"But I though she was *your* grandmother?!"

[Ole Reichstein Nielsen]

Harry Fluks in Digest #156:

> BTW, talking about traditions: in this week's Dutch weekly, Scrooge is
> Grandma's brother again. Now that *is* confusing...

But possibly true?

The story in question is W WDC 125-04 (no title) about Scrooge hiring
Bad Pete(!) to spy on Grandma Duck(!!).

It was published as early as in February 1951, and is conspicuously
missing in an index by Luca Bosci (possibly with the help of Alberto
Becattini) in Zio Paperone #117. This lists "The first nine non-Barks
appearances by Scrooge McDuck" and goes:

1) W OS  300-03 "The Fire Brigade" (November 1950, art by Paul Murry)
2) W WH   B6-01 "DD - Trailblazer" (1950, art by Bob Moore)
3) W WDC 123-04 "Grandma Duck" (December 1950, art by Riley Thompson) 
4) W WH   C1-01 "DD and the Inca Idol" (1951, art by Paul Murry)
5) W WDC 127-04 "Grandma Duck" (April 1951, art by Riley Thompson)
6) W WH   C5-01 "DD and the Lost Lakes" (1951, art by Bob Moore)
7) W VP    2-02 "DD Captures the Range Rustlers" (July 1951, art by Paul Murry)
8) W WH   C8-01 "DD Deep Sea Diver" (1951, art by Riley Thompson)
9) W OS  379-02 "DD in Southern Hospitality" (March/April 1951, art by Bob Moore)

Allowing for the unknown publishing dates of the several Wheaties Premiums
stories in the list, it would still place W WDC 125-04 at a fifth place.
Meaning that it is one of the very, very first stories, written and drawn by
anyone else but Barks, who had been the only to use the character for almost
three years since he invented Scrooge for "Christmas on Bear Mountain" in 1947.

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but Barks didn't write any stories with Grandma
Duck and her brief appearances in other stories don't give clues to exactly
*whose* grandmother she is. Even Scrooge calls her "Grandma" as does Gus in
VP 1-09 "Donald's Grandma Duck".

We've been over this discussion before, and that Don Rosa finally decided
(based on the available information - or lack of it - in Bark's stories)
to the now commonly accepted family tree. It would however by fair to
grant that though Barks created Scrooge (and Gus Goose), and Taliaferro's
mother-in-law inspired him to Grandma Duck, it would be a third and unknown
writer who established the family relationship between them. Her appearance
outside the dailies had started only a few months before in W WDC 121 and
it is likely that the editors would have asked the writer of the new feature
in WDC&S to use her along with the relatively new Barks-character Scrooge.

It would be interesting to hear from anyone with the original language
editions of these early Scrooge stories what exactly the dialog says.
The early WDC Grandma Duck stories have (sadly) never been reprinted in
English, but I suspect that the Dutch translator may have chosen to "do
the right thing" and translate correctly, even if it may have confused
poor Harry.


oLe
_U



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