7 1/2” x 10” Miniature Litho (1994)
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Uncle Scrooge, Donald Duck, and nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie have journeyed to the fabled realm of Colchis in search of its legendary prize, the Golden Fleece in Menace Out of the Myths, but little do they anticipate the tribulations that await them! From parsnip pudding to a sleepless dragon, their encounters with danger on the adventure will be enough to prickle the pinfeathers of the most fearless fowl. And the worst danger of all is the wildly wacky Larkies!
“The Golden Fleecing” is a story around which zaniness abounds, from its original mythological conception, to Carl Barks’ retelling of it in Uncle Scrooge #12 (December - February 1956) as a Duck Family adventure. In an early letter to a fan, Barks mentioned that his editors were imposing taboo after taboo on their scripters. “I almost had to eat those 32 pages of drawings,” he complained, “because I’d used some harpies as menaces. It seems that Harpy or Harpie is an obscure name for a street-walker. I managed to save the story by renaming the old girls LARKIES.” Carl also had to redraw a couple pages, cutting down on the number of Larky figures and their dominance in certain panels because his editors thought “such behavior by the Larkies suggested insanity.” The flavor of this still exists in Barks’ marvelous painting from 1973: note the curled fingers, outstretched talons, and maniacal expression on the face of the enraged larkie!
Barks’ comic book story, “The Golden Fleecing,” was reprinted as the Old Duck Man originally drew the larkies -- insanity and all -- in Uncle Scrooge Adventures #12 (a Gladstone comic album, October 1996). The redrawn version, as originally published, is included for comparison purposes as part of the article by Geoffrey Blum, “Trick or Treat in Larkie Land.” This oversized, square-bound, 11”x 8 1/2” book was colored in its entirety by the incomparable Susan Daigle-Leach. Included in the album is a Trading Card picturing the original Dell publishing US #12 cover and a synopsis of Barks’ retelling of the Jason myth. Copies are available, while limited supplies last (See the Gladstone web pages)
Menace Out of the Myths had an interesting history even before its release as our company’s eighth limited edition miniature lithograph in 1994. It first appeared in print as one of 122 Carl Barks oil paintings reproduced in Another Rainbow’s award winning, coffee-table book, The Fine Art of Walt Disney’s Donald Duck. Of 122 paintings reproduced, more pages were given to Menace Out of the Myths than any other Duck Man oil, seven pages in all. In the introduction, three pencil drawings were shown, beginning, in Barks words, with the “First idea sketch for painting of the ducks in Ancient Colchis,” a rough draft that already had the essential elements in it, followed by another much more detailed rendering and then the detailed, final pencil concept. Thereafter, were three stages developing the color, an amazing sequence allowing the viewer to see Barks’ thinking processes at work: first, a nighttime sky illuminated, most likely, by a full moon that shines on the ducks and their treasure hoard; second, a rethinking that brings the oil into better color balance; and third, a small reproduction of the final painting for comparison purposes with the two preliminary efforts. Barks’ 11th painting in 1973, his 50th overall, Menace Out of the Myths appeared as Fine Art color plates 38 and 39.
Carl Barks’ wife, Gare, wrote this about Menace Out of the Myths in a letter to a fan in 1973: “It is so different from any Carl has done before and I thought it was magnificent. I don’t see his paintings from a collector’s view, though … so others may not agree. But the harmony of color, the atmosphere, and the handling of the detail (pillars, middleground ruins, etc.,) is a masterpiece in my opinion.” (Many, including your former publisher, agree.) Menace Out of the Myths is comprised of eleven (11) colors and was printed by the Black Box of Chicago, image 7 1/2”x10” on 11”x13” Opalesque Keramique, a paper constructed of 100% cotton fiber for strength and longevity, guaranteed not to fade under normal and stable storage conditions for hundreds of years.
Most miniatures reproduced from large original paintings appearing in Another Rainbow’s 1981 Fine Art book were reduced to 25% of their original painted size and printed as 10” x 8” verticals or 8”x10” horizontals. At 7 1/2”x10”, this classic was brought down more from 18”x 24”, a size the Duck Man had felt was needed to give him room for the composition as he envisioned it in 1973 and was one of only six Disney oils he did that large. The other five were the large lithos, Leaving Their Cares Behind (originally called Vacation Panel), July Fourth in Duckburg, Flying Dutchman (there were two versions, the same one inadvertently reproduced twice in the book), Halloween in Duckburg and Snow Fun. All but Vacation Panel appeared twice in Fine Art, once in a full-page format and again as a double-page foldout.
- Regular Edition Price for #11 and up $425 (sold)
- Regular Edition Price for #2-10, add 15% (available)
- Regular Edition Price for #1, add 55% (available)
- Gold Plate Edition #11-100, add 20% available)
- Gold Plate Edition #2-10, add 55% (sold)
- Gold Plate Edition #1, add 125% (sold)
- Publishers and Printer’s proofs, add 80% (available)
- Artist Proofs, add 120% (sold)
- Progressive Proofs, Special Editions and Foreign Editions, inquire. (available)