Walt Disney's Donald Duck: The Ghost Sheriff of Last Gasp

The Complete Carl Barks Disney Library #15

by Carl Barks, David Gerstein (Editor)

Uncle Scrooge sends Donald and the nephews to the jungle; the nephews solve a Western ghost mystery; and there are 10,000 hungry baby turkeys to deliver.
Donald and his nephews visit an Old West ghost town that was suddenly abandoned when the sheriff vanished while in hot pursuit of a passel of outlaws. Now the remains of the town are haunted ― and it’s up to the plucky nephews to solve the mystery of “The Ghost Sheriff of Last Gasp” before it’s too late! Then, Donald is made stationmaster for a tiny out-of-the-way railroad station, but his first delivery is 10,000 baby turkeys ― and they’re all hungry! And when the Coast Guard announces it found the wreck of a steamship that sank with Uncle Scrooge’s gold on board, the race is on to recover it ahead of Scrooge’s rivals. Scrooge hustles Donald and the nephews into his private submarine ― but it’s Christmas Eve, and the boys are afraid Santa won’t be able to find them to deliver their presents. The boys appeal to Uncle Scrooge, but ― well, his name is Scrooge.Plus lots more stories with Barks favorites, including the wacky inventor Gyro Gearloose, the irritatingly lucky Gladstone Gander, and the ever-glamorous and sensible Daisy Duck. Carl Barks delivers another superb collection of outrageous hijinks, preposterous situations, and all-around cartooning brilliance. Over 200 pages of stories, each meticulously restored and newly colored. Insightful story notes by an international panel of Barks experts. Full-color illustrations throughout.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Humor, Animals, Adventure, Short Stories, Graphic Novels Comics

242 pages, Hardcover

First published October 11, 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

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bunch of ten-pagers, no epics. Donald has a new job or a new hobby, things get wacky, and there's a twist. Some of the jobs are deep cuts from that historical epoch. Station master at a train station in the far north. It also snowed a lot in Duckburg. The nephews were slightly more independent of each other than I'm used to. There was one where Louie goes off on his own to flummox a bigger flummoxing. Top shelf, as usual, but Donald ten-pagers are what they are and they're not what we think of when we get excited about Carl Barks.

[Nicholas Driscoll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still a lot of fun, though some of the ten-pagers didn't work as well for me--and this book is all ten-pagers. Still, I had a lot of nostalgia reading these, and also quite a few I had never read before. The notes in the back were also more interesting than the last volume I read--only one or two of the notes were just summaries, and a lot of them gave interesting context to the stories and/or creative process. Great stuff for fans of duck comics like me!

[Jeff Lewonczyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

While this isn't my favorite volume (it's all 10-pagers, and my heart truly lies with the full-length adventure tales), Barks is Barks, which means pure delight.

[Nathan Dehoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the title story, the sheriff turns out to be not a ghost at all, but instead a guy who was trapped in a mineshaft for eighty years without aging. Is that supposed to be MORE realistic? He and Donald end up facing off, Wild Bill with guns that are rusted shot, and Donald with cap guns. While the story of “Wispy Willie” is rather thin, based simply on Scrooge’s attempts to trick Donald into selling his house, it does have a mad scientist creating a bizarrely cute will-o’-the-wisp. I also found it interesting that there are a few where Donald actually wins out in the end, even if it’s not always due to his own efforts. A camel that Huey, Dewey, and Louie buy from a defunct circus is hopeless at finding uranium in the desert, but when he ends up covered in glowing paint, a television network buys him. Donald loses a fishing contest to Gladstone Gander, but Donald wins a bigger reward when he saves a rich man’s daughter. Even the writers of the notes are a bit disappointed by “Too Safe Safe,” where Gyro Gearloose invents an unbreakable wax to protect Scrooge’s money, only for Scrooge to realize that he needs access to at least some of it.

[Baal Of · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume is all ten-pagers, without any of the longer stories that are my favorites of Bark's work. It's still great stuff, with his trademark humor, and excellent pacing, but I miss the presence of the wildly inventive adventures with Uncle Scrooge, that allowed deeper aspects of the characters to shine forth. As usual, Fantagraphics produces beautiful volumes, with sharp colors, and cleanly reproduced artwork.

[Michael Emond · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow. This is the first time I actively disliked a Carl Barks collection from Fantagraphics. I am as shocked as you are. I think them all being 10 pagers hurt since 10 page stories have to focus on the humour and gags and we don't get the adventures I prefer. But I like some ten pagers so that isn't the whole reason I was disappointed. It's just that the Nephews and Donald devolve into their worst aspects. Over the years you get cranky Donald - brave Donald - stupid Donald...you get resourceful nephews - mean nephews. I prefer it when the nephews are junior Woodchucks and help out not bratty and playing hooky from school. I prefer it when Donald is a kind Uncle trying to look out for them and not weird Donald who acts like an idiot. These stories mostly focus on bratty and dumb to drive the stories so I was irritated by a lot of them.

Now, some of them are still a lot of fun. But even the fun ones have problems. There is an Uncle Scrooge one where he forces Donald and the nephews to spend Christmas in a submarine looking for one of his old sunk ships. The problem is how mean Uncle Scrooge is and how long it takes the story to get going even if the ending is sweet.

The title story is just stupid. It is a retread of visiting a ghost town and being scared by what they find there. In an older tale the reveal is clever and interesting - in this tale it is a Sheriff who never died (a lame reason given) and who stays in hiding for 70 years because of a lame pun (he hiccups and he doesn't want to be called Wild Bill Hiccup...lame!!). SO, too many of the stories were weak and rushed and not the clever stories we come to expect from Barks. One of the weaker collections - skip unless you are a completest.

[Norman Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

These stories from 1954-1955 are all 10-page gag stories. Donald's ridiculous feud with Gladstone Gander, his stints as Uncle Scrooge's lackey, and his rivalry with Huey, Dewey, and Louie expressed as practical jokes are all on display. The humor is hit and miss, although mostly hit, with a few outdated references that modern readers won't get, as well as a couple of ethnic stereotypes that are definitely a product of their time. The artwork is the true star of this volume, with Barks providing clean lines and masterful composition that tell stories concisely.

[Ruz El · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun and solid edition of cartooning. The cover story is the best, with many fun ones that follow. It loses a bit of steam, but makes up for it with a short story showing how to build a kite. This is probably going to be where I bow out of this series. I've loved reading them, but I'm not sure how much more Duck I need in my life. Hats off to Fantagraphics for these gorgeous presentations.

[Heider Carlos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vou marcar como lida a versão americana porque não achei a brasileira aqui.

A maioria das histórias tem 10 páginas, então é quase um livro de contos em quadrinhos. A variedade de situações é impressionante. São histórias divertidas e dinâmicas. Carl Barks é sempre bom.

[Steven desJardins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Barks did both full-length adventures and ten-pagers. This volume contains only ten-pagers, and a higher proportion than usual are duds or retreads. There's still plenty of good work, but this volume wasn't one of my favorites.

[Uvindex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Timeless classic

[Krzyś Dz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful set of brilliant 10-pagers of Carl Barks from 1953-1955 period. Definitely worth to read

[Lexi · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the less inspired volumes, although the references to "Beaver Island," a made up place that shares its name with my family's summer refuge in Michigan, were amusing.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection of comics! Also lots of great editorial and historical details included at the end.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bunch of 10 pagers. Some fun ones. A fair amount of Gladstone. But overall standard Barks fare. Nothing too elite. Fix Up Mix Up and Turkey Trot maybe the best in here.

[Mark Schlatter · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice volume. Since (almost) all of the stories are ten pagers, there are no long sagas or travel stories, but it was interesting to see the number of gimmicks Barks could bring up in the shorter format. (It's astonishing how many way Donald can lose a job!)

[Brent · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like Mr. Barks' longer, adventure type stories the best, and this volume was pretty much all his shorter, comedic stuff. Still, if they published his shopping lists I'd buy it [the art would be great].
Loved the Christmas story!