Keskustelujen arkisto

I remember very well that day twelve years ago when I sat in my little student digs and the message of Carl Barks' death was reported in the evening news in TV.
I was very sad about it. On the other side, Carl Barks was very old,and I must say that in the years before there was always the "expectation" with me to receive one day the news of his death. In fact, when I dived as child deeper into Donaldism and Barksism in 1989/90 I was happy to hear that my venerated master was, almost 90 years old, still alive, since the last "life signs" I had of Carl Barks was a short biographical sketch in a comic book from 1984 (as nothing about his death was mentioned there). And then the years passed, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994 ... and Barks still lived and lived and was even active in many years, but for me it was good just to know that he still lived.
So one should see the positive side that Carl Barks reached such a high age and that he could realise and enjoy for so many years and decades after his retirement the appreciation for his work that came from millions of people from all over the world. How depressing would it be if he had died only a few years after his retirement in 1966. Or say in 1958 or 1960 when he had created already immortal masterpieces of comic art but had hardly ever got in touch with anybody from the wide world outside there who loved his work!

I find it ironic since the time he died was the time I read Don Rosas "Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck" for the first time and got trully intrest in the duck univers... which at the time I didn't know very well when it came down to Barks stories.

You see, at the time we only got Barks 10-pagers in Poland and never the long stories. Classics like "Only a poor old man", "Back to Klondike", "Lost in the Andes", "Voodoo Hoodo" or "The Mines of King Salomon" where unknow in Poland. I had to learn about those from the internet and some of the first long Barks stories I read where on the intrernet (looking back it was pretty backword to first read "L&T" and then realise all the refrence as I was reading Barks stories, for you guys it was other way around)

Sadly it didn't improve much since then in Poland. We got few long Barks stories in recent years but sitll not that much. Im ordering barks books from Amazone. At this point I think I read about 90% of his duck stories and I'm trully amazed how wonderfull those early duck stories where and It's hard not to see why they where so influencial. Heck, they where great inspiration for myself.

While I grow up without his long stories I remember loving his 10 pagers as a kid and many stuck in my head.

In a way it was fun expiriance to read some of Bars long stories years layter and go "Wow! This is the first story when Scrooge appear" or "Wow! This is the first story when Magica appear" etc. Knowing and loving a characters for years and then having a chance to see how they started is a thrilling expiriance.

What can I add what everybody dosen't know allready? BARKS WAS A GREAT MAN AND STILL IS! He lef a wonderful legacy and seeing how many people got inspired by his work and went into his foodsteps is the best prove I can think of...

I was in Munich, Germany, at the time, and we had the story on the evening news, with famous people talking about Mr. Barks, including his legendary, long-time German translator, Erika Fuchs. As I didn't arrive back to The Netherlands until the 3rd week in September that year, I'm not sure what was done there. But I'd be shocked if Carl's death was NOT reported on the news. I'm sure that Donald Duck Weekly Editor, Thom Roep also was interviewed about Mr. Barks. (Isn't that what happened.....Tim?).
In USA, probably only Walt Disney's death (in 1966) made the evening news.

I really wish I knew who Carl Barks was at the time of his death. I certainly don't remember anything about Carl Barks on the news myself but I probably wouldn't remember it anyway. I wish it was covered though, even though sadly most people wouldn't know who he was which is a shame.
I can't believe that 12 years have gone by though.