THEEARLYPAYMENTS

Carl Barks always meticulously kept records of the salaries he earned from his different employers during his adult life. In this page you are primarily presented to his incomes from two of his greatest sources: The Calgary EyeOpener (1932-1935) and The Walt Disney Corporation (1935-1942). The page shows how diverse - and to some extent uncertain - his income was during these 11 years, and often he had to add to it by selling gags and cartoons to other publishers and media.
The contents of Barks' early payment sheets have never been published before, but this is now done, because they can add interesting information - sometimes with direct bearing on certain incidents and transactions - relating to events already known by his fans. In order not to fill the page with tiresome columns of figures or both exact and more general figures depending on the importance of the individual salaries, it has been decided to present the material as a whole in a more easily readable fashion with explanatory commentaries on a year-by-year basis.

1932

Barks started his work for the Calgary EyeOpener (CEO) as a free-lancer in 1928, and he contributed to the magazine on a regular basis. But in 1932 he took the plunge and moved from California to the publishing office in Minnesota to become a full-time employee. He was paid 55 dollars regularly every two weeks starting in January, and he ended up with 65 dollars at the end of the year. From time to time (during his entire stay at CEO) Barks cashed in a few dollars on cartoons for long-gone magazines. Among the most unusual receivers was EN-AR-CO, a small company in the oil refining business, to which he several times supplied gags and ideas, as they also dabbled in various puzzle games(!). You can see a small example of their advertising from the time HERE.
Total income for 1932: 1,354.75 dollars.

1933

Although CEO was a fulfilling workplace for Barks it became increasingly harder for the publisher to make ends meet, which also affected the salary policy for the employees. Payments became more and more erratic; for example, one month he received 25 dollars one day and 20 dollars the next, whereupon he had to wait several weeks for the next payment. At the end of the year Barks could register total salary dues of 269 dollars! To put this amount in perspective his annual rent amounted to 384 dollars.
Total income for 1933: 1,309.10 dollars.

1934

The erratic salary policy continued, and Barks' salary lacked behind constantly. Furthermore, his biweekly salary dropped to 56 dollars, probably causing him to continue 'moonlighting' for other small magazines. Barks' annual rent was now down to 312 dollars suggesting that he had chosen to move premises due to the uncertain tendencies at CEO.
Total income for 1934: 1,524.38 dollars (the best year after all because of the free-lancing).

1935

From the beginning of the year Barks got a raise to 61 dollars every two weeks, but already in July it returned to 56 dollars. When Barks saw an advertisement from Disney looking for new artists he openly considered the possibility. He was then offered - and given - a salary of 80 dollars, but felt that he had to leave CEO, which was grossly mismanaged at the time. Barks received his last paycheck (of 80 dollars) on October 25, and moved back to California.
Total income for 1935 (at CEO): 1,490.06 dollars.

1935

Barks was fully aware that he had to take a considerable cut in his hitherto wages by joining Disney, and he started out on November 4 by receiving 20 dollars biweekly! After all, he was a new man at the job, and he was first attached to an art course on the premises.
Total income for 1935 (at Disney): 140 dollars.

1936

During the year Barks' salary grew to 22.40, to 27.37 only to end at 34.84 dollars, and the explanation for these rapid raises was that he made himself positively noticed for his serious work in several areas; he contributed several gag ideas for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) which got him 5 dollars or more per idea (see more HERE), he worked overtime, and, above all, he was transferred from tedious in-betweening in the animation department to the story section, which was better paid. This job was a direct result of an idea for Modern Inventions (1937), which brought him a personal check from Walt Disney himself for 49.77 dollars.
Also, Barks sent a number of cartoons to his former employer CEO as well as to another magazine named Whiz Bang. These contributions landed him between 1 and 15 dollars several times during the year.
Total income for 1936: 1,424.73 dollars.

1937

The fact that Barks' work was appreciated is mirrored in his steadily growing salaries; already from February he received a whopping 63.76 dollars every two weeks only to end the year at 74.32 dollars! Some of the explanation was, of course, that he from now on functioned as a part-time Story Director on Disney's cartoon shorts.
Total income for 1937: 3,298.35 dollars.

1938

Barks' salary followed an ascending curve in those years; he ended the year at 88.20 dollars. This was also the last year he contributed gags and cartoons to CEO and other magazines. Instead he frequently got paid bonuses for gag ideas to Disney's multiple projects. In fact, his bonuses totalled 1,254.35 dollars and individual gag ideas equalled 122.50 dollars. One of Barks' many 'projects' was supplying gag ideas for the daily Donald Duck newspaper strip at 2.44 to 9.80 dollars per idea (see more HERE).
Total income for 1938: 5,835.93 dollars.

1939

Apart from a few more newspaper strip gags Barks contented himself with his normal income, which was by then more or less fixed at 88.20 dollars. Instead he used all his free hours in an attempt to become a full time newspaper cartoon artist (see more HERE), which logically resulted in a decrease in his income.
Total income for 1939: 4,695.95 dollars.

1940

Again, Barks contributed a few gags and cartoons to other magazines, and he took up his old money-maker of supplying Disney with gag ideas. Also, he sold Disney stocks for 200 dollars.
Total income for 1940: 5,262.60 dollars.

1941

For some unknown reason the meticulous Barks left his income sheet unfinished after three months, but until then he earned 1,251.00 dollars, which equals 104.25 dollars biweekly. Two isolated entries seem somewhat puzzling; in February he received a special bonus of 175 dollars for Timber (1941), and in May he got 259 dollars for Early to Bed (1941). The bonuses are especially interesting, because Barks was not Story Director on any of these shorts, and it is not known how he earned them.
Total income for 1941: Unknown but certainly well over 5,000 dollars).

1942

This was the year when Barks decided to break away from his highly profitable job at Disney with the intention of becoming a successful chicken farmer! But before the secure income cord was cut he made two comic book stories with other artists. In May Barks received 100 dollars for Pluto Saves the Ship (1942) and 320 dollars for Donald Duck Finds Pirate Gold! (1942). At the time he was a free-lancer for Western Publishing (see more HERE), an employer he would work for until his official retirement in 1966. The chicken farm was quickly abandoned - luckily for us...