A fun Donald Duck adventure ---------------------------------------------------- "Donald Duck Finds Pirate Gold" (Gladstone's Giant Album Comic series #1) ----------------------------------------------------
"Donald Duck Finds Pirate Gold," from 1942, is a king-sized Duck adventure, with Donald and his nephews -- Huey, Dewey and Louie -- on a search to find treasure before the bad guy, Black Pete, can stop them. Apparently this epic was adapted from storyboards from a Disney film, and handed over to cartoonist Carl Barks as one of his first assignments as Disney's resident Duck specialist. It's interesting how whole chunks of the book are told without words, letting the printed page mimic the comic beats and visual style of the animated cartoons (which is kind of cool, actually...) but there are also sequences that show Barks' steady hand as a draftsman and innovative story stylist. The print quality and colors on this edition are superior in every way, giving plenty of room for the artwork to breathe and fill your eyes. Gladstone has reprinted these old Carl Barks stories in many formats; this is certainly one of the best. Recommended for family entertainment, and as a gateway into the visual language of comics. (Joe Sixpack, ReadThatAgain children's book reviews)
Historic but dissapointing first... While this Duck book is significant as not only the first 'original' Donald Duck comic-book but also as the first Duck work by Carl Barks (he did not write it and drew only part of it) it is a dissapointing read, especially when compared with the far better Donald Duck or Uncle Scrooge books which followed. Adapted from an unproduced Disney animated film, the pacing is slow and the story, unexciting and uninvolving. I found it very tedious to get through. Better to pick this one up after you've read the good stuff (especially try the Uncle Scrooge story "Back to the Klondike" to see what I mean.)
Get it while you can! "Reading level: Baby-Preschool"!? Try "Preschool-Deathbed." Most people might smirk at the idea of "Disney Comics," but legendary cartoonist Carl Barks imbued Donald and Uncle Scrooge with life, warmth, energy, and adventure. This is great reading for even the most cynical (who will delight in the fact that Barks got away with giving substance to Disney's cookie-cutter characters for decades). But Gemstone's contract with Disney has expired, and negotiations are under way. Barks has been getting a lot of attention in recent years (particularly since his death at the age of 99 last year), and Disney may decide to bring him "back into the fold." But they would never treat the work with the respect with which Gemstone has, and which it deserves. My recommendation: snatch up anything you can find with Carl Bark's name on it before it goes out of print (which might be very soon). Enjoy it yourself, and save it for your children (or nieces and nephews) and grandchildren (or grandnieces and grandnephews). Just don't let the little whipper-snappers damage the merchandise!
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
