THEITALIANCONNECTION

Carl Barks was always very much attached to the places where he lived, which is one of the reasons why he didn't travel much. He liked the solitude of his studios and mostly contented himself with short car trips up and down the Pacific coast where he lived most of his life. Therefore it was a major step for him to leave his home for a full 6 weeks to make a business trip abroad in 1994 - the trip commonly referred to as his European Tour (see more HERE). One of the countries he visited was Italy. This page presents you to some of the bonds Barks established with this nation through his comic book stories as well as some of the feedback he received.

THE DUCKS' ITALIAN ADVENTURES
U$10 The Fabulous Philosopher's Stone	U$40 Oddball Odyssey	WDCS273 A Duck's Eye View of Europe
Italy was Barks' favourite nation in Europe in terms of number of duck stories. The ducks visited the nation in the following stories: U$10 The Fabulous Philosopher's Stone (Sicily), U$36 The Midas Touch (Rome, Sulphuria, Vesuvius), U$40 Oddball Odyssey (Circe's island), and WDCS273 A Duck's Eye View of Europe (Venice, the Alps).

MAGICA DE SPELL'S ITALIAN HOME
U$36 The Midas Touch	U$38 The Unsafe Safe	U$43 For Old Dime's Sake
Barks made 9 stories featuring Magica de Spell, who is perceived as an Italian citizen. She is often seen living in a hut on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius, from where she travels to Duckburg or other destinations in order to obtain possession of Scrooge's Number One Dime. Above are three examples from Magica's home.

THE ITALIANS' CONTINUATIONS

U$48 The Many Faces of Magica ...

It would seem that Magica de Spell has star quality, because new stories are published featuring her all over the world. The Italians are clearly in the lead with more than 400.

U$27 The Money Champ

Barks only made 3 stories with Scrooge's nemesis Flintheart Glomgold, whereupon he grew tired of the character. But especially in the European theater (Italy included) new stories still pop up.

WDCS255 Boat Buster

Barks only made this one story with John D. Rockerduck, but since he premiered in 1963 and until today the Italians have published more than 1,000 stories featuring the choleric billionaire!!!

The Italian duck stories are said to be more violent, fast paced, and perhaps also scarier than the average Disney duck stories.

This is also true for the Italians' treatment of the above three characters, which Barks rarely used.

How much Barks liked the more helter-skelterish Italian duck universe is not known, but he once commented favourably on one of the new characters in a sketch from 1975 to Romano Scarpa.

In it, he acknowledges one of the many new Italian characters, Brigitta MacBridge. Brigitta's primary function in the stories is to tirelessly trying to court Scrooge.

Transcript:

Money odor.

Brigitte sprays herself with 'money' perfume.

If this siren idea is any good, you're welcome to it. C.B.

Dear Romano (and Brigitte) - Sorry to be so slow at sending this slide. Have been very busy painting. Garé and I enjoyed meeting you and the other fine artists and writers. We wish you much success. Carl Barks.

(Barks accidentally misspelled the Italian character's name, which is Brigitta.)

ARTISTS' HOMAGE
Corrado Mastantuono	Claudio Sciarrone	Francesco Guerrini
Marco Rota	Romano Scarpa	Giorgio Cavazzano
When Barks visited Italy during his great European Tour in 1994 several Italian duck artists closed ranks and decided to honour The Master by presenting him to a number of drawings, some of which are shown above. Some of the artists have since written or drawn stories in which their idol appears (see more HERE)!