Walt Disney's Donald Duck: Terror of the Beagle Boys

The Complete Carl Barks Disney Library #10

by Carl Barks

When Donald and the boys wind up in Old California, the rush is on — for the gold in them thar hills!

Carl Barks delivers another superb collection of outrageous hijinks, preposterous situations, bamboozlement, befuddlement, and all-around cartooning brilliance.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Humor, Adventure, Fiction, Anthropomorphic, Graphic Novels Comics

225 pages, Hardcover

First published April 28, 2016

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

[Mohammed Arabey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back to Mester Carl Barks' Good Ol' Comics of the 50s..

Collection of his stories of the Duck Family... most interesting:

Terror of the Beagle Boys 4 ☆
A 10 pages funny gag where the main theme is the terror of the BB and not themselves.. They kinda didn't do a thing...and it was their first appearance in the comics..only in the last page.

Dangerous Disguise 5 ☆

A 28 pages of pure fun.... it takes place in a rich Beach- a real life one and one of the rare stories to feature a real looking people not the famous dogface ones- where the kids suspect of Spy activity get real and Donald, totally unwillingly, get involved in this dangerous game.

No Such Varmint 4 ☆

A strange funny story of Donald as Snakes Charmer, investigating a sinking ship case, to discover a huge surprise kind of Snake...the Loch Ness one..

Donald Duck in Old California! 4 ☆

Long Story about Donald and the kids goes back in time to mid 19th century after a car crash.. and get involved in the old Spanish family romantic drama in the pre-Gold Ruch times.. 5 stars for the story and arts.

The Trouble With Dimes 4 ☆
Donald tried to get rare dimes from Uncle Scrooge who didn't know its true value, but when he did, he teaches Donald a lesson.

Pool Sharks 5 ☆
When Donald gets enough with Vegetables' pests in his backyard, he changes the garden to a swimming pool...to find the worst kind of pests; Humans.




Well, all in all, it's always fun to visit this vast library of Uncle Carl Barks and be with the Amazing Duck Family.


Mohammed Arabey
17 July 2021
25 January 2022

[Nate]

This book, collecting stories from 1951, has I believe the first instance of Scrooge diving in his money. It’s in a 10-pager where he recruits Donald and the boys to work on a farm he owns, and where he has a giant corn crib that holds a bunch of cash. Here’s what he says: “Now me, I know that money isn’t worth anything! It’s just a lot of paper and metal! But I love the stuff! I love to dive around in it like a porpoise! And burrow through it like a gopher! And toss it up and let it hit me on the head!” This joyous scene is followed by a cyclone sucking up his money and dropping it around town for people to take. Naturally, Scrooge schemes to get his money back and giddily dives in it again.

Other highlights: the one where Huey, Dewey, and Louie unsuccessfully attempt to prank Donald on April Fool’s Day, the one where Donald becomes a snake charmer but the boys want him to be a detective, and the one where the boys play hooky. The dream sequence adventure story in California was all over the place, though. A rare dud from Barks (though apparently it was one of his personal favorites).

[Nicholas Driscoll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great stuff, and highly enjoyable, and once again with a smattering of stories I had never read before--including the very famous titular tale introducing the Beagle Boys, which was one of my favorites in the book. Still, more and more I just can't stand Gladstone Gander, and this book had so many stories with him! The "Old California" tale was also long and uninteresting to me, and it felt like someone else had written the story since it had very little of the humor and pizzazz from Barks' best stories (at least from my view). I was really surprised to find in the end notes that "Old California" was indeed written by Barks... and was considered his favorite story!!! "Old California" also has a really embarrassing line about how Native Americans would "make whoopee" every few minutes, which... must have another meaning than the one I have most often heard. But... "making whoopee" meant sex even as far back as the 1920s, so I don't know what happened!

[Nathan Dehoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a birthday gift from my brother. It's the tenth volume in the series of Fantagraphics collections, although it's not like they're being released in order. The comics here see not only the introduction of the Beagle Boys, but also the organization of Junior Woodchucks to which Huey, Dewey, and Louie belong. In the first appearance of the criminal gang, they're actually successful, but not due to their own efforts so much as Scrooge and Donald's attempts to prevent them backfiring. The Beagles only appear in the final panel, aren't wearing their prison jumpsuits, and don't have any lines. Another story here, "In Old California," apparently a favorite of Barks's, has Donald and his nephews seemingly travel back in time to California in the mid-1800s. "Dangerous Disguise," a spy story with a lot of twists that takes place on the French Riviera and in Spain, is interesting in that all but five characters (Donald, his nephews, and a bullfighter who looks like Donald) are drawn as human instead of animal-people. I understand Barks preferred drawing regular people as background characters, but the editor didn't approve. Human and funny animal characters often appeared side-by-side in animation, but I guess the comics were stricter about maintaining the sense of this being sort of an alternate world. The short "Attic Antics," which was drawn by probably not written by Barks, is of interest in that it features Pete trying to rob Grandma Duck while Daisy is visiting, and being foiled by the mice from Cinderella. Again, such crossovers weren't uncommon in animated shorts, but I get the impression they were much less of a thing in Disney's comics. Barks shows off his penchant for humorous drawing with a sea serpent Donald encounters during his tenure as a snake charmer. I do think it's a little odd that this story ends with Donald happily collecting trash while his nephews complain he refuses to make anything of himself while the very next story in the collection has Donald complaining about doing any kind of work at all while the nephews don't mind farm labor, but in a way that makes the characters more realistic, as people aren't always consistent.

[Marcos Kopschitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

É uma unanimidade mundial: as melhores, mais bem inventadas, mais complexas, mais informativas, mais engraçadas e mais bem desenhadas histórias dos patos de Walt Disney são as de Carl Barks!

Seu estilo detalhado e de muita qualidade tornou-se inconfundível e sinônimo das melhores histórias. Aliados aos excepcionais desenhos, seus roteiros eram bastante sofisticados e incluíam informações sobre países, indústria, lendas, mitologia grega, nórdica, árabe, etc. Ouvi falar pela primeira vez de poços de sacrifício maias na península de Yucatan, da lenda do navio fantasma “Fliegende Hollander” ou “Holandês Voador”, e de muita coisa mais, nas histórias de Carl Barks, que certamente foram inspiradoras de muito mais leituras, descobertas e mesmo de interesses profissionais para muitas gerações de seus leitores. E influenciaram muitos outros criadores de aventuras, incluídos aí George Lucas e Steven Spielberg.

Parte desta resenha se repete em outras da mesma série, por serem muitos volumes (a série toda, ao que se espera, terá mais de 30!), de modo que os leitores podem eventualmente encontrar um ou outro, e não os demais. Cada uma, porém, tem detalhes específicos.

Algumas informações a mais sobre Carl Barks, e também sobre a série americana e a brasileira, podem ser lidas na minha resenha do primeiro volume publicado nesta coleção na edição brasileira, Perdidos nos Andes (veja link abaixo).

A editora americana Fantagraphics Books, especializada em quadrinhos, vem publicando duas séries: a do Mickey de Floyd Gottfredson e a dos patos de Carl Barks (Donald, Tio Patinhas, etc.). Trabalhos pioneiros de reapresentar todas as antigas histórias. Neste caso, restauradas a partir de originais de Barks e recolorizadas, em volumes em capa dura.

A série das histórias de Carl Barks vem sendo publicada no Brasil pela Editora Abril, que não está seguindo a mesma ordem dos originais americanos. Este álbum, que é o décimo no plano da coleção (ordem cronológica original), foi o sexto a ser publicado tanto pela Fantagraphics quanto pela Abril.

A história que dá título ao volume é das menores, com dez páginas. É a história em que surgem, pela primeira vez, os Irmãos Metralha (nome bem bolado na tradução para o português do nome original, Beagle Boys). Com uma curiosidade, os Metralha são uma ameaça durante toda a história, mas só aparecem em UM quadrinho, a cena final! E, é claro, já fazendo o que fazem daí para a frente em praticamente toda a sua carreira: assaltar o Tio Patinhas!

Além desta, uma se passa na Riviera francesa, onde quase todos são espiões, contra-espiões ou contra-contra-espiões. Assunto típico daqueles anos da Guerra Fria. Também é uma história em que aparecem humanos normais (não patos, gansos, ratos, cachorros, etc.). Em outra, Tio Patinhas, ainda predominantemente um grande sovina (melhoraria com o tempo, nas histórias de Barks), aparece mergulhando em seu dinheiro pela primeira vez. Em outra ainda, todo o dinheiro de Patinhas sai voando por causa de um pé-de-vento e é distribuído. Todos ficam milionários de um momento para outro, mas isso não dá certo. É tida por alguns como uma defesa do sistema capitalista. Neste volume participam ainda Gastão, Gansolino, Vovó Donalda, Margarida, Huguinho, Zezinho e Luisinho, incluindo uma história dos Escoteiros-mirins.

Uma edição como esta, além da recuperação histórica e da qualidade de reprodução gráfica, é uma edição crítica, cujas notas revelam e permitem compreender aspectos importantes. Além disto, deve-se prestar atenção no contexto da época (início da década de 1950): roupas (chapéus, os maiôs na Riviera), veículos (caminhões, trens) e comportamentos.

Li algumas das antigas histórias de Carl Barks quando saíram no Brasil nos anos 60. Outras, mesmo as mais antigas, quando saíram republicadas aqui algumas vezes. Portanto, esta coletânea é também uma recordação para crianças que liam quadrinhos Disney nos anos 50 a 70!

Este volume tem

1. Três aventuras longas (28 páginas) e várias histórias curtas de dez páginas, com pequenas variações.
2. Ao final, 19 páginas com “Notas sobre as histórias”, abordagem de cada história por vários especialistas internacionais em quadrinhos de Barks, entremeadas com reproduções de capas originais de revistas do Pato Donald.
3. Duas páginas com biografias dos autores das notas
4. Referências sobre a publicação original e a data de cada história

Referências

> Autor: Carl Barks (1901 – 2000)
> Tradução: Marcelo Alencar e André Gordirro
> Publicação original nos EUA: histórias, 1951. Nesta coleção, 2016, pela Fantagraphics Books
> Publicação no Brasil: julho de 2017, pela Editora Abril
> Formato médio, aproximadamente 16 x 24 cm, capa dura, em cores

1. Planeta Gibi

O site faz a melhor cobertura de alguns lançamentos de séries da Abril, como a dos “Anos de Ouro de Mickey” e a da “Coleção Carl Barks definitva”.
www [ponto] planetagibi [ponto] com [ponto] br
Passe o mouse em “Guia Planeta Gibi” e depois clique em “Coleção Carl Barks Definitiva”.
Esta página oferece muitas informações sobre a coleção, sua organização, sua relação com a edição americana, imagens e informações sobre cada álbum, previsão de lançamentos seguintes, imagens extras, informações obtidas diretamente dos editores, etc. Excelente material, excelente veículo!

A série da Abril em português

ordem de publicação no Brasil, [ordem no plano da coleção original nos EUA], (ano de publicação no Brasil), título em português, (título original em inglês)

1. [7] (agosto 2016) Perdidos nos Andes (Walt Disney's Donald Duck: Lost in the Andes – The Complete Carl Barks Disney Library Vol. 7) *** R
2. [6] (outubro 2016) O segredo do castelo (The Old Castle's Secret) *** R
3. [8] (janeiro 2017) Em busca do unicórnio (Trail of the Unicorn) *** R
4. [15] (fevereiro 2017) A cidade fantasma (The Ghost Sheriff of Last Gasp)
5. [9] (abril 2017) O papagaio contador (The Pixilated Parrot) *** R
6. [10] (julho 2017) O vil metal e os vilões (Terror Of The Beagle Boys) *** R
7. [13] (outubro 2017) A noite das bruxas (Trick or Treat) *

Mais patos por Carl Barks na Abril:

– Contos de Natal *** R
– Escoteiros mirins *** R

Coleções históricas Disney sendo publicadas

As diversas coleções históricas Disney atualmente existente podem ser encontradas na Amazon brasileira. As da Abril, integralmente, as da Fantagraphics, pelo menos em parte. Algumas em volumes individuais ou em caixas. Verifique sempre a disponibilidade.

Está indicado o primeiro volume de cada coleção. Neste volume, procure minha resenha, na qual estão listados os volumes e caixas publicados, com links para cada um.

1. “Os Anos de Ouro de Mickey”
Em português, tradução de original italiano, a cores, Editora Abril
> Mickey na ilha misteriosa *** R

2. “Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse by Floyd Gottfredson”
Em inglês, em preto e branco, Fantagraphics (EUA)
> Race to Death Valley *** R

3. “The Complete Carl Barks Disney Library”
Em inglês, em cores, em formato maior (aproximadamente 19 x 26 cm), Fantagraphics (EUA)
> Christmas on Bear Mountain*** R

4. “Coleção Carl Barks defintiva”
Em português, tradução da coleção da Fantagraphics, em cores, em formato reduzido (aproximadamente 16 x 24 cm), Editora Abril
> Perdidos nos Andes *** R

*** R – Álbum já resenhado por mim. Para ler minha resenha, role a página do livro até que ela apareça.

[Marcos Kopschitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

É uma unanimidade mundial: as melhores, mais bem inventadas, mais complexas, mais informativas, mais engraçadas e mais bem desenhadas histórias dos patos de Walt Disney são as de Carl Barks!

Seu estilo detalhado e de muita qualidade tornou-se inconfundível e sinônimo das melhores histórias. Aliados aos excepcionais desenhos, seus roteiros eram bastante sofisticados e incluíam informações sobre países, indústria, lendas, mitologia grega, nórdica, árabe, etc. Ouvi falar pela primeira vez de poços de sacrifício maias na península de Yucatan, da lenda do navio fantasma “Fliegende Hollander” ou “Holandês Voador”, e de muita coisa mais, nas histórias de Carl Barks, que certamente foram inspiradoras de muito mais leituras, descobertas e mesmo de interesses profissionais para muitas gerações de seus leitores. E influenciaram muitos outros criadores de aventuras, incluídos aí George Lucas e Steven Spielberg.

Parte desta resenha se repete em outras da mesma série, por serem muitos volumes (a série toda, ao que se espera, terá mais de 30!), de modo que os leitores podem eventualmente encontrar um ou outro, e não os demais. Cada uma, porém, tem detalhes específicos.

Algumas informações a mais sobre Carl Barks, e também sobre a série americana e a brasileira, podem ser lidas na minha resenha do primeiro volume publicado nesta coleção na edição brasileira, Perdidos nos Andes (veja link abaixo).

A editora americana Fantagraphics Books, especializada em quadrinhos, vem publicando duas séries: a do Mickey de Floyd Gottfredson e a dos patos de Carl Barks (Donald, Tio Patinhas, etc.). Trabalhos pioneiros de reapresentar todas as antigas histórias. Neste caso, restauradas a partir de originais de Barks e recolorizadas, em volumes em capa dura.

A série das histórias de Carl Barks vem sendo publicada no Brasil pela Editora Abril, que não está seguindo a mesma ordem dos originais americanos. Este álbum, que é o décimo no plano da coleção (ordem cronológica original), foi o sexto a ser publicado tanto pela Fantagraphics quanto pela Abril.

A história que dá título ao volume é das menores, com dez páginas. É a história em que surgem, pela primeira vez, os Irmãos Metralha (nome bem bolado na tradução para o português do nome original, Beagle Boys). Com uma curiosidade, os Metralha são uma ameaça durante toda a história, mas só aparecem em UM quadrinho, a cena final! E, é claro, já fazendo o que fazem daí para a frente em praticamente toda a sua carreira: assaltar o Tio Patinhas!

Além desta, uma se passa na Riviera francesa, onde quase todos são espiões, contra-espiões ou contra-contra-espiões. Assunto típico daqueles anos da Guerra Fria. Também é uma história em que aparecem humanos normais (não patos, gansos, ratos, cachorros, etc.). Em outra, Tio Patinhas, ainda predominantemente um grande sovina (melhoraria com o tempo, nas histórias de Barks), aparece mergulhando em seu dinheiro pela primeira vez. Em outra ainda, todo o dinheiro de Patinhas sai voando por causa de um pé-de-vento e é distribuído. Todos ficam milionários de um momento para outro, mas isso não dá certo. É tida por alguns como uma defesa do sistema capitalista. Neste volume participam ainda Gastão, Gansolino, Vovó Donalda, Margarida, Huguinho, Zezinho e Luisinho, incluindo uma história dos Escoteiros-mirins.

Uma edição como esta, além da recuperação histórica e da qualidade de reprodução gráfica, é uma edição crítica, cujas notas revelam e permitem compreender aspectos importantes. Além disto, deve-se prestar atenção no contexto da época (início da década de 1950): roupas (chapéus, os maiôs na Riviera), veículos (caminhões, trens) e comportamentos.

Li algumas das antigas histórias de Carl Barks quando saíram no Brasil nos anos 60. Outras, mesmo as mais antigas, quando saíram republicadas aqui algumas vezes. Portanto, esta coletânea é também uma recordação para crianças que liam quadrinhos Disney nos anos 50 a 70!

Este volume tem

1. Três aventuras longas (28 páginas) e várias histórias curtas de dez páginas, com pequenas variações.
2. Ao final, 19 páginas com “Notas sobre as histórias”, abordagem de cada história por vários especialistas internacionais em quadrinhos de Barks, entremeadas com reproduções de capas originais de revistas do Pato Donald.
3. Duas páginas com biografias dos autores das notas
4. Referências sobre a publicação original e a data de cada história

Referências

> Autor: Carl Barks (1901 – 2000)
> Publicação original nos EUA: histórias, 1951. Nesta coleção, 2016, pela Fantagraphics Books
> Formato médio, aproximadamente 19 x 26 cm, capa dura, em cores

1. Site da editora Fantagraphics (em inglês)
Com textos de apresentação, várias imagens, especificações e material para imprensa.
Localize fantagraphics [ponto] com [barra] walt-disneys-donald-duck-terror-of-the-beagle-boys
Ou localize o site, clique em “Shop”, depois em “Disney”. E vá adiante até localizar este volume.

A série original da Fantagraphics, em inglês

> Volumes (The Complete Carl Barks Disney Library)

5. (2013) Donald Duck: Christmas on Bear Mountain *** R
6. (2013) Donald Duck: The Old Castle's Secret *** R
7. (2011) Donald Duck: Lost in the Andes *** R
8. (2014) Donald Duck: Trail of the Unicorn *** R
9. (2015) Donald Duck: The Pixilated Parrot *** R
10. (2016) Donald Duck: Terror of the Beagle Boys *** R
11. (2012) Donald Duck: A Christmas for Shacktown
12. (2012) Uncle Scrooge: Only a Poor Old Man
13. (2015) Donald Duck: Trick or Treat *** R
14. (2014) Uncle Scrooge: The Seven Cities of Gold
15. (2016) Donald Duck: The Ghost Sheriff of Last Gasp
16. (2017) Uncle Scrooge: The Lost Crown of Genghis Khan
17. (2017) Donald Duck: The Secret of Hondorica
18. (2018) Donald Duck: The Lost Peg Leg Mine

> Caixas

As edições americanas podem ser também adquiridas em caixas com dois volumes cada uma.

5/6. Walt Disney's Donald Duck: "Christmas On Bear Mountain" & The Old Castle's Secret" Gift Box Set
7/8. Donald Duck Box Set: Lost in the Andes & Trail of the Unicorn
9/10. Walt Disney's Donald Duck "The Pixilated Parrot" & "Terror Of The Beagle Boys" Gift Box Set
12/14. Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge Gift Box Set: "Only A Poor Old Man" & "The Seven Cities Of Gold"

Coleções históricas Disney sendo publicadas

As diversas coleções históricas Disney atualmente existentes podem ser encontradas na Amazon brasileira. As da Abril, integralmente, as da Fantagraphics, pelo menos em parte. Algumas em volumes individuais ou em caixas. Verifique sempre a disponibilidade.

Está indicado o primeiro volume de cada coleção. Neste volume, procure minha resenha, na qual estão listados os volumes e caixas publicados, com links para cada um.

1. “Os Anos de Ouro de Mickey”
Em português, tradução de original italiano, a cores, Editora Abril
> Mickey na ilha misteriosa *** R

2. “Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse by Floyd Gottfredson”
Em inglês, em preto e branco, Fantagraphics (EUA)
> Race to Death Valley *** R

3. “The Complete Carl Barks Disney Library”
Em inglês, em cores, em formato maior (aproximadamente 19 x 26 cm), Fantagraphics (EUA)
> Christmas on Bear Mountain*** R

4. “Coleção Carl Barks defintiva”
Em português, tradução da coleção da Fantagraphics, em cores, em formato reduzido (aproximadamente 16 x 24 cm), Editora Abril
> Perdidos nos Andes *** R

*** R – Álbum já resenhado por mim. Para ler minha resenha, role a página do livro até que ela apareça.

[Michael Emond · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great Donald Duck collection by the master Carl Barks. The cover hints at a bit more of an Uncle Scrooge involvement than you really see in this collection. There are 3 excellent ten pagers with Scrooge but he still isn't the fully formed personalty we would later see starring in his own comic later on. He is more a foil or device to start a Donald Duck adventure.

The stand out story to me is Disguise Danger where we see human faces on some of the characters and Donald on a twisty and turny spy adventure that leads him all the way to confronting a bull as a matador. I don't remember this happening before and obviously Barks was told not to let it happen again.

The other stand out story is Old California that works "hitting your head" as a way to travel through time (Bugs Bunny used to do this too) so Donald travels to a time when Rancheros owned much of California and the Gold Rush was just starting.

Beyond these two longer adventures we get a lot of ten pagers with Donald and his Nephews. These are more comedic and a lot of fun. The one that stands out in these are the April Fools story of the Nephews trying to get the better of their Uncle but him accidentally coming out on top every time. Also, we see in a later story, the Nephews trying to earn their Woodchuck badges and Donald looking like a fool trying to one-up them. It is interesting to see how either the nephews or the Uncle could be the straightmen or comedic foil depending on the story.

Also included in some of these stories is Gladstone Gander - the luckiest duck in the world. Another great character. Who gets to shine with Donald as they both compete to be the lead in Daisy Duck's play.

All in all one of the better collections in this fantastic collection of Carl Barks being printed by Fantagraphics.

[Gijs Grob · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent volume of classic Donald Duck comics from 1951, when Barks' creativity was at its prime. There are three longer adventures, two of which are highlights of Barks' comic strip: 'Dangerous Disguise' in which our Ducks get mixed up in a spy adventure at the French riviera, 'In old California' in which our heroes travel back into time, when California was still a Spanish colony. A little less classic is 'No such varmint' in which Donald appears to be a star snake charmer.

There are 11 ten-pagers, with timeless classics as 'Terror of the Beagle Boys', which introduces the famous villains, even if only at the last panel, 'Billions to sneeze at' in which Uncle Scrooge gets allergic to money and in which we are introduced to his ways of enjoying his money, 'Pool sharks' in which Donald acquires a swimming pool and 'Gladstone's Luck' in which Gladstone's good luck becomes unbearable. But best of all is 'A Financial Fable', which must be counted among the best comics in any genre and of any age. 'Operation St. Bernhard', meanwhile, introduces the junior woodchucks, which would play a part in many a Donald Duck comic to come. Classic and essential comic stuff, indeed!

The only filler is 'Attic Antics', which was clearly not written by Barks, and which stars Grandma Duck, Daisy and rather incongruently Jaq and Gus from 'Cinderella'.

[HowardtheDuck95 · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with the previous volumes, this is another collection of great work from a master storyteller, and just plain fun.

It starts with its title tale, the first official appearance of the Beagle Boys. They are not fully formed here, but it is an entertaining debut nonetheless. Showing up later in the is another first: the debut of the Junior Woodchucks, the scouting organization that is a catalyst in many a Disney Ducks story.

Also of note story wise is the very fun and jarring spy story that follows the Beagle Boys one. It’s one of the few times without (and as the text notes, probably the reason for) the dog faced people that inhabit Barks world.

The story with the mice from Cinderella may not have been written by Barks, but man is it fun.

The time travel one felt a little too nostalgic and waxy for my taste (and so far is the only one colored by someone else, so it has a different vibe than the rest of the volume and series thus far) but it’s far from bad.

All this and more, overall a great collection of great stories.

[Dominick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Early 1950s Barks, including mostly ten-pagers, but with a couple of longer adventures, among which is the very strong "No Such Varmint!" There's also the oddly anomalous Grandma Duck story that folds in the mice from Sleeping Beauty as well as Black Pete in a tale that barks not only didn't write but that I have a hard time believing he even drew. It just doesn't have the usual assuredness or visual texture of a Barks story. Perhaps working with someone else's script dampened his enthusiasm. Anyway, overall, this is a fun collection. It even includes a few personal/sentimental favourites, such as "A Financial Fable," which is one of the first Barks stories I can recall reading as a kid and which remains fun (the simplisticness of its economics aside), and the first Beagle Boys story. Who knew they'd go on to become what they did? Prime Barks, well worth the read, weird Grandma Duck story notwithstanding.

[Norman Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

These stories from 1951 show Barks at the height of his storytelling powers. Here are the first appearances of the Beagle Boys and the Junior Woodchucks. In "In Old California," a story Philip K. Dick would be proud of, Donald and his nephews simultaneously experience the same realistically detailed dream of pre-Gold Rush California. All of the tales in this volume are filled with adventure and humor, if not necessarily consistency of characterization.

[Abhishek · Rating 4 out of 5]

The bulk of the stories in this have the typical Barksian charm and momentum in them. What makes this volume stand out, for me, is 'Donald Duck in Old California', maybe my favourite Barks tale yet. It's got this wistful quality to it, like the author is aching for an era that he wasn't even alive in. That wistfulness marks it as something more and personal than the usual goofy adventures of Donald and clan. Good stuff.

[Krzyś Dz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Traditionally very good volume. Here we can find introduction of Beagle Boys, Bolivar, Junior Woodchucks or Scrooge's first dive into his money and few nice long stories like "Dangerous Disguise" or "In Old California". But besides that there are also great 10-pagers including two ones which are teaching us a lot about economy and are one of mine favourites: "A Financial Fable" and "Trouble with dimes". And more!

[Ruz El · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great volume. This one is a little lighter on international adventure, but it makes up for it with some great character work. There's such a subversive joy to these stories that even the ones that don't work as well are a good time.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

another barks collection so it’s very good. Scrooge still changing here and there. An early Beagle Boys appearance. Old California wasn’t my kinda story (though the art was a high level. Everything else was very fun.

[Scott Semegran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun collection, beautifully printed and bound. Some of the humor has not aged well as it's racist. There's a warning about this in the front matter, though. Otherwise, a fun collection of comics of old.

[Brent · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great addition to the Carl Barks Library! A nice eaxample of the many things Mr. Barks could do well.
A sampler plate of Barks!

[Donna Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Humorous; amusing; been a long time though.

[Pete · Rating 5 out of 5]

Possibly my favorite Barks duck collection to date. This was a blast.

You can skip the Gramdma Duck story at the end that Barks didn’t write.

[Ludwig Aczel · Rating 4 out of 5]

8/10

[Leonor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aventuras cheias de humor com Donald e os seus companheiros.

[Addison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another beautifully written, beautifully illustrated, and beautifully commentated album of Carl Barks’ work. Highly recommended for fans of old school Disney and wholesome fun.

[Joe Santoro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've mostly read ABOUT Carl Barks more than reading his actual comics, so finding this on sale was a treat. I LOVE his economic lessons. It was crazy seeing actual humans mixed in with the Ducks in one story (which the liner notes say never happened again).

I find alot of people think it odd when comic fans mention just how good the Duck books are, thinking surely they must be for little kids. That's a modern conceit.. just because a story doesn't including sex, violence, and other adult themes doesn't mean it's not for adults.. in many cases, it just means its a well crafted story.

[David Corleto-Bales · Rating 5 out of 5]

Splendid old comics from the legendary pen of Carl Barks, (1901-2000) who created the magical world of "Duckburg" to accommodate Donald Duck, his nephews and several characters he created such as Scrooge McDuck and the Beagle Boys. All of these stories are from 1951, and feature Donald and the boys in a spy story in Monte Carlo, a trip to Alaska to recover one of Scrooge McDuck's lost gold ships, and a car accident in rural California and rescue by Indians that somehow dreamily transports the Ducks back to "Old California" when it was ruled by Mexico; and many others.

[Mark Schlatter · Rating 4 out of 5]

One great story about Donald Duck, the nephews, and spies that veers closer to Mad Magazine territory that anything else I've seen from Carl Barks (there are spies and counterspies and counter-counterspies and ...) A couple of good economics stories as well featuring Uncle Scrooge (of course), including one where everyone gets a piece of Scrooge's money and stops working, leading to a collapsed society that Uncle Scrooge (of course) takes advantage of.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb. And Joey loved the stories too.

[Alex Firer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess he's allowed, but this has been the most weirdly just okay volume of this series to date.

[Ron Bailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Title's a bit misleading, but not bad.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

That Old California story!