Should there be a company-driven Duckiverse canon?

[juicymcduck]

I think the title's pretty clear, but I'll develop anyway. As you all know, there has never been a company-driven, regulated attempt at building a Duckiverse canon. While some authors do reference each other, and Barksian elements often pop up, it's basically down to the author's personal preferences. There are a few very basic constants (Scrooge is Donald's uncle, the triplets are Donald's nephew, they all live in Duckburg), the rest is up to whoever writes the story (how many siblings does Scrooge have? what about uncles and cousins? did he migrate to America with or without his parents? when was Duckburg founded, and by whom?)



The advantage is that it allows more creative freedom. But for people like me who appreciate continuity (or at least the illusion thereof), that means the stories are all over the place.



Now, my question is: should there be an official attempt at establishing a canon? I'd argue that something like that already seems in development. Historically, European (especially Italian) duck comics were their own universe, having nothing to do with whatever world Barks was creating in the US. But Marco Gervasio's recent Fantomius saga actually mixes the two continuities quite well.

What do you all think?

[Minotaur]

From what I know, there are some historical facts established by LoT that Egoment would not allow any story to violate. However, I personally don't agree with this attempt, as authors may have different opinions on the history of Duckburg, and you simply can't say whose idea is superior. With so many authors (from so many contries!) working for Duck stories, it is impossible to reach a consensus that everyone would be satisfied with. So my idea is to allow the author to create the Duckburg that they have in mind, after all, most of the people write the story for love instead of money! 

[juicymcduck]

Aug 19, 2018 12:14:45 GMT Minotaur said:

From what I know, there are some historical facts established by LoT that Egoment would not allow any story to violate.

Oh, really? I never heard of that! That's very interesting. Do tell me more if you can!

[Scroogerello]

Aug 19, 2018 12:01:25 GMT juicymcduck said:

Historically, European (especially Italian) duck comics were their own universe, having nothing to do with whatever world Barks was creating in the US.

They had everything to do with Barks' creations; Barks' stories were printed in Europe from the beginning, and all European (including Italian) stories were based on Barks' work. Ask any Italian Disney comic creator and they'll tell you they're a massive Barks fan.

Anyway, I personally don't care about "canon", since it doesn't affect the storytelling or entertainment value of the stories in any way. You can read practically every Duck comic (except Rosa's stories) with any "canon" you want in mind and it still wouldn't cause inconsistencies or plot holes, so why bother. As you mention, there are just a few main "truths" in the Duck-world, and as long as authors work with that (and don't drastically alter characterizations or something like that) it's consistent enough for me.

[basil]

"Creative without strategy is called 'art'. Creative with strategy is called 'advertising'." Jef I. Richards

[Minotaur]

Aug 19, 2018 12:18:54 GMT juicymcduck said:

Aug 19, 2018 12:14:45 GMT Minotaur said:

From what I know, there are some historical facts established by LoT that Egoment would not allow any story to violate.

Oh, really? I never heard of that! That's very interesting. Do tell me more if you can!

 Actually I was about to add "if I am not mistaken", because I really can't remember where I got this impression. Sorry!

[Scrooge MacDuck]

I love continuity, but I think it's part of the game that there is no official continuity and we've got to make up our own explanations for all the weird parts that come from authors doing their own wacky things. That said, I wouldn't mind a bit more of the Egmont thing — not hard rules, but heavy encouragement to not contradict deep-set facts like Scrooge having taken part in the 1896 gold rush and being accordingly old, or the existence of at least four siblings for Scrooge. 

[Baar Baar Jinx]

I would also say that the other, and more practical, question here is: If Disney were to embark on such a project at this stage, would we, the long-time fans of this Universe, accept it as the last word this late in the game? Duck comics have been around for almost eighty years, and we've all developed our personal headcanons based on the works of the huge number of creators who've contributed to them. As a company, Disney has essentially acted as an absentee parent during most of this time, letting individual publishers and writers mold the Universe as they see fit without truly establishing continuity-based ground rules or a "series bible". Thus, as Rosa likes to say, Disney may have a legal claim on these characters, but not a moral one (and that includes Donald, HD&L, who were developed primarily in animation, but whose comics counterparts are very different characters). Case in point: both DuckTales series, which are official Disney productions and therefore could theoretically be considered Disney's version of "Duckverse canon", are nevertheless looked upon by most of the fandom as high-budget fanfiction-based subgenre. For the same reason, I feel comfortable rejecting those aspects of the "comics universe" introduced or made mainstream by recent American Disney publishers that contradict my own long-held headcanon: Mouseton being in Calisota, Scrooge's butler being named Quackmore, characters like Brigitta and Gideon, etc. Just because it's been published or aired now doesn't automatically mean it's entitled to be unquestioningly accepted and bestowed with a place in my headcanon in a "franchise" that has existed for so long. I'm sure others feel the same way, and that's why any such "official Disney Duckverse canon" is very unlikely to be wholeheartedly embraced. 

[juicymcduck]

That's the thing though: even in a franchise that has strictly defined canon policy, you're never FORCED to accept it. Ultimately, even when there's a canon, there's no canon *police*. Nobody's going to sic the coppers on you because you refuse to acknowledge the existence of Brigitta. :-p I think canon rules exist to help authors create something coherent, but you as a reader/viewer always have the opportunity to ignore it in part or entirely. That's what many authors of fan fictions do, for example.

[Matilda]

I feel that one of the great delights of playing in the comics Duckiverse is precisely that there is no corporately enforced canon that has held sway worldwide, though certain publishers or countries have had their own working canons at times. Because of the nature of Disney comics publishing, it would probably be difficult for the Corporate Mouse to enforce a canon on comics worldwide. More difficult than, for example, the Lucas folks defining canon in the Star Wars universe (even, I vaguely understand, to the extent of ruling out of canon a whole already-published literature). And as Baar Baar Jinx says, the fandom would resist it.

In fact, I tell people that the fictional world of the comics Duckiverse (and Mousiverse, too, but I don't care or talk about that) may be unique in the world in this very respect: that there are many parallel developments of the same characters in different narrative streams which are often incompatible (sorry, Scrooge MacDuck!) but are all allowed to flourish, with no one enforcing one view on the whole comics world. Egmont or whoever may set some working canon, but only for its own writers, not for all Disney comics everywhere. Are there any instances of this in other fictional narrative worlds? Anyway, it's one of the things I most love about the Duckiverse. That each reader gets to form her/his own canon (or not!), and no one's canon is any more officially legitimate than anyone else's.

My own personal canon is very close to yours, juicymcduck: most of Barks, almost all of Rosa, plus everything I like which doesn't contradict either of those. But like you, I often enjoy and appreciate stories which do not become "real" (canon) to me. I like the fact that most of the other fans I converse with online are willing to acknowledge my right to have my own canon, even if it's very different from theirs. So we can talk about what's canon to us, and about what we appreciate that's not canon to us, without getting into fights about whose canon is the Really Legitimate Canon. The varieties of narrative streams in Disney comics worldwide and the varieties of the canons individual fans create out of that rich diversity are a feature, not a bug!

[Scrooge MacDuck]

Aug 19, 2018 15:35:56 GMT Matilda said:

In fact, I tell people that the fictional world of the comics Duckiverse (and Mousiverse, too, but I don't care or talk about that) may be unique in the world in this very respect: that there are many parallel developments of the same characters in different narrative streams which are often incompatible (sorry, Scrooge MacDuck!)

Hey, again, I'm happy to acknowledge there's a gigabillion of square pegs which can only be fitted in the round hole of continuity by hammering at them for literal years and speaking to them softly all the while. That's what makes it fun. I find the milder continuity-issues of most other fandoms I'm in boring. Even big-shots of continuity tangle-up like Doctor Who can't always compare. 

[deb]

With sales of comic books in decline in many markets, coming up with a “Duckiverse” canon is probably a very low priority at this point. Gotta push Star Wars and Marvel!

[Baar Baar Jinx]

Aug 20, 2018 14:06:24 GMT deb said:

With sales of comic books in decline in many markets, coming up with a “Duckiverse” canon is probably a very low priority at this point. Gotta push Star Wars and Marvel!

Except for the brief interregnum in the early '90s when they published their own books in hopes of capitalizing on the popularity of Roger Rabbit and the Disney Afternoon (and we all know how that turned out), the comics never seemed to be a priority for Disney as a company. They seem very happy to let individual licensed publishers sweat the details (while maintaining stringent veto power) and raking in the profits from said licenses. 

[deb]

Right now if they had a canon, it would likely be the current DuckTales canon.

[crazycatlord]

The best canon should be "only in last instance create parents, siblings and sons/daughters; try to stick to uncles, cousins and nephews" (much lower possibility of contradiction between several stories).