How Carl Barks can surprise us – review of the comic book “Kaczgród: The City of Golden Roofs”, vol. 7

Kaczgród is undoubtedly one of the best series that are published in Poland. In the country on the Vistula River, the Disney ducks gained a lot of fame and today they connect generations. Yes, maybe Marvel and DC comics are in the lead now, but the generation born in the 80s and 90s eagerly reads their childhood stories, and also successfully encourages younger friends and family members to learn about the adventures of the duck universe.

What’s new?

Well, basically nothing. The next volume of Barks’ works still has the same structure and presents us with several stories, unrelated to each other’s plot, including literally a couple of one-page stories. All of this is supplemented with original drawings, a small pseudo-copyclopedic insert about musicians in Kaczgród and a few pages from which we learn how important pop culture was for the author himself. While the new volume practically does not refer to mass art, and the common denominator of the 1957-1958 stories about Donald, Scrooge and their family and friends are travels, it may seem like a strange procedure. Well, it is worth emphasizing that from this short, we can learn that the creator of comics, such as Barks himself, did not like the latest products of popular art, such as movies or music. O horror !!!

This is what the ducklings like best

In the latest offer from Egmont, we will also find some new products, and these are the comics themselves. Among the many stories, it is worth mentioning those that are worth mentioning. The title story can be found at the very beginning of the edition, it presents us with the struggles of the young and old generations. They are trying to find their place in a highly modernized world (as befits the 1950s). This time, the idea for a profitable business is based on the sale of tape recorders and stoves. Everything is decorated with a large dose of humor, which makes the competition itself practically imperceptible. The greedy is clever but plays fair and doesn’t cheat on his nephew.

Another interesting story, in a slightly exotic atmosphere, can be found in King Solomon’s Mines. Here, the action takes place on the Sinai Peninsula, where the Scrooge and the duck family have to face time and hostile Bedouins who want to take over the treasure from the title mines. In the comic, there are also lines spoken by the inhabitants of the peninsula, but thanks to the knowledge of the Arabic alphabet, I can say that, unfortunately, these are just some scribbles. The author is not one of those creators who care about every little dose of realism.

My attention was also drawn to the story of Wolframik, who tried to pretend to be the Thunderer, which he did quite well. Money Mine is the first story with Grandpa Be (on a plaque he has his number instead of the word “conditional”). The Forbidden Island, on the other hand, is the first three- row , longer comic. These are larger and more detailed shots.

Another treasure to collect

What also pleases my eye are simple graphics showing the exaggerated life of the 1950s in the USA. The next edition of master Barks’ works is a must for fans of classic American comics and die-hard Kaczkofans. Disadvantages? Personally, in this case, I don’t see any disadvantages. Classic at its best.