Don Rosa: Dona Rosa

[Hans Kiesl]

Don Rosa wrote:

>  to European ears, where it is a tradition for cartoonists to use
> one-name pseudonyms, "Don Rosa" sounds quite phony and is
> sometimes written by fans as "Donrosa". They take "Don" to be the
> Spanish or Italian antiquated term of respect, and "Rosa" means
> "pink" in many languages. So my name sounds to them like "Sir
> Pinky". 

I agree that for us Europeans "Don Rosa" sounds like famous 
theatre or opera characters like "Don Giovanni" or "Don Carlos", 
but this doesn't explain at all why someone (European or not) 
would write your name as one word (no-one would write 
"Doncarlos" either). When I read Iron Man as a child I got 
acquainted with the artist called Don Heck. Nowadays Don DeLillo 
is an American writer, who is well known in Europe, too. So what's 
so special about the first name "Don"?.

By the way, have you heard about the Portuguese singer Dona 
Rosa? She sings the "Fado",  typical Portuguese songs full of  
melancholy. But it's getting way too off-topic now... :-) 

-Hans-