The “Duck Garden” series has already passed the halfway point, but this time we moved to the very beginning, to be precise, to 1942, i.e. the war period. Are you expecting Nazi comics? Nothing could be further from the truth, but Carl Barks’ first touches are worth attention.
This time accessories are the core
The beginning of the issue opens with a photo of Barks from 1937, which points to one of the frames of the animated film. This is just the beginning of the rollercoaster ride after the first steps of this master. Immediately afterwards we receive an insert in which we have a description of the beginnings of Barks. We will learn, among other things, that in the 1920s he provided cartoon jokes for a humorous magazine, which were often very uncensored and revolved around sex, alcohol and stereotypes. Well, the sample we get is fortunately in the milder category, so even the younger reader can get a laugh. The next part focuses mainly on Barks’ work for the Mickey Mouse corporation. We will find out why 1935 was important for this cartoonist and what role Snow White and the mouse herself had in historyGirl in a red hat. We will also witness how Barks became a screenwriter and won the favor of Walt Disney himself when he invented the famous Donald gag in the story of Modern Inventions (quite racist by the way). We will also learn that the first comic book with a Disney character is not really a story about a duck, but about Pluto – Pluto Saves the Ship with over 51 pages.
“War Style”
As it turns out, what then amused readers and comforted during the ongoing world war, is not radically different from what today causes a banana on our lips. Especially Donald Duck’s frustration and clumsiness . Barks’ initial line is basically not much different from what he presented later. Although I get the impression that the characters are stockier, the facial expressions are more like animals or small children than normal adults. In addition, the background of each frame is sparse in details, not like later stories, and perhaps the most important remark – all comics are three-row, we will not see other types of pages with frames.
One of the funniest comics collected in this volume is Zakuty Duck , which appeared in 1997 in the magazine “Donald Duck”, as well as most of the stories. This is the comic where Donald, like a knight, dons iron armor to teach his frisky nephews a lesson. Another interesting story is the eponymous Mummy’s Ring. This is the first story that foreshadows what awaits us later: adventure, riddles. Of course, these elements, so far, are like medicine, but they work well and keep you in suspense until the last moment.
The longest story we’ll find here is Pirate’s Gold, which unfolds over almost 64 pages. Barks only collaborated on this comic and was responsible for the art along with Jack Hannah, but the story itself is engaging and fun as always. Well, a parrot comes to the seaside tavern run by Donald (who, as we know, wears a sailor’s outfit) and reveals the location of Captain Morgan’s treasure to the ducks. This is just the beginning of the adventure, because the ducklings will be on their heels, eager for the treasure, Black Peter.
I have one caveat! The story titled Rescue Girl seems to be a reflection of Barks’ dark past, as a shark is killed before our eyes, and then the ducklings step into another shark’s skin, only to gain points of appreciation for Donald in Daisy’s eyes. Today, such a thing would hardly pass, especially since it promotes violence against animals. It could have been censored a bit! Apart from this one incident, I can certainly recommend this volume to literally everyone and I encourage you to read it!
