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The Complete Carl Barks Disney Library #25
Walt Disney's Donald Duck: Balloonatics
Carl Barks's stories of the Junior Woodchucks starring Huey, Dewey, and Louie — written and penciled by Barks with finishes by internationally acclaimed Duck artist Daan Jippes — debut in this volume! Other stories include: When Gyro Gearloose invents a ten-story-tall Donald Duck balloon — bigger than anything ever seen at the Macy's Parade! — Donald decides to take a ride. But Gyro’s "new balloon gas" is stronger than he thought it was, and Donald finds himself out of control, sailing higher and higher, until…
Then, Huey, Dewey, and Louie try to help a "fraidy falcon" overcome his fear of flying by getting Donald to help, but Donald has his own ideas…
Next, somebody's blowing up experimental rockets at the launchpad, and the nephews are on the trail of the spy, but Donald’s sure of who it's not — until he finds himself on board the next rocket to blast-off…
180 pages of story and art, each meticulously restored and newly colored. Insightful story notes by an international panel of Barks experts.
Then, Huey, Dewey, and Louie try to help a "fraidy falcon" overcome his fear of flying by getting Donald to help, but Donald has his own ideas…
Next, somebody's blowing up experimental rockets at the launchpad, and the nephews are on the trail of the spy, but Donald’s sure of who it's not — until he finds himself on board the next rocket to blast-off…
180 pages of story and art, each meticulously restored and newly colored. Insightful story notes by an international panel of Barks experts.
209 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2021
About the author
Carl Barks
2,456 books262 followersCarl 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 28, 2021
There’s a lot to despise in Barks’ Junior Woodchucks stories—not just that the complex character of Uncle Scrooge is reduced to the status of a Captain Planet villain, but more that entire Disney Duck stories are debased to the status of Captain Planet episodes. Certainly there are a lot of fine arguments to be made for environmental conservation, but none of them are articulated here. Instead, what are presented are arguments so unabashedly elitist that they give environmentalism a bad odor.
In “Peril of the Black Forest,” Scrooge explains his plans to bulldoze the Woodchucks’ campsite to make houses for “people” (as Huey (or one of them) says). Over here he’ll build “10,000 homes with brick barbecues,” and over there he’ll “house two million citizens.” The nephews hear the first proposal and prophecy “10,000 columns of smoke and gnats”; housing two million will only bring, they say, “noise pollution and paddy wagons.”
In the end, of course, housing two million+ people is weighed in the balance against giving a trillionaire and his family a private swimming hole, and the virtuous decision is to keep the riffraff away. In “Let Sleeping Bones Lie,” despite some lip service about the proper preservation of fossils, the real worry is that fossils will be displayed in a “hamburger joint” and “smeared with greasy fingerprints” by hoi polloi (rather than a “nature museum”).
Complaining that a children’s comic book does not present the proper political arguments is, I know, almost proverbially ludicrous, but the problem here is that there’s nothing else to the stories. The conflict is that Uncle Scrooge believes the wrong thing—HD&L persuade him of the right thing—story ends. And then in the next story, Scrooge is back to believing the wrong thing (which isn’t actually a problem for me; no one reads Barks for continuity*).
Are we actually supposed to believe that Dewey (or one of them) equates human life to a column of smoke? (And where does the idea that nature is not full of gnats come from?) “Let not one more live, lest he kindle a fire,” says Louie as he snaps the Infinity Gauntlet (apparently). I don’t necessarily mind reading propaganda I disagree with, but propaganda that is both incoherent and shrill—well, there’s a reason I’m not reading Captain Planet comics.
Daan Jippes art (seen by me at least for the first time on these stories) is excellent, of course, and the book has a bunch of lower-tier (for Barks) but still good Donald and Grandma Duck stories. There are even some Woodchucks stories that revolve around gags and not Scrooge. They’re fine. I shouldn’t be so crabby. It’s fine. The book is fine.
(*Except Don Rosa.)
In “Peril of the Black Forest,” Scrooge explains his plans to bulldoze the Woodchucks’ campsite to make houses for “people” (as Huey (or one of them) says). Over here he’ll build “10,000 homes with brick barbecues,” and over there he’ll “house two million citizens.” The nephews hear the first proposal and prophecy “10,000 columns of smoke and gnats”; housing two million will only bring, they say, “noise pollution and paddy wagons.”
In the end, of course, housing two million+ people is weighed in the balance against giving a trillionaire and his family a private swimming hole, and the virtuous decision is to keep the riffraff away. In “Let Sleeping Bones Lie,” despite some lip service about the proper preservation of fossils, the real worry is that fossils will be displayed in a “hamburger joint” and “smeared with greasy fingerprints” by hoi polloi (rather than a “nature museum”).
Complaining that a children’s comic book does not present the proper political arguments is, I know, almost proverbially ludicrous, but the problem here is that there’s nothing else to the stories. The conflict is that Uncle Scrooge believes the wrong thing—HD&L persuade him of the right thing—story ends. And then in the next story, Scrooge is back to believing the wrong thing (which isn’t actually a problem for me; no one reads Barks for continuity*).
Are we actually supposed to believe that Dewey (or one of them) equates human life to a column of smoke? (And where does the idea that nature is not full of gnats come from?) “Let not one more live, lest he kindle a fire,” says Louie as he snaps the Infinity Gauntlet (apparently). I don’t necessarily mind reading propaganda I disagree with, but propaganda that is both incoherent and shrill—well, there’s a reason I’m not reading Captain Planet comics.
Daan Jippes art (seen by me at least for the first time on these stories) is excellent, of course, and the book has a bunch of lower-tier (for Barks) but still good Donald and Grandma Duck stories. There are even some Woodchucks stories that revolve around gags and not Scrooge. They’re fine. I shouldn’t be so crabby. It’s fine. The book is fine.
(*Except Don Rosa.)
October 30, 2023
These tales, mainly from 1960, show Barks near the end of his cartooning career, clearly not as passionate about his work as before, using themes (and in at least one case a direct rewrite of an earlier story) that are repetitive. Nevertheless, there is still an air of inventiveness in storytelling, especially the artwork, that make these stories fun to read, at least once. Donald is at times a greedy bully and at times highly competent at his jobs and/or hobbies, depending on the needs of the story. Huey, Dewey, and Louie can usually be counted on to provide the maturity, resourcefulness, and intelligence Donald lacks, but sometimes they, too, become bullying pranksters. Uncle Scrooge in the Donald stories has become much softer than in his original appearances, but still values hard work to earn his money--that is, until the latter Junior Woodchuck stories (originally published in 1970-71) where he is miscast as an eco-villain bent on destroying forests and killing whales to expand his empire and make a profit wherever he can. Part of this may be because these Junior Woodchuck stories were scripted and laid out by Barks but finished by other artists (Tony Strobl and John Carey in the 1970s and redrawn by Daan Jippes in the 1990s and 2000s [these are the ones reprinted in this book]). Also included in this volume are several Grandma Duck stories that are mostly just bland (Barks only provided the artwork for these; they were scripted by Vic Lockman).
January 18, 2022
With 'Balloonatics' we enter Carl Barks's last decade as Donald Duck artist. By this time there's a certain amount of routine and tiredness to his ten-pagers, although it was worse in the previous two volumes 'Walt Disney's Donald Duck: Christmas in Duckburg' and 'Walt Disney's Donald Duck: Under the Polar Ice'. There's only one remake ('Froggy Farmer') and only one rehash of earlier stories ('Turkey Trouble'). The rest of the ten-pagers are more or less original and entertaining, if not too inspired. The best story may be 'The Dog Sitter', which consists of disastrous slap-stick in the best comedy tradition.
Apart from nine Donald Duck ten-pagers, there are four rather forgettable Grandma Duck stories penned not by Barks but by Vic Lockman, and four Junior Woodchuck stories from 1970/1971, for which Barks only provided the scenarios and which were redrawn by Daan Jippes in the 2000s.
These last four are an odd addition to the otherwise chronological series, as they were made after Barks's retirement as a Duck artist. Three of the four are environmental stories, showing how times had changed between 1961 and 1970, and they feature Uncle Scrooge in an uncomfortable and unfitting role as a really mean and ruthless villain. Jippes's artwork is exceptional, and arguably better and more Barksian than the art of the master himself in this volume, which is sometimes a bit sloppy.
None of these entries is essential, and if you're not a completist, you can easily skip this volume.
Apart from nine Donald Duck ten-pagers, there are four rather forgettable Grandma Duck stories penned not by Barks but by Vic Lockman, and four Junior Woodchuck stories from 1970/1971, for which Barks only provided the scenarios and which were redrawn by Daan Jippes in the 2000s.
These last four are an odd addition to the otherwise chronological series, as they were made after Barks's retirement as a Duck artist. Three of the four are environmental stories, showing how times had changed between 1961 and 1970, and they feature Uncle Scrooge in an uncomfortable and unfitting role as a really mean and ruthless villain. Jippes's artwork is exceptional, and arguably better and more Barksian than the art of the master himself in this volume, which is sometimes a bit sloppy.
None of these entries is essential, and if you're not a completist, you can easily skip this volume.
November 30, 2021
I recently read this book, which features a number of short gag stories about Donald, his nephews, Grandma Duck, and the Junior Woodchucks--many of which I had never read before. I certainly enjoyed the book, but I often felt these were some of Barks' lesser tales--especially when I got to the second half of the book and it was all mediocre Grandma Duck stories and repetitive environmental stories about the Junior Woodchucks clashing with Scrooge.
Still enjoyed the book a lot, but it feels much less quality than some previous releases. Even saying that, I wish they would release more of these a bit faster. I want to read them all!
Still enjoyed the book a lot, but it feels much less quality than some previous releases. Even saying that, I wish they would release more of these a bit faster. I want to read them all!
April 21, 2024
I'm learning that as I read my way through the complete works of Carl Barks, the 'good duck artist' is not one to let a good trope die. In not one but two stories, Donald Duck becomes a part of the hot-air ballooning community.
First, the nephews are trying out some new miniature dirigibles made by Gyro Gearloose, which wreak havoc on Donald who's trying to get some very much desired R&R. In typical Donald firebrand fashion, the boys' Uncle gets revenge. And by revenge, Donald goes overboard with a hot air balloon in his likeness and about double the size of any inflatable you might see at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Plus, it's armed to the teeth!
Story #2 has Huey, Dewey and Louie find a hunting falcon that's just too timid to be a hunter. As the boys try to help the bird find his confidence, Donald enters a contest by being held by the Duckburg Parachute club in which he hopes to win the prize for most original sky dive. Hopefully that will involve the use of a hot air balloon, some vintage balloonist digs and one nervous bird of prey.
Other adventures starring Donald, his nephews and sometimes their spinster uncle, Scrooge McDuck involve a hunt for a sea monster, searching for precious stones in the desert and an investigation into the mysterious destruction of test rockets. There's a classic Turkey Day story in which Donald and cousin Gladstone Gander compete for a chance to earn Thanksgiving dinner with Daisy. It's a tale I've read before but I don't mind a re-read. It's one of Barks' all-time best tales!
There's a couple of stand-out segments in this volume. The complete reissue of Dell Four Color #1161 'Walt Disney's Grandma Duck's Farm Friends', has Barks' presenting a quartet of stories set at Donald's father's family homestead. First, the farm gains a new resident in the form of a gigantic elephant that Uncle Scrooge was gifted from a dignitary. A new chick on Grandma's farm causes mischief along the country side when he's revealed to be a genius with good intentions but some poorly planned ideas. Gladstone makes a visit with intentions of becoming a matador. Then finally, with the nephews visiting Grandma, disaster hits in the form of both a blizzard and the appearance of the Beagle Boys on the lam from the law!
Lastly, readers get to enjoy a half-dozen Junior Woodchuck stories guest-starring Uncle Scrooge in 4 of them! These tales were from when Barks had officially retired from comics. Gold Key had lured the creator back to script duty, but arthritis and age had made it impossible to carry on his quality of work. At the time these stories were published in the 70s, original readers complained of how uninspired the artwork appeared. With their reprinting, Fantagraphics presents new artwork by Danish artist Daan Jippes. The remastered artwork looks like that of Barks and yet, there's something modern about it. Barks was known to be a minimalist when it came to backgrounds. Jippes crafts a masterful background in every panel! Really jarring stuff- in a good way!
The new tales have an Uncle Scrooge more full of piss and vinegar than many of us are used to. His inclusion in those Junior Woodchuck stories were crafted right as the world was about to celebrate its first Earth Day in 1970. (So in a way those stories are holiday themed!) Scrooge McDuck is more like a robber baron, than a penny-pinching businessman, in these stories to the point of almost unlikability. Thankfully, Huey, Dewey and Louie and their scout troop pals save the day and Scrooge's soul in these very different Duck tales.
With this volume, I'm not sure of a couple of things. For one, why is this a Donald Duck book and not an Uncle Scrooge edition? Would it have even been so bad to have had this volume starring the nephews instead of Donald or Scrooge? Also, if this is a collection of the complete Carl Barks' works of the residents of Duckburg, why the time jump? The Grandma stories were published in 1961. Barks' ecological stories were published a decade later. This is volume 16 of a 26 volume collection. So why put the Junior Woodchuck stories here and not in volume 25 or 26? I'm not complaining about their inclusion. I just don't understand the thought process of the editing team as to having them here and not later on down the line.
A great read that just confuses me as to why certain stories are published out of order if this was supposed to be a omnibus of Carl Barks works about the Disney ducks.
First, the nephews are trying out some new miniature dirigibles made by Gyro Gearloose, which wreak havoc on Donald who's trying to get some very much desired R&R. In typical Donald firebrand fashion, the boys' Uncle gets revenge. And by revenge, Donald goes overboard with a hot air balloon in his likeness and about double the size of any inflatable you might see at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Plus, it's armed to the teeth!
Story #2 has Huey, Dewey and Louie find a hunting falcon that's just too timid to be a hunter. As the boys try to help the bird find his confidence, Donald enters a contest by being held by the Duckburg Parachute club in which he hopes to win the prize for most original sky dive. Hopefully that will involve the use of a hot air balloon, some vintage balloonist digs and one nervous bird of prey.
Other adventures starring Donald, his nephews and sometimes their spinster uncle, Scrooge McDuck involve a hunt for a sea monster, searching for precious stones in the desert and an investigation into the mysterious destruction of test rockets. There's a classic Turkey Day story in which Donald and cousin Gladstone Gander compete for a chance to earn Thanksgiving dinner with Daisy. It's a tale I've read before but I don't mind a re-read. It's one of Barks' all-time best tales!
There's a couple of stand-out segments in this volume. The complete reissue of Dell Four Color #1161 'Walt Disney's Grandma Duck's Farm Friends', has Barks' presenting a quartet of stories set at Donald's father's family homestead. First, the farm gains a new resident in the form of a gigantic elephant that Uncle Scrooge was gifted from a dignitary. A new chick on Grandma's farm causes mischief along the country side when he's revealed to be a genius with good intentions but some poorly planned ideas. Gladstone makes a visit with intentions of becoming a matador. Then finally, with the nephews visiting Grandma, disaster hits in the form of both a blizzard and the appearance of the Beagle Boys on the lam from the law!
Lastly, readers get to enjoy a half-dozen Junior Woodchuck stories guest-starring Uncle Scrooge in 4 of them! These tales were from when Barks had officially retired from comics. Gold Key had lured the creator back to script duty, but arthritis and age had made it impossible to carry on his quality of work. At the time these stories were published in the 70s, original readers complained of how uninspired the artwork appeared. With their reprinting, Fantagraphics presents new artwork by Danish artist Daan Jippes. The remastered artwork looks like that of Barks and yet, there's something modern about it. Barks was known to be a minimalist when it came to backgrounds. Jippes crafts a masterful background in every panel! Really jarring stuff- in a good way!
The new tales have an Uncle Scrooge more full of piss and vinegar than many of us are used to. His inclusion in those Junior Woodchuck stories were crafted right as the world was about to celebrate its first Earth Day in 1970. (So in a way those stories are holiday themed!) Scrooge McDuck is more like a robber baron, than a penny-pinching businessman, in these stories to the point of almost unlikability. Thankfully, Huey, Dewey and Louie and their scout troop pals save the day and Scrooge's soul in these very different Duck tales.
With this volume, I'm not sure of a couple of things. For one, why is this a Donald Duck book and not an Uncle Scrooge edition? Would it have even been so bad to have had this volume starring the nephews instead of Donald or Scrooge? Also, if this is a collection of the complete Carl Barks' works of the residents of Duckburg, why the time jump? The Grandma stories were published in 1961. Barks' ecological stories were published a decade later. This is volume 16 of a 26 volume collection. So why put the Junior Woodchuck stories here and not in volume 25 or 26? I'm not complaining about their inclusion. I just don't understand the thought process of the editing team as to having them here and not later on down the line.
A great read that just confuses me as to why certain stories are published out of order if this was supposed to be a omnibus of Carl Barks works about the Disney ducks.
January 9, 2024
There are runs on book that as long as they are, somehow are as close to flawless as possible. Carl Barks is one of them. Yes, some of his views on race and women are very much 'of this time' but the story and art are really good. The jokes still land and the art is- apart from the stories that were only written by Barks- gorgeous. Those latter stories, the art was considered so bad that decades later publishers refused to reprint them and had more skilled artists redraw them approximating Barks's style. An admirable effort and unlike previous comics that have done this- and I'm looking at you Crisis on Infinite Earths- under close examination it still feels just a tad off. But still worth a read, even if in those Junior Woodchucks stories, Scrooge McDuck is reduced to being the prototype for every villain ever featured on Captain Planet and the Planeteers.
December 12, 2021
Carl Barks' comic book work is always filled with fun art and delightful storytelling. My one complaint about this volume, though, is in the later stories in which Uncle Scrooge is reduced to a caricature of evil, greedy rich guy to make him the villain in a series of pro-environment stories. Barks had gradually developed Scrooge into the best-ever character in comic books through the 1950s, giving him complexity and likeability by balancing out his greed with a creed of hard work and honesty. This, leavened with examples of his willingness (however reluctant) to give up profits for his family, was what defined him. The flat, purely greedy Scrooge in the environment-themed tales is a pale shadow of the "real" Scrooge and no fun at all.
November 21, 2021
4.5 stars.
Been reading since the first volume was published in 2011. And We're at the 2/3rds mark!
I'm still enthralled with these, even if the greater stories are behind us. To make up for that' we're starting the "Junior Woodchucks" stories which I quite enjoy (and get an undeservedly bad rap )
Been reading since the first volume was published in 2011. And We're at the 2/3rds mark!
I'm still enthralled with these, even if the greater stories are behind us. To make up for that' we're starting the "Junior Woodchucks" stories which I quite enjoy (and get an undeservedly bad rap )
February 5, 2025
Not the best era and I really don’t care for the Grandma Duck or Junior Woodchuck stories (which comprise half of this volume.) I’ve been alternating between reading this and the second volume “Frozen Gold,” and even though it’s an early one it’s more to my liking, which surprises me. Next!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews