Walt Disney’s Donald Duck “Secret of Hondorica” is Volume 17 in Fantagraphics’s The Complete Carl Barks Disney Library. The book collects comic book stories and a one-page gag from July 1955 to August 1956 starring Donald and his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie. It concludes with “Story Notes,” annotations by a team of writers; “Carl Barks: Life Among the Ducks,” a biography by Donald Ault; and a Covers Gallery.
Buy Walt Disney’s Donald Duck “Secret of Hondorica”: The Complete Carl Barks Disney Library Vol. 17The title story finds Donald and the boys going to Hondorica for Uncle Scrooge to recover his valuable papers from a plane crash. The boys are worried about the native Indians but Donald is too excited about the $5,000 reward. However, once cousin Gladstone Gander sees there’s a treasure map involved, Donald has competition. In a nice twist by Barks, Gladstone’s luck causes him trouble.
Donald deals with Gladstone in two other stories and Barks continues to show sympathy for Donald’s past suffering at the hands of his lucky cousin. In “Good Canoes and Bad Canoes,” they compete in a canoe contest, but it’s Donald’s luck that comes through in the end. Uncle Scrooge is “Searching for a Successor” between Donald and Gladstone by seeing which one “makes the biggest success of his business.” There’s a house-moving business and other a feather-bed factory. Gladstone’s luck comes through again, but also helps Donald.
Donald has trouble keeping a job. “Dogcatcher Duck” was so overeager he cited the fire department’s mascot and the entrants in a greyhound race. In “Trouble Indemnity,” Donald tries his hand as an insurance salesman. After striking out his first day on the job, his obnoxious boss gives Donald one hour to sell a policy or he will be fired. He goes to Uncle Scrooge and sells a billion dollar policy. His boss is ecstatic until a clerk points out if Scrooge gets hurt, the payout will be $2 billion. Donald then is pressed to protect Scrooge from any risky behavior.
In addition to bosses, Donald doesn’t get along with other animals. He borrows “The Unorthodox Ox” from Grandma Duck to win $50 awarded to the “most old-fashioned rig” at the farmers’ fair. With the ox being colorblind, utter mayhem ensues. Gyro Gearloose, who is only mentioned, invents “The Custard Gun” so as not to “hurt the game.” Donald starts off looking for a turkey for Thanksgiving and encounters other animals, including moose. He battles rodents in his yard in “Gopher Goof-Ups,” but quickly learns disturbing a natural ecosystem comes with consequences.
Like “Custard,” a couple other stories are set in the forest. The Junior Woodchucks take part in “The Chickadee Challenge” against the Chickadee Patrol, a group of girls. The boys choose bridge building. Naturally, Donald finds a way to do more harm than help. Later, they suffer “Camping Confusion” when Donald and the boys discover they aren’t as smart as they think when they get lost in the woods.
Donald frequently cheats and it is typically against the nephews, more concerned about winning than raising ducks who know right from wrong. When they compete for fares for “The Ice Taxis” they created, Donald’s underhanded ways backfire. “In the Swim” finds them racing in a mile-long river swim. Not only can’t Donald keep from cheating, but he damages property from a third party.
Other Donald shortcomings are the focus of two stories. Hoping to represent Duckberg, he is “The Olympic Hopeful” but his athletic prowess, or lack thereof, holds him back even when his competition fails to keep up with him for various funny reasons. Donald’s temper gets the best of him in “Donald’s Raucous Role.” He seeks a quiet neighborhood to rest but he can’t get along with his “noisy” neighbors, even though he is more of an offender, and battles with them on his first day.
The book features a couple holiday stories. “Three Un-Ducks” is a timeless story that finds the boys battling Donald over taking a bath on Xmas Eve with each side outsmarting the other. They also try to outsmart each other in “Secret Resolutions” where the Ducks pick New Year resolutions. Funnily enough, they each make resolutions that the other would like but it backfires on them. Then Donald cheats by picking a new resolution, which also backfires.
A couple of single-page stories find the boys causing Donald trouble. They run up the electric bill in “Courtside Heating” and can’t wake up for their paper route in “Remember This.” The book concludes as Donald outsmarts himself clearing the street of snow in “Power Plowing.”
Carl Barks first Duck story appeared in October 1942. The time these stories were published he had been writing and drawing Duck tales for 13-14 years, and yet he doesn’t seem to be bored working on them. The majority of the stories are well-written adventures that appeal to readers beyond children. The characters are consistent to their nature while the plots present surprises and laughs.
The artwork continues to be of a high standard. Characters’ faces and bodies are expressive. The panels are filled with many details of the locations that it’s worth poring over them even after the word balloons have been read. “The Unorthodox Ox” features some of the best detailed destruction, particularly the bigger panels. And the reproduction by Fantagraphics delivers colors that pop off the pages.
