The Complete Carl Barks Disney Library

Fantagraphics launched the Complete Carl Barks Disney Library with Lost in the Andes in December 2011. Since then, they have released two volumes each year. The volumes in this library are numbered chronologically, but they are being released in a different order. For example, the first volume released, Lost in the Andes, is volume 7. Carl Barks Disney comics were published between 1942 and 1966. When the Complete Carl Barks Disney Library is completed, it will have around 30 volumes. Carl Barks is in the Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame, and he is a Disney Legend which makes this library essential reading for Disney Duck Fans as well as all Disney and comic book fans.

The Black Pearls of Tabu Yama

The Complete Carl Barks Disney Library Vol. 19: The Black Pearls of Tabu Yama was released by Fantagraphics in September 2018.

The illustrations that make up the cover of this book are from two different stories. The top image is from The Black Pearls of Tabu Yama. The bottom image is from Forbidden Valley.

This edition of the Carl Barks library is 200 pages, and it includes 14 stories that were published between 1957 and 1958. There are also some supplement sections with a section about Carl Bark’s life as well as behind the scenes pictures and stories about each and every story that is included in this edition. It is full of great and interesting information. I am glad that it is included in this volume and every volume of the Carl Barks Library.

Carl Barks Library Vol. 19 is available in hardcover and Kindle\Comixology versions. A link to buy this book can be found at the end of this review.

The next book in this series Carl Barks Library Vol. 20, The Mines of King Solomon, will be released in April 2019.

Included Stories

There are 14 Disney Duck stories included in The Black Pearls of Tabu Yama:

• The Black Pearls of Tabu Yama

• Forbidden Valley
• Sagmore Springs Hotel
• The Tenderfoot Trap
• Rocket Race Around the World
• Wishing Stone Island
• Donald Duck and the Titanic Ants!
• The Persistent Postman
• The Half-Baked Baker
• Dodging Miss Daisy
• Donald the Milkman
• Battle of the Echoes
• Old Froggie Catapult
• Water Ski Race

The Black Pearls of Tabu Yama is a Christmas adventure with Scrooge, Donald, and the nephews to a deserted island with oysters that contains oysters with giant black pearls in its lagoon. The island has an angry mountain volcano that fumes twice a day. Once they get onto the island, their boat gets stuck. Will they get off the island or will they be permanent residents of the island? Does Santa know where they are to deliver the nephew’s presents? You will have to read to find out.

In Forbidden Valley, a Pickle Hater Bug has invaded Duckburg. When attempts to contain the Pickle Hater Bug fails, it is up to Donald and his nephews to go to South America to bring back some Razor Wasps to eliminate the Pickle Hater Bugs before the entire cucumber and pickle crop has been destroyed. The amazon is full of many dangerous creatures and the Forbidden Valley is even more dangerous as a lost world full of dinosaurs. Someone in Duckburg has special interest that Donald and the nephews fail in their mission, and he follows them every step to make sure that happens.

In Sagmore Springs Hotel, Scrooge gives Donald a job as a hotel manager in an old hotel to see if he can handle the responsibility of a more challenging job than his current job as a potato peeler.

In The Tenderfoot Trap, Scrooge, Donald, and Gladstone compete in a best prospector contest. The winner gets a Uranium Mine. The contest categories include prospecting, building a campfire, and catching a wild burro.

Rocket Race Around the World is a story that is a Donald vs. Gladstone contest of a rocket race around the world in 80 minutes. There will be no spoiler here on which duck wins.

In Wishing Stone Island, Huey, Dewey, and Louie pull an April Fools joke on Donald when they trick him into thinking an island has wishing stones. Donald goes all in and falls for the joke.

Donald Duck and the Titanic Ants! is a story where gigantic ants and a mole attack the billionaire picnic.

In The Persistent Postman, Donald has a job delivering mail for the US Post Office. He does a really great job as a postman until he decides that a helicopter will help him deliver mail faster, and he then gets into a fight with an eagle on his route.

Donald gets a job as a baker in The Half-Baked Baker. There are some jobs that Donald is good or half decent at, but a baker is not one of them…especially when he does not follow the baking directions.

Dodging Miss Daisy shows us just how much Donald hates doing chores when Daisy comes to his house looking for him to help her with the annual spring cleaning of her house. He runs and hide.

Donald has a job delivering milk in Donald the Milkman. Unlike most of Donald’s career paths, he is actually pretty great at his job. Argus McSwine, the same pig villain from the Forbidden Valley story in this volume, is back to try to get Donald fired from his job. As a villain, I like Argus McSwine. He will do anything to win.

Battle of the Echoes is a Donald Duck vs Gladstone Gander story. This time they are competing to see who’s land has the best echoes for Scrooge McDuck. They both have to cheat to try to win, but in the end Scrooge buys both contestants’ land.amde he is the winner.

The next story, Old Froggie Catapult, begins with a hurricane in Duckburg. This of course makes me immediately think of the opening line of the DuckTales theme song: “Life is like a hurricane, here in Duckburg.” A frog takes refuge from the hurricane at Donald’s house. Donald and the nephews adopt the frog, and they name him Catapult. They enter Catapult into frog jumping contests.

In Water Ski Race, Donald learns to water ski for the race which has a prize of being able to dance with the Queen of the Water Festival. Daisy wants Donald to win the race until she sees the beauty of the queen.

Final Thoughts

This is another solid release by Fantagraphics in the Carl Barks Library. You get 14 wonderful Barks stories for a great price. My favorite stories in this batch are The Black Pearls of Tabu Yama and Forbidden Valley. Carl Barks really is the “good duck artist”, and I love his adventure stories the most. The bonus content on Carl Bark’s life and the behind the scenes content on each story really completes this volume for a comprehensive experience. The reader is also treated to comic covers that Carl Barks created. I can’t wait to read through the rest of the volumes in the Carl Barks Library.

As a reminder: It would take a lot of time and money to compile a comic collection that included all of these stories. Anything that takes a lot of time and money would not be approved by Scrooge McDuck.

Thank you to Fantagraphics for allowing us to go through this Disney Duck journey. I feel smarter for increasing my Disney Duck knowledge base by reading this volume.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

You can order the book at the following link:

The Complete Carl Barks Disney Library Vol. 19: The Black Pearls of Tabu Yama

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