Q[u]estion [a]bout Back To The Klo[n]dike

[H.W.Fluks@telecom.tno.nl]

Maciek de Spell:

> Acording to wat I read in the Internet the orginal Carl Barks 
> "Back to the
> Klondike" was 27 page long witch cut aut Flash back part of the story.
> I don't have old version of the story but the version I have 
> is 30 page long and It have "Flash Back".

Strange. As Katie described, the flashback scene is 4 pages and then there are 2 more half pages missing in the original print.

AFAIK, we wave the following versions of this story:


32-page original as Barks drew it (1/2 page is lost forever)

27-page first printed version

31-page version, this is the 27-page version with 4 pages flashback re-inserted. This version was used in Holland in 1978.

32-page restored version: 27 pages + 4-page flashback + the other 1/2-page that survived, plus a 1/2-page "reconstruction", newly pencilled by Barks. This version was in the book "Uncle Scrooge His Life and Times" in 1981.

32-page restored version: same as previous, but the half page new pencils were inked by Daan Jippes. This version has been used by Gladstone ever since. And also in Holland and other countries.


So it's a mystery to me why the Polish (?) editor used the 4 pages flashback, but removed some pages elsewhere.


Katie commented:

> Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think those four
> panels were just taken out to make room for advertising or for
> some other layout reason.  There obviously wasn't anything to
> censor in there.

I think the 4 pages were removed because thet needed a full number of pages (they wouldn't like to print a story with 27 1/2 pages).

BTW, the "reconstruction" is definitely *not* like what has been in the original. Judging from the page layout (the space between the panels), there was at least 1 panel removed between panel 1 and 2, or before panel 1 of that page. And also after panel 7 or 8.

So the original *might* have had one more panel showing the flashback with Goldie, or maybe Scrooge telling some more about what happened afterwards. We'll never know...

--Harry.