---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I enjoyed doing the gag covers better…"
description: "\"I enjoyed doing the gag covers better than the story ones because they were usually simpler. A cover based on an incident in the plot took a great deal..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e35/carl-barks-46723_book_i-enjoyed-doing-the-gag-covers-better-th_1600567.jpg"
---

#  I enjoyed doing the gag covers better than the story ones…

![“I enjoyed doing the gag covers better than the story ones because they were usually simpler. A cover based on an incident in the plot took a great deal of staging to tell a little story that was still part of the book. And it had to make sense on its own.” quote by Carl Barks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e35/carl-barks-46723_book_i-enjoyed-doing-the-gag-covers-better-th_1600567.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e35/carl-barks-46723_book_i-enjoyed-doing-the-gag-covers-better-th_1600567.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e35/carl-barks-46723_book_i-enjoyed-doing-the-gag-covers-better-th_1600567.jpg)

> “I enjoyed doing the gag covers better than the story ones because they were usually simpler. A cover based on an incident in the plot took a great deal of staging to tell a little story that was still part of the book. And it had to make sense on its own.”

[Carl Barks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-barks/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The author prefers creating gag covers because they are simpler and less demanding than story covers, which require complex staging to convey plot details.

**In simple terms:** Gag covers are easier than story covers.

Key Takeaway

Choose simplicity when possible.

Themes

creativity storytelling design efficiency

Mood

playful reflective

Type

artistic practical

When to use this quote

- magazine illustration
- comic strip layout
- advertising
- graphic design

Key Concepts

comic art visual narrative conciseness

Questions to Reflect On

- How does simplicity affect audience engagement?
- When is a complex cover worth the effort?

A Different Perspective

Story covers may limit creative freedom due to narrative constraints.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Better Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-story-824616/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Covers Better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/covers-better-975020/) [Deals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deals/) [Doing Gag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doing-gag-6085988/) [Enjoyed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enjoyed/) [Gag Covers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gag-covers-6085987/) [Incidents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incidents/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Make sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-sense/) [Plot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plot/) [Plot Took](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plot-took-6085989/) [Staging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/staging/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/)

## Related quotes

> [Hey, I'll toot my own horn. There ain't nobody out there that does covers better than Smash Mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-harwell/hey-i-ll-toot-my-own-horn-there-ain-t-nobody-out-there-that-does/)

[Steve Harwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-harwell/)

> [“So tell me, since it makes no factual difference to you and you can't prove the question either way, which story do you prefer?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/so-tell-me-since-it-makes-no-factual-difference-to-you-and-you-can-t/)

[Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/)

> [It's not the side of the bigger army that wins. It's the country that tells a better story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashi-tharoor/it-s-not-the-side-of-the-bigger-army-that-wins-it-s-the-country-that/)

[Shashi Tharoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashi-tharoor/)

> [“Maybe if I can just sleep for a hundred years, I'll wake up in a better story.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huntley-fitzpatrick/maybe-if-i-can-just-sleep-for-a-hundred-years-i-ll-wake-up-in-a/)

[Huntley Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huntley-fitzpatrick/)

> [“The more mistakes, the better the story afterwards. Especially if there's a happy ending.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicia-day/the-more-mistakes-the-better-the-story-afterwards-especially-if-there/)

[Felicia Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicia-day/)

> [“I was a tree in a story about a forest, the story of the forest is better than the story of the tree”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/i-was-a-tree-in-a-story-about-a-forest-the-story-of-the-forest-is/)

[Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/)

> [I dont like any of them, because they don't read the books. In Kiss Me Deadly my story is better than his story. Anthony…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mickey-spillane/i-dont-like-any-of-them-because-they-don-t-read-the-books-in-kiss-me/)

[Mickey Spillane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mickey-spillane/)

> [“To know there is a better story for your life and to choose something other is like choosing to die.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/to-know-there-is-a-better-story-for-your-life-and-to-choose-something/)

[Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/)

> [“A story wearing another dress every time you hear it - what could be better? A story that grows and puts out flowers like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/a-story-wearing-another-dress-every-time-you-hear-it-what-could-be/)

[Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/)

> [“As you make those daily choices about what to spend your time on and which possibilities to pursue, the author and consultant John Hagel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-berger/as-you-make-those-daily-choices-about-what-to-spend-your-time-on-and/)

[Warren Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-berger/)

> [Every story is flawed, every story is subject to change. Even after it is set down to print, between covers of a book, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-richmond/every-story-is-flawed-every-story-is-subject-to-change-even-after-it/)

[Michelle Richmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-richmond/)

> [“People tend to over react on situations to have a bigger and better story to tell, thus receiving more attention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-coetzer/people-tend-to-over-react-on-situations-to-have-a-bigger-and-better/)

[Johan Coetzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-coetzer/)

> [So tell me, since it makes no factual difference to you and you can't prove the question either way, which story do you prefer?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/so-tell-me-since-it-makes-no-factual-difference-to-you-and-you-can-t-2/)

[Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/)

> [I don't think that I can tell any story better than the story of my own country, than the stories of my own countrymen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahira-khan/i-don-t-think-that-i-can-tell-any-story-better-than-the-story-of-my/)

[Mahira Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahira-khan/)

> [I will never repeat something verbatim on the air unless I know it's accurate. And when you go to the source, sometimes there's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-michaels/i-will-never-repeat-something-verbatim-on-the-air-unless-i-know-it-s/)

[Al Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-michaels/)

## More by Carl Barks

> [There was no difference between my characters and the life my readers were going to have to face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-barks/there-was-no-difference-between-my-characters-and-the-life-my-readers/)

[Carl Barks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-barks/)

> [I read some of my stories recently and thought, 'How in the hell did I get away with that?' I had some really raw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-barks/i-read-some-of-my-stories-recently-and-thought-how-in-the-hell-did-i/)

[Carl Barks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-barks/)

> [“I always tried to write a story in such a manner that I wouldn't mind buying it myself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-barks/i-always-tried-to-write-a-story-in-such-a-manner-that-i-wouldn-t-mind/)

[Carl Barks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-barks/)

> [I always felt myself to be an unlucky person like Donald, who is a victim of so many circumstances. But there isn't a person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-barks/i-always-felt-myself-to-be-an-unlucky-person-like-donald-who-is-a/)

[Carl Barks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-barks/)

> [I was never a Boy Scout, but oh, I wanted to be one when I was a kid about ten or eleven years old.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-barks/i-was-never-a-boy-scout-but-oh-i-wanted-to-be-one-when-i-was-a-kid/)

[Carl Barks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-barks/)

> [I've always looked upon the Ducks as caricature human beings. Perhaps I've been years writing in that middle world that J.R.R. Tolkien describes, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-barks/i-ve-always-looked-upon-the-ducks-as-caricature-human-beings-perhaps/)

[Carl Barks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-barks/)

> [“Work smarter, not harder”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-barks/work-smarter-not-harder/)

[Carl Barks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-barks/)

[Explore all 8 Carl Barks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-barks/)

## More Book quotes

> [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/)

[Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/)

> [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/)

[Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/)

> [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/)

[Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/)

> [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/)

[Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/)

> [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/)

[Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/)

> [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/)

[Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/)

> [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/)

[Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/)

> [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/)

[Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/)

> [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/)

[Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/)

> [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/)

[Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/)

> [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/)

[Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/)

> [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/)

[Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/)

> [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/)

[Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/)

> [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/)

[Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/)

[Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I enjoyed doing the gag covers better than the story ones because they were usually simpler. A cover based on an incident in the plot took a great deal of staging to tell a little story that was still part of the book. And it had to make sense on its own.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Carl Barks"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-barks/i-enjoyed-doing-the-gag-covers-better-than-the-story-ones-because/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Book"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-barks/i-enjoyed-doing-the-gag-covers-better-than-the-story-ones-because/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e35/carl-barks-46723_book_i-enjoyed-doing-the-gag-covers-better-th_1600567.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e35/carl-barks-46723_book_i-enjoyed-doing-the-gag-covers-better-th_1600567.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e35/carl-barks-46723_book_i-enjoyed-doing-the-gag-covers-better-th_1600567.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I enjoyed doing the gag covers better than the story ones because they were usually simpler. A cover based…” — Carl Barks",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Carl Barks",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-barks/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I enjoyed doing the gag covers...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-barks/i-enjoyed-doing-the-gag-covers-better-than-the-story-ones-because/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-barks/i-enjoyed-doing-the-gag-covers-better-than-the-story-ones-because/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
