"The Secret Safari"

 I kind of think these mid-fifties-early-sixties Strobl joints in Donald Duck may, pound for pound, be the best NBW stories out there.  Whaddaya think?  "Safari from Komba Tomba," "The Mysterious Crewless Ship," "The Charge at Dawn," "Rattled Railroader," "Adventure at Bomb Bird Island"--what is not to like?  Well, obviously, there are SOME things not to like.  But I think both Gregory and Fallberg put in good work, and in general, with Barks and these guys, it was probably about as good as Western was going to get.  So now, "The Secret Safari," from 1959.  Is it likewise a minor classic?  Let's find out, shall we?

The one thing I really appreciate is that the inducks image has the same stamp as this does, meaning the scans I have are the same as theirs.  Hey, is there a super-secret inducks login that only movers and shakers have access to where you can see all the images in full size?  If so, how 'bout you guys let me in on that?  Given my ceaseless toils in the Disney mines, it seems only fair.  I promise to never use my powers for evil.Read more »

"The Big Bin on Killmotor Hill"

 I was just casting about for a random Barks ten-pager to do and, oh look, I stumbled upon a pivotal story.  So, well, let's do it.  Why not?

Of course, the big thing about this story--and we see it right out of the gate--is: the Money Bin.  This story appeared just a little while before "Only a Poor Old Man," and though I certainly don't KNOW the chronology here, it certainly feels as though Barks knew he was going to be starting a new line for which he was working some things out in advance.  One notable thing about "Poor Old Man" is that we don't really get a good look at the outside of the Bin, so this is important in that regard--though it didn't tend to look quite so much like a giant safe in later stories as it does here.

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"The Phantom of Notre Duck"

 Here's this.  Perhaps you have heard of it.  It's a fairly atypical Barks story, so let's get to it.

Now, you might say, this is actually kind of typical for this era of Barks, innit?  The one that also gave us "Queen of the Wild Dog Pack," "The Loony Lunar Gold Rush," "Intergalactic Postman," et al.  And you're not wrong.  There's all kinds of goofy wordplay here, eg, of which "a swingin' swingin' door" is merely the tip of the iceburg.  And generally, it's certainly goofy enough.  But also...look, it's kind of weird that I'm writing this like this, as though I'm trying to keep things quiet until I can do my big reveal.  I doubt anyone reading this hasn't also read it.  But we'll get into stuff as it comes up, kay?  Seems fair.Read more »

"A Lesson of Luck" and "Fun Time"

I was inspired by Achille Talon's comment last week, talking about Donald and Daisy's relationship.  As we are all aware, depictions thereof are very frequently marred by tired old gender politics, but, as Achille says, "I like to think there's a real camaraderie and intimacy to the pair (indeed, perhaps one that they would realise is more platonic than romantic if not for for the force of mid-20th-century social conformism)."  Is this making things up out of whole cloth?  Maybe, but I want to believe it too.

So can we find some other stories that we might think are okay in this regard? I wondered.  And I thought back to a little story called "The Vat Man" that I covered a few years back.  It's a late seventies Bob Gregory story, so your expectations might not exactly have been sky-high, but it was kind of charming in its own way, and not depressingly regressive.  So I decided to return to that well, and here we have a few more Daisy and Donald Gregory stories that I find to be Not Too Bad.  I mean, obviously you can't expect TOO much from Gregory material of this era, but...well, let's check 'em out!

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