Carl Barks
Carl Barks (March 27, 1901 – August 25, 2000) was an American cartoonist, author, and painter. He is best known for his work in Disney comic books, as the writer and artist of the first Donald Duck stories and as the creator of Scrooge McDuck. He worked anonymously until late in his career; fans dubbed him The Duck Man and The Good Duck Artist. In 1987, Barks was one of the three inaugural inductees of the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame.
| Carl Barks | |
|---|---|
Barks in 1982 | |
| Born | March 27, 1901 Near Merrill, Oregon, U.S. |
| Died | August 25, 2000 (aged 99) Grants Pass, Oregon, U.S. |
| Area(s) | Writer, Penciller, Artist, Inker |
Notable works | Scrooge McDuck, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, Daisy Duck, Gyro Gearloose, Gladstone Gander, The Junior Woodchucks, Beagle Boys, Flintheart Glomgold, Magica De Spell, Neighbor J. Jones, Glittering Goldie, Cornelius Coot, John D. Rockerduck Oil paintings of his duck characters |
| Spouse(s) | Pearl Turner
(m. 1923; div. 1929)Clara Balken
(m. 1932; div. 1951)Garé Williams
(m. 1954; died 1993) |
| Children | 2 |
| Signature | |
Barks worked for the Disney Studio and Western Publishing where he created Duckburg and many of its inhabitants, such as Scrooge McDuck (1947), Gladstone Gander (1948), the Beagle Boys (1951), The Junior Woodchucks (1951), Gyro Gearloose (1952), Cornelius Coot (1952), Flintheart Glomgold (1956), John D. Rockerduck (1961) and Magica De Spell (1961).
He has been named by animation historian Leonard Maltin as "the most popular and widely read artist-writer in the world". Will Eisner called him "the Hans Christian Andersen of comic books." Beginning especially in the 1980s, Barks' artistic contributions would be a primary source for animated adaptations such as DuckTales and its 2017 remake.