A Guidebook to the Carl Barks Universe

Questions: Maybe this is a story made out of parts of the lost bobsled race story? A close look at the art seems to reveal traces of cutting and pasting.

Sources

CZ WDC 196 "bobsled race"

Barrier: MBAC-199, 210
CBL: ---
Type: story
Art: Carl Barks
Script: Carl Barks
Hero: "Donald Duck"
Submission: 1955, December 15
Publication date: [none or unknown]
Issue: [none or unknown]
Pages: 10
Intended issue: [probably Walt Disney Comics & Stories 196, Vol. 17, No. 4]
Intended publication date: [probably 1957, January]

Changes: Listed in Barks' records as "Bobsled Race", the third unpublished story was a ten-pager submitted on December 15, 1955, and probably intended for "Walt Disney's Comics and Stories" No. 196 (1957). Barks wrote on this entry: "Don't know what became of this story. Probably scrapped."

In a letter from June 4, 1956, editor Alice Cobb in Western's West Coast office told Barks to tone down the clashes among the ducks, because an irate mother had complained about Donald's "Shut up!" in the final panel of the icetaxis-story published in "Walt Disney's Comics and Stories" No. 186 (March 1956). It would be around this time that the editor's were putting issue No. 196 together and so it seems likely that the bobsled story was shelved because because it involved conflict between Donald and the nephews.

Status: The story is lost.

Notes: Recently I've compared this story with the snow statue story which was published in WDC 196 (a story Barks submitted one week later) and it looks like parts of what could be a bobsled story are used in the snow statue story. More information will follow.

Questions: As far as I know, Carl Barks has never given a recollection of what happened in the story. If you've found out more than what is mentioned here, then please let me know.

Sources

W WDC 197-02 border patrolman

Barrier: MBAC-179
CBL: 09B-347
Type: story
Art: Carl Barks
Script: Carl Barks
Hero: Donald Duck
Submission: 1956, January 5
Publication date: 1957, February
Issue: Walt Disney Comics & Stories 197, Vol. 17, No. 5
Pages: 10

Sources

W WDC 198-00 punching bag and falling plaster

Barrier: MBAC-179
CBL: 09B-336
Type: cover
Art: Carl Barks
Script: [unknown]
Hero: [none]
Submission: 1956, September 6
Publication date: 1957, March
Issue: Walt Disney Comics & Stories 198, Vol. 17, No. 6
Pages: 1

Changes: Most likely (at least) the nephews are changed by the editor.

Sources

W WDC 198-02 suppressed desire party

Barrier: MBAC-180
CBL: 09B-357
Type: story
Art: Carl Barks
Script: Carl Barks
Hero: Donald Duck
Submission: 1956, March 15
Publication date: 1957, March
Issue: Walt Disney Comics & Stories 198, Vol. 17, No. 6
Pages: 10

Additional credits: In his 1969 list of work for Western, Barks wrote about this story: "I bought the basic idea for this story from my daughter who lived in Washington state."

Backstage: In panel 3 of page 4, a bus' destination is identified as "Hemet," a California town near San Jacinto, where Barks lived at the time.

Research: Panel 8.6 shows people not being able to open an inward door because of pushing against it in panic, which as a result also makes it impossible to open the door from the outside. In the USA there's a law which says that all doors in public buildings must open to the outside. Possibly, this law was made after the Coconut Grove nightclub fire in Boston in the early 1940s. One victim was the famous cowboy star, Buck Jones, the star of many movies (and comic books!).

Sources

W WDC 199-00 no paint on canvas

Barrier: MBAC-179
CBL: 09B-334
Type: cover
Art: Carl Barks
Script: [unknown]
Submission: 1956, September 6
Publication date: 1956, April
Issue: Walt Disney Comics & Stories 199, Vol. 17, No. 7
Pages: 1

CBL-notes: Printed with a black background, so the outer ink lines are invisible.

Questions: What background colour does the first publication have?

Sources

W WDC 199-01 imagining machine

Barrier: MBAC-179
CBL: 09B-367
Type: story
Art: Carl Barks
Script: Carl Barks
Hero: Donald Duck
Submission: 1956, September 20
Publication date: 1956, April
Issue: Walt Disney Comics & Stories 199, Vol. 17, No. 7
Pages: 10

Sources

W WDC 200-00 frog under top hat

Barrier: MBAC-180
CBL: 09B-377
Type: cover
Art: Carl Barks
Script: [unknown]
Hero: [none]
Submission: 1956, November 29
Publication date: 1957, May
Issue: Walt Disney Comics & Stories 200, Vol. 17, No. 8
Pages: 1

Notes: Barks's list shows that an idea for a front cover identified as "Donald Duck 'Frog in Hat'" was accepted by Western on September 17, 1953, and the drawing for that cover was accepted on October 8, 1953. That drawing was apparently never published.

Sources

W WDC 200-01 donald's pet service

Barrier: MBAC-180
CBL: 09B-379
Type: story
Art: Carl Barks
Script: Carl Barks
Hero: Donald Duck
Submission: 1956, April 5
Publication date: 1957, May
Issue: Walt Disney Comics & Stories 200, Vol. 17, No. 8
Pages: 10

Additional credits: In his 1969 list of work for Western, Barks wrote about this story: "Got basic idea of this from my daughter."

Sources

W WDC 201-01 powerful dye calamity

Barrier: MBAC-180
CBL: 09B-389
Type: story
Art: Carl Barks
Script: Carl Barks
Hero: Donald Duck
Submission: 1956, July 5
Publication date: 1957, June
Issue: Walt Disney Comics & Stories 201, Vol. 17, No. 9
Pages: 10

Trivia: Donald's address is written on a package: "Mr. Donald Duck, 13 Quack Street, Duckburg. (4.1) (Not to be mistaken for "Mr. Donald Dock, 1113 Quack Street", mentioned in panel 3.1.)

Questions: Could this story more or less have been inspired by the expression "paint the town red"?

Sources

W WDC 202-01 kakimaw rain makers

Barrier: MBAC-180
CBL: 09B-399
Type: story
Art: Carl Barks
Script: Carl Barks
Hero: Donald Duck
Submission: 1956, May 31
Publication date: 1957, July
Issue: Walt Disney Comics & Stories 202, Vol. 17;, No. 10
Pages: 10

Sources

W WDC 203-01 bodyguard lion

I'll give you a few worthy maxims to remember!...
The road to succes is a speedway to the go-getter, but a quagmire to the laggard!
Let no grass grow on your sidewalks, nor moss between your ears!
To the brave belong the fair, and to the brainy, the raise in wages!
Be smart! Be active! Be in there pitching!
-- Donald Duck

Barrier: MBAC-180
CBL: 09B-413
Type: story
Art: Carl Barks
Script: Carl Barks
Hero: Donald Duck
Submission: 1956, October 11
Publication date: 1957, August
Issue: Walt Disney Comics & Stories 203, Vol. 17;, No. 11
Pages: 10

Sources

W WDC 204-00 checkers with jumping beans

Barrier: MBAC-180
CBL: 09B-412
Type: cover
Art: Carl Barks
Script: Carl Barks
Submission: 1957, January 25
Publication date: 1957, September
Issue: Walt Disney Comics & Stories 204, Vol. 17;, No. 12
Pages: 1

Sources

W WDC 204-01 great head park

Barrier: MBAC-180
CBL: 09B-423
Type: story
Art: Carl Barks
Script: Carl Barks
Hero: Donald Duck
Submission: 1956, June 21
Publication date: 1957, September
Issue: Walt Disney Comics & Stories 204, Vol. 17;, No. 12
Pages: 10

Additional credits: «Mountain Climbers», an unproduced 1939 cartoon short about Mickey, Donald, and Goofy trying to renovate a giant sculptured head, may have provided the basis for this story. (As far as known, Barks did not contribute to that cartoon.)

Sources

W WDC 205-01 blue ribbon apples

Barrier: MBAC-180
CBL: 09B-433
Type: story
Art: Carl Barks
Script: Carl Barks
Hero: Donald Duck
Submission: 1956, September 25
Publication date: 1957, October
Issue: Walt Disney Comics & Stories 205, Vol. 18, No. 1
Pages: 10

Sources

W WDC 206-00 sticky taffy recipe

Barrier: MBAC-181
CBL: 09B-446
Type: cover
Art: Carl Barks
Script: Carl Barks
Hero: [none]
Submission: 1957, January 31
Publication date: 1957, November
Issue: Walt Disney Comics & Stories 206, Vol. 18, No. 2
Pages: 1

Sources

W WDC 206-02 sagmore springs hotel

Barrier: MBAC-181
CBL: 09B-447
Type: story
Art: Carl Barks
Script: Carl Barks
Hero: Donald Duck
Submission: 1957, January 17
Publication date: 1957, November
Issue: Walt Disney Comics & Stories 206, Vol. 18, No. 2
Pages: 10

Backstage: In the splash-panel, potato sacks are labeled "San Jacinto" and "Tulelake": the California towns where Barks and his brother lived at the time.

Congruences:

QMS 1942-019: motion of elevator stretches and compresses bodies

Sources

W WDC 207-00 ventriloquist parrot

Barrier: MBAC-181
CBL: 09B-445
Type: cover
Art: Carl Barks
Script: [unknown]
Submission: 1957, March 14
Publication date: 1957, December
Issue: Walt Disney Comics & Stories 207, Vol. 18, No. 3
Pages: 1

CBL-notes: Printed with a black background, so the outer ink lines are invisible.

Questions: What background colour does the first publication have?

Sources

W WDC 207-01 wild burro contest

Barrier: MBAC-181
CBL: 09B-457
Type: story
Art: Carl Barks
Script: Carl Barks
Hero: Donald Duck
Submission: 1957, January 17
Publication date: 1957, December
Issue: Walt Disney Comics & Stories 207, Vol. 18, No. 3
Pages: 10

Sources

W WDC 208-00 single serape for all nephews

Barrier: MBAC-181
CBL: 09B-446
Type: cover
Art: Carl Barks
Script: [unknown]
Submission: 1957, May 29
Publication date: 1958, January
Issue: Walt Disney Comics & Stories 208, Vol. 18, No. 4
Pages: 1

Sources

W WDC 208-01 reindeer as christmas present

Barrier: MBAC-181
CBL: 09B-467
Type: story
Art: Carl Barks
Script: Carl Barks
Hero: Donald Duck
Submission: 1956, October 18
Publication date: 1958, January
Issue: Walt Disney Comics & Stories 208, Vol. 18, No. 4
Pages: 10

Sources

W WDC 209-00 loose chair spring

Barrier: MBAC-181
CBL: 09C-511
Type: cover
Art: Carl Barks
Script: Carl Barks
Submission: 1957, August 15
Publication date: 1958, February
Issue: Walt Disney Comics & Stories 209, Vol. 18, No. 5
Pages: 1

Sources

W WDC 209-02 helicopter mailman

Barrier: MBAC-181
CBL: 09C-513
Type: story
Art: Carl Barks
Script: Carl Barks
Hero: Donald Duck
Submission: 1957, July 25
Publication date: 1958, February
Issue: Walt Disney Comics & Stories 209, Vol. 18, No. 5
Pages: 10

Sources

W WDC 210-02 bakery head man

Barrier: MBAC-181
CBL: 09C-523
Type: story
Art: Carl Barks
Script: Carl Barks
Hero: Donald Duck
Submission: 1957, July 25
Publication date: 1958, March
Issue: Walt Disney Comics & Stories 210, Vol. 18, No. 6
Pages: 10

Sources

W WDC 211-01 wishing stones

Barrier: MBAC-181
CBL: 09C-533
Type: story
Art: Carl Barks
Script: Carl Barks
Hero: Donald Duck
Submission: 1957, April 18
Publication date: 1958, April
Issue: Walt Disney Comics & Stories 211, Vol. 18, No. 7
Pages: 10

Additional credits: In his 1969 list of work for Western, Barks wrote about this story: "Got this idea from my daughter."

Backstage: In the beginning of the story, a radio service man helps the nephews play an april fool trick on Donald by faking a radio newscast. In a 1971 letter Barks mentioned a (text_s_radio_joke,default,similar joke) played on colleague Harry Reeves during his story department years.

Questions: Is the story's radio gag a recollection of this joke from the cartoon years, or did it also belong to the idea by Barks' daughter?

Sources

W WDC 212-00 ceiling paint roller

Barrier: MBAC-181
CBL: 09C-546
Type: cover
Art: Carl Barks
Script: [unknown]
Submission: 1957, November 7
Publication date: 1958, May
Issue: Walt Disney Comics & Stories 212, Vol. 18, No. 8
Pages: 1

Sources

W WDC 212-02 rocket race around world

Barrier: MBAC-181
CBL: 09C-547
Type: story
Art: Carl Barks
Script: Carl Barks
Hero: Donald Duck
Submission: 1957, April 18
Publication date: 1958, May
Issue: Walt Disney Comics & Stories 212, Vol. 18, No. 8
Pages: 10

Sources

W WDC 213-00 tangled oars

Barrier: MBAC-181
CBL: 09C-546
Type: cover
Art: Carl Barks
Script: Carl Barks
Hero: [none]
Submission: 1957, February 21
Publication date: 1958, June
Issue: Walt Disney Comics & Stories 213, Vol. 18, No. 9
Pages: 1

Sources

W WDC 213-01 spring house cleaning

Barrier: MBAC-181
CBL: 09C-557
Type: story
Art: Carl Barks
Script: Carl Barks
Hero: Donald Duck
Submission: 1957, July 25
Publication date: 1958, June
Issue: Walt Disney Comics & Stories 213, Vol. 18, No. 9
Pages: 10

Landmark: First appearance of the Official Hound.

Backstage: Daisy catches the nephews, and they help her catch Donald. Possibly, this is a parody of Sadie Hawkins Day. Detailed information

Sources

W WDC 214-00 ice-cream and candy

Barrier: MBAC-181
CBL: 09C-544; 09C-545
Type: cover
Art: Carl Barks
Script: [unknown]
Submission: 1957, November 7
Publication date: 1958, July
Issue: Walt Disney Comics & Stories 214, Vol. 18, No. 10
Pages: 1

CBL-notes: Printed with a black background, so the outer ink lines are invisible. On page 09C-544, the drawing is shown with a white background.

Sources

W WDC 214-01 duckburg garden club

All of a sudden I feel so ignorant I hurt!
-- Donald Duck

Barrier: MBAC-181
CBL: 09C-567
Type: story
Art: Carl Barks
Script: Carl Barks
Hero: Donald Duck
Submission: 1956, March 15
Publication date: 1958, July
Issue: Walt Disney Comics & Stories 214, Vol. 18, No. 10
Pages: 10

Sources

W WDC 215-00 nephews hauled to bathtub in towel

Barrier: MBAC-181
CBL: 09C-579
Type: cover
Art: Carl Barks
Script: [unknown]
Hero: [none]
Submission: 1957, December 19
Publication date: 1958, August
Issue: Walt Disney Comics & Stories 215, Vol. 18, No. 11
Pages: 1
Intended issue: Walt Disney Comics & Stories 216, Vol. 18, No. 12
Intended publication date: 1958, September

Backstage: According to Barks' vouchers, this cover was originally scheduled for the front cover of "Walt Disney's Comics and Stories" No. 216, September 1958.

Sources

W WDC 215-01 the right kind of echoes

Barrier: MBAC-181
CBL: 09C-581
Type: story
Art: Carl Barks
Script: Carl Barks
Hero: Donald Duck
Submission: 1957, September 19
Publication date: 1958, August
Issue: Walt Disney Comics & Stories 215, Vol. 18, No. 11
Pages: 10

Sources

W WDC 216-00 do not disturb

Barrier: MBAC-181
CBL: 09C-580
Type: cover
Art: Carl Barks
Script: [unknown]
Hero: [none]
Submission: 1958, February 7
Publication date: 1958, September
Issue: Walt Disney Comics & Stories 216, Vol. 18, No. 12
Pages: 1
Intended issue: Walt Disney Comics & Stories 219, Vol. 19, No. 3
Intended publication date: 1958, December

Backstage: According to Barks' vouchers, this cover was originally scheduled for the front cover of "Walt Disney's Comics and Stories" No. 219, December 1958.

Sources