The hunt for the anonymous cartoonist who transformed pop culture

How did Disney hide the most popular comic artist in the world?



Carl Barks Reading Guide

While all of Barks’ work has merit, the peak period is generally considered from the late 40s through the early 50s. The key volumes are linked here. The first two are currently out of print, but still available digitally. There’s no continuity, so no need to read in order anyway.

Vol. 7: Lost in the Andes - https://amzn.to/427DEkS
Vol. 8: Trail of the Unicorn - https://amzn.to/47GQebY
Vol. 9: The Pixilated Parrot - https://amzn.to/427y6qt
Vol. 10: Terror of the Beagle Boys - https://amzn.to/48RgBwS
Vol. 11: A Christmas for Shacktown - https://amzn.to/3tQEd65
Vol. 12: Only a Poor Old Man - https://amzn.to/48WUaGz
Vol. 13: Trick or Treat - https://amzn.to/493FC8f
Vol. 14: The Seven Cities of Gold - https://amzn.to/4239hvZ

One word of warning: many of the books feature racist depictions of non-white characters, a lot of national origin based humor, and in general reflect an imperialist worldview. Not all of the stories do, of course, but they are scattered among the volumes, and Fantagraphics have chosen not to censor anything as previous editions have.

Other Sources:

Carl Barks Conversations - https://amzn.to/3O9VVZc
Funnybooks - https://amzn.to/47Q7uM8
The Osamu Tezuka Story: A Life in Manga and Anime - https://amzn.to/48EQ8Tz

Floyd Gottfredson’s Mickey Mouse Strips: https://amzn.to/3U5Eqg8

FULL SOURCES, REFERENCES & NOTES:
https://pastebin.com/aUFrEsM0

CC Photo Credits

Thompson photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/alan-li...