Jones refers to the woman as "Maw," but she doesn't look much older than him.
I suspect Barks actually may have intended the character as Jones' wife—there is a weird old tradition in rural America of husbands referring to their wives as "Mother" or "Ma," referenced in this film series and these Walter Lantz cartoons and also (in one of many similar online examples) here.
But if that was Barks' intent, I don't think a single translator ever picked up on it; so there are now numerous other stories that show the woman as Jones' actual mother, and I'm perfectly fine with that interpretation too. I like the implied power dynamic in the otherwise brassy Jones still living with—and implicitly being intimidated by—his strict mom.
Jones refers to the woman as "Maw," but she doesn't look much older than him.
I suspect Barks actually may have intended the character as Jones' wife—there is a weird old tradition in rural America of husbands referring to their wives as "Mother" or "Ma," referenced in this film series and these Walter Lantz cartoons and also (in one of many similar online examples) here.
But if that was Barks' intent, I don't think a single translator ever picked up on it; so there are now numerous other stories that show the woman as Jones' actual mother, and I'm perfectly fine with that interpretation too. I like the implied power dynamic in the otherwise brassy Jones still living with—and implicitly being intimidated by—his strict mom.
Oh, I'd love to read that Grandpa Beagle story! The presented panels look promising.
In regards to Jones's relationship status, there's three stories that state he's unmarried by means of his girlfriend Hyacinth. It works better for me because with as many stories as there exist featuring Jones, especially ones where he's on holiday or his house gets destroyed, a rarely seen wife tests suspension of disbelief.
The McQuacks, the Blurfs, and the Muddlefoots are the first to come to mind, if animation counts. They really do stand out for having stable, happy marriages. Cintia's parents in the Brazilian Fethry-Dugan comics probably qualify, but I've never read those. The only villain I can readily name who is (or was) married is Diamond Dick, as his (third) marriage matters to explain how he knew about the treasure.
On the mouse side I can name a lot more. [...] Soooo, the tldr is that, yes, there are more married couples in the Mouseverse. If my memory isn't skewed, a throw at an explanation for the difference is that the Mouseverse is not solely built around Mickey, but around a (mixed) core group, thus lending itself much more for thematic inclusion of couples than the Duckverse which is built after a (male) loner. Another reason might be that the Mouseverse as dependent on Mickey deals with a character who embodies idealism, whereas the Duckverse as dependent on Donald deals with a character of conflict. This is reflected in almost all of his relations and naturally the rest of the world'd follow that theme. I estimate that something like what the Churchmouses have would be plain weird in a Duckverse comic (and probs get mocked). I don't think it's odd, per se, as it's coherent with the character (both Donald and Scrooge) people open the comics for.
Thanks! It seems clear, then, that the Mouseverse has more married couples than the Duckverse, even though not many of them show up in more recent comics stories (really only the Piggs?). I find your two theories attempting to account for this to be interesting. Another possibility, I suppose, is that Gottfredson wasn't as sour on marriage as Barks was, pre-Garé. Interesting that Walsh wrote a couple of stories where a main character's relative got married--that's the sort of thing I'd expect to have happened at some point in the Duckverse. All those male Duck cousins who show up--you'd think there could be one who is or gets married.
Do we actually see Minnie's parents in stories? Or just in Gottfredson's newspaper strips?
That's very much possible too, and who knows, maybe it all factors in? Time period might also have to do with it. Gottfredson was great from 1930 to 1940, but lost his touch thereafter. I like to describe "Love Trouble" as a story in which the protagonists somehow manage to out-awful the antagonist, who is very awful himself. It's almost surreal that Gottfredson also created "The Monarch of Medioka", which handles its two relationships, one of which marriage, with such care. Walsh's run thereafter has quite a bit in common with Barks's handling of steady relationships vs women as "story decoration", and in Walsh's case it's easy to tell he's influenced by women taking up jobs during WWII and later the whole spy narrative. I don't find Barks's work as recognizable, but there's elements present, spies in particular. And spies "can't" be married.
Western Publishing writers approximated Walsh's approach (though notably minus female villains. Comics Code?) and for all multi-country, modern-day attempts to homage Gottfredson's work, the fact I can name so few post-Gottfredson married couples as well as Gottfredson married couples that are acknowledged, implies it never quite recovered. Pete/Trudy and Seamus/Petulia stand out as (functionally) obvious exceptions.
Minnie's parents play a large role in "Mr. Slicker and the Egg Robbers" and have a cameo in "Boxing Champion". Minnie's father more than her mother, but she debuts a panel earlier. The, eh, "concept" of Minnie's father has been used in a handful of post-Gottfredson stories, but the couple have yet to get another appearance. As a tidbit, Minnie was clearly an only child during Gottfredson's run, but Walsh made mention of a sister in "Mousepotamia". Which is convenient what with the creation of Millie and Melody twelve years later.
EDIT: Just remembered Eega Beeva's parents get a cameo-by-photo in "Mousepotamia". So they're a still-living married couple on the Mouse side too.
Or is it possible that Gyro's parents or Gus Goose's parents are currently alive, and we just never see them? (I'm thinking Gladstone's parents probably aren't alive, since they don't show up or contact him on his birthday.)
Gus' parents and Gladstone's mother made a cameo in "Dangerous Currency", though that's a story whose canon status is very questionable. Anyway, Rosa regards Gladstone's parents as being alive, and Gyro's father Fulton is alive in "Gyro's First Invention".
the best possibilities are Scrooge's employees, Clerkly and the many-named butler (unless he lives at the mansion and is available to his employer 24/7
I never understood this idea of regarding Clerkly as an actual recurring character, even though he is a one-shot character appearing in few panels. Inducks identifies him with a moltitude of generic employees from later stories, while at the same time admitting that "his name and appearance is not consistent". Uh?
When I scan through the list in Inducks' Duck universe, I can find only a few identifiably married couples: Commissario Pinko and Adelaide Pinko, who are in Fantomius' 1920's Duckburg
That series has at least one other couple: the parents of Fantomius/Lord John Quackett; as for Dolly's parents, I don't remember if we saw them. John and Dolly, on the other hand, live together without being married, like Pete and Trudy; the latter couple was even shown sleeping together, a rarity in Disney comics even for married couples (ask O'Hara and Petulia).
Another unmarried couple that lived together was Grandma Duck and her former boyfriend in Nonna Papera Story (1988), though she told HDL that they were already engaged because she is a serious duck (but it seems it passed a while before he disappeared). The funny thing is that he always calls her "baby" and similar names because at the time she had no established first name.
At the moment I can't remember many other recurring married characters. Paperino Paperotto's friends usually have only one parent, but I think one of them was shown at least once with both parents. Also, the 1991 story Paperinik e l'implacabile Scassonio Strarompi and its 1994 sequel Paperinik e Scassonio Strarompi - 2 : Il ritorno feature a man named Scassonio Strarompi and his wife Bice.
And, of course, we almost got a marriage between Clarabelle and Horace. Does anyone know if Gottfredson was told no or if abandoning that particular plot point was his own choice?)
I don't know about that, but it's interesting to see what happened in the only two pre-War Italian stories with Horace and Clarabelle (both from 1939, with text by Federico Pedrocchi and art by Enrico Pinocchi). At the end of the first one, he aksed her if she would marry him, and she asks for some time to decide. In the second one, they are married and live together (though sleeping in separate beds).
As for existing couples, the Dognose Mayor of Duckburg (the thin one with the mustache) is married in Don Rosa's gardening story, and Mayor Hogwilde has a son in Italian stories (Oliver) and has been seen with a wife as well.
The lack of a name for the Pig Mayor in Italian stories (who is just called "sindaco", meaning "mayor") was sometimes brought to ridiculous extremes, like this:
I mean, the manifests for his rival say "vota Harris" ("vote Harris"), while his manifests say... "vota sindaco" ("vote mayor")?!?! It's not like "Sindaco" is his actual surname!
I won't comment Inducks' lazy attitude when it comes to indexing Cornelius Coot, whose statue is clearly not just a background detail that can be easily overlooked (also, none of the family of the Mayor is indexed for this story).
there is a weird old tradition in rural America of husbands referring to their wives as "Mother" or "Ma," referenced in this film series and these Walter Lantz cartoons and also (in one of many similar online examples) here.
Rosa also used this tradition (married people calling each other "ma" and "pa") for Fergus and Downy, and for Elvira and Humperdink.
Inducks listed her as Granny Beagle from B 850124, treating her as a separate character from the standard "Granny Beagle". Indeed, stories showing Grandpa seem to imply that Granny is dead, and vice versa, as if these stories were set in two different continuities; this may be the reason why Inducks felt the need to distinguish between the two "Granny Beagle" characters.
Beside that, Rosa's Lo$ part 10 also shows Blackheart's wife/girlfriend off-screen (she has a balloon of dialogue) and she is also mentioned later by her sons.
Last Edit: Jul 5, 2017 15:43:49 GMT by drakeborough
Anyway, Rosa regards Gladstone's parents as being alive
Are we sure about this? AFAIK he didn't commit one way or another, and said he just didn't think much about it, to something to that effect. I think we discussed this on another thread, but "The Sign of the Triple Distelfink" seems to imply they are not alive, since an airline employee arrives at Grandma's farm looking for Gladstone's next-of-kin (they thought he died). Why would he do that if Gladstone's parents were alive?
Is this a costumed story? I guess so, since the Goofy-like character is called "Rip Van Goofy".
Well, it apparently stars Madam Mim and the Seven Dwarfs, so it's ineligible to be part my headcanon anyway .
Anyway, Rosa regards Gladstone's parents as being alive
Are we sure about this? AFAIK he didn't commit one way or another, and said he just didn't think much about it, to something to that effect. I think we discussed this on another thread, but "The Sign of the Triple Distelfink" seems to imply they are not alive, since an airline employee arrives at Grandma's farm looking for Gladstone's next-of-kin (they thought he died). Why would he do that if Gladstone's parents were alive?
Now that you mentioned it, there was also this point against Rosa thinking of them as being alive (the point in favor of it was a Papersera quote that I copied in that thread and that suggested that they are alive). Maybe the employee was asking at the farm the whereabouts of Daphne and Goostave? I guess that we can try asking Rosa about this matter.
As for existing couples, the Dognose Mayor of Duckburg (the thin one with the mustache) is married in Don Rosa's gardening story, and Mayor Hogwilde has a son in Italian stories (Oliver) and has been seen with a wife as well.
The lack of a name for the Pig Mayor in Italian stories (who is just called "sindaco", meaning "mayor") was sometimes brought to ridiculous extremes [...]
I'm aware Barks called the pig mayor "Hogwilde" in one story, but it's somehow never stuck with me...
In the Gemstone and now IDW comics my writing team has always called him Mayor Pork—insofar as "pork" is a term for wasteful political spending. It always struck me as the perfect name for the often-spendy mayor.
But—I always believed it was a Barks-created name. Now I'm not so sure. Can anyone solve this?
The lack of a name for the Pig Mayor in Italian stories (who is just called "sindaco", meaning "mayor") was sometimes brought to ridiculous extremes [...]
I'm aware Barks called the pig mayor "Hogwilde" in one story, but it's somehow never stuck with me...
In the Gemstone and now IDW comics my writing team has always called him Mayor Pork—insofar as "pork" is a term for wasteful political spending. It always struck me as the perfect name for the often-spendy mayor.
But—I always believed it was a Barks-created name. Now I'm not so sure. Can anyone solve this?
Barks used pig mayors about half of the time, while using dognose mayors in the other half: the idea, which I like, is that we were seeing a different mayor every time. Modern stories, on the other hand, decided to stick with a pig mayor, to the point that Inducks has a page for the Pig Mayor (i.e., regarding all the pig mayors as one character) but doesn't have a page for dognose (or duck) mayors.
Most of Barks' mayors are unnamed, but he used the name "Hogwilde" for the pig mayor in "The Giant Robot Robbers" (Uncle Scrooge #58, July 1965):
The 2007 story Golden Apples, written by Geoffrey Blum (based on a lost Barks story) and drawn by Daan Jippes ,has a pig mayor named Hogg, a name that was obviously invented by Blum and not by Barks.
Did Gemstone and IDW writers use the tern Mayor Pork in some stories, or is it just an informal name to refer to him? Anyway, I don't think Barks ever used the name Pork.
I think I've somehow confused you, Drakeborough...
I knew "Robot Robbers" was the source for Hogwilde. I was asking if anyone knew the source for Pork.
Gemstone and IDW writers *always* use the term Mayor Pork, as a rule, and I'm one of the editors who have enforced it. What I was trying to say was—I've always thought the name Mayor Pork came from Barks too, and I'm wondering which Barks story it might have been. (Twenty years ago, I might have known... but now I've forgotten.)
Drakeborough said: The lack of a name for the Pig Mayor in Italian stories (who is just called "sindaco", meaning "mayor") was sometimes brought to ridiculous extremes [...]
As I said above (in an edit): I just found the page for Mayor Hogwilde's son Oliver on the $crooge McDuck Wiki, and that states that the Italian last name of the mayor and his son Oliver is "Gooswon." scrooge-mcduck.wikia.com/wiki/Oliver_Hogwilde
Maybe that last name only appeared in the story featuring Oliver the mayor's son?
Drakeborough said: The lack of a name for the Pig Mayor in Italian stories (who is just called "sindaco", meaning "mayor") was sometimes brought to ridiculous extremes [...]
As I said above (in an edit): I just found the page for Mayor Hogwilde's son Oliver on the $crooge McDuck Wiki, and that states that the Italian last name of the mayor and his son Oliver is "Gooswon." scrooge-mcduck.wikia.com/wiki/Oliver_Hogwilde
Maybe that last name only appeared in the story featuring Oliver the mayor's son?
That is entirely possible, as this is where I found it.
I think I've somehow confused you, Drakeborough...
I knew "Robot Robbers" was the source for Hogwilde. I was asking if anyone knew the source for Pork.
I suspected that may be the only thing you were asking, and in fact I gave an answer, albeit not definitive, for that ("I don't think Barks ever used the name Pork").
Still, I thought that the discussion could benefit from the mention of the source for Hogwilde (which I had to reasearch because I couldn't remember it was "The Giant Robot Robbers") and for the mention of the Blum/Jippes story that named the mayor "Hogg" (a name that hadn't been mentioned yet in the discussion).
Anyway, I would think that if Barks ever used the name Pork, some websites would mention the name in relation to Barks, and the fact that it didn't happen leads me to believe that he never used it. Of curse, the lack of mention in websites doesn't prove anything, and it's possible that Barks used the name Pork in a story that I can't remember, or in which the Italian translation removed the name.
Gemstone and IDW writers *always* use the term Mayor Pork, as a rule, and I'm one of the editors who have enforced it. What I was trying to say was—I've always thought the name Mayor Pork came from Barks too, and I'm wondering which Barks story it might have been. (Twenty years ago, I might have known... but now I've forgotten.)
Further complicating the matter, Scrooge McDuck Wiki says that Uncle Scrooge #382 names the mayor "Hogg", while Inducks says the same issue names the mayor "Pork". Not only that, but Inducks also says that the name appears in element "e" of that issue ("The Madness of King Scrooge!)", but the only story of the issue which lists a mayor is element "d" ("The Great Lot Plot"). Can anyone clarify this confusion?
Drakeborough said: The lack of a name for the Pig Mayor in Italian stories (who is just called "sindaco", meaning "mayor") was sometimes brought to ridiculous extremes [...]
As I said above (in an edit): I just found the page for Mayor Hogwilde's son Oliver on the $crooge McDuck Wiki, and that states that the Italian last name of the mayor and his son Oliver is "Gooswon." scrooge-mcduck.wikia.com/wiki/Oliver_Hogwilde
Maybe that last name only appeared in the story featuring Oliver the mayor's son?
I can't say... I checked the Inducks page for Oliver Gooswon, and he is listed as appearing in 15 stories, published between 2007 and 2009, a period for which my Topolino collection is severly lacking. Anyway, the Inducks list must be incomplete, because I also see him in the first page of the 2007 story La biblioteca dei misteri:
The text clearly gives his full name as Oliver Gooswon, and clearly says he is the son of the mayor. I guess that he was not indexed because this was his debut story (making him, at the time, a one-shot character), and one-shot characters are usually not indexed.
Inducks also failed to list Anarcardo Mitraglia (nephew of Anacleto Mitraglia), and this is more puzzling since he had appeared before: Inducks itself lists him as appearing in 7 stories between 2006 and 2009.
At any rate, I don't remember seeing the mayor's name or surname in any Italian story I've ever read, and this was taken to the extreme in the example I've listed yesterday, in which the manifests asked to vote for "mayor".
Mr Jones (Donald's neighbour) is also a likely case. In a story (can't recall whether it was Barkses or not), when, after a fight with Donald, he was covered with some sticky substance, he was prevented by a woman from entering the house before he cleaned himself. That woman's identity wasn't mentioned. It could be his mom, but it could also be his wife.
That WAS a Barks story. And the woman is a LOT more likely to be his wife than his mother. She looks very close to his age, much closer than 20 years older.
Scrooge McDuck WAS married (in one of my stories, I might add). "Scrooge's Wedding" So, he had an "unsuccessful marriage". I bet that soured him from ever marrying again!
There is a story where an Alternate Scrooge from a slightly different dimension is married to Brigitta. I always wondered if Our Scrooge had cucked him while they switched places...
Rosolio is Magica's official fiancée IIRC
The Duckburg Mayor has been the Mayor of Duckburg so long, everybody must have forgotten his name.
Pete and Trudy can be shown sleeping together even if they aren't married because they are immoral evil criminals, of course they are shown giving in their lowest instincts!
Rosolio is Magica's fiancé, you think? I was under the impression that he was interested in her but it wasn't mutual. But then, I've seen very few stories with Rosolio.