Growing up in the ’40s and ’50s, most kids who read Disney comics and newspaper strips assumed that Walt Disney himself did all the artwork. And why not? His name was emblazoned everywhere. But did you know that this art was actually done by a variety of different artists that signed Disney’s name to their work? Today, of course, these artists have been brought out of anonymity and are huge names in collecting circles.

One such artist, Al Taliaferro, was responsible for the Donald Duck Dailies and Sundays. Ub Iwerks, along with Win Smith did the dailies from 1930 to early 1931. From that point on, Floyd Gottfredson, who became famous for his exquisite presentation of Mickey Mouse and other characters, did the Dailies and Sundays for the next several years.

Perhaps the most renowned of the Disney artists, however, was Carl Barks (See In The Limelite for more). Barks, in collaboration with Jack Hannah, began illustrating stories in Four Color #9, which featured Donald Duck Finds Pirate Gold, in 1942. He also started his original strip in Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories #31. Prior to this, Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories #1 – 30 featured mostly strip reprints by Al Taliaferro that were taken from the newspaper. Barks was also one of the first artists to manage to get his name on the cover of a comic book – in a very clever maneuver. He obediently went along with Walt Disney’s name at the top of the book, Walt Disney Comics and Stories #78, but a close look at the cover art shows Barks’ name front and center on the makeshift radio that one of the ducklings is reclining in. Look closely, and you’ll see that it says “Barks Jiffy Chicken Dinners.” Interesting that Barks chose chicken dinners – delicacies that the ducks undoubtedly feasted upon the evening before.