Disney-comics digest #794.

[David A Gerstein]

	JAKOB:
	The Duck girl in "Donald's Diary" (1954) is indeed Daisy.  She
is called by that name at least once in the film, and there have been
commemorative plates and animation textbooks pegging the character as
Daisy.  Although she's got light-yellow feathers instead of white
ones, it's Daisy.  There's even a videotape, "Starring Donald and
Daisy," which has been available at Disney Stores for the last two
years and which contains this cartoon.
	All of this reminds me of some havoc in this mailing list
regarding just when Daisy first appeared.  Disney accepts "Don
Donald" (1937, in which the character is called Donna) as a Daisy
appearance.  For Daisy's fiftieth anniversary, which Disney
commemorated in 1987, there was some commemorative merchandise
(including a cel) noting the film, in which "she played Donna Duck..."
as being her first role.  Barks' statement that his use of her in 1940
(first in an unproduced desert prospector cartoon with Gus Goose, then
in "Mr. Duck Steps Out") was the first is simply wrong.  Maybe HE
wasn't thinking of "Don Donald" as being a precursor, but it's
accepted as one.  A promotional card for "Mr Duck Steps Out",
reprinted in WDC&S 1, calls the character Donna, so there was
evidently some confusion going on...
	Donna is to Daisy what Dippy Dawg is to Goofy, and IMHO
"Donald's Diary" is not canonical, or else Donald is a close relative
of Daisy, what with HDL as her brothers in that weird cartoon...

	DON:
	Is "The Incredible Shrinking Tightwad" (which I haven't seen)
the story which involved all those Barks-story "mementos" you asked us
to find for you?
	Perhaps it's modesty, but you're telling us very little about
your upcoming stories these days.  I'm curious to hear about what
you've been working on and what will be appearing soon.  
	A few weeks ago, I talked about my own upcoming Egmont stories
to try to get others more interested in describing their own recent
work... but this digest has been deafeningly quiet in that direction.
I'd like to hear what Dave Rawson, John Lustig, and Janet Gilbert are
up to, too.  (I got your package, Janet!  Thanks a million!)

	David Gerstein
	<96dag at williams.edu>
	"Have a chestnut, boys! ... OW!"