Uncle Scrooge: The Lost Crown of Genghis Khan

Uncle Scrooge: The Lost Crown of Genghis Khan by Carl Barks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Uncle Scrooge: The Lost Crown of Genghis Khan is a collection of Uncle Scrooge tales written and drawn by Carl Barks.

My dive into Carl Barks' work continues thanks to Fantagraphics' Carl Barks Library. The stories within range in size from one page gag strips to pages that would have encompassed an entire 32 page comic.

In this volume, Scrooge searches for the lost crown of Genghis Khan, encounters an underground civilization, goes treasure hunting, spends a trillion dollars on the only known sample of a new element, goes on a riverboat race against the Beagle Boys, and meets his doppelganger Flintheart Glomgold, the only duck in the world as rich/cheap as him.

So much of what would come later in Ducktales is straight from the imagination of Carl Barks. The Terry Fermies in this volume appeared in at least one episode of Ducktales and Flintheart Glomgold was Scrooge's arch-nemesis in that cartoon as well. The Beagle Boys, Gyro Gearloose, and the infamous Money Bin were also spawned by Barks.

This hardcover volume by Fantagraphics will last for a very long time. It's sturdy and the binding is heavy duty. The cover has enough flash to grab the eye and the interior color seems faithful to the originals. Bark's art continues to inspire new generations of Duck-artists with its clean lines and attention to detail. Barks doesn't go nuts with panel sizes and configurations, instead simply crafting stories in an eight panel grid.

The one page gag stories are good for a grin, mostly at the expense of Scrooge's tremendous cheapness. You don't get to be the richest duck in the world by throwing money away, after all. The longer tales are adventures akin to Indiana Jones, if he was the richest and cheapest duck in the world. The stories are written with children in mind but are clever enough for adults to enjoy.

With Uncle Scrooge: The Lost Crown of Genghis Khan, Fantagraphics shows once again why they get the lion's share of my comic book money. Four out of five stars.

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