| "The Ghost of the Grotto" | |
|---|---|
 Original cover by Carl Buettner | |
| Story code | W OS 159-01 |
| Story | Carl Barks |
| Ink | Carl Barks |
| Date | August 1947 |
| Pages | 26 |
| Layout | 4 rows per page |
| Appearances | Donald Duck Huey, Dewey and Louie |
| First publication | Four Color #159 |
"The Ghost of the Grotto" is a 26-page Disney comics story written, drawn, and lettered by Carl Barks. It was first published in Donald Duck Four Color #159 (August 1947).
Donald Duck and his nephews have rented a boat in order to collect seaweed in the West Indies for money. When they get back on land in order to wait out the low tide so they can collect seaweed inside a grotto, the four hear that "tonight is the night". It turns out that tonight is the night when the ghost of the grotto kidnaps a little boy. With the ducks luck, Dewey is the one to be kidnapped. Now the ducks are faced with the task of saving Dewey and not only have to face the kidnapper, but an octopus guarding a giant ship. The ducks manage to get rid of the octopus by using a ton of pepper, while collecting a ton of seaweed in the process. Later, Donald uses a mouse named Montmorency to disarm the kidnapper. He is revealed to be the latest guardian of the treasure of Sir Francis Drake while Dewey was expected to succeed him. The story ends with the guardian being allowed to keep the treasure and spend it as he sees fit, which to him, is on fancy clothing and hamburgers.
In a 1974 interview with Michael Barrier, Barks said, "I can remember the first idea I had on that was just trying to figure out something Donald could do. I thought of him sailing boats and came up with a potential ten pages of gathering seaweed, and selling this kelp, which would give me a lot of gags with boats. Like I told you before, I think of a scene, I mean a locale, and think, 'Well, I feel in the mood to draw boats, and the ocean, and so on,' and that would cause me to start working on that particular type of story. As I developed more and more things with the story, I think it's quite possible that that 'Ghost of the Grotto' was brought in as a menace. There is so much in that, I couldn't have thought of it in a whole bucketful of writing at once. It had to come out one thing after another." [1]
Thomas Andrae writes that "The Ghost of the Grotto" marks a turn in Barks' writing toward the themes of Gothic fiction, which focus on "psychic repression and the fragmentation of self-identity, focusing on obsession, taboo, and the irrational." The story "introduces a motif that will inform many later Donald and Scrooge adventures: that western civilization's lust for conquest and empire and obsession with wealth and power invariably lead to alienation and self-disintegration." [2]
Carl Barks 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.
Keno Don Hugo Rosa, known as Don Rosa, is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his Disney comics stories about Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck, and other characters which Carl Barks created for Disney-licensed comic books, first published in America by Dell Comics. Many of his stories are built on characters and locations created by Barks; among these was his first Duck story, "The Son of the Sun" (1987), which was nominated for a Harvey Award in the "Best Story of the Year" category.
Huey, Dewey, and Louie are triplet cartoon characters created by storyboard artist (screenwriter) Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company from an idea proposed by cartoonist Al Taliaferro. They are the nephews of Donald Duck and the grand-nephews of Scrooge McDuck. Like their maternal uncles, the brothers are anthropomorphic white ducks with yellow-orange bills and feet. The boys are sometimes distinguished by the color of their shirts and baseball caps. They appeared in many Donald Duck animated shorts, as well as in the television show DuckTales and its reboot, but the comics remain their primary medium.
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The Donald Duck universe is a fictional shared universe which is the setting of stories involving Disney cartoon character Donald Duck, as well as Daisy Duck, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, Scrooge McDuck, and many other characters. Life in the Donald Duck universe centers on the city of Duckburg and is a part of the larger Mickey Mouse universe. In addition to the original comic book stories by Carl Barks, the Duckburg cast was featured in Little Golden Books, television series such as DuckTales (1987–1991), Darkwing Duck (1991–1992), and the DuckTales reboot (2017–2021), and video games such as DuckTales (1989), QuackShot (1991), Goin' Quackers (2000), and DuckTales: Remastered (2013).
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"A Christmas for Shacktown" is a 32-page Disney comics story written, drawn, and lettered by Carl Barks. The story was first published in Four Color #367, and tells of Donald Duck's attempts to raise money for a Christmas party for the poor children of Shacktown.
"Donald Duck Finds Pirate Gold" is a Disney comics story starring Donald Duck that was originally printed in Four Color #9 in October 1942. The script was by Bob Karp and illustrated by Carl Barks and Jack Hannah. The story is significant for launching the first American Donald Duck adventure comic series, and for being Barks' first duck comics work.
Donald Duck, also known as Donald Duck and Friends, is an American Disney comic book series starring the character Donald Duck and published by various publishers from October 1942 to June 2017. As with many early Disney comics titles, Donald Duck began as individual issues of Dell Comics' Four Color one-shots series. It was published as its own regular series in November 1952, starting with issue #26.
"Christmas on Bear Mountain" (1947) is a Donald Duck story by Carl Barks, first published in Dell Comics Four Color Comics #178. It was the first appearance of Scrooge McDuck, a character who became a comic-book icon throughout the world.
"A Financial Fable" is a Donald Duck comic book story written and illustrated by Carl Barks in September 1950. As with many other Barks stories, it was originally untitled. The story deals with what will happen if everyone in a community becomes a millionaire.
Donald Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known for his semi-intelligible speech and his mischievous, temperamental, and pompous personality. Along with his friend Mickey Mouse, Donald was included in TV Guide's list of the 50 greatest cartoon characters of all time in 2002, and has earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He has appeared in more films than any other Disney character.
"The Golden Christmas Tree" is a 20-page Disney comics Christmas story written, drawn, and lettered by Carl Barks. The story was first published in Four Color #203, with a cover by Barks, a 12-page Mickey Mouse and Goofy Christmas story written, drawn, and lettered by Bill Wright, and three one-page Barks Christmas gag stories featuring Donald Duck: "Jumping to Conclusions", "The True Test", and "Ornaments on the Way". The cover, stories, and gag pages have been reprinted several times.
"The Menehune Mystery" is a 32-page Disney comics story written and drawn by Carl Barks, and lettered by his wife Garé Barks. Mrs. Barks had grown up in Hawaii and suggested elements of the story to her husband. "Menehune" was first published in Uncle Scrooge #4. Characters in the story include Donald Duck, his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie, the Beagle Boys, and Uncle Scrooge. The story has been reprinted many times.
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