Alternate Donalds in Italian Comics

[Scrooge MacDuck]

Drakeborough suggested a thread about Donald's alter-egos (most of them from Italian series). For starters, here's a list:

• The oldest, most Barks-like one is surely "Agent QQ7" of the MIA ("McDuck Intelligence Agency"), in a series of James Bond parodies where Scrooge sends Donald, Daisy and (later) Fethry out to fight evil-doers such as Dog Finger/Moldfinger, armed with Gyro Gearloose gadgetry. It takes itself far less seriously than the later DoubleDuck stories.
  

• Very similar is the TNT series, where Donald and Fethry have a part-time job as part of a Men-in-Black-style organization of "tamers of supernatural things". Interestingly, though the organization nominally handles "non-terrestrial" threats (this is reflected in some of its foreign names as well), most of the monsters are quite earthly, such as underground demons and ghosts.

But now those that everyone thinks of when mentioning the Italian alter-egos:

• The original Paperinik/Duck Avenger: Donald, having found the wardrobe and lair of early 20th century gentleman-thief Fantomius/Phantom Duck/Phantomallard, uses it (and later additional gadgets built by Gyro Gearloose) to become a Zorro-style "avenger of the night", who rights wrongs but is still clearly Donald under the mask, also using his identity for petty revenge against Scrooge, Gladstone or Rockerduck.

• The heroic Paperinik/Duck Avenger: a "mellowing" of the above, the modern-day Paperinik is much closer to a Batman-style figure, acting as a superhero vigilante for Duckburg, though he retains some of Donald's clumsiness and hot temper. 

• The PKNA Duck Avenger (and Superduck): though the former is in continuity with the previous Paperinik unlike the latter, both are essentially similar in style. Either through finding a supercomputer in the Ducklair Tower or becoming part of an organization known as the "Keepers of the Galaxy", Paperinik gets an upgrade to galactic superhero, battling aliens called Evronians (and, in Superduck's case, other supervillains as well) in a superhero series played straight rather than as a spoof — and fans of superhero and sci-fi all agree that, for all that it clashes with the usual Disney comics tone, it's a damn good superhero series.

• Q-Galaxy: Huey, Dewey and Louie are recruited as "Keepers of the Galaxy". Much goofier in tone than Superduck, with which it is not actually in continuity (it's just a similar concept); did not last for very long.

• DoubleDuck: Like PKNA, basically "Donald as James Bond, played straight". Donald is recruited into "the Agency", a worldwide intelligence network, by accident, and surprisingly becomes one of their best agents. He is usually partnered with ambiguous agent Kay K. 

• Paperino Paperotto: Flashbacks to Donald's youth on Grandma's farm. While some of the stories are done in a style similar to "regular" stories, most have a more modern, vaguely manga-like, over-the-top style owed to Alessandro Barbucci. A subseries features the kids in a "modern" setting, while the others are supposed to be in continuity with the present-day stories (one even showed how Scrooge hired Albert Quackmore).

[Baar Baar Jinx]

Jul 5, 2017 12:56:37 GMT Scrooge MacDuck said:

Paperino Paperotto: Flashbacks to Donald's youth on Grandma's farm. While some of the stories are done in a style similar to "regular" stories, most have a more modern, vaguely manga-like, over-the-top style owed to Alessandro Barbucci. A subseries features the kids in a "modern" setting, while the others are supposed to be in continuity with the present-day stories (one even showed how Scrooge hired Albert Quackmore).

Ah, this is the one known as "Donald Duckling" in English, correct? And Della never appears nor is mentioned? Ditto Donald's parents? Does Gladstone appear, or Gus or Gyro? And does Donald Ducking interact with Scrooge? If so, what are those interactions like?

Who are the other characters and what's their relationship to Donald?



And was there an attempt to bring these characters into adult Donald's world, or was this just promo art?

[Scrooge MacDuck]

Jul 5, 2017 15:17:06 GMT Baar Baar Jinx said:

Jul 5, 2017 12:56:37 GMT Scrooge MacDuck said:

Paperino Paperotto: Flashbacks to Donald's youth on Grandma's farm. While some of the stories are done in a style similar to "regular" stories, most have a more modern, vaguely manga-like, over-the-top style owed to Alessandro Barbucci. A subseries features the kids in a "modern" setting, while the others are supposed to be in continuity with the present-day stories (one even showed how Scrooge hired Albert Quackmore).

Ah, this is the one known as "Donald Duckling" in English, correct? And Della never appears nor is mentioned? Ditto Donald's parents? Does Gladstone appear, or Gus or Gyro? And does Donald Ducking interact with Scrooge? If so, what are those interactions like?

Who are the other characters and what's their relationship to Donald?



And was there an attempt to bring these characters into adult Donald's world, or was this just promo art?

1 - Can't say I recall who all of them are (haven't ready any Paperotto in a while). The fat one is "Tom", the greedy, dim friend. The one with the black hair and thick eyebrows is Millicent, money-obsessed classmate. Check out Inducks form the others.

2 - There has been a story showing them in college, with Millicent temporarily hitting on Donald after learning his uncle is her idol Scrooge McDuck. I'm not sure there was ever a story set in the actual present-day — I have a vague recollection of it being mentioned somewhere, but ehhh. Again, though I don't disregard its canonicity, I don't really like the series, on a purely esthetic point of view.

[jubalpomp]

Jul 5, 2017 12:56:37 GMT Scrooge MacDuck said:

[li]The PKNA Duck Avenger (and Superduck): though the former is in continuity with the previous Paperinik unlike the latter, both are essentially similar in style. Either through finding a supercomputer in the Ducklair Tower or becoming part of an organization known as the "Keepers of the Galaxy", Paperinik gets an upgrade to galactic superhero, battling aliens called Evronians (and, in Superduck's case, other supervillains as well) in a superhero series played straight rather than as a spoof — and fans of superhero and sci-fi all agree that, for all that it clashes with the usual Disney comics tone, it's a damn good superhero series.

[/li][/quote]
ARGH! PKNA Duck Avenger is the same Classic Duck Avenger. The one you refer to is PK-Pikappa Duck Avenger. Pk-Pikappa is a not-so-good series in which Donald hasn't ever been Duck Avenger and he becomes "Pk" (not Paperinik) by meeting the Guardians of the Galaxy

[Scrooge MacDuck]

Jul 5, 2017 16:46:43 GMT jubalpomp said:

ARGH! PKNA Duck Avenger is the same Classic Duck Avenger. The one you refer to is PK-Pikappa Duck Avenger. Pk-Pikappa is a not-so-good series in which Donald hasn't ever been Duck Avenger and he becomes "Pk" (not Paperinik) by meeting the Guardians of the Galaxy.

I am aware that continuity-wise, the PKNA Paperinik is the same person as the older, Gyro-based Paperinik whereas the Pikappa one (Superduck) is not. However, style-wise, PKNA clearly deserves its own category in the "alternate Donalds", since the type of stories told with him are so different and the mythos is kinda differen too — in the same way that Paperino Paperotto has his own category even though he's technically just supposed to be a younger version of the Donald we know.

[drakeborough]

Jul 5, 2017 15:17:06 GMT Baar Baar Jinx said:

Jul 5, 2017 12:56:37 GMT Scrooge MacDuck said:

Paperino Paperotto: Flashbacks to Donald's youth on Grandma's farm. While some of the stories are done in a style similar to "regular" stories, most have a more modern, vaguely manga-like, over-the-top style owed to Alessandro Barbucci. A subseries features the kids in a "modern" setting, while the others are supposed to be in continuity with the present-day stories (one even showed how Scrooge hired Albert Quackmore).

Ah, this is the one known as "Donald Duckling" in English, correct?

Exactly, in English he seems to be informally known as either "Donny Duck" or "Donald Duckling": Inducks says the former is used by Disney Italia and the latter by Egmont.

The only story about the character that appeared in the USA is this one (San Diego Comic Con (More) #05-2, July 14, 2005), which for some reason was reduced from 46 to 15 pages. Here, he is called Donald Duckling.

Also, this D-coded story with the character appeared in English in a Norwegian edition and here the character was named Donny Duck.

Jul 5, 2017 15:17:06 GMT Baar Baar Jinx said:

And Della never appears nor is mentioned? Ditto Donald's parents? Does Gladstone appear, or Gus or Gyro? And does Donald Ducking interact with Scrooge? If so, what are those interactions like?

Della and Donald's parents never appear, and we are not given any explanation for their absence and for the fact that Donald lives at Grandma Duck's farm in Quack Town. Indeed, I think the name Quack Town was first used in the Paperino Paperotto series, though it has later been used for stories set in the present as well. Grandpa Duck also never appear nor is ever mentioned.

Gladstone and Scrooge appear regularly, the latter more than the former (as you may guess, the series is not meant to fit into Rosa's continuity), and they are both portrayed as living in Duckburg unlike Donald. Also, in the second long Donald Duckling story (Paperino Paperotto e un cent per Millicent, 1999) Scrooge is said to be Grandma's brother, and this is notable as probably the last time in which Scrooge and Grandma are referred to as siblings in an Italian story. Danish stories, on the other hand, avoid using Scrooge and Glastone in order to differentiate the past from the present.

Gus never apears, while Gyro appeared only once, in this 2013 story: he lives in Duckburg.

Last September, Bruno Enna, who is one of the most active writers of the series in addition to being one its co-creators, was asked about the missing characters and related subjects in this interview (I'll only translate few bits):

What is your opinion about the continuity of Carl Barks and Don Rosa and of The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck?

I think that every kind of continuity can live autonomally. I adore reading stories by Barks and Don Rosa, but [I remove a bit that would create a problem for the translation] the good thing about the Disney world is in my opinion its variety, then everybody is free to choose his/her interpretation.

Do you prefer the idea of some Italian stories according to which Scrooge and Grandma Duck are siblings?

I grew up in the generation that regarded them as such, but personally I prefer avoding the subject. There are other things about their ralationship that interest me.

Could Donald's parents, Quackmore and Hortense, and his sister Della ever make an appearance in your stories? Grandpa Dabney? And Gus?

In general, I'd say no. Maybe Gus could be the only one to make an appearance.

As I said, Gus never appeared so far, and the fact that the sibling thing is never stated is generally true, with the only exception that I mentioned above (but Enna was not the writer of that comic).

Jul 5, 2017 15:17:06 GMT Baar Baar Jinx said:

Who are the other characters and what's their relationship to Donald?

They are Donald's friends and classmates at school. From left to right: Betty Lou, Tom, Donald, Millicent and Louis. Other characters from the series are listed here.

Jul 5, 2017 15:17:06 GMT Baar Baar Jinx said:

And was there an attempt to bring these characters into adult Donald's world, or was this just promo art?

They appeared as adults in a 4-part story written by Enna and published between January and February of this year. The image above is a detail from the cover of Topolino 3196, which published the last episode.

Jul 5, 2017 15:29:44 GMT Scrooge MacDuck said:

2 - There has been a story showing them in college, with Millicent temporarily hitting on Donald after learning his uncle is her idol Scrooge McDuck. I'm not sure there was ever a story set in the actual present-day — I have a vague recollection of it being mentioned somewhere, but ehhh. Again, though I don't disregard its canonicity, I don't really like the series, on a purely esthetic point of view.

I also have a memory of reading about a (Danish?) story with adult Millicent, and a few months ago I tried to find its Inducks page. However, I had no clue as to where I should look for, so I didn't find it.

In Italian stories, Millicent knows that Donald's uncle is the famous Scrooge McDuck and the two even met, but as I said Danish stories avoided showing Scrooge in the series.

[The KKM]

drakeborough any chance you could get me scans of his childhood friends as adults in that story? like, references to draw them.

[drakeborough]

Jul 6, 2017 16:00:15 GMT The KKM said:

drakeborough any chance you could get me scans of his childhood friends as adults in that story? like, references to draw them.

Here is the cover of Topolino #3196, which published the last episode of the story:

And here is the Inducks link to the story itself.

Before that, the theme of Donald meeting his old school friends had already been used in at least two stories: Paperino e gli amici suoi (Nino Russo/Alessandro Perina, 1992) and Paperino e la allegra rimpatriata (Bruno Sarda/Romano Scarpa, 1996). However, both stories predate the Donald Duckling series and so they feature original one-shot characters.

As for Italian sub-series and alternate identities, there is also Detective Donald, and alter ego of Donald (called by his English name rather than Paperino) who lives in the 1940's and works as a detective. The series is written by Vito Stabile and drawn by Carlo Limido, and so far three episodes have been published in April 2016, September 2016 and January 2017.

[drakeborough]

Jul 5, 2017 15:29:44 GMT Scrooge MacDuck said:

2 - There has been a story showing them in college, with Millicent temporarily hitting on Donald after learning his uncle is her idol Scrooge McDuck. I'm not sure there was ever a story set in the actual present-day — I have a vague recollection of it being mentioned somewhere, but ehhh.

I found it: it's the Mickey Mouse comic Monster high school (2008), a French story whose only worldwide publication was in Le Journal de Mickey #2935. It was not a Danish story like I speculated yesterday, and I find it strange that it was created by French authors, since no Donald Duckling story has ever been prduced in France.

Anyway, the only one of Donald's old school friends that we see in "Monster high school" is Millicent, and here is an image of her from that story:

[sirtao]

By the way, QQ7, Paperinik\PK and DoubleDuck are all in the same continuity.

[Patofu]

I remember the QQ7 stuff. When did it become all the same continuity?

[Scrooge MacDuck]

Jul 7, 2017 1:51:16 GMT Patofu said:

I remember the QQ7 stuff. When did it become all the same continuity?

Paperinik (the original ones, at least; definitely not PK-Pikappa; and the stance on PKNA seems to be that it takes place in "the future" of the normal continuity), DoubleDuck and the MIA are all supposed to take place in unseen moment of the "regular" comic continuity — we must assume, even when nothing in a story suggests it, that the Donald we see fight Neighbor Jones will dress up as Paperinik that night, and might be called by the Agency or by the MIA on a mission at any moment.

[sirtao]

Jul 7, 2017 1:51:16 GMT Patofu said:

I remember the QQ7 stuff. When did it become all the same continuity?

Timecrime

It also explains that most, if not all(at very least "all up until there"), DoubleDuck adventures happen between the end of PK2 and the begin of PKNE, with Donald having retired from super-heroing in that timeframe as narrated in Potere e Potenza

[Patofu]

That last one I know, but I didn't get to read enough of that comic to learn when the QQ7 stuff was mentioned. I thought only the two series mentioned were placed in the same continuity.

[The KKM]