theliterarystorieslegends

FC0238 Voodoo Hoodoo - 1949

Synopsis:
An old zombie confuses Donald with Scrooge as he delivers a curse from his witch doctor. Donald and the nephews travel to Africa to get free of the curse.

Comments:
In its basic form a zombie is a dead person who is brought back to life through the means of Voodoo magic. It all originates from Africa but is nowadays more commonly known to take place in Haiti where thousands of people are thought to be zombies. One noted example is Felicia Felix-Mentor of Haiti, who died and was buried in 1907, but who was found wandering the countryside in 1937.

FC0422 The Gilded Man - 1952

Synopsis:
Donald travels to British Guiana in order to track down a valuable stamp and he finds it on an undelivered letter. But it has to be delivered first...

Comments:
Barks placed his ducks in British Guiana to enable them to meet El Dorado, the legendary figure of a gilded man. However, Barks was mistaken when assuming that the figure - which was said to be the leader of the Chibchá Indians - was from what was then British Guiana; the figure is supposed to come from Guyana (observe the difference in spelling), an enormous area which originally covered all of the northeast South America from coast to coast.

U$04 'Menehune Mystery' - 1954

Synopsis:
Scrooge buys a volcanic island where he intends to hide his money. But The Beagle Boys learn about his plans!

Comments:
Barks had met the artist Margaret (Garé) Williams who was born and raised in Hawaii (which later became the 50th state of USA). Using her detailed knowledge of the islands' tales, folklore and scenery Barks designed this story. The National Geographic Magazines also supplied much of the scenery and flora.

U$05 'Secret of Atlantis' - 1954

Synopsis:
Scrooge buys all the 1916 quarters in the world just to chuck them into the ocean. Except for one. It will be worth a fortune...

Comments:
The story of legendary sunken Atlantis begins quite literally with two of the Greek philosopher Plato's dialogues, Timaeus and Critias. These accounts are the only known written records that refer specifically to a lost civilization by the name of Atlantis. Many people believe the legend to be complete fiction, while others believe that the story was inspired by catastrophic events which may have destroyed the old Minoan civilization on Crete and Thera.

U$07 'The Cibola Story' - 1954

Synopsis:
Scrooge lacks excitement in his life so he follows Donald and the nephews to the desert in order to collect arrowheads. They also find seven golden cities...

Comments:
Among the legends that propelled Spaniards into the far reaches of northern New Spain (Colonial Mexico) was the legend of the Seven Golden Cities of Cibola. The most famous journey was led by the Spanish conquistador Francisco Vázquez de Coronado, who was seeking the fabled cities, but only found poor Indian villages.

WDCS202 'The Weather Hole' - 1957

Synopsis:
Donald disguises himself as a rain maker in order to cheat some money out of Scrooge. And the rain starts pouring - and pouring...

Comments:
Not only did Barks take his basic plot about rolling a rock over a hole in order to control the weather from a legend of the Kakimaw Indians of Washington State, he also took the unprecedented step of acknowledging it in the splash panel of the story!

WDCS233 Knights of the Flying Sleds - 1960

Synopsis:
The nephews are roaming the neighbourhood on Gyro's airborne sleds trying to help people. But help is not always welcome...

Comments:
The story has references to the ancient traditions of English King Arthur and the knights of the round table. One of the knights, Sir Lancelot, even comes to life in the shape of the nephews in WDCS231 The Wax Museum from 1959.

WDCS237 Mystery of the Loch - 1960

Synopsis:
The nephews win an underwater camera and Donald immediately sees its potential. He heads for Loch Less to photograph its sea monster!

Comments:
Sea serpents are perhaps the most sought-after legendary creatures in the world.
Barks quickly realized the vast potential in such secretive animals and he made no less than 4 stories in which they played leading parts: FC0108 The Terror of the River, FC0318 No Such Varmint, WDCS237 Mystery of the Loch, and WDCS292 Instant Hercules.

U$28 The 'Paul Bunyan' Machine - 1960

Synopsis:
The Beagle Boys construct a giant chopping machine to open the Money Bin. Scrooge mails his money to the far woods but the crooks are at his heels...

Comments:
History is filled with traditions of imaginary people who have done incredible deeds.
Barks used several of these legends as background material in his comics. Among them are Paul Bunyan who supposedly was a giant lumberjack whose 'legend' was created in logging camps by lumberjacks who gathered around the wood stoves on cold winter evenings.

WDCS246 Lost Frontier - 1961

Synopsis:
Donald takes the nephews to the Grand Canyon to prove to them that cavemen don't still exist. He will soon be much wiser...

Comments:
Many parts of the world have rich traditions for tales about 'forgotten' tribes that have never been officially recognized. Even today people are sure that cavemen live in USAs famous Grand Canyon! Barks made another story containing the same basic plot in WDCS058 'The Grand Canyon Story' from 1945.