Customer Reviews

Uncle Scrooge McDuck: His Life and Times

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I am writing this within just a few days of one of the saddest days any comic book fan could imagine. Carl Barks has just passed on to that great Duckburg in the sky. This book is, without a doubt, the definitive tribute to a man whose genius is just now being recognized by many.

As you read these outstanding adventure stories - and that's what they are - you will come to know the technique of how this extraordinary man transcended the comic art into the realm of high fiction. Each story is written on two levels, sprinkled with humor and illustrated in such a realistic, yet exaggerated manner that allows the reader to identify strongly with the characters.

My personal favorite is "The Second Richest Duck." In this story, Scrooge, Donald and "the boys" have their true personalities come out with a richness found only in the best writings of major adventure authors and is the equal, at least, to the best Indiana Jones or James Bond story.

I read these stories to my son as he was growing up and promised him the book for his future children. My daughters now each have their own families and the stories are now read by me to my grandchildren. Truly, this tome is part of our family heritage.

I own the hardcover, coffee table edition with a signed, numbered print by Barks. I shall never part with the print, and will hand it down to my son in my estate.

Thank you Carl, for many hours of delicious reading pleasure and the exercise of my imagination. If I could rate this book an infinite number of stars, I would.

This is a fantastic book, covering Scrooge McDuck's life from his days in the Klondike to space travel and flying saucers. The book contains many of my favorite stories including "The Second Richest Duck" and "Land of the Pygmy Indians". There is extensive written material about and by Carl Barks giving much insight into the man behind the duck. Finally, there is a checklist of the comics in which Uncle Scrooge appeared from 1952 to 1988. All in all, this book is a "must-have" for any serious fan of Uncle Scrooge.

Carl Barks is a genious. He knows how to make an entertaining comic, unlike some of todays "hottest" comic book artists and writers. He has created, in my opinion, the greatest Disney character ever. Scrooge McDuck. Mr. McDucks adventures in this book take him from the Klondike, to the ocean in search of a box of horseradish, and many other places. Trust me. This stuff is good.

One of the best collections of comic art ever published, this superlative volume not only takes eleven of Carl Barks' best book-length Scrooge adventures, adds an original story and includes his own comments on each, but Peter Ledger's recoloring makes these stories look better than they ever have or ever will. The only flaw with the volume is that it will send you into a frenzy to read more about Scrooge...but thankfully, Gladstone Comics has all the stories still in print. Simply superb.

This book is known in collectors circles as the Celestial Arts book. The hardcover edition of this book was released in 1981, and the first softcover version "First Trade Edition" was not printed until 1987. The year 1987 was important to the publishers as it was the 40th anniversary of the creation of Uncle Scrooge by comic artist Carl Barks. The story "Go Slowly Sands of Time" was written for this book. Very soon after the books fairly limited printing, copies were selling for much more than sold. There is also a leatherbound limited numbered edition with a signed lithograph by Carl Barks. Page 10 of the 1987 softcover edition includes a special drawing by Mr. Barks commissioned just for that release.

The introduction is by George Lucas, a big Carl Barks fan. Next is an essay by the Mike Barrier on the biography of Carl Barks. Next follows with 11 of the most stupendous stories about Uncle Scrooge including Tralla La, Trouble From Long Ago (the horseradish story), Island in the Sky, Micro-Ducks From Outer Space, The Many Faces of Magica De Spell, Land of the Pygmy Indians, The Second-Richest Duck, Land Beneath the Ground!, The Seven Cities of Cibola, The Lemming with the Locket, and Back to the Klondike. It has an interview with Mrs. Barks who did the lettering for Carl in the word balloons. It has a checklist of the original comics. One of the most important facets of this book is that Barks himself wrote comments for each story in the book. The recoloring of the panels in the book give it a very unique look, it was done by Peter Ledger. This is much more than the coloring you would see in a normal comic. For some reason the material used on the softcover tanned very easily non these, so that the finish usually looks older than it is. But it does not seem to affect the inside pages. All in all a wonderful book, I am glad I bought my softcover 23 years ago as I will never be able to afford another.
This book, the Mike Barrier book, and the book Uncle Scrooge in Color are must haves for Carl Barks fans, in addition the the Gladstone Carl Barks Library in Color.

I first heard about this book almost fifteen years ago and then it was out of print. I was thrilled to locate a copy after all these years and the wait has been worth it! Entertaining stories and fun to read about the history of old Uncle Scrooge!

What a find this was when I purchased it as a teen. This large format book (it's pretty heavy)contains 12 full-color classic Carl Bark's stories of the adventures of Uncle Scrooge, printed on thick high quality paper. Includes biographical info on Bark's, plus background on the origin and development of each story provided by Bark's himself. Also includes some restored pages that were lost or deleted from original comics, a checklist of Bark's duck stories, and a never-before published Bark's "storybook" Uncle Scrooge adventure with great watercolor illustrations.