JOHN LUSTIG

Author and friend

CARL BARKS FUNERAL

For one of the greatest comic book creators of all time, Carl Barks had a surprisingly modest and unpretentious funeral. And that was entirely fitting...because Carl was a modest and unpretentious man. For him, life was about doing your best and treating people with respect. He never sought--or was even comfortable with--lavish praise about his work.

So maybe Carl would have been embarrassed by the outpouring of love and heartfelt-memories that reverberated throughout his funeral on Aug. 31 in Grants Pass. But then again...maybe not. Because the 70 or so family members and friends who attended spoke more about Carl the man...rather than Carl the comic book genius. And that was only fitting. It was Carl's humanity that transformed his stories from merely being clever...and turned them into masterpieces. Carl's characters lived and breathed with a fierce humanity and complexity...that made you forget that most of his characters were ducks!

Friends and family spoke of Carl's kindness, his gentle nature and the delight he took in life and people. Serene Hunicke, one of his caretakers, talked about how when Carl was having a bad day (struggling with the leukemia that eventually took his life) he would perk up when Serene's three-year-old daughter came over to the house.

"Gee, I'm glad I got to see her grow up," said Carl.

(Even after death, Carl was considerate. I've never been to a funeral before where the dearly departed had actually made dinner reservations and paid for the meals of the attending bereaved. As someone said, "Carl knew a lot of you would be coming from far away and would be tired...so he didn't want you to have to worry about getting dinner.")

Carl had a reputation for being somewhat of a recluse--and it's certainly true that he was a very private person. But that was by necessity as much by inclination. Carl never would have accomplished so much if he'd been more outgoing. As his grandson, Brad Pattie told me after the funeral, Carl loved his family, but he didn't have a lot of time to socialize: "He was busy working!"

I've always considered it a tragedy that Carl was much more famous in Europe than he is in on this continent. And when I say famous...I mean REALLY famous. When Carl went to Europe a few years ago he was reportedly mobbed by fans and reporters as if he were a rock star. He was greeted by presidents and royalty. When he died (at age 99) his obituary was front-page news in many European cities. Here his death made the wire services, but it was far from big news. Most people in this country still don't know who Carl Barks was.

But now I've begun to wonder if that wasn't a good thing.

Carl went out of his way to maintain a low profile. Nine years ago some friends and I had lunch with Carl and his wife, Garé, at a restaurant a few blocks from his home. While the waitress was taking our order one of us made a casual reference to some aspect of Carl's work. After the waitress left, Garé leaned over and asked us to watch what we said. "People here don't know what Carl does."

And that was the way Carl and Garé preferred it.

After Garé died, Carl was prodded into making a number of public appearances--both in the United States and Europe. I think (and hope) that Carl enjoyed some of those appearances. But, left to his own devices, he stayed in Grants Pass where he enjoyed his status--not as a star--but as an ordinary, anonymous citizen.

The End