When Carl Barks began his long and prosperous comic book career he had come a long way since he gave up his attempt of being a writer of novels in 1923. Right from his school years he had disliked English, so the young man's capitulation was only natural, but in the following years Barks worked hard to achieve some kind of perfection in order to be able to make a living from the one thing he really liked best - writing comic book stories. As he went along his treatment of the English language became increasingly more spectacular and equilibrating, and it is beyond dispute that he frolicked in it; Barks polished his dialogue until perfection, he used words in new and surprising collocations, and he invented a lot of great new phrases. Barks always saw himself as a Storyteller, but there can be no doubt that he also earns the title of Language Master.
We, the readers, are often left speechless over this man's unparalleled achievements in this particular and very difficult field. We feel a bit like the Duck family in their brief conversation in the closing panel of WDCS081 in which Donald asks the nephews as they drive into the sunset: Well, why don't you kids say something? and they respond silently: We can't, Unca Donald! - We can't think of one single, doggone thing to say!

In principle, all of this site's pages are about Barks' unique treatment of his language. Now, here is a SMALL collection of sub-pages which take up Barks' control over his native language in a few connections. In order to give you more detailed information every page has been seasoned with a few relevant links making it possible for you to dig deeper into specific subjects. Enjoy!