Post by Matilda on Sept 13, 2016 3:40:24 GMT
Orora's post on "girlfriend" characters and recent media discussions about Star Trek got me thinking about cross-gender friendships in Duck/Mouse comics. One critic said of Star Trek that it is fundamentally a workplace drama, and that that allows it to explore friendships among co-workers. The iconic one is the three-way friendship among Kirk, Spock and McCoy, but there have also been notable cross-gender friendships: Sisko and Nerys, Janeway and Chakotay, Next Generation examples I forget. So, what about Mouse/Duck comics?
The best new female characters have been created by Casty, who apparently has stated his awareness of the need for more substantial female characters in Disney comics. Perhaps it's just a matter of Casty's preference that these have been created in the Mouse world rather than the Duck world. But perhaps it's easier to create female friends for Mickey because Mickey comics are more of a work-focused drama/comedy, in contrast to the more "domestic" setting of many of the Duck comics. Mickey goes on adventures with Goofy, and it's possible to have him team up with Eurasia Toft or Estrella Marina and have them be colleagues, co-adventurers and pals, with no romantic subtext. (The presence of Goofy helps here, in avoiding the "couple" dynamic that would affect Mickey and a female colleague without him.) I was particularly pleased to see a non-Casty story using Eurasia where she and Minnie go on an undersea adventure (Mickey is off in a spaceship with Eega), and to find no nonsense about Minnie being suspicious of Eurasia's time with Mickey. Minnie accepts that Eurasia and Mickey are colleagues, and she and Eurasia are friends, too.
The whole Duck set-up is more domestic and family-based. Donald is a single parent to HDL. The Duckburg stories often revolve around Donald's interaction with them or with his lucky cousin, his girlfriend, or his male neighbor. Since he doesn't last long at any job, there's no workplace where he could have colleagues. When he gets dragooned into helping Scrooge on his treasure hunts, there are five people already involved (Scrooge, Donald and HDL), and there would rarely be room for someone else. HDL themselves are mostly in the "girls--ick!" stage. It's hard to see in what role a new continuing female character could be introduced into the lives of Donald or HDL. The Ducks could have a female neighbor, but what kind of story-worthy interaction could there be between them? Family (Grandma Duck, Della in flashback, Matilda, Dickie Duck) and girlfriend (Daisy, Reginella, occasional nascent love interests for one of the boys) seem to be the only options. There are also obvious limits on the possibilities for Scrooge to have cross-gender friendships! He doesn't really have friends at all, does he? He has employees (his variously named & drawn butler, Miss Quackfaster, Clerkly, independent contractor Gyro) and family. He counts on, exploits, and feels some hidden affection and responsibility towards people in both categories, but I wouldn't call any of those relationships friendships. He's too far removed from his employees by his wealth and power to be friends with them (the way Star Trek captains can be friends with subordinates). If you don't accept the idea that he and Grandma Duck are siblings, then you could perhaps see them as friends in some stories. In his past, it's arguable that he and Hashknife Kate were friends (and not ever a romantic item). Some folks would argue that Brigitta and Scrooge are friends to some degree in some stories; the "unrequited devotion" trope gets in the way of that for me, though I recognize that sometimes he evidences some fondness for her. Still, not what I would call a friendship.
New continuing female characters introduced into the Duck world by Lars Jensen have included a business rival for Scrooge (Velma Vanderduck), a friend for Daisy (Amanda Fox), an unpleasant neighbor of Daisy's (Gertie Gabble) and characters in the Tamers of Nonhuman Threats series (Boysenberry, Katrina Kolik). The closest to cross-gender friendships might be these TNT folks, but that's because a new workplace has been created for Donald and Fethry.
Do you agree that it's easier to introduce non-family, non-love-interest female characters into Mickey's world than into Donald's? Do you agree with the reasons for that I've proposed here?
The best new female characters have been created by Casty, who apparently has stated his awareness of the need for more substantial female characters in Disney comics. Perhaps it's just a matter of Casty's preference that these have been created in the Mouse world rather than the Duck world. But perhaps it's easier to create female friends for Mickey because Mickey comics are more of a work-focused drama/comedy, in contrast to the more "domestic" setting of many of the Duck comics. Mickey goes on adventures with Goofy, and it's possible to have him team up with Eurasia Toft or Estrella Marina and have them be colleagues, co-adventurers and pals, with no romantic subtext. (The presence of Goofy helps here, in avoiding the "couple" dynamic that would affect Mickey and a female colleague without him.) I was particularly pleased to see a non-Casty story using Eurasia where she and Minnie go on an undersea adventure (Mickey is off in a spaceship with Eega), and to find no nonsense about Minnie being suspicious of Eurasia's time with Mickey. Minnie accepts that Eurasia and Mickey are colleagues, and she and Eurasia are friends, too.
The whole Duck set-up is more domestic and family-based. Donald is a single parent to HDL. The Duckburg stories often revolve around Donald's interaction with them or with his lucky cousin, his girlfriend, or his male neighbor. Since he doesn't last long at any job, there's no workplace where he could have colleagues. When he gets dragooned into helping Scrooge on his treasure hunts, there are five people already involved (Scrooge, Donald and HDL), and there would rarely be room for someone else. HDL themselves are mostly in the "girls--ick!" stage. It's hard to see in what role a new continuing female character could be introduced into the lives of Donald or HDL. The Ducks could have a female neighbor, but what kind of story-worthy interaction could there be between them? Family (Grandma Duck, Della in flashback, Matilda, Dickie Duck) and girlfriend (Daisy, Reginella, occasional nascent love interests for one of the boys) seem to be the only options. There are also obvious limits on the possibilities for Scrooge to have cross-gender friendships! He doesn't really have friends at all, does he? He has employees (his variously named & drawn butler, Miss Quackfaster, Clerkly, independent contractor Gyro) and family. He counts on, exploits, and feels some hidden affection and responsibility towards people in both categories, but I wouldn't call any of those relationships friendships. He's too far removed from his employees by his wealth and power to be friends with them (the way Star Trek captains can be friends with subordinates). If you don't accept the idea that he and Grandma Duck are siblings, then you could perhaps see them as friends in some stories. In his past, it's arguable that he and Hashknife Kate were friends (and not ever a romantic item). Some folks would argue that Brigitta and Scrooge are friends to some degree in some stories; the "unrequited devotion" trope gets in the way of that for me, though I recognize that sometimes he evidences some fondness for her. Still, not what I would call a friendship.
New continuing female characters introduced into the Duck world by Lars Jensen have included a business rival for Scrooge (Velma Vanderduck), a friend for Daisy (Amanda Fox), an unpleasant neighbor of Daisy's (Gertie Gabble) and characters in the Tamers of Nonhuman Threats series (Boysenberry, Katrina Kolik). The closest to cross-gender friendships might be these TNT folks, but that's because a new workplace has been created for Donald and Fethry.
Do you agree that it's easier to introduce non-family, non-love-interest female characters into Mickey's world than into Donald's? Do you agree with the reasons for that I've proposed here?
