THEOVERLOOKEDCHARACTER

In the days when Carl Barks was employed by the Walt Disney Company new cartoon and comic book characters would occasionally emerge. None of the employees were credited for dreaming up the new characters (to the public they were all supposed to have been invented by Walt himself), so their 'birthgivers' will forever be unknown.
One of these characters was Gus Goose. How he came about and for what purpose can only be a matter of speculation, but it is certain that Barks was at least one of the inventors. When he moved on to comic book work he would use Gus from time to time (mostly in stories written by others), but he has always remained an unobtrusive figure in both books and cartoons. This is probably due to his fairly limited characteristics as mainly being a lazy and gluttonous figure. This page takes a look at one of Disney's most overlooked characters.

'Desert Prospectors'

1936

Before his comic book career started Barks was earning a living in the animated shorts studios at Disney's. This gave him valuable expertise later in his professional life.
In 1936 Barks wrote a 4-page scenario which he called 'Desert Prospectors'. It featured Mickey Mouse, Goofy, and Donald Duck as gold hunters, but two years later the short was retitled 'Lost Prospectors' starring Donald and Gus. After that it was shelved. However, Barks' original concept drawing for a cover has survived.

'Interior Decorators'

1937

Donald and his helper Gus renovate a mansion in 'Interior Decorators'. Barks wrote the story and made storyboard sketches. He even made a second storyboard featuring a Gyro Gearloose-like character instead of Gus.
The storyboard also contained an eating sequence, which provided the inspiration for Gus' voracious appetite in the upcoming cartoon Donald's Cousin Gus.

'Lost Prospectors'

1938

This story was originally written by Barks in 1936 and called 'Desert Prospectors'. Now it was rewritten featuring Donald and Gus as prospectors in Desert Valley, where they start to hallucinate due to thirst. They see mirages; one of which is a swimming pool complete with a bathing beauty. Her resemblance to Daisy Duck is very striking, and she was soon to be added to the Disney gallery.

Donald's Cousin Gus

1939

This was the first released cartoon featuring Gus. Barks served as Story Director, while Jack Hannah was the storyman. Gus is now Donald's goose cousin, who comes to visit and practically eats him out of house and home. When Donald's attempts to get rid of Gus are unsuccessful, he gives up in disgust.
It is interesting to notice that Gus' tailfeathers changed from being fanned resembling Donald's more pointy tailfeathers, a trait that Barks carried over to his comic book stories.
Gus was only to appear once more in the cartoons; he participated in a short cameo role as a dancer in Mickey's Christmas Carol from 1983.

Gus premiered in the comic books on May 9, 1938, in a daily newspaper strip drawn by Al Taliaferro. Below are examples from stories which Barks later drew featuring Gus.
VP1 'Donald's Grandma Duck' - 1950	VP1 'Donald's Grandma Duck' - 1950	WDCS132 'Visitors' - 1951
CP8 Grandma's Present - 1956	FC1025 Dream Planet - 1959 *	FC1073 'Mopping Up' - 1960
FC1161 The Training Farm Fuss - 1961	FC1184 The Cube - 1961	FC1184 The Cube - 1961