Amph 1001 Comic Books You Must Read: 280. "Superboy" #49

Certainly a powerful cover. I also like the dichotomy between the personal focus of the image, and the comic like "HE MAN ADVENTURE!" proclaimed along the side. But then again, as has been pointed out, that's the signature of Harvey Kurtzman and EC Comics.

 

Next: 180. "Chamber of Chills" #6

[image=http://images.comiccollectorlive.com/covers/b60/b60aee7f-7cf7-4cc9-b383-a11a62f9d74f.jpg]

Writer: Uncredited

Artist: Bob Powell, Vic Donahue

Harvey (March 1952)

"Best known for "Caspar the Friendly Ghost" and "Richie Rich", Harvey also published gruesome horror comics. In this issue, monsters in the subway tunnels beneath New York City plan to destroy mankind. Not recommended for readers allergic to melting flesth."

 

181. Four Color #386: Uncle Scrooge

[image=http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/3125/472730-wf386_super.jpg]

Writer: Carl Barks

Artist: Carl Barks

Dell (March 1952)

"The essence of Scrooge. He likes to swim in his money, dive into it like a porpoise, burrow through it like a gopher, toss it up and let it hit him on the head. Because no man is poor who can do what he wants once in a while."

 

"Only A Poor Old Man", eh?

It's notable for being the first official Uncle Scrooge story, but there are many better ones after it...

 

Hey, I'll settle for notable. Notable trumps Lars of Mars, at least.

 

Hey, are any of Jeremy "Norm" Scott's "Hsu & Chan" books on here?

 

Hey, I'll settle for notable. Notable trumps Lars of Mars, at least.

But Lars was the pinnacle of the comic medium. We wouldn't have Superman or Captain America, or X-Men without Lars. OK, that's may be exaggerated a little. But seriously, revisiting our friend Lars, the plot of that Lars issue is even funnier that the cover that was supplied for this list:

After the first hydrogen bomb is exploded, a worried Grand Council of Mars sends Lars ?Mars? most daring adventure? to Earth to preserve interplanetary peace. His ship however has engine trouble before he can get to the UN and he just manages to escape with his life. Flying by rocket pack to the nearest town Lars sees a woman who looks as if she is being attacked by robots. Defeating the robots easily Lars is shocked when he finds the robots are really stunt-men testing out robot suits.

With his ship destroyed Lars knows it will now be difficult to convince the governments of Earth who is, fortune however has smiled on Lars when, using his telepathy to learn her langue, Lars also finds that the woman he has ?saved? is Jane Conway a television producer who is about to start a television series about a man from Mars. Jane believes Lars is just an actor however she is impressed and convinces Lars to take the role of the man from Mars on her television program. Lars then divides this time between acting and fighting evil.

So those robots on the Lars cover were actually human stunt men, and Lars, an actual Martian, plays a human who is playing a man from Mars on a television show... When Lars appeared on the list, we asked "why did it only last 2 issues?" Well, folks, there's your answer...

Getting back to notable and Carl Barks- no disrespect, but I hope this is the last Barks issue. We get it, Barks was a pioneer in the field of funny animal comics, where he captured the innocence of youth as told through adult eyes. Great. Every third entry on the list doesn't need to be a Carl Barks issue though, just in case the reader forgot who he was in between the non-Barks examples.

 

Man, you should read some of the professional essays done on Barks. They make his work seem as deep as Dostoyevsky!

I personally prefer Don Rosa's stories. No, they aren't as creative & witty, but I LOVE the needless & irritating details (his own words) he puts into his scripts & art...

 

Born With the Century:

Carl Barks 1901-2000

 

Eh, I disagree and you're kind of proving my point; Barks is an unfairly marginalized figure among mainstream comic fans who think of him as a "funny animal" artist. But you're totally missing Barks' point, which was much more cynical than you make it out to be. Barks wasn't about innocence; he was about human failing. Donald Duck is one of the most perfectly crafted Everyman figures in American literature; he's pompous, arrogant, petty, hot-tempered, irrational, not particularly lucky, not particularly talented, not particularly intelligent and, just occasionally, compassionate enough that you forgive him. He's the average guy making his way in a world that, unlike Howard the Duck, he did make; Donald causes all his own problems and then has to expend enormous amounts of energy getting out of them. He is, in other words, a perfect satire on human nature. That's what Barks is about. The fact that you say Barks is about "funny animals" and "innocence of youth" pretty clearly proves that, in fact, you need more familiarity with Barks' genius, not less. That Barks is able to create a character this unlikable and then make us sympathize with him and his, often very mundane, problems is a stroke of genius. But Barks is a master at putting in just enough positive moments to keep us pulling for Donald; he does, after all, genuinely love his nephews, even if they get on his nerves.

Only a Poor Old Man is a good example of what I'm talking about, albeit focused on Uncle Scrooge (in many ways, an even more cynical character than Donald). This story, as memory serves, involves Uncle Scrooge being so paranoid about the Beagle Boys stealing his money that he comes up with an incredibly complicated and convoluted scheme to spirit his money away from them to a place where they'll never find it. He does this and has it entirely hidden away (under a lake, if you want to know), but his obsession wins out; he has to dredge some of it up to create an island of money in the middle of the lake where he can actually physically experience the money. During this escapade, news leaks out to the Beagle Boys and Scrooge's secret is gone; what happens in this story is that Scrooge is essentially fine, his money secure; but he allows his paranoia and fear (of becoming "only a poor old man") to drive him to this massive endeavour; it's a fool's errand, but, unbelievably, he's successful. Until his own foolish nature leads him to expose his carefully crafted secret. Barks even puts it in a scene description for a panel where Scrooge is preparing to dive into his money island: "So it goes! The best laid plans of mice and men -" And, not to be too pretentious, that's what this story is about.

Then, at the climax, after Uncle Scrooge has put himself through this massive, and totally unnecessary, process to protect his money, then foolishly endangered it for no good reason and then spent thirteen pages fighting like a madman to protect his newly vulnerable fortune from the Beagle Boys, he muses on what a comfort it is to be wealthy; Donald has a thought on that: "If you've got comfort, I'll take vanilla." In the end, Uncle Scrooge really is only a poor old man after all.

Funny animals? Well, they are animals and they are funny; but they're also well-sketched, realistic, believable, evocative characters in stories that are perfectly crafted, artistically plotted and purposely philosophical.

And, yes, Don Rosa is about the only Duck artist who lives up to Carl Barks; his stories are also brilliant and, in the Barksian vein, very character based and psychological.

And, yes, in case

 

I'd respect Barks more if he hadn't said this on his deathbed:

"People looking at the nonsense of Poke'mon (sic) need to have their minds rewired."

 

Eh, I disagree and you're kind of proving my point; Barks is an unfairly marginalized figure among mainstream comic fans who think of him as a "funny animal" artist. But you're totally missing Barks' point, which was much more cynical than you make it out to be. Barks wasn't about innocence; he was about human failing. Donald Duck is one of the most perfectly crafted Everyman figures in American literature; he's pompous, arrogant, petty, hot-tempered, irrational, not particularly lucky, not particularly talented, not particularly intelligent and, just occasionally, compassionate enough that you forgive him. He's the average guy making his way in a world that, unlike Howard the Duck, he did make; Donald causes all his own problems and then has to expend enormous amounts of energy getting out of them. He is, in other words, a perfect satire on human nature. That's what Barks is about. The fact that you say Barks is about "funny animals" and "innocence of youth" pretty clearly proves that, in fact, you need more familiarity with Barks' genius, not less. That Barks is able to create a character this unlikable and then make us sympathize with him and his, often very mundane, problems is a stroke of genius. But Barks is a master at putting in just enough positive moments to keep us pulling for Donald; he does, after all, genuinely love his nephews, even if they get on his nerves.

I can respect all of this, being a mainstream comic fan who really hasn't deeply delved into Barks except in the bits and pieces of spill over that simply being around comics and comic shops bring. Maybe I'll go look for a reprint anthology and actually check out a collection of his work. It's not a priority, but I also don't see a downside in sampling.

But for as much as he is marginalized, for the counter-point, I'd also say he's also artificially revered as well. There is simply no reason why any more than 2 issues of Bark's work should be included in a list like this. Maybe an early example and a later example. Because, not matter how good he was, Barks was a niche comic professional. There are those who are much more influential across the spectrum than Barks, who deserve multiple listings, and there are those who have better "must read" single issues that haven't even been mentioned yet. My only problem here is that all of the entries for Barks all represent the same thing-look, here's the first Donald by Barks...Here's the first Scrooge McDuck by Barks...Here's a story with Huey, Louie, and Dewey by Barks, and so on...Collectively, all of these can easily be distilled down to a single entry in the sense of "Look, here's the definitive Barks, now go check out his other stuff..."

 

If you wish to check out some of his works, you could easily look for them free here : http://disneycomics.free.fr/
I do believe it is legal and I apologise if it turns out it isn't.

And to call Barks a niche comics author is a bit of a stretch. His comics are (or at least were) very popular, especially in Europe.
And his works also do seem to have been influential enough to influence people like Spielberg. Apparently, the opening scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark was inspired by scenes from some of his comics.

Personally not too familiar with Barks though I have read most of the comics listed here which are among his most famous. Have read more duck comics by Don Rosa and I hope any work of his will be listed here eventually.

 

Good luck finding a good summary of his work - he did an INSANE amount of short & long stories between 1943 & 1967.

Agreed. He's a good writer, but his stories aren't nearly as deep/thought-provoking as all of the "smart people" claim, plus his art (with some exceptions) is pretty simplistic.

Well, the problem is that the market is 99% superheroes. The Disney license is really the only popular "funny animal" comic that has ever been, and it's not everyone's bag. His influence didn't really have anywhere to go to.

His epic adventures & certain gag stories (like his so-called "brittle mastery of Donald Duck" series) are, IMO, much more notable than any of his "firsts". (Also, "Christmas On Bear Mountain" [coincidentally the first appearance of Scrooge] is way better than "Christmas For Shacktown".)

 

Well, since I never read either "Tintin" nor "Asterix" as a kid, and have since read the lot with great enjoyment, I think I will look for Barks' reprints. I generally trust Rogue's judgment, except about modern art and "It's a Wonderful Life"...and "The Wizard of Oz"...and "Citizen Kane"...and "Arsenic and Old Lace"...(I could go on)

 

Tons of Barks, Rosa, and other duck/mouse comics can be obtained here.

 

You know, it's interesting. Looking at Only a Poor Old Man again really got me thinking; I mean, I'm not that familiar with a lot of Golden to Silver Age comics, but I've been reading some old school Batman and Superman a lot lately and I kind of think that, for sheer complexity, Barks kind of owned some of them. I mean, Only a Poor Old Man is an incredibly sophisticated story with a complex plot that sort of doubles back on itself and then doubles again; it's morally complex too - the story seems to lay down its moral very strongly and then seems to take it back in the last three or four panels. You end up actually questioning the very interpretation that I laid on it last time; is Scrooge really a poor old man or, if he wants to worry about money, if that makes him happy . . . well, isn't that okay too? And every decision made in this story is based in an established character psychology; I mean at this period, even the superhero comics were still a little stiff in terms of characterization and they were often very stiff in terms of plotting. I think I'm more and more sold on Barks as ahead of his time in terms of character based story telling in comics; am I crazy? It's quite possible.

 

That's what I was going to say. As he said: "No man is poor who can do what he likes to do once in a while. And I like to dive around in my money like a porpoise, and burrow through it like a gopher and toss it up and let it hit me in the head". Brilliant comic and a brilliant character. The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck by Don Rosa is one of my all-time favourites, as it also handles this topic nicely. Money to Scrooge means memories from his adventures, but are they worth nothing if he's got nothing else in his life?

 

182. "Frankenstein Comics" #18

[image=http://www.atoncer.com/comics/golden-age/horror/frankstein/Frankenstein%20Comics%20-18.jpg]

Writer: Dick Briefer

Artist: Dick Briefer

Prize (March 1952)

"With horror proving to be a gold mine for comics publers, Briefer returned to bacis for this third and final version of the classic monster. Gone is the Addams family-stle humor, replaced mad scientists, zombies, werewolves, and killer plants."

The nose's still a joke, though.

As is the name of the artist/writer, or maybe my mind just lives in the gutter.

 

183. "Frontline Combat #5"

[image=http://d1466nnw0ex81e.cloudfront.net/iss/600w/135/201351/6739361_1.jpg]

Writer: Harvey Kurtzman

Artist: Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Davis

E.C. (March-April 1952)

"Kurtzman's "The Big If" is another of his masterpieces, and intensely human story of the randomness of war. I also have a fondness for his "Stonewall Jackson," a sharp little tale that proves Jack Davis was born to draw Civil War stories."

 

184. "Two-Fisted Tales #26"

[image=http://333comix.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/two-fisted-tales-26-cover.jpg]

Writer: Harvey Kurtzman

Artist: John Severin, Jack Davis

E.C. (March-April 1952)

"1950: the Changjin Reservoir was the site of the battle in which the Chinese halted the northward advance of the United Nations forces. It was a gutsy move for Kurtzman to devote an entire issue to that action."

 

185. "The Haunt of Fear" #12"

[image=http://echorrorcomicsarchive.com/wp-content/qdir/main/2008_12/hof12.jpg]

Writer: Al Feldstein

Artist: Graham Ingels, Jack Davis

E.C. (March-April 1952)

"The Ingels-drawn "Poetic Justice" is the best story in this issue, but when we talk 'unforgettable', the nod goes to "What's Cookin'" in which one murderous villain is barbecued and his fat-drippings used to deep-fry his equally murderous parter. Yummy!"

 

I think my prior "issue" (which is a pretty good pun) with Karl Barks also applies to a lot of choices on this list. So far, we've had many repeat choices, with the majority of them not progressing past the 1950s. How many Harvey Kurtzman have we had now? How many EC Horror examples? The first EC Horror example was a "must read," but there is nothing that I can see about the latest entry. The list author certainly seems to have his favorites, no matter if they're examples from Barks, or Kurtzman, or Feldstein, and then repeats the same choices over and over. Look! Another Two Fisted Tales! They're all must reads!

 

186. "Shock SpenStories 2"

[image=http://clzimages.com/comic/large/85/85_109007_0_ShockSuspenstories2.jpg]

Writer: Al Feldstein

Artist: Jack Kamen, Jack Davis

E.C. (April-May 1952)

"My favorite E.C. title. It started out as a sampler of E.C.'s horror, war, crime and science fiction stories but found its true voice with "The Patriots", a chilling cautionary tale of patriotism carried to extremes."

 

187. "Superman #76"

[image=http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/3125/257885-773-120155-1-superman_super.jpg]

Writer: Edmond Hamilton

Artist: Curt Swan, Stan Kaye

DC (May-June 1952)

"Superman and Batman had palled around on World's Finest covers, but this was their first real team-up. they went on a cruise, learned each other's secret identities, caught a smuggler, and outwitted Lois Lane. It was a dream vacation."