Gus Goose as Grandma's farmhand - Where does it comes from?

[Fethryfan]

Gus has been helping Grandma Duck in her farm for so many years that it's hard to imagine a time in which he wasn't there. But back in the late 30s and early 40s, when both characters were created, they didn't lived together (the fans weren't even sure if they were even related at the time; they could have been from different sides of Donald's family). Apparently, Gus lived with his mother Fanny, and would occasionaly visit his cousin Donald

My question is...which story introduced the concept of Gus living with Grandma and being her farmhand?

[crazycatlord]

The earliest story in INDUCKS featuring Grandma and Gus seems to be "Homespun Detective" (1950), and, by the image, it seems that he is working in the farm in that story.

[LP]

According to INDUCKS, either Homespun Detective or Donald's Grandma Duck is the first story where they appeared in a story together. I can't read the language in the preview-image in Homespun Detective, so I don't know if Gus' status as a farmhand is established here. But I'm pretty sure Gus is established as a farmhand in Donald's Grandma Duck. 

Before these two, Gus did appear in a few Taliaferro strips where he lived on a farm. However, there was no mention of it being Grandma's farm. In fact, I seem to recall Gus being implied as the owner. These strips should be available on INDUCKS.

[LP]

Sept 15, 2021 22:34:19 GMT crazycatlord said:

The earliest story in INDUCKS featuring Grandma and Gus seems to be "Homespun Detective" (1950), and, by the image, it seems that he is working in the farm in that story.

The month and date of publishing of Homespun Detective isn't listed though, so it's possible that Donald's Grandma Duck was first.

[sim]

Sept 15, 2021 22:39:07 GMT LP said:

According to INDUCKS, either Homespun Detective or Donald's Grandma Duck is the first story where they appeared in a story together. I can't read the language in the preview-image in Homespun Detective, so I don't know if Gus' status as a farmhand is established here. But I'm pretty sure Gus is established as a farmhand in Donald's Grandma Duck. 

Before these two, Gus did appear in a few Taliaferro strips where he lived on a farm. However, there was no mention of it being Grandma's farm. In fact, I seem to recall Gus being implied as the owner. These strips should be available on INDUCKS.

According to Donald's Grandma Duck, Gus is Grandma's nephew. If I recall correctly, Rosa intended to respect this relationship by putting him one generation older than Donald, but someone (not sure if his editor or publisher) advise him against.

Anyway, how Gus moved from Fanny's home to Grandma's farm is told in this story.

[LP]

Sept 16, 2021 9:29:38 GMT sim said:

According to Donald's Grandma Duck, Gus is Grandma's nephew. If I recall correctly, Rosa intended to respect this relationship by putting him one generation older than Donald, but someone (not sure if his editor or publisher) advise him against.

Anyway, how Gus moved from Fanny's home to Grandma's farm is told in this story.

This is correct. Gus being Elvira's grand-nephew is probably for the best, as it makes more sense.

It's a shame that this story hasn't been published anywhere outside the Netherlands! It's Fanny's debut and shows the backstory of a relatively major character! That's important lore! (and I want to read it!)

[stuftmcduck]

Wow, it's taken that long for Fanny to have a story where she's an actual character.

And she still looks just like Rosa drew her too! Man that tree was impactful, eh?

[That Duckfan]

Sept 15, 2021 22:51:07 GMT LP said:

Sept 15, 2021 22:34:19 GMT crazycatlord said:

The earliest story in INDUCKS featuring Grandma and Gus seems to be "Homespun Detective" (1950), and, by the image, it seems that he is working in the farm in that story.

The month and date of publishing of Homespun Detective isn't listed though, so it's possible that Donald's Grandma Duck was first.

I'm fairly sure Donald's Grandma Duck was intended to introduce this duo, regardless if it appeared first. I remember reading somewhere (the Fantagraphics Barks library?) that it was an idea from editor Carl Buettner. Gus and Jaq, the Cinderella mice, were taken on board in the next Western story featuring Grandma that same October. I'm not sure if the original idea featured all four or just Gus and Grandma, but they held out four years together.

Was there some kind of mix-up involved in this team-up?
"We should have that fat Gus live with Grandma Duck for adventures"
"What, the mouse from Cinderella?"
"No, I mean --- huh, why not?"

[RobbK1]

Sept 15, 2021 22:39:07 GMT LP said:

According to INDUCKS, either Homespun Detective or Donald's Grandma Duck is the first story where they appeared in a story together. I can't read the language in the preview-image in Homespun Detective, so I don't know if Gus' status as a farmhand is established here. But I'm pretty sure Gus is established as a farmhand in Donald's Grandma Duck. 

Before these two, Gus did appear in a few Taliaferro strips where he lived on a farm. However, there was no mention of it being Grandma's farm. In fact, I seem to recall Gus being implied as the owner. These strips should be available on INDUCKS.

That language is Brazilian Portuguese.  And it IS established that Gus IS Grandma's farmhand.  And THAT fact is an integral part of the story's plot.  It has been stated that Western editor Carl Buettner, or Alice Cobb, had the idea to team Gus and Jaq with Grandma and Gus.  Carl Barks told me that "his editor" told him to introduce the fact that Gus Goose is Grandma Duck's nephew, and works for her as her farmhand, to pay for his room and board and give him some personal spending money(in (Donald's Grandma Duck), and that The Mice From Cinderella also lived on her farm, in her barn (in the second Grandma story he drew-which was published in "Walt Disney's Comics & Stories in 1951). I believe that the adding of Cinderella's Mice was Alice Cobb's idea.  He was adamant in getting the idea across to me that those were not his ideas (especially the adding of Gus and Jaq - apparently a feature which he didn't like).

[Ramapith]

Sept 15, 2021 22:39:07 GMT LP said:

According to INDUCKS, either Homespun Detective or Donald's Grandma Duck is the first story where they appeared in a story together. I can't read the language in the preview-image in Homespun Detective, so I don't know if Gus' status as a farmhand is established here. But I'm pretty sure Gus is established as a farmhand in Donald's Grandma Duck. 

Before these two, Gus did appear in a few Taliaferro strips where he lived on a farm. However, there was no mention of it being Grandma's farm. In fact, I seem to recall Gus being implied as the owner. These strips should be available on INDUCKS.

Barks reflected this too—in the WDCS 107 story, some months before Barks actually drew Gus in a comic, Donald announces that he's taking the nephews to "Cousin Gus' tule bog," a muddy body of water typically near a farm, where Donald attempts to catch frogs.

This is easily reconciled with the later Grandma continuity: presumably, Gus' bog is on or near Grandma's farm property, and Gus considers the big bullfrogs his pets, having trained them to do little chores so Gus can be lazier. (I'm sure Grandma is no fan of this...)

[sim]

Sept 16, 2021 10:31:39 GMT LP said:

Sept 16, 2021 9:29:38 GMT sim said:

According to Donald's Grandma Duck, Gus is Grandma's nephew. If I recall correctly, Rosa intended to respect this relationship by putting him one generation older than Donald, but someone (not sure if his editor or publisher) advise him against.

Anyway, how Gus moved from Fanny's home to Grandma's farm is told in this story.

This is correct. Gus being Elvira's grand-nephew is probably for the best, as it makes more sense.

It's a shame that this story hasn't been published anywhere outside the Netherlands! It's Fanny's debut and shows the backstory of a relatively major character! That's important lore! (and I want to read it!)

Well, I finally managed to buy a copy of that Dutch comic myself!

Plot: Gus' mother is worried because he has finished school three months ago and hasn't found a job yet. Gus reminds her that he tried to be both a carpenter and a mailman, but he was too tired and sleepy. She fears that he won't be good in anything, so he goes outside as he smells some food. On the streets he gets noticed by a couple of talent scouts because of his incredible talent in smelling food ingredients. They bring him to a TV talent show, where two shady figures notice him and take him away offering a "job". Well, things get dangerous here (and I am not going to describe all that happens)... it's night and he manages to escape blocking the passage of Grandma's car on the street. He tells her everything that happened and cries because he was just looking for a job. She brings him home and offers him to work as her servant, then bakes him a cake so he accepts to stay there.

Some considerations:

- Grandma does not know Gus prior to their meeting. She literally asks him: "wie ben je?" (= who are you?). So, according to this story, the two shouldn't be related, and this is something I noticed from other Dutch stories also, Grandma seems to consider Gus just a helper/servant.
- Fanny might be still alive. Well this story takes place some years ago, but not too many. In the final panel at GD's house we can see a picture hanging on the wall portraying newborn HDL with pacifier, thus I'd say no more than 10 years ago. Nothing is said about Luke anyway.
- It's not said whether he sometimes goes back home or not (I guess Fanny should be preoccupied since she has no idea where he is). However it's not even clear where Fanny lives and if that is the same place or a close place at least to Grandma's farm, so he maybe just doesn't know how to go back home, or he could be as well too lazy to.

Another story is featured in the same issue, in which we can see both Luke and Fanny in flashback. From this other story we see the moment the stork leaves the egg at their house and they dealing with Gus' birth and first months inside the stroller. Later in the story, when Gus is adult and the expenses for the food are too many, they decide it's time to send him away and so he goes to Donald's (Fanny writes the letter and the whole sequence is taken from the cartoon/daily strips). When present-day HDL ask where did he go afterwards, Donald says that Gus moved to the countryside, which is also a reference to later Taliaferro strips. Anyway, nobody seems to know when he moved to Grandma's.

More considerations:

- In this story we see more jobs that Gus tries: fireman, animal trainer at the circus and marathon runner. As in the other story, he failed at all of them because he always felt asleep.
- Luke is alive when they decide to send him to Donald. Then he moves to the countryside (as Don says) and I guess that he lives there on his own.
- The only way to match the two stories would be that he returns home some time after having moved out to the countryside. In the meantime Luke might have died, or he simply could be out for work in the first story. Anyway, if we consider this "comeback" option, I find the "Gus having finished school three months ago" detail a bit hard to fit in.

[crazycatlord]

Oct 12, 2021 18:41:06 GMT sim said:

So, according to this story, the two shouldn't be related, and this is something I noticed from other Dutch stories also, Grandma seems to consider Gus just a helper/servant.

In the Portuguese-language stories seems to be the same thing; when I begin to read the internet-about-Disney-characters, I become surprised that he was supposed to be a relative of Donald et al. (and, even physically, he does not resemble much the others, unlike Gladstone).

[Fethryfan]

Oct 12, 2021 21:57:57 GMT crazycatlord said:

Oct 12, 2021 18:41:06 GMT sim said:

So, according to this story, the two shouldn't be related, and this is something I noticed from other Dutch stories also, Grandma seems to consider Gus just a helper/servant.

In the Portuguese-language stories seems to be the same thing; when I begin to read the internet-about-Disney-characters, I become surprised that he was supposed to be a relative of Donald et al. (and, even physically, he does not resemble much the others, unlike Gladstone).

Portuguese stories? Another brazilian user?? Hooray!

When i started reading Disney comics, i always had the feeling that Gus was related to the Duck family and i became quite happy when i saw Don Rosa's tree because i was right (at the time i thought that tree was canon to all the stories, not just Rosa's interpretation)

I don't remember why i always thought that Gus was a relative but i think it's because there was no other reason for Grandma to not fire him (besides her golden heart, of course)

[crazycatlord]

Oct 13, 2021 1:39:44 GMT Fethryfan said:

Oct 12, 2021 21:57:57 GMT crazycatlord said:

In the Portuguese-language stories seems to be the same thing; when I begin to read the internet-about-Disney-characters, I become surprised that he was supposed to be a relative of Donald et al. (and, even physically, he does not resemble much the others, unlike Gladstone).

Portuguese stories? Another brazilian user??

Portuguese.

[Fethryfan]

Oct 13, 2021 2:20:45 GMT crazycatlord said:

Oct 13, 2021 1:39:44 GMT Fethryfan said:

Portuguese stories? Another brazilian user??

Portuguese.

That's great! It's a bit hard to find another user who speaks the same language as me around here

...or at least something similar to it