To Don and about Don

[Mike Pohjola]

DON:
	I now have ALL the Aku Ankka issues containing your stories. And
as I got the last ones missing, I found two articles about you. And in a
Finnish magazine called Roope-Set{ (Uncle Scrooge) it was said that you'll
come here as a special guest for the Finnish Comics Festival in Helsinki,
which will happen in November 10.-12. not November 3th as you earlier said.
But back to those articles: This is the very first time your name was published
in Aku Ankka. It was in issue 8/1990 as the first Rosa story was in 1/1990.

--
    "The new decade has begun fantasticly. 'Mythological Menagerie' published in
issue 1/90 is the best we've seen after 70s. There was alot of Barks-like
expressiveness in the art. Just look at the faces of the nephews on page 23
(page 10 of the story). History of comicbooks! Reveal the name of the artist!"
    Well, let's reveal - for "Surprised reader" as well as many other interested
ones. The story was created by a young American duck-artist Don Rosa. Rosa has
quickly become a true cult-artist among the Yankee duck-fans. This 1952 born
Kentuckian talent has the training of an engineer. So much for the jokes that
have technocrats with no sense of humor. For all his life has Rosa wanted to
draw Scrooge stories. He also writes his own stories.
    There will be Rosa stories all along spring. The continuing story in this
issue as well is made by Rosa.
--

    The following article was published in issue 18/1994 of Aku Ankka.

--
    FAMILY-TREE IS THE WORST
 
    One should've known that the family-tree made by Don Rosa would not
match with all the duckists' visions of the thick duck family. A philosophy
student writes: "I was shocked. Since three years of age I've known Grandma
to be Scrooge's sister. Rosa's family-tree which is more than radical gave
me convulsions. And Donald's sister's name isn't Dumbella but Sanelma!!!"
    Sanelma, yes - but also Dumbella or even Della. The ducklings were first
introduced in Finland at 1930s in a magazine Seura, on an Al Taliafferro
sunday gag. In that comic Donald was given his nephews by his cousin Sanelma,
and in the English animated cartoon from Della. In cartoon Donald's Nephwes
(1938) the cousin was changed to Dumbella sister. In other words the Disney
studio was mixing things up for over than hald a century ago.
    Carl Barks himself created a small report of Donald's closest relatives
in the beginning of the 1990s for Don Rosa's request.This figure was published
another publishment, Roope-Set{ (=Uncle Scrooge) in July 1991. But what created
some real trouble was the comic which Italian Marco Rota made for Donald's
50th birthday. He created the comic "Congratulations, Donald Duck!" (I don't
have the exact title, but that would be the strict translation). In that story
Donald hatches from an egg in the middle of a forest-road. The siblings
Scrooge and Elvira come by and take the orphan chick to their home.
--


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	Mike - The Finnish Trekkie