Walt Disney's Donald Duck: "Trick Or Treat" (WALT DISNEY DONALD DUCK HC)

It's almost Halloween and what a great time for a Halloween themed collection of Carl Barks comics. I had a theory that Fantagraphics was leading with the best material first including many of the stories considered the top by experts but here we are with the 10th released volume and this may be my favorite yet. For those who love high adventure you may be disappointed because most of the stories stay in Duckburgh but after 10 years of creating Donald Duck the legendary Carl Barks had really hit his stride. I'm also a big fan of holiday stories and readers get Halloween stories, a Thanksgiving story, a Christmas story and even an Easter story.Disney comic fans are being absolutely spoiled. We now have Carl Barks entire library being collected as well as Floyd Gottfredson's Mickey Mouse and starting a month or so ago Al Taliaferro Donald Duck which turned out to be much better than I expected. Fantagraphics always does a marvelous job of presenting Carl Barks brilliant material with cleaned up images and generally interesting story analysis. I say generally because a lot of the analysis has become little more than a plot summary which doesn't really make sense to include since the stories are right there in the book. There are bits of fascinating info but Fantagraphics may be getting a little lazy with the story analysis.Trick or Treat (32 pages) - Nov 1952Donald spoils his nephews Halloween with a rather sadistic trick so Witch Hazel helps the boys extract revenge. Donald, however, is no pushover. This may be the most censored Barks story yet if you don't count the stories that were pulled entirely. Fantagraphics added back 9 pages that were not published in the original comic book. I really enjoyed this one and found it more entertaining than a lot of the Carl Barks stories that are held in higher regard by experts.Hobblin' Goblins (9 pages) - Nov 1952One of the first appearances by a surprisingly portly Gyro Gearloose. The scatterbrained inventor loans the boys a device to foil the schemes of goblins but it fails in every way possible. Another fun story with some hilarious implied violence at the end. Don't mess with Huey, Dewey and Louis.The Hypno-Gun (10 pages) - Oct 1952The nephews are playing with a toy gun containing a spinning disk that theoretically hypnotizes people but is actually harmless. Donald takes away the toy thinking it could be dangerous but then decides to use it on Uncle Scrooge to get some money.Yet another very creative and humorous story. This volume is on a roll.Omelet (10 pages) - Nov 1952Donald, his nephews and Daisy are out driving when they come to a town called Omelet prompting everyone except Daisy to quickly don disguises to hide their identities. Donald relates the tale to Daisy of why none of them can show their faces in this small town of 30 people. I won't give away the plot other than to mention that in the story Donald moves into a town called Pleasant Valley and when he leaves it's called Omelet. Oh, and the story involves 10,000 chickens.A Charitable Chore (10 pages) - Dec 1952Poor Donald, even when he tries to do good it blows up in his face. With Thanksgiving approaching Donald signs up to include a "hungry soul" in his Thanksgiving dinner only to find out he's been assigned Gladstone Gander. Now imagine the funniest way in which the scenario could play out and multiply it times five.Turkey With All the Schemings (10 pages) - Jan 1953After preparing every detail of Christmas, Donald discovers he has forgotten the Christmas Turkey. Rather than resign himself to a dinner of beans Donald decides to trick Uncle Scrooge into buying him an expensive dinner. There is an absolutely hilarious scene where Donald, masquerading as a billionaire with a business proposal, and Uncle Scrooge are both trying to stick the other with a bill for less than $10. Classic.Flip Decision (10 pages) - Feb 1953Donald becomes an adherent to flipism which means he now makes all his decisions with the binary toss of a coin. The icing on the cake is a classic Barks punchline. This is the only story in this collection to have its own entry in Wikipedia. It's also the first appearance of Daisy Duck's three nieces April, May, and June.My Lucky Valentine (10 pages) - Mar 1953Donald takes a job as a mailman but his first day on the job is in a torrential blizzard. As if fighting the elements weren't enough one of the letters he's given to deliver is a Valentines day letter to Daisy.... FROM GLADSTONE! Oh this is too much so Donald tosses the letter into the gusting wind. However, he has a change of heart when he sees a statue dedicated to the mailman and spends the rest of the comic fighting the weather to retrieve the letter. Barks really shows his artistic skills with some fantastic drawings of a brutal snowstorm. It brought me back to winters in Ohio.The Easter Election (10 pages) - April 1953Donald decides he wants to run for Grand Marshall of the Easter parade but OH NO his opposition is Gladstone Gander. Rather than relying on his inhuman luck Gander simply resorts to dirty tricks. In the end even when Gladstone loses he wins.The Talking Dog (10 pages) - May 1953Donald wants to get on a game show that asks ridiculously easy questions but to do so he must do something noteworthy (like swim a channel holding a lighted candle between his teeth). In a book of spectacular stories this is not one of the better ones.Worm Weary (10 pages) - June 1953Donald decides that the key to fishing is well trained worms (and in this case he appears to be correct). Gyro Gearloose supplies him with worms SO well trained they simply march into the water and pull the fish out. Things get completely out of hand and the local fisherman decide to tar and feather Donald which is hilarious given that he is... y'know... a duck.Much Ado About Quackly Hall (10 pages) - July 1953Apparently now working as a real estate agent, Donald is trying to sell an older home on some mediocre land but it turns out his nephews are using it as a club house. When an interested buyer comes the boys work to sabotage the deal. This one has some issues. For one thing Donald acts completely out of character and remains eerily calm as everything that could go wrong in the sale goes wrong. Also the ending is very trite and un-Barksian. Apparently Carl Barks WAS human. I always read the story summary after I write my own and the summary had the exact same issues I had. This was the most criticized story in the book.Some Heir Over the Rainbow (10 pages) - Aug 1953Scrooge McDuck comes up with a bizarre scheme to test his relatives in determining which heir or heirs he will leave his fortune. He deposits 3 bags of $1000 each at the end of rainbows and then convinces Donald, Gladstone and Donald's nephews to search for the money. Then he monitors how each handles the money. If you're scratching your head over the plot it's because it's below Barks normal standards.The Master Rainmaker (10 pages) - Sep 1953Donald is now working is a rainmaker but not just any rainmaker but an unbelievably precise rainmaker. With a modified plane he can shape and sculpted clouds to a buyers exact dimensions and cause rain to fall in exact quantities. I'm actually understating how well his rainmaking works. When Daisy goes on a date with Gladstone Donald decides to use his rainmaking skills to ruin their picnic. This is a story that goes against Donald's characterization as a lovable loser. It's becoming clear that the first two thirds of this volume had the better stories.The Money Stairs (10 pages) - Oct 1953Uncle Scrooge and Donald get into a heated competition when Donald claims there are things he can to better despite Scrooge's vast wealth. The compete to get to the top of a mountain outside Duckburgh with Donald relying on his youth to get to the top first but Scrooge's competitiveness reaches a pathological level. The story concludes with one of the classic lazy tropes of storytelling but this is one of the few times it actually worked for me. It certainly explained a lot of the insanity of the story.Bee Bumbles (10 pages) - Nov 1953Beset by bees within his own house, Donald discovers someone has left a box of bees on his front walkway. He dons a beekeepers outfit and marches through town intending to deposit the box in the local dump. What a great way to close out this volume. Donald walking though town with a box of angry bees creating mayhem where he goes is hilarious. This is one of my favorite stories in this collection and it's awesome to end on a high note.

This included my favorite Trick or Treat story. This was the full lenght one, not the short version that I had read before. The colors in this book were awesome. I had read the hupno gun before but it was still hilarious. Also, Gyro Gearloose was presented in this book. He was not so sophisticated inventor as he is in more recent graphic novels. He was more of a crazy inventor trying to invent impossible and impractical items.Flipism is a story that makes fun of our world and its many gurus and new trends that everybody likes to follow regardless of how crazy they are.The Easter parade story is one of the best Donald stories: he is determined to help with the Easter parade and finds out that his worst enemy is his cousin. Gladstone decides to use dirty tricks to win whereas Donald is seen as a victim with his eternal bad luck.

How often have you had a movie spoiled by a know-it-all who goes into great detail about the plot, characterization and conclusion of a film? You can listen to almost any host of TCM on any day and have a film ruined for you. The same obtains in comics analysis. Here we have an excellent collection of stories written and drawn by an exceptional writer/artist. But. Too many people simply would not keep their hands off the material. Someone has edited out the original publisher’s name and emblem from each cover reprinted here. Another someone has erased the publisher’s code number from the splash page of each story that initially led a comic book. Not all of the interference is subtraction. Some of the untitled Carl Barks stories now have titles. And some editing includes revision of the original text. Here is an example from the splash page of a story from 1953 about Donald’s schemes to become a contestant on a quiz show. A contestant is asked this question: “How many states in the 50 states?” Does the editor not know the number of states in 1953? Or does he? Thank God the Story Notes is in the end of this good book instead of the beginning. Because. The Story Notes give away the plot, theme and/or developments and surprises in each of the covers, stories and features here. Here is a question for the publisher: What is the purpose in editing, correcting, revising this material? To what end? Does any of this enhance the work of Carl Barks?

Carl Barks was a master cartoonist and teller of tales. I never read a Barks story with Barks art that was a dud. As Halloween tales go this has got to be one of the very best.. Originally censors cut the most interesting parts of the story out. It was good as originally published; but now the story is far better with the "censored" sections restored. The censor must have been a nutcase. There is nothing in Carl Barks work that should ever be censored. Everything Barks drew or wrote is first class and always draws the most Highly Recommended classification.

I bought this as a gift, but succumbed to reading it before giving it. Being of an age to have benefited from the great 10 cent comic books of old, I find these stories and artwork up to the standards of that time, and still a lot of fun. Comics had stronger stories then, undiluted humor. Are real comic books still around? Wonder if my brother will loan me some of his??

Carl Barks shaped my childhood ideal of humor. Of course his artwork and the ducks are entertaining, but their language, expressions and personalities are so perfect, so funny. Somehow, Barks gave these drawings actual personalities. It has been about 60 years since I first read these stories, and they are still vivid for me, especially the Scrooge adventures and the Holiday offerings like "Trick or Treat". I am slowly collecting these reprints as they are published, and am so appreciative to the publishers for making these available.

purchased as a christmas gift for my brother. we had these comics a kids. he loved it.

Carl Barks' work as the greatest Donald Duck cartoonist comes to it's best in this luxury hard-cover print of the original series. The format is great, the cover notes provide insight without being intrusive and it gives great pleasure to Donald lovers of all ages to read these classic stories. Whether you are revisiting them, or this is the first time, this book presents the stories in a most attractive way.

If you love the Duck family these are just essential. I can't beliece i just herd about these 2 series, from Carl and Don. Fortunetly they were all still in stock. Buy them!

Disney on its best with the GREAT Carl Barks

Bought as a gift. Lovely looking quality book. The recipient loved it.

Oltre alla storia principale, famosa per Halloween, il libro contiene una serie di avventure da 10 pagine tra le migliori di sempre: basti ricordare il paese di Frittata, il flippismo, Paperino postino, mago della pioggia e altre. Visto che le edizioni in italiano si sono fermate al Vol. 2, questi volumi costituiscono la miglior collezione in originale delle storie di Carl Barks disponibili sul mercato.