The Carl Barks oil painting, “Terror of the River” is closing on Thursday, November 30 within the Original Art session of the ComicLink Fall Featured Auction. “This is one of my favorite Barks paintings. It is a distinct painting with a degree of movement and level of gravitas that you don’t often see within the Barks oils. We were fortunate to obtain the oil painting for auction, as it’s been housed within a private collection for the better part of two decades,” ComicLink President Josh Nathanson said.

“Terror of the River” is an original Barks oil painting from 1974 inspired by his story for Four Color #108 (1946). It features Donald Duck and his nephews encountering an enormous sea monster. This is the only time Barks painted a scene based on Four Color #108, and it is unique in both mood and motion, according to ComicLink. It’s well known that Barks painted multiple versions of several of his celebrated Duck paintings, but this one stands alone as the technical detail involved in creating it was intense and Barks felt that painting it once was enough. The painting is also known to be one of the most popular among fans of Barks’ work.

“Terror of the River” is one of a series of brilliant and popular paintings that Barks produced from 1971 to 1997 based on his comic book work, following his retirement from comics. Barks’ paintings are highly prized by collectors and his originals have sold for six figures. Barks is one of the most notable artists in comic books, right up at the top with Kirby, Eisner, and Kurtzman.

Though he did not invent Donald Duck, he infused the character with life in a world beloved by generations of international fans. Among Barks’ own creations are Scrooge McDuck, Gladstone Gander, the Beagle Boys, the Junior Woodchucks, and Gyro Gearloose. His stories and artwork were inspired tales of imagination that entertained millions for decades. His work still has a massive following across the world, with collector enclaves of particular note in parts of Europe.