - which was limited to 1,000 copies - comes with a certificate of authenticity signed by Barks.

Contents:
Signed certificate
40 crayon sketches

 

Animal Quackers concentrates on Barks' non-duck paintings and the time before Disney's. The book - which was limited to 1,000 copies - comes with a litho signed by Barks.

Contents:
Signed litho of Gold Rush, Gold Diggers
3 articles (2 on Garé Barks)
72 non-duck paintings

 

Uncle Scrooge McDuck - His Life and Times consists of selected Barks' stories in full colour with additional comments by Barks himself. Also Go Slowly, Sands of Time (in watercolour) is presented. The book - which was limited to 5,000 copies - comes with a litho numbered and signed by Barks.

Contents:
Signed litho of Wanderers of Wonderlands
5 articles (1 by Garé Barks)
11 Uncle Scrooge stories
First appearance of Go Slowly, Sands of Time

 

Before his time at Disney's Barks produced comic stories about several characters especially Barney Bear and Benny Burro. The stories - which are assembled in the facsimile edition Barks Bear Book - appeals mainly to young readers but still gives a good glimpse of Barks' already then well developed skills.

Contents:
26 Barney Bear & Benny Burro
..3 Benny Burro
..2 Happy Hound
..1 Andy Panda
..1 Porky Pig

 

The Unexpurgated Carl Barks contains a cavalcade of cartoons in colour from the time before Disney's. They were originally published in the humour magazine Calgary EyeOpener.

Contents:
4 articles
Various cartoons and accompanying remarks

 

A facsimile edition of the humour magazine Coo-Coo to which Barks contributed before his time at Disney's. Filled with real people and lightly dressed women.

Contents:
Various cartoons
Jokes

 

The very competent Michael Barrier has written Carl Barks and the Art of the Comic book. It is about Barks' life and comes with a complete registry of his stories including short synopses and comments by Barks himself.

Contents:
11 chapters
A comic book bibliography
A chronological listing

 

Carl Barks: Conversations is written and collected by Donald Ault, a professor of English at the University of Florida. He was a longtime friend of Barks and presents a string of his own conversations with the Storyteller. The book also includes interviews by other writers. A review of the book can be read here.

Contents:
248 pages of interviews by Donald Ault, Michael Barrier, Edward Summer, Bruce Hamilton and others
25 illustrations
Chronology

 

Carl Barks and the Disney Comic Book - Unmasking the Myth of Modernity is written by Thomas Andrae, formerly an editor of the Carl Barks Library. The book goes behind the established myth of Barks and presents a string of his more satirical and conservative sides.

Contents:
306 pages
7 chapters
48 illustrations
Filmography

 

After Carl Barks: Painting Fine-art Cartoons in Oil is written by John Garvin, an author and a very competent connoisseur of Barks' paintings. The elaborate book presents numerous pages describing how his oil paintings were made.

Contents:
270 pages
21 chapters
Numerous photos in b/w and colour
Impressive step-by-step chapters on how to construct a painting
Biography
Barks' personal reference library

 

Recalling Carl is written by Joseph Robert Cowles, an author and a friend of Barks. The book contains a description of some of their meetings, but the emphasis is on the author's personal views on one of Barks' favourite stories, FC328 In Old California!

Contents:
160 pages
19 chapters
Numerous photos in b/w and colour

 

The Carl Barks Index: A Concordance of the Comics of Carl Barks is written by Kim Weston, Jim Lawson, and Jeff Gray. The material is published on a CD supposedly describing all of Barks' Disney work and more in minute details. Besides an extensive listing of all imaginable, relevant index entries, the CD offers a great number of articles on the main subject.

Contents:
More than 20 chapters

 

Carl Barks: Paintings and Drawings 1966 - 1971 is written by John Garvin, an author and a very competent connoisseur of Barks' paintings. The elaborate book presents numerous pages describing all of Barks' published painting production before his Disney duck painting years.

Contents:
336 pages
Informative analyses and texts based on diverse sources
Numerous photos in b/w and colour
Many of the paintings have never been published before
Index of all the paintings

 

 


http://www.cbarks.dk/THEBOOKS.htm   Date 2003-03-27