THEDETECTIVESTORIES

Carl Barks wrote numerous comic book stories in which the solution to a problem might depend on a bright idea, some heavy thinking, or even sheer luck, but he wrote only a few stories that can truly be labelled detective stories. In these stories the ducks really have to try to make an effort to solve mysterious problems by using deduction and common sense. The stories are presented below in chronological order.

WDCS056 - 1945

Synopsis:
Food is mysteriously vanishing from Donald's fridge every night and the nephews decide to solve the mystery.

Comments:
The solution to the mystery is pretty straightforward; Donald is sleepwalking and eating his own food at night. But the nephews, knowing that Donald will not accept this fact, decide to confront him with hard facts in the shape of indisputable fingerprints.

WDCS061 - 1945

Synopsis:
The nephews are playing detective and Donald decides to tease them. But they solve the case anyway.

Comments:
Barks really fools both Donald and us in this story. The nephews from Thug Busters Inc. are swimming in red herrings tossed to them by Donald, but quite unaffected they manage to catch a real bank robber, anyway.

FC0189 The Old Castle's Secret - 1948

Synopsis:
Scrooge's treasure is in peril at the old family castle in Scotland. He takes Donald and the nephews along only to discover that the castle may be haunted...

Comments:
Several mysteries need to be solved, but the nephews are the most succesful; using Dewey's knack for sleuthing paired with all three's deductive thinking they discover the secret entrance to the castle under a gravestone.

WDCS169 - 1954

Synopsis:
It is the first day of school and the nephews are, of course, playing hooky. But Donald was expecting it. Now the chase is on...

Comments:
The nephews have been preparing their disappearance act for a long time, but Donald is quickly on their trail; he has sprinkled gypsum around the house making their footsteps visible, and he soon tracks the schoolboys down.

WDCS185 - 1955

Synopsis:
Time for New Year's resolutions. Donald resolves to cook only the kind of food his nephews like. The nephews resolve to eat only the kind of food their uncle likes. Collision course...

Comments:
Dewey (him again!) is using his detective kit to see that his uncle has been cheating with his written resolutions. Fingerprint powder on the writing pad proves the case.

WDCS252 Mr. Private Eye - 1961

Synopsis:
Donald sees himself as a brilliant detective and does not hesitate to take a job protecting the priceless Cat's-Eye Opal.

Comments:
Donald is in fact a real detective in this story with both licence and badge. Still, his abilities to solve the pending mystery lack a bit of professionalism...

U$44 Invisible Intruder - 1963

Synopsis:
Scrooge's giant bed shakes for no apparent reason. He hires a detective to solve the case.

Comments:
This story might not constitute a true detective story, because there is no real, professional mystery to solve. Nevertheless, the detective - who is not one of the ducks for a change - presents Scrooge with a bill of astronomic sizes!