John D. Rockerduck

[Botto Armando]

Daniel: 
> When did "Boat Buster" appear in
> Italy and when did the first non-Barks Rockerduck appear?
"Boat Buster" appeared in "Almanacco Topolino" #65, May 1962. 
The first non-Barks Rockerduck appeared in "Almanacco Topolino" #75, March
1963: the story is "Zio Paperone e il kiwi volante", scripted by the Barosso
brothers and drawn by Giorgio Bordini.

> Was Rockerduck invented to be used in Italy or did Italy decide for
> themselves to use Rockerduck again?
IMHO, the latter seems more likely...

> Why was Rockerduck continued by Italian artists, instead of (for example)
> the more developed Flintheart Glomgold?
> I don't know the details about this, but it made
> me wonder if it's possible that Rockerduck could have been created on
> request of the Italian editor. (But then again, why didn't they use 
> Flintheart Glomgold instead? Was Flintheart still unknown/unpublished in
> Italy at that time?)
"The Second-richest Duck" was published in Italy in TL 152 (December 1956),
"The Money Champ" in TL 234 (May 1960).
My guess is that the Barosso brothers needed a rival millionaire for the
"kiwi volante" story, and they used Rockerduck because he appeared in
"Almanacco Topolino" while they were writing the story. After all,
Flintheart had made only two appearances, and the most recent had taken
place a couple of years before already...

Ciao,
Armando