In both appearance and personality, Hortense and Quackmore were identical to Donald, and Matilda was just 'the other sister that looks slightly different'. I'd say the lack of originality of Rosa's take on the characters would be problematic in the new DuckTales series (as well as any future comics, for that matter).
While Quackmore had few appearences, I'd say there's more to Hortense than just being identical to Donald, and Matilda is obviously more than 'the other sister that looks slightly different'. I wouldn't call them unoriginal, though I would have loved to see a modern Hortense in "A Letter from Home".
Changing the subject to comics: Evert Geradts just told me that in the recent series of Dutch 1-pagers featuring young Donald, Della is allowed to appear (and as we discussed she already has) but Quackmore and Hortense are not. Weird decision (too bad, I wanted to see them). Editors haven't said yet if Grandpa Duck can appear or not.
Thanks for that link. So, in these gags, is it implied that Donald (and Della) are being raised by Grandma Duck? Or is it not addressed at all?
Reading your exchange with the author, it seems to me that you are more concerned with consistency, continuity and plausibility than he is. His approach seems to be, use whatever set of facts and circumstances suit the story being told, and ignore the broader implications. He cites Barks' approach in support of his own, and he's probably right about that. Personally, I dislike the whole "Della is an astronaut and out there in space somewhere, not dead or derelict" narrative (I have not been able to read the story in English yet but that is, I believe, the gist of it). This may be because I tend to take a more real-world approach to this universe (yes, a universe that features talking ducks, but we all know they're really people who just look like ducks), and the astronaut story seems too simplistic and clichéd, like the kind of story you would tell a very young child to hide the fact that their parents are dead or derelict. But, back on the DCF, I quickly realized that I was in a minority on this. I wonder how Rosa feels about this version of Della's fate?
Thanks for that link. So, in these gags, is it implied that Donald (and Della) are being raised by Grandma Duck? Or is it not addressed at all?
I don't know. According to Inducks, it seems only two 1-pagers with young Donald have been produced yet (dated December 29, 2016 and January 5, 2017), both written by Evert Geradts, drawn by Carmen Pérez and inked by Comicup Studio. The images are too small for me to read the text, apart from the fact that I can't read Dutch.
Anyway, the first 1-pager shows Donald and Grandma Duck, but I can't say if Donald is living with her or just visiting. And for those who like nitpicking, she doesn't have glasses unlike "The Sign of the Triple Distelfink", tough she could be wearing them irregularly at this point.
His approach seems to be, use whatever set of facts and circumstances suit the story being told, and ignore the broader implications. He cites Barks' approach in support of his own, and he's probably right about that.
First of all, keep in mind that what I wrote to him is a very condensed version of a much deeper analysis I did here (and in my following messages in the same topic). That said, I don't think his approach is the correct one. Regardless of what we think of the astronaut idea, I think the story should have been a little more consistent. These four example will prove it, I think.
1) The author said he wanted to avoid HDL's parents being dead or bad parents, but then what's the point of explaining the fate of the mother but not the father? The reader will assume he is either dead or a bad parent, which totally defies the goal the author set for himself. The explanation that orphans first search the mother and only in a second moment search the father doesn't make sense, since the story doesn't even explain why they didn't stay with their father after their mother became missing. The logical idea was to have both parents disappear at the same time and in the same circumstances.
2) HDL being infants when their mother went missing is, as I said, a contradition to their first appearences in both comics and animation, when they were older and still living with their mother. I know there isn't 100% continuity in Disney comics, but what was there to gain by ignoring their first appearance just so he could treat Della as an unknown character? It's not like the pathos was bigger if she disappeared earlier, and you get a sensation of laziness ("Taking care of a coherent Duck world where Taliaferro’s stories are synced with newer stories doesn’t interest me that much"). To make a comparison: how will readers react if a story produced today showed the first encounter between Scrooge and a younger Magica that contradicts and ignores "The Midas' Touch"? Not well, I think: when similar things happen in Italian comics I see a lot of Italian fans (including people who would normally not care about continuity) bashing these stories. Plus, I showed that it wouldn't have been hard at all to tie Della's disappearance with the old strips.
3) The author justified Donald not knowing Della had three children by saying that Internet didn't exist back then. A really poor explanation: how about phones, which exist since the 19th century and have been featured since Donald's early appearances? "the story gets more of a kick if Donald is surprised!", he said. Not really, since "I didn't knew you had children" is just a throwaway line in the story.
4) HDL keeping her in space longer to stay with Donald doesn't make sense, since they would be adults when she returns.
Personally, I dislike the whole "Della is an astronaut and out there in space somewhere, not dead or derelict" narrative (I have not been able to read the story in English yet but that is, I believe, the gist of it). This may be because I tend to take a more real-world approach to this universe (yes, a universe that features talking ducks, but we all know they're really people who just look like ducks), and the astronaut story seems too simplistic and clichéd, like the kind of story you would tell a very young child to hide the fact that their parents are dead or derelict.
I can see your point of view, since I also view the duck world as being more or less grounded to reality, and at first I was skeptic of the astronaut idea because the first real-life space travel happened in 1961, while a story about Della becoming missing would take place (if we follow Rosa's timeline) in the mid-1940's. However, as long as the space travel is portrayed as being science fiction-y, I can sort of accept it, giving that space stories in the duck world have been produced since 1937. Of course, like I said, I wish the idea was used in a more thought-out story, with less continuity problems and no cameos from characters from separate universes. It would be fun to see a remake of this story which keeps the good of it while removing the bad.
Thanks for that link. So, in these gags, is it implied that Donald (and Della) are being raised by Grandma Duck? Or is it not addressed at all?
I don't know. According to Inducks, it seems only two 1-pagers with young Donald have been produced yet (dated December 29, 2016 and January 5, 2017), both written by Evert Geradts, drawn by Carmen Pérez and inked by Comicup Studio. The images are too small for me to read the text, apart from the fact that I can't read Dutch.
Anyway, the first 1-pager shows Donald and Grandma Duck, but I can't say if Donald is living with her or just visiting. And for those who like nitpicking, she doesn't have glasses unlike "The Sign of the Triple Distelfink", tough she could be wearing them irregularly at this point.
His approach seems to be, use whatever set of facts and circumstances suit the story being told, and ignore the broader implications. He cites Barks' approach in support of his own, and he's probably right about that.
First of all, keep in mind that what I wrote to him is a very condensed version of a much deeper analysis I did here (and in my following messages in the same topic). That said, I don't think his approach is the correct one. Regardless of what we think of the astronaut idea, I think the story should have been a little more consistent. These four example will prove it, I think.
1) The author said he wanted to avoid HDL's parents being dead or bad parents, but then what's the point of explaining the fate of the mother but not the father? The reader will assume he is either dead or a bad parent, which totally defies the goal the author set for himself. The explanation that orphans first search the mother and only in a second moment search the father doesn't make sense, since the story doesn't even explain why they didn't stay with their father after their mother became missing. The logical idea was to have both parents disappear at the same time and in the same circumstances.
2) HDL being infants when their mother went missing is, as I said, a contradition to their first appearences in both comics and animation, when they were older and still living with their mother. I know there isn't 100% continuity in Disney comics, but what was there to gain by ignoring their first appearance just so he could treat Della as an unknown character? It's not like the pathos was bigger if she disappeared earlier, and you get a sensation of laziness ("Taking care of a coherent Duck world where Taliaferro’s stories are synced with newer stories doesn’t interest me that much"). To make a comparison: how will readers react if a story produced today showed the first encounter between Scrooge and a younger Magica that contradicts and ignores "The Midas' Touch"? Not well, I think: when similar things happen in Italian comics I see a lot of Italian fans (including people who would normally not care about continuity) bashing these stories. Plus, I showed that it wouldn't have been hard at all to tie Della's disappearance with the old strips.
3) The author justified Donald not knowing Della had three children by saying that Internet didn't exist back then. A really poor explanation: how about phones, which exist since the 19th century and have been featured since Donald's early appearances? "the story gets more of a kick if Donald is surprised!", he said. Not really, since "I didn't knew you had children" is just a throwaway line in the story.
4) HDL keeping her in space longer to stay with Donald doesn't make sense, since they would be adults when she returns.
Personally, I dislike the whole "Della is an astronaut and out there in space somewhere, not dead or derelict" narrative (I have not been able to read the story in English yet but that is, I believe, the gist of it). This may be because I tend to take a more real-world approach to this universe (yes, a universe that features talking ducks, but we all know they're really people who just look like ducks), and the astronaut story seems too simplistic and clichéd, like the kind of story you would tell a very young child to hide the fact that their parents are dead or derelict.
I can see your point of view, since I also view the duck world as being more or less grounded to reality, and at first I was skeptic of the astronaut idea because the first real-life space travel happened in 1961, while a story about Della becoming missing would take place (if we follow Rosa's timeline) in the mid-1940's. However, as long as the space travel is portrayed as being science fiction-y, I can sort of accept it, giving that space stories in the duck world have been produced since 1937. Of course, like I said, I wish the idea was used in a more thought-out story, with less continuity problems and no cameos from characters from separate universes. It would be fan to see a remake of this story which keeps the good of it while removing the bad.
I love the cameos of other characters, since I, for one, love to think that the "Forest" stories are set in the same universe as Ducks and Mouse stories, as per the Dutch continuity. However, I agree that the story was rather unbalanced. As for Point 4, I may have misread, but I thought the idea was that the flight was preprogrammed and she couldn't land any earlier than ten years from now even if she tried to?
I love the cameos of other characters, since I, for one, love to think that the "Forest" stories are set in the same universe as Ducks and Mouse stories, as per the Dutch continuity.
To each his own, I guess. Me, I cannot accept the Forest characters (such as a wolf who wears clothes and talks but is still a wolf and tries to eat pigs) existing in the same universe as the Duck characters: I see Donald and the others as human being who just happen to be drawn with duck features.
I also dislike when characters from a Disney animated feature, which may be based on a centuries old story or fairy tale, appear to exist in the Duck same universe. It just doesn't make sense. A bad example of this would be Prince John, an historical character who died in 1216 and yet appears to be alive in modern Duckburg (I am talking about the same story that shows Della as an astronaut).
However, I agree that the story was rather unbalanced. As for Point 4, I may have misread, but I thought the idea was that the flight was preprogrammed and she couldn't land any earlier than ten years from now even if she tried to?
It's been many months since I tried to Google Translate the dialogues involving Della from the Brazilian version of the comic, so I can't be certain it's not like you said. Anyway, from what I remember, this is what happened:
*Della has an habit of almost crashing everytime, but that's only because she's very skilled as a pilot, so she goes on until she has used 50% of the fuel, and then she does an inversion and comes back, meaning she uses 100% of the fuel the very moment she lands, without wasting a drop.
*When she was lost in space, what happened is that she "just" lost contact on Earth. Theorically she could return whenever she wants, it's just that there's nobody to tell her to return. She doesn't realize she is traveling at (or near) the speed of light, since the possibility of doing it was an accidental discovery (done because of the sperimental fuel that was used).
*When Gyro manages to contact her (which wasn't even his original goal), Della says she has been away for 15 minutes and has fuel to travel for 1 hour, meaning she will travel for another 15 minutes before doing an inversion, plus 30 minutes to return.
*HDL could tell her to do an inversion now (meaning she will spend other 15 minutes at the speed of light) but chose not to do it (meaning she will spend other 45 minutes at the speed of light). She noticed HDL look like her sons, but thinks it's just a coincidence, and they confirm this by giving fake names.
*Donald ask HDL why did they lie, and they said it was to avoid worrying her, and above all to keep living with Donald.
I think HDL's reasoning doesn't make sense: regardless of whether she spends 15 or 45 more minutes of travel at the speed of light, they would stiil have moved out Donald's home by the time she comes back. However, letting her being lost in space for 30 more years is much more sadistic than allowing her to be lost in space for "just" 10 more years (minimum time for her to return).
To be exact, however, the story doesn't say 15 minutes of space travel = 10 Earth years, it's just an assumption I made based on the fact that in these 15 minutes of space travel HDL went on from being newborns to being about 10 years old. But my reasoning stll stands even if you use 9 or 11 instead of 10.
By the way, were these points raised in the old DCF thread?
I love the cameos of other characters, since I, for one, love to think that the "Forest" stories are set in the same universe as Ducks and Mouse stories, as per the Dutch continuity.
To each his own, I guess. Me, I cannot accept the Forest characters (such as a wolf who wears clothes and talks but is still a wolf and tries to eat pigs) existing in the same universe as the Duck characters: I see Donald and the others as human being who just happen to be drawn with duck features.
I also dislike when characters from a Disney animated feature, which may be based on a centuries old story or fairy tale, appear to exist in the Duck same universe. It just doesn't make sense. A bad example of this would be Prince John, an historical character who died in 1216 and yet appears to be alive in modern Duckburg (I am talking about the same story that shows Della as an astronaut).
However, I agree that the story was rather unbalanced. As for Point 4, I may have misread, but I thought the idea was that the flight was preprogrammed and she couldn't land any earlier than ten years from now even if she tried to?
It's been many months since I tried to Google Translate the dialogues involving Della from the Brazilian version of the comic, so I can't be certain it's not like you said. Anyway, from what I remember, this is what happened:
*Della has an habit of almost crashing everytime, but that's only because she's very skilled as a pilot, so she goes on until she has used 50% of the fuel, and then she does an inversion and comes back, meaning she uses 100% of the fuel the very moment she lands, without wasting a drop.
*When she was lost in space, what happened is that she "just" lost contact on Earth. Theorically she could return whenever she wants, it's just that there's nobody to tell her to return. She doesn't realize she is traveling at (or near) the speed of light, since the possibility of doing it was an accidental discovery (done because of the sperimental fuel that was used).
*When Gyro manages to contact her (which wasn't even his original goal), Della says she has been away for 15 minutes and has fuel to travel for 1 hour, meaning she will travel for another 15 minutes before doing an inversion, plus 30 minutes to return.
*HDL could tell her to do an inversion now (meaning she will spend other 15 minutes at the speed of light) but chose not to do it (meaning she will spend other 45 minutes at the speed of light). She noticed HDL look like her sons, but thinks it's just a coincidence, and they confirm this by giving fake names.
*Donald ask HDL why did they lie, and they said it was to avoid worrying her, and above all to keep living with Donald.
I think HDL's reasoning doesn't make sense: regardless of whether she spends 15 or 45 more minutes of travel at the speed of light, they would stiil have moved out Donald's home by the time she comes back. However, letting her being lost in space for 30 more years is much more sadistic than allowing her to be lost in space for "just" 10 more years (minimum time for her to return).
To be exact, however, the story doesn't say 15 minutes of space travel = 10 Earth years, it's just an assumption I made based on the fact that in these 15 minutes of space travel HDL went on from being newborns to being about 10 years old. But my reasoning stll stands even if you use 9 or 11 instead of 10.
By the way, were these points raised in the old DCF thread?
Since in that story, Donald appears to really be eighty years old, it could be much more than ten years. Using "80 years old" without providing a good explanation for why the characters didn't age isn't really a good idea.
Anyway, it's not that sadistic, because if they told her about the whole "time relativity" thing, not only Della would have the awful shock that she missed her sons' entire childhood, but she would have ten years alone in space to stew in her own depression. It'll be a shock either way, but it's better, in their opinion, to tell her when she arrives, at which point they'll be able to talk to her and bond with her immediately thereafter.
Since in that story, Donald appears to really be eighty years old, it could be much more than ten years. Using "80 years old" without providing a good explanation for why the characters didn't age isn't really a good idea.
Yes, the story says Donald is really 80 (another idea I dislike), however it is not said how old was Donald when he got his nephews, so I don't think this argument can be used.
Anyway, it's not that sadistic, because if they told her about the whole "time relativity" thing, not only Della would have the awful shock that she missed her sons' entire childhood, but she would have ten years alone in space to stew in her own depression. It'll be a shock either way, but it's better, in their opinion, to tell her when she arrives, at which point they'll be able to talk to her and bond with her immediately thereafter.
But the ten years alone in space would last only 15 minutes for her.
Since it would be a shock either way, the better idea is to have her return as soon as possible (with a random excuse if needed), since staying away other 10 years is less bad than staying away other 30 years (can we at least agree with this?)
And since HDL explicitly say they lied to let her remain in space for many more years so they could avoid living with her instead of Donald, I am going to call this sadistic. And, as I said, it doesn't make sense anyway because they wouldn't gain more time to live with Donald with their lie.
Last Edit: Jan 7, 2017 20:22:00 GMT by drakeborough
No, drakeborough, I do not believe these points were raised in the old DCF thread, because I do not think anyone explained the story in detail. Your summary tells me much more than I had known before about the content of the story regarding Della.
From what you say, I would agree that there are huge problems with this storyline. I had already assumed that I wouldn't be able to accept the story because of the conceit that Donald is *really* 80 years old and because of the mix of characters in a Duckburg story. But I also agree with you that it makes no sense for HDL to tell Della to keep going, since they'll be living with Donald till they grow up in any case! As you say, they wouldn't even have had to explain the time dilation to her to tell her to come back. And if they did, she'd only be alone with the realization that she'd missed HDL's childhood for subjective minutes.
The one positive thing about Geradts' plot is the idea that her traveling at close to light speed had not been expected, because it was due to the experimental fuel she was using. That seems like a decent way of explaining how she could have been trapped in time dilation unawares.
It's true that this story also doesn't keep HDL's father from being either dead or a deadbeat. That could conceivably be a non-issue if Della were a single parent, as Baar Baar Jinx contends. Della might not even have told the father about her pregnancy.
I was charmed to hear that Geradts had sent Della into space, though, because years ago my then-young godson (whom I had hooked on the Ducks) came up on his own with the idea that both HDL's parents had had to go on a mission into space, and that's why they weren't around. He theorized that for some reason they were chosen by an alien race as the only people they would talk to, and the parents had to agree to this diplomatic role to save the world. I was impressed that he had come up with an idea which prevented Della and her husband from being deadbeat parents, kept them alive, and gave them the only possible legitimate motivation for abandoning your children: saving the world!
I have another Disney comics fan friend who was a child in the late 50's/early 60's who tells me he always assumed that HDL's parents had died in WW2, since he knew more than one set of kids who had had a parent die in the war.
In my headcanon, Hortense and Quackmore raised Donald and Della to adulthood, and may indeed have lived long enough to see HDL as babies. They probably died together in an accident in their late 40's or 50's--very sad, but not all that high on the scale of tragic events. If I wanted to play amateur psychologist, I could hypothesize that some of Donald's anger issues come from unresolved grief, which often surfaces in American males in the form of anger. But I won't, because that would keep Donald's anger from being funny!
What became of Della and her husband is less clear in my headcanon. Some mission may have drawn them to a place where they are out of contact: outer space, the vicinity of Tralla La, wherever. Or they are also dead. I myself can't easily imagine Della as a single parent because that was so much less acceptable in the mid-20th century (like Rosa I imagine the Ducks' "present" as the period when Barks was writing). Having children "out of wedlock" would have marked Della, her boys, and her whole extended family in a negative way. So for me, there's a father who's also disappeared.
Coincidentally, a series of Dutch DD one-pagers is now being published (in the 2017 Dutch Donald Duck Weeklies), centered around Donald's youth with a younger Grandma Duck, in a similar fashion as the Italian Donny Duck stories. However, in these one-page comics, Dumbella does actually appear with a young Donald (or at least, she's appeared in 1 so far):
I know I'm getting off-topic here, but to those who are interested in more cameos by obscure Duck family members: Gertrude Gadwall (from Rosa's tree) appears in a picture in this story: coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=D+2009-151
Last Edit: Jan 7, 2017 23:26:31 GMT by Scroogerello
I'd say rule of thumb is, it's ok for the discussion to flow off-topic, but by the point you realise "hold on, we're going off-topic", maybe start a new topic.
Post by Scrooge MacDuck on Jan 8, 2017 10:56:11 GMT
Anyway, as for theories about Della's absence… Some of you might be interested in reading this fanfiction, which rolls with the idea of Della being a single parent and dead, and also includes Rosa's hints about HDL's father.
No, drakeborough, I do not believe these points were raised in the old DCF thread, because I do not think anyone explained the story in detail. Your summary tells me much more than I had known before about the content of the story regarding Della.
I should have guessed that. After all, the Brazilian version of the story was released in April 2015, the Brazilian user of that forum published a few pictures in August 2015, and I had him publish more pictures in April 2016. For those who missed the link with as many pictures as possible (but not the whole story), here it is. I wouldn't have looked for pictures of the Brazilian version if images of the Dutch version could be found.
From what you say, I would agree that there are huge problems with this storyline. I had already assumed that I wouldn't be able to accept the story because of the conceit that Donald is *really* 80 years old and because of the mix of characters in a Duckburg story. But I also agree with you that it makes no sense for HDL to tell Della to keep going, since they'll be living with Donald till they grow up in any case! As you say, they wouldn't even have had to explain the time dilation to her to tell her to come back. And if they did, she'd only be alone with the realization that she'd missed HDL's childhood for subjective minutes.
I'm glad I'm not the only one to see these problems (Donald being 80, mixing of the universes, lie that doesn't make sense). In addition, there's the fact that HDL are infants (they should be older), and Donald doesn't know Della has sons (bad, but still less bad than the 1941 book in which he didn't know he had a sister while receiving a letter from her).
The one positive thing about Geradts' plot is the idea that her traveling at close to light speed had not been expected, because it was due to the experimental fuel she was using. That seems like a decent way of explaining how she could have been trapped in time dilation unawares.
Yes, I like the fact the space travel was science fiction-y, since this does not contradict the idea that the scenes of Della becoming missing in space took plae before 1961 (first space travel in real life). That was a good idea, tough it could have been better executed. Somehow I wish a remake could be produced with the same idea but without the same problems.
It's true that this story also doesn't keep HDL's father from being either dead or a deadbeat. That could conceivably be a non-issue if Della were a single parent, as Baar Baar Jinx contends. Della might not even have told the father about her pregnancy.
What puzzled me is that the author himself wrote that his goal was to make it clear she is not dead or a deadbeat, but forgot about the father. His justification (orphaned children first look for the mother) doesn't make sense, as the story doesn't even explain why Della couldn't leave HDL with the father. Surely the author didn't mean to imply he is dead or a deadbeat, but that's what his story seems to imply.
I was charmed to hear that Geradts had sent Della into space, though, because years ago my then-young godson (whom I had hooked on the Ducks) came up on his own with the idea that both HDL's parents had had to go on a mission into space, and that's why they weren't around. He theorized that for some reason they were chosen by an alien race as the only people they would talk to, and the parents had to agree to this diplomatic role to save the world. I was impressed that he had come up with an idea which prevented Della and her husband from being deadbeat parents, kept them alive, and gave them the only possible legitimate motivation for abandoning your children: saving the world!
I heard this story from you before (maybe it was on GeoX's website), and yes, it's a curious coincidence that your godson thought of this idea on his own before an official story iused the same idea.
I have another Disney comics fan friend who was a child in the late 50's/early 60's who tells me he always assumed that HDL's parents had died in WW2, since he knew more than one set of kids who had had a parent die in the war.
Indeed, if we use Rosa's timeline in which HDL were born around 1940, then their first stories would take place a few years after their publication, meaning HDL went living with Donald around the time of WW2.
In my headcanon, Hortense and Quackmore raised Donald and Della to adulthood, and may indeed have lived long enough to see HDL as babies. They probably died together in an accident in their late 40's or 50's--very sad, but not all that high on the scale of tragic events. If I wanted to play amateur psychologist, I could hypothesize that some of Donald's anger issues come from unresolved grief, which often surfaces in American males in the form of anger. But I won't, because that would keep Donald's anger from being funny!
I also think Hortense and Quackmore raised Donald and Della into adulthood. I can't decide if they are alive or dead, as "A Letter from Home" doesn't specify this, but I wish the editor would have allowed Don to use them in that story. Anyway, if they died in the late 1940's or in the 1950's, I prefer to think of them dying of natural causes (people's lifespans were shorter back then on average, not everyone could live up to 100 like Scrooge) rather than in an accident.
And speaking of editors: what's the deal with Della being allowed to appear with young Donald in the recent Dutch 1-pagers but Hortense and Quackmore being denied that ? The reasoning behind this really puzzles me.
What became of Della and her husband is less clear in my headcanon. Some mission may have drawn them to a place where they are out of contact: outer space, the vicinity of Tralla La, wherever. Or they are also dead. I myself can't easily imagine Della as a single parent because that was so much less acceptable in the mid-20th century (like Rosa I imagine the Ducks' "present" as the period when Barks was writing). Having children "out of wedlock" would have marked Della, her boys, and her whole extended family in a negative way. So for me, there's a father who's also disappeared.
Well, Cornelius Coot had a child out of wedlock according to Rosa (tough it wasn't said in a story), and I guess Blackheart Beagle did it too (he probably was a father before turning 18), but like you I imagine Della is or was married. I also have not decided her place in my headcanon: the Tralla La idea was good but it never made its way into the finished story, and the astronaut story had also a good idea but with the problems that we outlined.
Trivia time: an Italian story from 2010 has Scrooge lecturing HDL about their family, including the reason Della sent them with Donald. I'll report the given explanation in my next post so that everybody here can try to guess it in advance, but I warn you it's a big trolling.
I know I'm getting off-topic here, but to those who are interested in more cameos by obscure Duck family members: Gertrude Gadwall (from Rosa's tree) appears in a picture in this story: coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=D+2009-151
Thanks for the link, I couldn't have found it myself because she isn't listed in the Inducks page you linked. What is the plot of the story? Does the title "The Future Farmer" mean we see a young Grandma Duck?
Anyway, I am working on a list of stories containing references to stories by Barks and/or Rosa. I will make my list public, so that everyone can add more entries when they found one.
I see why I saw only 2 stories out of 29: I searched from stories published after 2015, but most of the stories you linked don't have a date so they defied the advanced search function.
The strange thing is that the 1-pagers published on 29 December 2016 and 5 January 2017 were both indexed on 6 October 2016. I know the official publication date is sometimes ahead of the real publication date by 1 week, but why is it the gap so big here?
Ayway, Scroogerello, do thes stories imply young Donald lives with Grandma Duck, or can her appearances be explained by the fact he is just visiting her? Does Della appear only 1 time? Does Donald age, since the author wrote "I just finished a series of gags around Donald’s life from his birth to his present age"? And is there some other interesting trivia about these 1-pagers?
Last Edit: Jan 8, 2017 12:07:51 GMT by drakeborough
The one-pagers were all indexed in advance (for future publication). I find it kind of confusing, but apparently the Dutch stories are indexed long before they appear in any issue. Those two "Young Donald" gags we've seen so far were published in the first two issues of 2017; the rest will (presumably) be published throughout 2017. Those one-pagers that have already been indexed in advance include ones titled "Donald's first driving lesson" and "Donald's first pop concert", so Donald probably does age.
As for Gertrude Gadwall's appearance--she is never mentioned in the story, we just see her picture in GD's living room. "The Future Farmer" refers to Gyro Gearloose's invention.