Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge: "Islands In The Sky" The Complete Carl Barks Disne (WALT DISNEY UNCLE SCROOGE HC)

I now count 20 books in the Complete Carl Barks collection, on my shelf, with more to come. Unless I’m mistaken, that’s 20 books and 20 five-star reviews. We are now in the early 1960’s but you might not know it from the stories because Barks shies so far away from pop culture or anything topical. One could argue that Barks was completely out of touch with modern society, and that may be true, but it also helps his stories feel timeless.“Island in the Sky” is one of the strangest Barks stories ever. Barks is very consistent in the world that the ducks live but in this one story Duckburg is shown as highly futuristic. It’s not the future, it’s just that Duckburg is inexplicably advanced with flying buses and rockets. It’s almost as if Barks wanted to take the comic in a whole new direction but abandoned the idea after one story. I generally am not a huge fan of Barks rare sci-fi stories but this one was pretty good up until Scrooge and crew come across a civilization of miniature space native Americans.As the years go on, Barks continues to reuse and refine plots. “Yoiks! The Fox!” is a near carbon copy of an earlier story. This reuse of stories is mentioned more and more in the Story Notes section, but never as a complaint. Barks loved to tweak and refine ideas and like a veteran comedian with a proven comedy set he would return to plots that were winners. I really don’t recall a single dud in this volume. The final story, The Pied Piper of Duckburg, was actually started by Carl Barks but completed by Don Rosa in 1990.Much of the second half of the book is all Gyro Gearloose. I can’t think of a duck character that Barks created that I didn’t like, but Gearloose is a particular fan favorite. His light bulb headed “helper” has always been around, but it feels like Barks is giving him an even larger role than in the past. Helper acts more like a guardian angel than an assistant. I really enjoy how Barks will mix it up with the Ducks including a great story pairing Gyro and Grandma Duck.As always, I give this volume 5 stars. Carl Barks may be the most consistent cartoonist in history, and this is yet another great collection. I continue to recommend each volume.

carl barks....what can I say? a favorite from my childhood

Bought every hard cover book in this series over the years for my granddaughter. Both she and I love the great stories and colorful illustrations, and above all, Uncle Scrooge.

This Uncle Scrooge collection takes us to the very early 60’s. I read the entire book in one setting. However, most of the stories contained seemed familiar to me as I read them. It turns out that Carl Barks started to recycle plot lines in this era. However, he changed details just enough to make the stories entertaining.My only regret in this purchase is that I wish Fantagraphics would release more than two volumes a year. By my estimation, they should have 10-12 more volumes to publish before the series is completed.

These are timeless.

I suppose there are people who do not know what a genius Carl Barks was. I pity the fools. One of the most influential Disney storytellers of all time. His simple tales will stand the test of time. He wrote for children of all ages.

The previous volume, with the non-Barks-written Daisy Duck's Diary stories, was a bit of a letdown. This volume, though is mostly Uncle Scrooge and Gyro Gearloose stories, where Barks is in his element. I read these stories as a kid just learning to read, and they're like seeing old friends again.

Carl Barks, Full color comics, what not to like, only complaint is they should have numbers to identify the editions easier. Vol 1, Vol2, etc.... makes it easier to collect them all!otherwise fantastic incredible comic book art, from a true master. all collected in a nice hardbound book, that fits nicely on the bookshelf when not reading.5 Stars!