The second volume of Fantagraphics reprinting of Carl Barks s classic Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge work, like last spring s Uncle Scrooge: Only a Poor Old Man, focuses on the early 1950s, universally considered one of Barks s very peak periods. Originally published in 1951, A Christmas for Shacktown is one of Barks s masterpieces: A rare 32-pager that stays within the confines of Duckburg, featuring a storyline in which the Duck family works hard to raise money to throw a Christmas party for the poor children of the city s slums (depicted by Barks with surprisingly Dickensian grittiness), and climaxing in one of the most memorable images Barks ever created, the terrifying bottomless pit that swallows up all of Scrooge s money. But there s lots more gold to be found in this volume (literally), which features both the The Golden Helmet (a quest off the coast of Labrador for a relic that might grant the finder ownership of America, reducing more than one cast member to a state of Gollum-like covetousness) while The Gilded Man features a hunt for a rare stamp in South America two more of Barks s thrilling full-length adventure stories. But that s less than half the volume This volume also features ten of Barks s smart and funny 10-pagers, including a double whammy of yarns co-starring Donald s insufferable cousin ( Gladstone s Usual Very Good Year and Gladstone s Terrible Secret ), as well as another nine of Barks s rarely seen one-page Duck gags all painstakingly recolored to match the original coloring as exactly as possible, and supplemented with an extensive series of notes and behind-the-scenes essays by the foremost Duck experts in the world.

Scrooge McDuck is now such a fixture in the Disney universe that few remember Carl Barks had been writing and drawing Donald Duck stories for half a decade before he cooked up the miserly multiplujillionaire for what he thought would be a one-time Christmas yarn involving Donald, the nephews, Scrooge in a bearskin, and (inevitably) a couple of real bears. Christmas on Bear Mountain is one of Barks s funniest holiday stories and a true landmark in comics history, and offers a fascinating look at a rough-edged, genuinely nasty character whom Barks would soon soften... Scrooge aside, there s plenty of fun to be had in this volume. In Volcano Valley Donald and the Nephews end up stuck in Volcania, a south-of-the-border country inhabited by sombrero-wearing, siesta-addicted Volcanians. Other long-form adventures include the self-explanatory Adventure Down Under, as well as one of Barks s most atmospheric thrillers, the West Indies-based Ghost of the Grotto, which includes a lovely night-time sequence drawn in Barks s trademark silhouettes and a giantoctopus- vs.-hot-chili-peppers throwdown that climaxes in an explosive splash panel. The book is rounded off with seven of Barks s hilarious 10-pagers, and as with the previous volumes, Walt Disney s Donald Duck: Christmas on Bear Mountain has been scanned from crisp vintage art and meticulously colored to match the original printing s warm, simple hues, and features abundant critical and historical notes penned by some of duckdom s finest experts. We are also offering a boxed set that combines the newWalt Disney s Donald Duck: Christmas on Bear Mountain with the 2012 release Walt Disney s Donald Duck: A Christmas for Shacktown for a great Christmas-themed box set (see following page)."

Uncle Scrooge sends Donald and the nephews to the jungle; the nephews solve a Western ghost mystery; and there are 10,000 hungry baby turkeys to deliver.

Donald and his nephews visit an Old West ghost town that was suddenly abandoned when the sheriff vanished while in hot pursuit of a passel of outlaws. Now the remains of the town are haunted ― and it’s up to the plucky nephews to solve the mystery of “The Ghost Sheriff of Last Gasp” before it’s too late! Then, Donald is made stationmaster for a tiny out-of-the-way railroad station, but his first delivery is 10,000 baby turkeys ― and they’re all hungry! And when the Coast Guard announces it found the wreck of a steamship that sank with Uncle Scrooge’s gold on board, the race is on to recover it ahead of Scrooge’s rivals. Scrooge hustles Donald and the nephews into his private submarine ― but it’s Christmas Eve, and the boys are afraid Santa won’t be able to find them to deliver their presents. The boys appeal to Uncle Scrooge, but ― well, his name is Scrooge.

Plus lots more stories with Barks favorites, including the wacky inventor Gyro Gearloose, the irritatingly lucky Gladstone Gander, and the ever-glamorous and sensible Daisy Duck. Carl Barks delivers another superb collection of outrageous hijinks, preposterous situations, and all-around cartooning brilliance.

Fantagraphics turns their eye to Barks' another great protagonist: the miserly, excessively wealthy Scrooge McDuck, whose giant money bin, lucky dime, and constant wrangles with his nemeses the Beagle Boys are well-known to, and beloved by, young and old.

Uncle Scrooge takes Donald and the nephews on a perilous trek in search of the fabled seven cities of gold This is the Scrooge story famous for providing Steven Spielberg and George Lucas with inspiration for parts of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Speaking of gold and movies, James Bond fans might recognize in The Mysterious Stone Ray a gimmick that was later used in Goldfinger Uncle Scrooge s pores fill with gold dust from his money bin. It makes him ill so he goes on vacation, which turns into a rescue mission for a sailor stranded on an island with some very mysterious baddies. Also, Scrooge decides to run for Treasurer of Duckburg, but it seems the only way to get votes is to spend a lot of money. (Sound familiar?) And you know what Uncle Scrooge thinks of that Carl Barks delivers another superb collection of clever plot twists, laughout- loud comedy, and all-around cartooning brilliance."

With this volume, The Complete Carl Barks Disney Library loops back to Barks s earlier days, collecting the entirety of Barks s (astounding) 1948 output. The title story, The Old Castle s Secret, is notable not just for being the first full-length 32-page adventure instigated by Scrooge McDuck (in his second-ever appearance), but for featuring some of Barks s spookiest, lushest settings in old Clan McDuck castle of Dismal Downs. The other long story, The Sheriff of Bullet Valley, plunks Donald and the nephews in the Wild West, with Donald as an overconfident deputy having to deal with some high-tech rustlers. The book also includes the less-known In Darkest Africa, originally published in a giveaway and unreleased for decades. This volume also features an even 10 of Barks s dynamic Walt Disney s Comics and Stories 10-pagers, including Wintertime Wager (the first appearance of a not-yet-lucky-but-still-obnoxious Gladstone Gander); Spoil the Rod (in which the exquisitely named educational professor Pulpheart Clabberhead is brought in to help tame the nephews); Rocket Race to the Moon (a rare full-on adventure interplanetary, no less in the short form); Gladstone Returns and Links Highjinks (two more Gladstone yarns); and five more stories... plus a half-dozen hilarious one-page gags. Of course, once again all the stories have been shot from crisp originals, then re-colored (and printed) to match, for the first time since their original release over 60 years ago, the colorful yet soft hues of the originals and of course the book is rounded off with essays about Barks, the Ducks, and these specific stories by Barks experts from all over the world.