AFAIK the Mickey Shyster is supposed to be a wolf (at least in the first German translation he was called Rechtsanwalt Wolf [attorney at law Wolf]) - hence the black skin. The Barks character looks nothing like a wolf.
I'm not sure what Mickey Mouse villain Shyster is supposed to be, but I highly doubt wolf. The only part of him that looks particularly wolf-like to me is his feet. The Scrooge McDuck Wiki says he is a rat, and I think the Disney Wiki says that this is what Gottfredson thought. His ears, however, look nothing like a rat's ears. I've also heard he was a weasel, but I'm not sure where this came from. Until I can hear of a species that he really fits, I think it is best to assume that he is a dog or some kind of cross-species.
You are absolutely right about the Barks one-shot Shyster. He does look nothing like a wolf.
No matter what I say or do, know that Jesus loves you.
AFAIK the Mickey Shyster is supposed to be a wolf (at least in the first German translation he was called Rechtsanwalt Wolf [attorney at law Wolf]) - hence the black skin. The Barks character looks nothing like a wolf.
I would guess Gottfredson's is a weasel. That would be appropriate for a sneaky, untrustworthy, dishonest villain, who isn't so obviously dangerous and deadly, as a wolf. A weasel is more devious and sneaky, rather than overtly aggressive and immediately dangerous, like a lion or wolf. However, the ears are dog ears, whereas, a weasel's, or wolf's, for that matter, are pointy, like a cat's.
AFAIK the Mickey Shyster is supposed to be a wolf (at least in the first German translation he was called Rechtsanwalt Wolf [attorney at law Wolf]) - hence the black skin. The Barks character looks nothing like a wolf.
I would guess Gottfredson's is a weasel. That would be appropriate for a sneaky, untrustworthy, dishonest villain, who isn't so obviously dangerous and deadly, as a wolf. A weasel is more devious and sneaky, rather than overtly aggressive and immediately dangerous, like a lion or wolf. However, the ears are dog ears, whereas, a weasel's, or wolf's, for that matter, are pointy, like a cat's.
Yeah, a weasel definitely fits his personality, but I don't think he looks too much like one.
No matter what I say or do, know that Jesus loves you.
I would guess Gottfredson's is a weasel. That would be appropriate for a sneaky, untrustworthy, dishonest villain, who isn't so obviously dangerous and deadly, as a wolf. A weasel is more devious and sneaky, rather than overtly aggressive and immediately dangerous, like a lion or wolf. However, the ears are dog ears, whereas, a weasel's, or wolf's, for that matter, are pointy, like a cat's.
Yeah, a weasel definitely fits his personality, but I don't think he looks too much like one.
Well, he looks even less like a wolf or dog. Gottfredson's side characters, that weren't mice, pigs, cows, horse's and chickens were always given generic dogs' ears, and generic human-style faces, when given a short nose could be bears, and given a long snout, could be dogs, or just unidentifiable "generic" animal/human hybrids.
Yeah, a weasel definitely fits his personality, but I don't think he looks too much like one.
Well, he looks even less like a wolf or dog. Gottfredson's side characters, that weren't mice, pigs, cows, horse's and chickens were always given generic dogs' ears, and generic human-style faces, when given a short nose could be bears, and given a long snout, could be dogs, or just unidentifiable "generic" animal/human hybrids.
I agree he doesn't look too much like a wolf, but I can see him being a dog. That's just my opinion, though. I don't think any animal perfectly fits his design.
No matter what I say or do, know that Jesus loves you.
Well, he looks even less like a wolf or dog. Gottfredson's side characters, that weren't mice, pigs, cows, horse's and chickens were always given generic dogs' ears, and generic human-style faces, when given a short nose could be bears, and given a long snout, could be dogs, or just unidentifiable "generic" animal/human hybrids.
I agree he doesn't look too much like a wolf, but I can see him being a dog. That's just my opinion, though. I don't think any animal perfectly fits his design.
I agree 100%. I think Gottfredson drew it up deliberately as a "generic comic book secondary character animal", to allow the reader to "decide" for himself, or herself, which animal "race" it is (weasel, dog, wolf, fox). Many 1930s and 1940s comic artists just used a generic animal/human hybrid design, adding a bulbous black nose to a longer snout, or keeping it short, like a human's.
AFAIK the Mickey Shyster is supposed to be a wolf (at least in the first German translation he was called Rechtsanwalt Wolf [attorney at law Wolf]) - hence the black skin. The Barks character looks nothing like a wolf.
The Scrooge McDuck Wiki says he is a rat, and I think the Disney Wiki says that this is what Gottfredson thought.
I wonder, are there any actual sources on this being said by Gottfredson? The Disney Wiki entry doesn't link to any. I think it's dangerous to trust Wiki pages on stuff like this without further information.
I agree he doesn't look too much like a wolf, but I can see him being a dog. That's just my opinion, though. I don't think any animal perfectly fits his design.
I agree 100%. I think Gottfredson drew it up deliberately as a "generic comic book secondary character animal", to allow the reader to "decide" for himself, or herself, which animal "race" it is (weasel, dog, wolf, fox). Many 1930s and 1940s comic artists just used a generic animal/human hybrid design, adding a bulbous black nose to a longer snout, or keeping it short, like a human's.
Uh, RobbK1, just for the record, Gottfredson didn't design Sylvester Shyster. The character was introduced in the opening strip of the "Mickey Mouse in Death Valley" serial (April 1, 1930), when the strip was still written by Walt Disney and drawn by Win Smith.
I would guess Smith designed Shyster, possibly in collaboration with Walt.
The Scrooge McDuck Wiki says he is a rat, and I think the Disney Wiki says that this is what Gottfredson thought.
I wonder, are there any actual sources on this being said by Gottfredson? The Disney Wiki entry doesn't link to any. I think it's dangerous to trust Wiki pages on stuff like this without further information.
I agree completely. Wikis should use sources more. I was just stating what they claimed. Whether what they said is true or not, I do not claim to know.
No matter what I say or do, know that Jesus loves you.
I agree 100%. I think Gottfredson drew it up deliberately as a "generic comic book secondary character animal", to allow the reader to "decide" for himself, or herself, which animal "race" it is (weasel, dog, wolf, fox). Many 1930s and 1940s comic artists just used a generic animal/human hybrid design, adding a bulbous black nose to a longer snout, or keeping it short, like a human's.
Uh, RobbK1, just for the record, Gottfredson didn't design Sylvester Shyster. The character was introduced in the opening strip of the "Mickey Mouse in Death Valley" serial (April 1, 1930), when the strip was still written by Walt Disney and drawn by Win Smith.
I would guess Smith designed Shyster, possibly in collaboration with Walt.
Yes, I forgot that that was already mentioned above, in this very thread.
I wonder, are there any actual sources on this being said by Gottfredson? The Disney Wiki entry doesn't link to any. I think it's dangerous to trust Wiki pages on stuff like this without further information.
I agree completely. Wikis should use sources more. I was just stating what they claimed. Whether what they said is true or not, I do not claim to know.
I'm not near my references, but will soon be, and I'll try to see whether there's a source for this.
I have an image of what seems to be the earliest conceptual sketch of Shyster by Win Smith, done when "Death Valley" was in the planning stages. I'm attaching it to this posting. Shyster is more ratlike in this drawing than anywhere else, with extra-ratlike feet and a long, furless rodent tail.
I grew up assuming Shyster was a dog, because he looked like one, to me, in later Gottfredson stories. I think it's fair to say that he was created as a rat and later drawn more ambiguously by those unaware of his origin; whether Gottfredson still perceived him as a rat I'll try to determine. Given rats' association (however unearned) with being greedy scavengers, they do seem like an obvious animal to portray as crooked lawyers (as would weasels, pigs, etc.)
Post by TheMidgetMoose on Aug 3, 2019 20:55:52 GMT
On the topic of Shyster's species, I just noticed that in Thomas Andrae's foreward to Volume One of Fantagraphics' Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse series, he refers to him as "a top-hatted rat that Disney created for the strip." I'm not sure exactly what his source was, but I'd assume this means that Shyster can safely be referred to as a rat. As to whether or not this was the intention of his creators, I'm not sure, but it does seem likely based on Ramapith's post on this thread.
No matter what I say or do, know that Jesus loves you.