Synopsis:
Scrooge has found a lead to the stone that can change everything it touches to gold. But during the search he keeps meeting a bearded little man...

Comments:
Through time Barks produced several epic adventure stories in which the ducks travel into the world of ancient mythology. This one has several facets; it offers a fair share of both Greek mythology and medieval legend, and it also contains a complicated and riveting treasure hunt which brings the ducks to search for the Philosopher's Stone in great parts of the world.

Synopsis:
Donald decides to beautify his backyard at springtime but there are gophers below with different ideas...

Comments:
This story is a good example of an epic narrative taking place in a local habitat that many of us are so familiar with - our garden. Here Barks is really giving a lesson on how Mother Nature works independent of what man wishes.
Although the tone of the story is relatively unrestrained, Barks also manages to give us some serious pointers on the topic of environment represented in plants and animals, and the lesson is so clear that even small children should be able to catch the message: Man can decide, but Nature rules.

Synopsis:
Scrooge longs for some peace and quiet so he buys a large, remote area to enjoy its tranquillity. But the land is inhabited...

Comments:
Barks added great ambiance to the Peeweegah Indians' speech by letting them speak in pentametres, a type of poetic verse borrowed from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's epic The Song of Hiawatha.
This was not the only time Barks used Longfellow's techniques in his stories. In WDCS239 The Village Blacksmith he made a pastiche of the poet's 8 verse poem of the same title.

Synopsis:
Donald and the nephews travel to an unexplored swamp just to show their grit. They meet a strange tribe and decide to bring one of the inhabitants back home to prove that they have been in the area.

Comments:
When Barks started out producing his lengthy Donald Duck adventure stories he introduced a novelty within the comic book genre - he started his stories with a panoramic header panel aimed to set the mood for the stories. The epic panel for this one can be seen HERE.

Synopsis:
Donald decides to put a stop to Gladstone's luck. He sells him a worthless piece of land...

Comments:
This is an example of a story that a literary scholar might characterize as a mock epic. The term covers a form of satire in which the characters are portrayed with exalted epic conventions. In the story Barks steps in as a narrator pointing out the differences between the lucky Gladstone and the unlucky Donald as the story unfolds - a narrative role Barks never repeated.

Synopsis:
Scrooge is having trouble with his bad memory but after a visit to the doctor he recalls a huge gold nugget he once left behind in Alaska.

Comments:
This story is most important for its contribution to the development of Scrooge's personality and his way of thought. In lengthy flashes we are presented to the specific part of his past when he laid the foundation for his present wealth, and we are also in for a major surprise - the presentation of his first and only love, Glittering Goldie.

Synopsis:
Scrooge is stressed out and after having reached his breaking point he travels with Donald and the nephews to Tralla-La where the concept of money is unknown. Until they arrive...

Comments:
Barks created a fairly unusual adventure story here, because Scrooge is not going on a hunt for tangible values - he merely seeks mental values such as peace and a chance to regain his health! When he and the other ducks enter the tranquil spot high up in the Himalayan Mountains the story becomes quite epic in its description of their paradise lifestyle.
In U$29 Island in the Sky Barks managed to place the ducks in a similar place - an isolated but blissful asteroid - where they found peace and happiness.

Synopsis:
Donald and the nephews are on vacation in the deep woods and Donald tries to take pictures of a deer. But it is not that cooperative...

Comments:
This is a very impressive story in terms of Barks' numerous and grandiose panels depicting nature. His renderings of different botanical parts of the forest make it an overwhelming experience to read the story. It was drawn a few years before he met his future wife, Garé, who was a brilliant landscape artist with a special interest in producing grand paintings of forests. Just imagine if Barks' already breathtaking story was made with this specialist at his side...

Synopsis:
A small hole in Duckburg's dike is discovered and Gladstone runs for help while Donald puts his finger in the hole to close it up. Not a long-term solution...

Comments:
It is not often that Donald gets the chance to be a hero, and a few times Barks even allowed him to be a legendary hero. In this case Barks' plot springs from the famous story by Mary Elizabeth Mapes Dodge titled The Hole in the Dike, which describes a Dutch boy who saves a town by sticking his finger in the hole of a flooded dike.

Synopsis:
Following a traffic accident Donald and the nephews feel as they have travelled back a hundred years in time. They visit a Spanish ranchero and gold is found.

Comments:
The story is notably influenced by old Westerns, a genre that Barks enjoyed although he occasionally parodied its conventions (FC0199 Sheriff of Bullet Valley parodies to some extent the lone gunman, in this case Donald, who has to battle the villain in the usual showdown in the end). But the California story is very different, primarily because it leans heavily on moods instead of actions. We are gently taken by hand and lead into an epic atmosphere where the panels ooze of escapism and grandeur.