Carl Barks

Carl Barks
Born	March 27, 1901 Merrill, Oregon
Died	August 25, 2000 Grants Pass, Oregon
Spouse	Pearl Turner (1923 - 1929) Clara Balken (1932 - 1951) Garé Williams (1954 - 1991) (her death)
Religion	Atheist

Carl Barks (March 27, 1901 – August 25, 2000), popularly known as The Duck Man and The Good Duck Artist, was a famous American cartoonist who worked for the Disney Studio. Known as the creator of the concept of Uncle Scrooge and the fictional city of Duckburg, Barks is known for the humor, satire, and deep allegories expressed in his famous comics.

Early life[edit]

Barks was born in Merrill, Oregon to William Barks (1858 – 1940) and Arminta Johnson (1860 – 1916). Barks had an older brother named Clyde (1899 – 1983) and lived a self-described lonely childhood, being in a rural area where the nearest school was roughly two miles away from his home. In 1908, Barks and his family moved to Midland, Oregon, where as a seven-year-old he worked long hours.

Barks' mother died in 1916, marking a significant turning point his life, in addition to his deteriorating hearing that will only worsen throughout his life.

Career[edit]

Prior to his famous creation of well-known cartoon characters, Barks tried holding various jobs but to little avail.

Walt Disney's studio[edit]

In November 1935, upon learning that Walt Disney was looking for additional artists to join his studio, Barks applied, being approved and earned a job that paid $20 per week. Barks had to move to Los Angeles, California and worked as an "inbetweener", where he would make drawings that represented an "in-between" of his supervisors' different poses that represented actions. Barks was later transferred in 1936 to the story department, where his ingenuity was effectively utilized.

Having a personality that was reputed to be similar to that of Donald Duck's, Barks quit his job in 1942 at the studio amidst ongoing wartime conditions and the internal air conditioning that caused sinus problems. However, prior to quitting, Barks had worked on a comic story with his colleague Jack Hannah titled Donald Duck Finds Pirate Gold, which would be published in October that year as the first Donald Duck comic book.

Relocation[edit]

Barks re-located to the San Jacinto area after quitting from the studio, where he set hopes on starting a chicken farm.

Western Publishing[edit]

Since the company Western Publishing had published his co-authored story Donald Duck Finds Pirate Gold, Barks sought work there and was hired to work on additional comic illustrations for scripts. Here, his work in humorous comics thrived as he continued to create more characters including Donald Duck's nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie in addition to Donald's incomprehensibly lucky cousin Gladstone Gander, the villain brothers known as The Beagle Brothers, and Scrooge McDuck's rival Flintheart Glomgold. He worked until 1967, when he retired but still sent ideas to Western Publishing for others to illustrate.

External links[edit]

• Carl Barks Biography
• Carl Barks | Disney Wiki
• Carl Barks | Scrooge McDuck Wiki