Cartoonist Carl Barks died on Friday, August 25 at age 99 at his home in Grants Pass, Oregon. Barks was a comic book creator for the Walt Disney Co. and invented Scrooge McDuck, the Beagle Boys, Gyro Gearloose and others. He is best known for creating Donald Duck and drawing the Donald Duck comic books for three decades.

Carl Barks was born on a farm in Merrill, Oregon on March 27, 1901. He began drawing at the age of 10, and in 1918 he moved to San Francisco to work as a comic artist in a newspaper. The balance of his life was split between California and Oregon. He started drawing for the Walt Disney Co. in 1935. At the age of 1965 he retired from drawing comics, but, with the permission of Disney, drew oil paintings of Donald Duck.

During 5 years in the 1970s, Disney withdrew that permission and the values of Mr. Banks paintings soared. After Disney renewed permission for him to paint its characters the value of his paintings reached six figures.

He continued to paint Disney figures in oil until he contracted leukemia in 1999.