The bad sides of Carl Barks' work

creator of Duckburg and Scrooge McDuck

Postby Rockerduck » Tue May 23, 2006 9:35 pm

Par request by Egg: a thread to discuss the bad sides of his work. Egg, enjoy!
Rockerduck
Member
 
Posts: 262
Joined: Sat Apr 15, 2006 6:40 pm

Postby The One True Barks Lover » Tue May 23, 2006 10:53 pm

Blasphemy! Barks is 100% perfect.
The One True Barks Lover
 

Postby Rockerduck » Wed May 24, 2006 9:25 pm

Now now, Egg, don't be shy: let's hear your criticism!
Rockerduck
Member
 
Posts: 262
Joined: Sat Apr 15, 2006 6:40 pm

Postby Egg » Fri May 26, 2006 12:21 pm

Bad sides of Barks's work?
Easy.

For example:
Barks attracts Rockerducks.
Egg
Member
 
Posts: 550
Joined: Fri Apr 14, 2006 11:19 am

Postby Prank » Sat May 27, 2006 12:27 pm

The bad side of Barks.
Do we count the mistakes he made in his stories as his bad side or are we going to attack his wishfull thinking and his hidden political statements in his stories?

What do you want Eggy?













i'm not a spambot.
Prank
 

Postby Ridder ter Geit » Sat May 27, 2006 1:04 pm

I am very interested in both of those topics, Pranks. Tell us what you think of them, please.
Ridder ter Geit
Member
 
Posts: 41
Joined: Thu Apr 20, 2006 3:25 pm

Postby Egg » Sun May 28, 2006 12:10 pm

Prank wrote:The bad side of Barks. [...] What do you want Eggy?

Everything. Let us Barks lovers show Rockerduck that we are good sports. After that we can discuss the bad sides of one of Rockerduck's all-time favorite artist and then we'll see how soon he runs away with all sorts of lame excuses.
It's not my intention to offend Rockerduck, of course. (heh-heh) But hey, it's so much FUN. Rockerduck gets angry very very easily, as we all know. He's very much like Donald.

Back on-topic. Bad sides of Barks?
- too long ducks in the second half of the 1950s, screwing up some of the best Barks stories ('24 Carat Moon', 'The Golden River')
- many, many desert stories
- woman-unfriendly tone in 'Back to the Klondike', suggesting that it's okay to kidnap a woman, for a month in your little house. (Some people - like Rockerduck - can't get enough of this mistake by Barks, basing soaps and dreams on it. They love it.)

Three points already. Just starting up.
Egg
Member
 
Posts: 550
Joined: Fri Apr 14, 2006 11:19 am

Postby Rockerduck » Sun May 28, 2006 1:13 pm

'Back to the Klondike' is one of Barks' most famous and most beloved stories, and not only by me or other Rosa-fans.
By the way, why is it ok for you to talk about Barks' "mistakes", but when Don Rosa does it, you get angry?
Rockerduck
Member
 
Posts: 262
Joined: Sat Apr 15, 2006 6:40 pm

Postby Egg » Sun May 28, 2006 1:53 pm

Rockerduck wrote:'Back to the Klondike' is one of Barks' most famous and most beloved stories, and not only by me or other Rosa-fans.
By the way, why is it ok for you to talk about Barks' "mistakes", but when Don Rosa does it, you get angry?

Is it ROSA you want to discuss? Let's stay on-topic this time. Or start a topic named 'The bad sides of Don Rosa's work'. Okay?
Egg
Member
 
Posts: 550
Joined: Fri Apr 14, 2006 11:19 am

Postby Rockerduck » Mon May 29, 2006 12:42 am

In other words: you're not capable of answering my question, or you don't want to admit you're being a hypocrite.
Rockerduck
Member
 
Posts: 262
Joined: Sat Apr 15, 2006 6:40 pm

Postby Robb_K » Mon May 29, 2006 4:47 am

Egg wrote:
Prank wrote:The bad side of Barks. [...] What do you want Eggy?

Back on-topic. Bad sides of Barks?
- too long ducks in the second half of the 1950s, screwing up some of the best Barks stories ('24 Carat Moon', 'The Golden River')
- many, many desert stories
- woman-unfriendly tone in 'Back to the Klondike', suggesting that it's okay to kidnap a woman, for a month in your little house. (Some people - like Rockerduck - can't get enough of this mistake by Barks, basing soaps and dreams on it. They love it.)

Three points already. Just starting up.

I LOVE Barks' "Too Long Ducks" from 1957-58!!!! Maybe they are relatives of "Too Long Sarong"???

Too many desert stories? You have no idea!!! I have worked in Egypt, Sudan, Jordan, Morocco, Los Angeles, The Navajo Resrvation in Arizona and New Mexico. I am a redhead, and HATE the sun! I love clouds, rain and snow! I HATE deserts! And yet I don't have a problem with Barks having too many desert stories. So why do you???

I agree with you on the kidnapping of Goldie. I can't believe that the Disney censors that didn't allow Barks' 1952 "Queen of the Apple Festival" story, because Daisy was violent with Donald, turned around and allowed Scrooge in another story to kidnap Goldie and force her to work for him!
Robb_K
Member
 
Posts: 444
Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2006 2:35 pm

Postby Egg » Mon May 29, 2006 8:38 am

Rockerduck wrote:In other words: you're not capable of answering my question, or you don't want to admit you're being a hypocrite.

What is it you want this time, Rockerduck? When are you going to put yourself into some self-criticism, instead of always pointing at others? Don't make such a fool out of yourself. Egg is much better in being a fool. So just don't even try to be my competitor. You'd loose.

Robb_K wrote:I agree with you on the kidnapping of Goldie. I can't believe that the Disney censors that didn't allow Barks' 1952 "Queen of the Apple Festival" story, because Daisy was violent with Donald, turned around and allowed Scrooge in another story to kidnap Goldie and force her to work for him!

In the first publication, Western censored the part of Scrooge kidnapping Goldie, leaving out the entire flashback. But most art-work surfaced later. Storywise, I'd rather see 'Mythtic Mystery' complete, if I had the choice. I think 'Back to the Klondike' is a bit weak. Rosa managed to make that clear to me.
Scrooge's relation with Goldie has something sick, already in Barks's story.
Did Barks make the story during the divorce of his second Clara? I remember reading something like that.
Egg
Member
 
Posts: 550
Joined: Fri Apr 14, 2006 11:19 am

Postby Robb_K » Mon May 29, 2006 9:21 am

Egg wrote:
Rockerduck wrote:In other words: you're not capable of answering my question, or you don't want to admit you're being a hypocrite.

Scrooge's relation with Goldie has something sick, already in Barks's story.
Did Barks make the story during the divorce of his second Clara? I remember reading something like that.

Yes. Barks was separated from his second wife when he wrote that story, and, I believe the divorce was pending. But, in any case that marriage was clearly over as a failure, and he was going through a very difficult time.
Robb_K
Member
 
Posts: 444
Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2006 2:35 pm

Postby Robb_K » Mon May 29, 2006 9:28 am

Egg wrote:
Rockerduck wrote:In other words: you're not capable of answering my question, or you don't want to admit you're being a hypocrite.

Robb_K wrote:I agree with you on the kidnapping of Goldie. I can't believe that the Disney censors that didn't allow Barks' 1952 "Queen of the Apple Festival" story, because Daisy was violent with Donald, turned around and allowed Scrooge in another story to kidnap Goldie and force her to work for him!

In the first publication, Western censored the part of Scrooge kidnapping Goldie, leaving out the entire flashback. But most art-work surfaced later.

Of course those 4 pages had been removed. I bought the comic in the shops when it was out. It's amazing what the mind can do over the years. I made photostats of those 4 pages from Malcom Willits (with Carl's permission) in 1967. So I've been reading the uncensored story now for 40 years, and only had the uncensored version from early 1953 to 1967 (15 years). My childhood memories have been replaced with a later memory! I am glad to see that good ol' Chase Craig caught that "no no" by Carl. You are very perceptive noticing that his bitterness towards his recent wife may have been the cause of Daisy's violent actions towards Donald, and Scrooge's maltreatment of Goldie. I had never considered that.
Robb_K
Member
 
Posts: 444
Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2006 2:35 pm

Postby Egg » Mon May 29, 2006 2:28 pm

There a Belgian comics series named 'Suske en Wiske', by Willy Vandersteen. Album 'De zingende nijlpaard' (The singing hippotamus) contains as idea that if you play trumpet out of tune, you will attract spirits who are out of tune.
I think this is what happens in 'Back to the Klondike'. I think it's a story for children with divorced parents and emotional problems. Since my teenage years this story has sunk like a stone, from one of my favorites to a doubtful story that I dislike.

The way how good old self-destructive Uncle Scrooge swallows his pride makes me cringe. This is bad unhealthy stuff. There should be a warning: Don't try this at home.

And Scrooge is totally out of his world. I think it's obvious that Barks had starting problems figuring out a way to make Uncle Scrooge a main character, instead of the side-kick Scrooge of the Donald-stories. To my knowledge 'Back to the Klondike' is the only story in which Scrooge is so terribly out-of-character, compared with earlier and later stories.
There are more stories about Scrooge and love, and 'Oddball Odyssey' comes close to a tearjerker, but in those stories Scrooge is in-character and the emphasis lies on positivity and obvious love or lack of love.

'Back to the Klondike' is a dark, shady, sick story.
Egg
Member
 
Posts: 550
Joined: Fri Apr 14, 2006 11:19 am

Next

Return to Carl Barks

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest

cron