Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge McDuck: His Life & Times

As a small child, my family did not have much, but I was made curious because of it. My only books were comic books on a rack at the local soda shop, where my father would sit me and put a Donald Duck/Uncle Scrooge comic in my hands. From the wonderful stories, especially the Scrooge McDuck stories, I gained a thirst for history and to seek knowledge in far reaches of the world. These comic books were a guide for me, and by which I would push myself through school and be able to see the world. I wanted to do what Uncle Scrooge, Donald, and the Nephews did - and I did, by pursuing a career in an industry that gave me the opportunity to visit such places of legend. My objective was not to gain financial security, but to go where Scrooge and Donald had taken me in my dreams. I owe the Ducks, Mr. Barks, and the Disney folks a lot. As one other reviewer has written, the Scrooge stories were lessons in history and in hard work and perseverance. It taught that history was fascinating, the world was a grand place full of adventure, and that teamwork and knowledge could answer any challenge. Such teachings would go a long way today, in a time of shallow personal gratification. My Father and the Ducks/Barks/Disney were my mentors. I absolutely, without reservations, recommend this beautiful book and its contained stories to all young people.

This review primarily addresses the first edition with the limited edition lithograph. "Uncle Scrooge McDuck: His Life and Times" was a landmark. Before this, Uncle Scrooge, Donald Duck, and the rest of the Disney Duck clan cavorted through newsprint pages of varying quality, with the occasional appearance in special editions (such as the "Best of" quartet published by Western Pubs in the mid-'70s) and deluxe but flawed editions of European origin. The "Life and Times" volume was the brainchild of some highly-placed fans, Gary Kurtz foremost; it was intended to give a select batch of stories some long-overdue respect and lavish treatment while at the same time paying tribute to their author, Carl Barks.When this volume was published in 1982, it marked the first appearance of a new Disney Duck painting by Barks since the Disney-imposed moratorium in the mid-'70s. It debuted the first completely restored printing of "Back to the Klondike" as well as a semi-restored version of "Land Beneath the Ground." It also marked the first appearance of a new Barks story, "Go Slowly, Sands of Time," in any format. Although two contemporaneous fanzines published or reprinted several interviews with Barks, the long excerpts from the Edward Summer interview were the first lengthy discussions with Barks that many fans had read, and it may be the closest we'll get to the Barks interview that Summer reportedly filmed.So, is it worth spending $2000 or so for the first edition? Well, that first edition is an artifact, a remnant of a place in time, a breakthrough moment. It is truly the first complete edition of "Back to the Klondike," arguably the best Uncle Scrooge story Barks ever wrote. However, the later reprints of this volume have nearly identical content. If you dislike Peter Ledger's sometimes eccentric coloring, you won't like it any better in the first edition. The reprinted volume includes the "Wanderers of Wonderlands" painting, but not in the signed/numbered version. The true heart of this book are the stories themselves and Barks' commentary. This includes the final "Go Slowly, Sands of Time." Although it was later revised by others into standard comic book format, it works best in the storybook format presented here with the artist's accompanying watercolor illustrations.The first edition is a treasure for the rare book room, but the stories are what matters. Carl's wife, Gare', had hoped the reprint would be kept in print indefinitely and was upset when another Disney moratorium made it into another collector's item. It may not be an altogether perfect presentation, but it would be difficult to find another put together with so much affection and respect.

This book is known in collectors circles as the Celestial Arts book. At 13 inches tall, 4.5 pounds for the softcover edition, and 1.25 inches thick, this is a massive book. The hardcover edition of this book was released in 1981, and the first softcover version "First Trade Edition" was not printed until 1987. The year 1987 was important to the publishers as it was the 40th anniversary of the creation of Uncle Scrooge by comic artist Carl Barks. The story "Go Slowly Sands of Time" was written for this book. Very soon after the books fairly limited printing, copies were selling for $400 back in the late 1980's. The original hardcover can sell for $1,000.Page 10 of the 1987 includes a special drawing by Mr. Barks commissioned just for this release. The introduction is by George Lucas, a big Carl Barks fan. Next is an essay by the Mike Barrier on the biography of Carl Barks. Next follows with 11 of the most stupendous stories about Uncle Scrooge including Tralla La, Trouble From Long Ago (the horseradish story), Island in the Sky, Micro-Ducks From Outer Space, The Many Faces of Magica De Spell, Land of the Pygmy Indians, The Second-Richest Duck, Land Beneath the Ground!, The Seven Cities of Cibola, The Lemming with the Locket, and Back to the Klondike. It has an interview with Mrs. Barks who did the lettering for Carl in the word balloons. It has a checklist of the original comics. One of the most important facets of this book is that Barks himself wrote comments for each story in the book. The recoloring of the panels in the book give it a very unique look, it was done by Peter Ledger. This is much more than the coloring you would see in a normal comic. For some reason the material used on the softcover tanned very easily non these, so that the finish usually looks older than it is. But it does not seem to affect the inside pages. All in all a wonderful book, I am glad I bought mine 23 years ago when it was published as know I will never be able to afford another.