FAMILYFANS Books & Comics

CARL BARKS AND THE DISNEY COMIC: Unmasking the Myth of Modernity

by Thomas Andrae

(University Press of Mississippi)

Reader Appeal: Adults

Genre: Biography / Academic

Carl Barks is one of the unsung heroes of the comic book genre. For most of his life, he lived in anonymity, his publisher refusing to append his name to the comics that he wrote and drew. His most famous creation, the rich old duck, Uncle Scrooge, is now well-known in American culture. In the 40s and 50s, he was one of the most widely read authors in America, his stories being read by the millions here and abroad. He helped take comics from being bits of fluff adapted from cartoons to a fully realized literary form with persistent characters, social commentary, fascinating history, and diverse locations. His adventure stories went on to inspire filmmakers like George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. Despite all this, though, almost nothing has been written about him and what he did for the comic genre. Until now.

Thomas Andrae’s book is an attempt to pay tribute to, and understand, the work of one the foremost storytellers and artists of his era. His book is a mix of biographical information and literary analysis, during which he explains the evolution of the body of work that Carl Barks created. Along the way, he defends Barks against some of his critics and eventually explains how the changing social landscape of the late 20^th century eventually crushed Barks’ genre of funny animal comics. If you ever wanted inside insight into the world of the Disney comic book (and some of the early Disney animated shorts), this is the book for you.

I found this history and analysis to be both fascinating and frustrating, really. I love Barks’ work and I was eager to learn more about him and his stories. One of the major strengths of this book was getting the reader to appreciate just how clever and well-thought-out Barks’ comics were. Andrae really has a great appreciation for the depth and historical context of Barks’ stories, which have been sadly overlooked until now. There’s some great social and moral commentary in there, as well as a wealth of historical and cultural information, and anything that raises peoples’ awareness of these comics and gets people to read them is a great thing.

On the other hand, I have to admit that this book was little on the dense side and sometimes becomes a bit tedious. Andrae spends too much time throwing out what sound like essays in literary criticism for some snotty college class, complete with outdated and half-baked Marxist and Freudian analyses and Grade-C philosophy and psychobabble.

If you can get past the dense literary prose, though, you’ll find some interesting things to think about and talk about in this book. I would take most of the analysis with a grain of salt, but there’s a lot think about here. Barks witnessed a lot of change in society during his lifetime, and his comics reflect that. He was no great spiritual example, but he knew how to write great stuff for kids.

As a whole, Carl Barks and the Disney Comic was pretty good. A lot of its value comes from the fact there is a real need for a good book about Carl Barks and his comics, but no one has gotten around to it. This one isn’t perfect, but until something better comes out it’s the best thing out there.

FAMILYFANS RATING: B-

--MV

Note: All book or comics-related graphics in this column are standard publicity/promotional shots and are owned by their respective publisher.