Magica De Spell - The Midas Touch (US 36) Ten-cent Valentine (WDC 258)

Daniel van Eijmeren dve at kabelfoon.nl
Thu Sep 26 18:13:27 CEST 2002


GERD SYLLWASSCHI to LARRY, 16-09-2002:

>> Why doesn't Donald recognize Magica (page 8, panel 4)?
>> Great question.  I think the answer is simply that
>> Barks goofed---he forgot to put her into a disguise.

> "Goofed" may be a too strong word ... Magica had to be recognizable 
> to Donald's nephews and Scrooge in the following scene, maybe Barks 
> just couldn't spare the place for a quick-change stunt?!?

In the Dutch publication, Donald has been REMOVED from panel 8.4. 
There, Magica just stands for a closed front door, telling to herself 
that as soon as Donald opens the door, she will push the perfume under 
his beak. 

Panel 8.5 of the Dutch publication is the first where Donald is shown, 
sniffing Magica's parfume.

I agree that the confrontation in panel 8.4, as shown in The Carl Barks 
Library, raises questions. If Barks made an error, then I think that the 
Dutch publication has properly and logically solved it.

> Did you notice that Magica's pose in the panel in question was 
> clearly traced from page 2, panel 3 in US 36 "The Midas Touch"? 
> The same is true for several other panels. One might suspect 
> Barks was in quite a hurry when he did WDC 258.

Set 4, page 676 of The Carl Barks Library contains drawings of 
Magica de Spell, and a little article titled "Models for a 
Sorceress". It says that the drawings on lower half of that page 
comprise a single model sheet that Barks made for his own reference, 
tracing poses from the ink art for "The Midas Touch". He copied 
three of these into his second Magica story "Ten-Cent Valentine" 
(WDC 258).

I've compared the model drawings with "Ten-Cent Valentine".
These are the panels with similar poses in the model sheet:

7.7 (difference: mouth closed on model sheet)
8.4 (difference: Magica only holds her bag on model sheet)
8.5 (difference: only Magica's face is shown on model sheet)

I remember reading/hearing that such traced drawings were made by Barks 
and/or other artists, in order to still have reference material in the 
period between the submission of a story and the publication of a story. 
Especially, this was needed at the time when it was difficult/expensive 
to make xeroxes.

According to Barrier, "The Midas Touch" was submitted on April 17, 1961.
Publication date: December 1961 - February 1962

"Ten-Cent Valentine" was submitted, two months later, on June 14, 1961.
Publication date: March 1962

So, when making "Ten-Cent Valentine", Barks didn't have any comic books 
as reference material to check or compare the looks of Magica. Maybe 
that's why he made those model sheet drawings.

Summing this up: Barks did not trace poses from "The Midas Touch" for 
"Ten-Cent Valentine". He traced *model sheets* based on "The Midas Touch".


Best wishes,

--- Daniel

"Stop! You're scrambling my digital rejiggerator!" 
(which Barks story? :-))




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