Minnie's Nieces and Barks Favorites

[David A Gerstein]

	Dear Folks,

	First of all, I saw a Paul Murry story in some 1970s issue of
MM -- the nadir of Mouse material -- in which Minnie's nieces appeared
with the names Pammy and Tammy.  Is everyone confused now?

	In the 1930s Gottfredson strip Minnie had no nieces, only a
nephew, named Manfred.  I only have record of him in a single Sunday
strip, from 1937 I think.

	As for my own favorite Barks stories:

 Story:                    Motivation:
============================================================================

 1. Voodoo Hoodoo           No other story grabbed me quite like this
                            one, which I first read in Gladstone Comic
			    Album #16 at the age of 14.  I liked it so
                            much that I read it *every* day for the
                            week after that, twice on some days.  I
                            have yet to see Bop Bop in a new story...
			    one of these days, I'm gonna do one.

 2. Lost in the Andes       And why not?  :-)

 3. Back to the Klondike    The first long Barks adventure I ever
                            read, way back in 1979.  It matured and
                            grew as I did, gaining its previously
			    excised pages back to enthrall me anew as
			    I grew.

 4. Thievery Afoot	    This ten-page story from 1945's WDC&S #52
			    led off the first wartime issue of WDC&S I
			    ever acquired.  Simple, yet great.

 5. The Trouble with Dimes  Donald's glorious get-rich-quick scheme in
			    WDC&S #130's ten-pager was exactly the
			    kind of thing I always would have liked to
			    pull off.

 6. The Old Castle's Secret This is Barks' first Scrooge treasure hunt
	 	  	    story, and uses -- interestingly, for its 
			    early date -- a gentler Scrooge more like
			    that of post-1954 stories.  Yet its art,
			    done in the prime of Barks' career, makes
			    all the difference.  And what a *plot!*
			    Hoots, Mon!

 7. The Mighty Trapper      As a kid I always dug huge, obvious pit
			    traps in our backyard, covering them with
			    branches and leaves and hoping that one of
			    FANTASIA's live brooms -- no, really, I
			    was 5 years old -- would wander into them.
		            This very early story still hits me right
			    where I live.

 	That's all I can list for sure right now.  But I also grew up
on Gottfredson, and have a long list of favorites among his stories,
too.  I love Barks and the Ducks, but have a special affinity for
Mickey, and always identified with him.  What's more, Mickey is very
hard to write stories for -- that *aren't* stodgy crook chases a la
Carl Fallberg, I mean -- and that gives me a very special appreciation
for Gottfredson's talent.  A few of my favorites:

 1. Monarch of Medioka      Gottfredson outdid himself with this
                            rich, opulent story of the Mouse rescuing
			    a country from several forces at once...
			    a feat that's by no means easy, especially
			    when he's betrothed to be married!

 2. Island in the Sky       Dr. Einmug's floating island is the stage
			    for one of the most reknowned Mickey
			    tales.  As well as being perhaps the
			    ultimate Mickey/Pete matchup, it also has
			    great philosophical weight to it.

 3. In the Foreign Legion   (See my recent posting.)

 4. The Phantom Blot	    The most famous of all Mickey stories is
			    not, I feel, Gottfredson's best story, but
			    has so many fine moments that it's one of
			    my favorites nonetheless.

 5. Boxing Champion         I have only read this story in German, but
			    I find it one of the greatest early
			    stories -- kinda like Hans with "Frozen
			    Gold".

 6. MM Vs. Katt Nipp	    Again, only in German.  This early on in
			    1931, we find Gottfredson trying hard to
			    be Otto Messmer, and he *almost* succeeds
			    with a very crafty, cocky Mickey who's at
		            this point more like Bugs Bunny!

 7. MM Sails for
    Treasure Island         This story with fine, emotional moments,
			    the debuts of Captain Churchmouse and
			    Spooks, and perhaps the best Sylvester
			    Shyster appearance, would head off my list
			    if it were not badly damaged by its racial
			    stereotypes.  Nonetheless, it deserves
		            inclusion here.


	Well, that's all for now.  I'd like to hear what others'
favorite Barks and Gottfredson stories are!!!

	Yours,

	David