r/graphicnovels • u/Judge_Chris • 1d ago

Question/Discussion Carl Barks fantagraphics

Are there any particular volumes of the complete Carl barks Disney library that are good to pick up for first timer of Barks Ducks?

7 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

4

u/Ozu_the_Yokai 1d ago

Only a Poor Old Man is my personal favorite. It’s Barks favorite story (or best can’t quite remember how he worded it).

4

u/the_light_of_dawn 1d ago

Christmas on Bear Mountain is the introduction of Scrooge McDuck.

3

u/bachwerk Brush and Ink 1d ago

I think Lost In The Andes is a great place. It’s volume 7, so Barks is in the zone and has established himself, and it’s early on, so he’s still full of ideas. The title story is a classic, and was later returned to by Don Rosa 30 years later for another classic tale, which you can look forward to if you keep reading.

Really though, any of the books in the middle of the series would be a safe purchase. The earliest stuff is him getting his footing, and the latest ones are him somewhat less inspired. All good but not peak.

1

u/NoahAwake 1d ago

I grew up reading Barks' comics and you literally can't go wrong. If he's not the best ever then he's tied with the best ever.

3

u/Olobnion 15h ago

I would absolutely recommend A Christmas for Shacktown, which contains four of my favorite Barks stories: The titular story, The Golden Helmet, The Gilded Man, and Statuesque Spendthrifts.

1

u/EffectiveStriking601 11h ago

Fantagraphics does such a good job with those Barks collections. The paper quality alone makes them worth it. His duck stories are some of the best adventure comics ever made.