The Phantom of Notre Duck

Torsten Wesley Adair torsten at cwis.unomaha.edu
Thu Sep 9 00:08:30 CEST 1993


On Wed, 8 September 1993, James Williams wrote:
> Last week I bought an old issue of Uncle Scrooge.  It contained the 
> first printing of 'The Phantom of Notre Duck'.  The artwork and the
> story telling make me almost positive that it was done by Carl Barks.
> Was this written and drawn by Carl Barks?  
> If so, I think it is the worst Barks' story I've ever read.  It never
> explains why a duplicate of Notre Dame is in Duckburg.  It never
> explains who the phantom is and why he looks like he does.  HD&L's
> dog magically appears in the second half of the story.
> What do others think of this story?  

This was one of the first graphic albums published by Disney Comics (note
capitalization).  It was released along with an album of Gyro Gearloose
stories.  

I bought this album last Spring.  I bought it in a remainder bin at
Waldenbooks for US$2.  This should tell you how popular the album was (a
book becomes a remainder when a publisher or distributor cleans out their
warehouse.  A discount distributor buys up the lot of books and then sells
them very cheaply to bookstores.  This is one of the few ways to spend
less than $5 on a book (paperback OR hardcover).).  

I didn't think much of the story.  It was fairly mediocre, and if Disney
Comics had any marketing sense, they would have selected a better cover
artist and a better story.

What I did find interesting was that the introductory essay at the
beginning of the album strongly criticized the story.

Was it worth $2?  Yes, if only for the binding.

Torsten Adair	torsten at cwis.unomaha.edu	Omaha, NE, USA




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