Carl Barks facts for kids

"Duck Man" redirects here. For the cartoon, see Duckman.

Quick facts for kids Carl Barks
Barks at the 1982 San Diego Comic-Con
Born	(1901-03-27)March 27, 1901 Near Merrill, Oregon, U.S.
Died	August 25, 2000(2000-08-25) (aged 99) Grants Pass, Oregon, U.S.
Area(s)	Writer, Penciller, Artist, Inker
Notable works	Scrooge McDuck, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, Daisy Duck, Gyro Gearloose, Gladstone Gander, The Junior Woodchucks, Beagle Boys, Flintheart Glomgold, Magica De Spell, Neighbor J. Jones, Glittering Goldie, Cornelius Coot, John D. Rockerduck Oil paintings of his duck characters
Spouse(s)	Pearl Turner (m. 1923; div. 1929) Clara Balken (m. 1932; div. 1951) Garé Williams (m. 1954; died 1993)
Children	2
Signature

Carl Barks (born March 27, 1901 – died August 25, 2000) was an American cartoonist, writer, and painter. He is most famous for his work on Disney comic books. He wrote and drew the very first Donald Duck stories. He also created the popular character Scrooge McDuck.

For a long time, Barks worked without his name being known. Fans called him The Duck Man or The Good Duck Artist. In 1987, he was one of the first people to be added to the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame.

Carl Barks worked for the Disney Studio and Western Publishing. There, he created the city of Duckburg and many of its famous residents. These include Scrooge McDuck (1947), Gladstone Gander (1948), the Beagle Boys (1951), The Junior Woodchucks (1951), and Gyro Gearloose (1952). He also created Cornelius Coot (1952), Flintheart Glomgold (1956), John D. Rockerduck (1961), and Magica De Spell (1961).

Animation historian Leonard Maltin called Barks "the most popular and widely read artist-writer in the world". Will Eisner said he was "the Hans Christian Andersen of comic books." Starting in the 1980s, Barks' art was a big inspiration for cartoons like DuckTales and its 2017 remake.

Biography
Influence
Filmography
Notable Stories
Awards
Images for kids
See also

Biography

Carl Barks was born in Merrill, Oregon. His parents were William and Arminta Barks. He had an older brother named Clyde.

Early Life and School

Carl Barks described his childhood as quite lonely. His parents owned a farm, and the closest neighbor was far away. The school was about 2 miles (3.2 km) from his home. He walked there every day.

His school was small, with only about eight to ten students. Barks thought the education he received there was very good. He often said, "Schools were good in those days."

In 1908, his family moved to Midland, Oregon, to be closer to new railway lines. His father started a new farm. Carl and his brother worked long hours there. Carl was impressed by the crowds at Midland's market. He especially noticed the cowboys with their revolvers and funny nicknames.

By 1911, the family moved to Santa Rosa, California. They tried growing vegetables and fruit. But they didn't make as much money as they hoped. This caused financial problems for the family.

In 1913, they moved back to Merrill. Carl was 12 years old. He went back to school and finished in 1916.

Challenges and New Paths

The year 1916 was important for Carl Barks. His mother, Arminta, passed away. Also, his hearing problems became much worse. This made it hard for him to hear his teachers. He later needed a hearing aid.

The nearest high school was 5 miles (8 km) away. Because of his hearing, he decided to stop school. This was a big disappointment for him.

Barks then took many different jobs. He worked as a farmer, woodcutter, and even a cowboy. He learned that people, animals, and machines could be very unpredictable. He also saw how people used humor to deal with tough times. Barks later said this helped him create his characters. He learned to make fun of people's secret wishes and disappointments.

These experiences influenced his famous characters, Walt Disney's Donald Duck and his own Scrooge McDuck. Donald's many jobs and his bad luck were inspired by Barks's own life. Scrooge, on the other hand, faced similar problems but overcame them. He did this through being "tougher than the toughies and smarter than the smarties."

Becoming a Professional Artist

Carl Barks had always loved drawing. He decided to turn this hobby into a job. He practiced by copying drawings from his favorite comic strip artists. He wanted to learn how they used pens, colors, and shading.

Some of his early favorites were Winsor McCay (who drew Little Nemo) and Frederick Burr Opper (who drew Happy Hooligan). At 16, he was mostly self-taught. He took a few drawing lessons by mail, which helped him improve his style.

In December 1918, he moved to San Francisco, California. He worked for a small publishing house and tried to sell his drawings. He had little success at first.

Marriages and Early Career

While working different jobs, he met Pearl Turner. They married in 1921 and had two daughters: Peggy and Dorothy.

In 1923, he tried farming again but soon stopped. He kept trying to sell his drawings. He sold some to Judge magazine. Then he started having success with Calgary Eye-Opener, a magazine that featured cartoons. He was hired as an editor and drew most of the content. He earned $90 a month, which was a good salary then.

Carl and Pearl divorced in 1930. He then moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where Calgary-Eye-Opener had its offices. There, he met Clara Balken, who became his second wife in 1938.

Working for Disney

In November 1935, Carl Barks heard that Walt Disney was looking for artists. He applied and was hired for a try-out in Los Angeles, California. He started at Disney Studios in 1935. This was about a year after Donald Duck first appeared in the cartoon The Wise Little Hen.

Barks first worked as an inbetweener. This meant drawing the frames between the main drawings to make characters move smoothly. He was very good at creating funny situations. By 1937, he moved to the story department. His first story idea was for Modern Inventions.

In 1937, Donald Duck got his own cartoon series. Barks helped create many Donald Duck cartoons. He worked on films like Donald's Nephews (1938), Mr. Duck Steps Out (1940), and The Plastics Inventor (1944).

The Good Duck Artist

Carl Barks left Disney in 1942. He was not happy with the working conditions during wartime. Before leaving, he helped draw a comic book called Donald Duck Finds Pirate Gold. This 64-page story was the first Donald Duck comic made for an American comic book. It was also the first time Donald and his nephews went on a treasure hunt. Barks used this treasure hunting idea in many of his later stories.

After leaving Disney, Barks moved to Hemet, hoping to start a chicken farm. He later said one of his favorite stories was about Donald owning a chicken farm. This story was inspired by Barks's own experiences.

To make money, he asked Western Publishing if they needed artists for Donald Duck comics. They asked him to draw a ten-page story. Barks improved the story, and the editor was so impressed that he asked Barks to write and draw his next story. This became Barks's main job for the next 30 years. He wrote and drew almost all of his stories himself.

His first ten-page story, The Victory Garden, was published in April 1943. This was the first of about 500 stories he would create for Western Publishing. These stories fell into three main types:

One-page funny stories, often about a single joke.
Ten-page Donald Duck stories, which were the main feature in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories. This comic sold millions of copies each month in the 1950s.
Longer adventure stories, usually 24-32 pages. These often featured Donald and his nephews on exciting trips. Later, these stories mostly starred Scrooge McDuck.

Barks's art and storytelling grew a lot during his first ten years in comics. He became a master at creating complex adventures. He surrounded Donald Duck and his nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie with many unique characters. These included Scrooge McDuck, the richest duck in the world, and Gladstone Gander, Donald's super lucky cousin. He also created Gyro Gearloose, the Beagle Boys, Magica De Spell, and The Junior Woodchucks.

Barks's stories often showed a clever, funny side of life. Donald Duck often struggled with everyday problems. Yet, the characters always showed their human side by never giving up. These stories were popular with both kids and adults. Even though Barks didn't travel much, his adventure stories took the duck family all over the world. This allowed Barks to draw amazing backgrounds.

Later Life and Recognition

Carl Barks married Margaret Wynnfred Williams (nicknamed Garé) in 1954. She was an artist too. She helped Barks with his comics by doing the solid black areas and the lettering. Their marriage lasted until her death in 1993.

For a long time, artists who worked for Disney comics were not named. Their stories only had Walt Disney's name. But many readers recognized Barks's unique drawing style. They called him the Good Duck Artist. In the late 1950s, fans finally discovered his real name. After some fans visited him in 1960, his identity became widely known.

Carl Barks retired from drawing comics in 1966. But he continued to write stories for a few more years. From 1970 to 1974, he was the main writer for the Junior Woodchucks comic book. These stories often included themes about protecting the environment.

To earn more money, Barks started painting pictures. He sold them at local art shows. In 1971, Disney gave him permission to paint scenes from his duck stories. Fans loved these paintings, and Barks received many orders.

In 1975, the first Carl Barks oil painting was sold at a comic book convention for $2,500. Prices for his paintings quickly went up. In 1976, Barks and Garé attended their first comic convention in Boston. Fans were very excited to meet him.

Later, Disney stopped Barks from selling prints of his paintings. So, he started painting other subjects, like non-Disney ducks and fantasy scenes. In 1981, Disney changed its mind. They allowed Barks to create a special oil painting for a book called Uncle Scrooge McDuck: His Life and Times. This book collected 11 classic Scrooge stories. It was a very important book and was reviewed in magazines like Time and Newsweek.

Barks also attended the San Diego Comic-Con in 1977 and 1982. Fans waited in long lines to meet him and get his autograph.

In 1983, a company called Another Rainbow Publishing started collecting all of Barks's Disney comic book work. This huge project, called Carl Barks Library, had ten sets and thirty volumes. It showed Barks's original drawings in black and white. Later, a color version was also released.

From 1993 to 1998, Barks's career was managed by the "Carl Barks Studio." During this time, he toured 11 European countries in 1994. He also created two more stories: a Uncle Scrooge story and a Donald Duck story.

Final Years

Carl Barks spent his last years in Grants Pass, Oregon. In 1999, he was diagnosed with a type of cancer. He stopped treatment in June 2000. Carl Barks passed away peacefully in his sleep on August 25, 2000, at the age of 99. He was buried next to his wife, Garé.

Influence

Carl Barks had a huge impact on many people.

An asteroid was named after him in 1983: 2730 Barks. It's a space rock between 10 and 16 kilometers wide.
In a 1983 interview, Barks said his favorite story was "Island in the Sky." In this story, the Ducks travel to an asteroid belt to find a place for Uncle Scrooge to store his money.
Steven Spielberg and George Lucas said that the rolling boulder trap in Raiders of the Lost Ark was inspired by Barks's 1954 Uncle Scrooge adventure "The Seven Cities of Cibola." Lucas and Spielberg also said Barks's space travel stories influenced them.
In Almere, Netherlands, a street was named Carl Barksweg after him. Other streets in the same area are named Donald Ducklaan and Goofystraat.
Japanese cartoonist Osamu Tezuka, who created Astro Boy, was a big fan of Barks. One of Tezuka's first works was influenced by Barks's "Donald Duck Finds Pirate Gold".
In a 1949 Donald Duck comic, Donald raises a sunken yacht by filling it with ping pong balls. In 1965, a man named Karl Krøyer actually used a similar method to lift a sunken ship. He used 27 million tiny inflatable balls.
Don Rosa, another popular Disney artist, considers almost all of Barks's duck stories as the true history of the characters.
When Carl Barks passed away, the news was not widely covered in America. But in Europe, it was a huge story. Newspapers and TV stations quickly shared the sad news. This showed how much he was loved and how influential he was around the world.
The video game Donald Duck: Goin' Quackers is dedicated to Carl Barks.
The first image ever shown on an Apple Macintosh computer was a scan of Carl Barks's Scrooge McDuck.

Filmography

Carl Barks worked as a storyman or story director on many Disney cartoons. Here are a few examples:

Modern Inventions (1937)
Donald's Nephews (1938)
Mr. Duck Steps Out (1940)
Timber (1941)
The Vanishing Private (1942)
The Plastics Inventor (1944)

Notable Stories

Here are some of Carl Barks's most famous comic stories:

"Donald Duck Finds Pirate Gold", Four Color #9, October 1942
"Christmas on Bear Mountain", Four Color #178, December 1947 (first appearance of Scrooge McDuck)
"Lost in the Andes!", Four Color #223, April 1949
"Only a Poor Old Man", Four Color #386 (Uncle Scrooge #1), March 1952
"The Golden Helmet", Four Color #408, July 1952
"Back to the Klondike", Four Color #456 (Uncle Scrooge #2), March 1953
"Tralla La", Uncle Scrooge #6, June 1954
"Island in the Sky", Uncle Scrooge #29, March 1960

Awards

Carl Barks received many awards for his amazing work:

The Shazam Award for Best Writer (Humor Division) in 1970
The Academy of Comic Book Arts Hall of Fame Award in 1973
The Inkpot in 1977 from the San Diego Comic Con
Inducted into the Eisner Awards Hall of Fame in 1987
Inducted into the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1987
Inducted into the William Randolph Hearst Cartoon Hall of Fame
The Walt Disney Company gave him a Duckster award in 1971 and their Disney Legends award in 1991
The Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Award for Favorite Writer in 1996

Images for kids

Omelet opening page
Barks visiting Finland in June 1994