Entertainment Weekly and "essential works"

[John Chadwick]

I was glad to see Carl Barks remembered in this weeks memorial issue of
Entertainment Weekly, especially after my disappointment that he was
omitted in Life's Year in Review issue.  But what was the deal with
their listing for an essential work?  It just said DONALD DUCK (1987).
Kind of vague, huh?  Does it refer to a Gladstone album perhaps, if so,
I'm sure there were many published that year.  I've thought about
writing them, but I'd want to suggest a specific story as an essential
work and how do you narrow down the Barks canon to just one story.  I
think I'd go with either "A Christmas for Shacktown" or "Only A Poor,
Old Man".  The former because you get a good look at most of his popular
characters (Donald, Scrooge, Gladstone, the nephews.), the latter
because it's the quintessential Scrooge story.  (Donald and the boys
unite with Scrooge to foil the Beagle Boys)
It's a tough undertaking.  What do the rest of you think?