Gemstone Publishing has chosen to once again offer a free Disney comic book featuring the work of the legendary Carl Barks for Free Comic Book Day. His one and only Mickey Mouse story, “The Riddle of the Red Hat,” originally published in Mickey Mouse Four Color #79 in 1945, occupies part of the comic, and is complemented by Barks' introduction of Uncle Scrooge's nemesis, Flintheart Glomgold, “The Second-Richest Duck,” from Uncle Scrooge #15, originally published in 1956. “Both stories are significant to Carl Barks aficionados,” said John Clark, Editor-in-Chief of the Gemstone line of Disney comic books, “so this should be a very desirable addition to anyone's collection.”

This year's Disney comic features a “flip cover,” as did last year's “Maharajah Donald,” but with an added twist. You can read “Riddle of the Red Hat” from front to back, and then flip the book over and read “The Second-Richest Duck” from “front” to “back” (really to the middle). “When I was a kid I was always fascinated by the old 'Ace Double' science fiction paperbacks, which allowed you to read two different novels from the 'front' of the book,” said Clark. “When it occurred to me that this comic featured two discrete stories with two discrete covers, I couldn't resist doing the same thing.” The covers are reproductions the originals from Mickey Mouse Four Color #79 and Uncle Scrooge #15.

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