Duck People: Barks, Lustig, Van Horn

Gare Barks, John Lustig and William Van Horn circa 1991.

I’m tickled pink (well, more of a maroon actually) to have one of the greatest Disney comic creators of all time (IMO) write the opening caption for my current Couple-Up contest on GoComics & Facebook. No one except possibly Carl Barks has had a bigger influence on my work than Bill Van Horn. (See much more of Bill’s work here.)

Thanks to Bill I got my start doing Disney comics back in 1989. And it was always considerably easier because I was teamed up with Bill as my artist (and mentor) in those early years.

He (along with editor Byron Erickson) helped me polish up those early Donald Duck, Uncle Scrooge and DuckTales stories. And, more than that, he’s remained a good friend.

 

DuckTales #7. One of the first comics I worked on with William Van Horn.

DuckTales #7. One of the first comics I worked on with William Van Horn.

Alternative cover sketch by William Van Horn from one of our first stories together "Windfall on Mt. G'zoontight" in DuckTales #7, 1989.

Alternative cover sketch by William Van Horn from one of our first stories together “Windfall on Mt. G’zoontight” in DuckTales #7, 1989.