Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge McDuck: His Life & Times

by Carl Barks, Edward Summer

Presents the humorous adventures of the miserly duck in comic strip format. Also includes a biography of Uncle Scrooge's creator, Carl Barks.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Comic Book, Humor, Fiction, Art

376 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Carl Barks was an American cartoonist, author, and painter. He is best known for his work in Disney comic books, as the writer and artist of the first Donald Duck stories and as the creator of Scrooge McDuck. He worked anonymously until late in his career; fans dubbed him "The Duck Man" and "The Good Duck Artist". In 1987, Barks was one of the three inaugural inductees of the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame.
Barks worked for the Disney Studio and Western Publishing where he created Duckburg and many of its inhabitants, such as Scrooge McDuck (1947), Gladstone Gander (1948), the Beagle Boys (1951), The Junior Woodchucks (1951), Gyro Gearloose (1952), Cornelius Coot (1952), Flintheart Glomgold (1956), John D. Rockerduck (1961) and Magica De Spell (1961).
He has been named by animation historian Leonard Maltin as "the most popular and widely read artist-writer in the world". Will Eisner called him "the Hans Christian Andersen of comic books." Beginning especially in the 1980s, Barks' artistic contributions would be a primary source for animated adaptations such as DuckTales and its 2017 remake.

Reviews

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Back to the Klondike: (Uncle Scrooge #2; March, 1952) While taking memory pills, Uncle Scrooge recalls where he hid the gold from his days as a sourdough in the Klondike. Great backstory on the start of his fortune and a lost love, Glittering Goldie.

Trouble From Long Ago (The Horseradish Story or The Month of the Golden Goose): (Uncle Scrooge #3; September, 1953) If Scrooge doesn't honor an ancestor's contract, he'll lose his fortune.

Tralla La: (Uncle Scrooge #6; June, 1954) Scrooge goes to Tralla La to escape the woes and stresses of wealth and accidentally introduces greed to this once innocent land.

The Seven Cities of Cibola: (Uncle Scrooge #7; September, 1954) A simple outing to hunt for arrow heads in the desert turns into a race against the Beagle Boys to the legendary cities of gold. Gyro makes a brief cameo.

The Lemming with the Locket: (Uncle Scrooge #9; March, 1955) Scrooge chases a cheese-loving lemming with a locket containing the combinations to his safe all the way to Norway.

Land Beneath the Ground: (Uncle Scrooge #13; March, 1956) While testing the strength of the ground beneath his money bin, Scrooge discovers the land of the Terries and Fermeys miles beneath the ground. Although friendly, the creatures love to create earthquakes and Scrooge races to save Duckberg. (Includes deleted panels.)

The Second-Richest Duck: (Uncle Scrooge #15; September, 1956) Scrooge goes to South Africa for a money showdown with Flintheart Glomgold to determine which of them is the wealthiest duck in the world.

Land of the Pygmy Indians: (Uncle Scrooge #18; June, 1957) Scrooge buys wilderness untouched by man to escape the pollution of Duckberg only to come face to face with natives who are determined to protect the land from Scrooge.

Island in the Sky: (Uncle Scrooge #29; March 1960) While searching outer space for a hiding spot for his money, Scrooge encounters a starving race of creatures.

The Many Faces of Magica De Spell: (Uncle Scrooge #48; March, 1964) The sorceress attempts to steal Scrooge’s lucky dime.

Micro-Ducks from Outer Space: (Uncle Scrooge #65; September, 1966) Friendly aliens visit Earth but experience difficulties despite assistance from the ducks.

Go Slowly, Sands of Time: (written 1968; illustrated 1980; published 1981) Not trusting the care of his precious money to his nephews, Scrooge searches for a way to extend his life.

[Corey Butler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding collection of stories from Carl Barks, one of the most beloved comic authors (and illustrators) of the 20th Century. Particularly noteworthy in this volume are the stories Back to the Klondike, Trouble from Long Ago, Tralla La, The Second-Richest Duck, and Micro-Ducks from Outer Space, not to mention the additional biographical material that is included. The production values are also excellent. It's a shame that this book is so rare, and that more collections like this aren't being released.

[Karen GoatKeeper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uncle Scrooge McDuck is unimaginatively rich with a money bin holding three cubic acres of money for Unca Scrooge to play in. Carl Banks created this comic book persona and wrote numerous stories about him, his nephew Donald duck and his nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie. A selection of the stories are included in the book.
The appeal of Uncle Scrooge's adventures is from the seriousness yet comedic occurrences. There are villains, but none are chillingly evil. Many are laughable for themselves. The stories are upbeat and fun.
Through them all Uncle Scrooge remains a flinty miser seeking only to make and hold onto money. Yet he has a soft heart that shows itself in all the right places.
For those who remember the Uncle Scrooge comic books, this book is a great way to remember them and to read about the man who created the stories. For those unfamiliar with Uncle Scrooge, this book is a wonderful way to find that comics don't need super heroes and evil villains to be fun to read.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun book to read detailing the career of Carl Barks as a illustrator of various characters including Uncle Scrooge McDuck. There are several comic strips included as well as a background history of his life.

[Geof Sage · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let's be fair. These are a product of their times. However, it's still superb storytelling and his commentary is well worth it. Just be prepared for native stereotypes galore.

[Gphatty · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author of this collection surely loved the Carl Banks books. Every issue is packed with references to events, characters, timelines from the older run of Scrooge McDuck tales. And for the most part, the author gets the tone right, alternating gripping adventure with truly ridiculous tall-tale like scenes.
This comic is a lot like reading Alan Moore's works. Particularly League of Extraordinary Gentleman, or V for Vendetta. There are tons of references built in that only comics obsessives, or people who grew up reading Banks's works, would appreciate. But the story is "aimed" at a younger audience, who won't gain anything from the cleverness of the writing.
Or maybe I'm just upset that this wasn't a Carl Banks collection from my childhood, because I didn't read the description well enough.

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a kid, I was a big fan of Carl Bark's GYRO GEARLOOSE comics, but had no idea he'd also done Uncle Scrooge, another childhood favorite. Never much for funny animal comics, I was hooked on the sense of adventure, exploration and imagination in Uncle Scrooge--such a departure from the usual Disney storylines. I never bought them myself, they were usually in stacks my parents or grandparents would get us to keep us occupied on long car trips, but I remember them vividly. I always found it strange that the mercurial and out-of-control Donald was the calm voice of reason in these stories. In the last few years, I've heard several writers (including F. Paul Wilson) comment favorably on Scrooge and that propelled me to look them up. My wife got a used copy of this for my birthday. I enjoyed the in-between bio material on Carl Barks as much as the stories themselves.

[Anders Christian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting coloring - The fans discuss if it's really good or really bad. The coloring of desserts in the book look like sand was brushed over those areas where there's sand - it was done bu hand, not with pc as is standrard today and in other editions.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned to read on this book.

[Baal Of · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently purchased another copy of this book to give to my nephews for christmas this year, and decided it was time to reread it. The stories are delightful. Carl Barks was a true master.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is absolutely beautiful!

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of fun for the whole family although when reading out loud I had to change some of the stereotypical language prevalent to the times.

[Caleb]

this is fucking stupid can goodreads give you finaly a fucking option read and that you can read actualy in stead of searching hours how this goddammid motherfucking site works

[Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read Uncle Scrooge since Childhood, but this by far is his best collection.

[Erik · Rating 2 out of 5]

The stories aren't bad, but I've never been a fan of Disney's characters, Donald Duck and friends in particular, and this didn't do anything to win me over.