DCML digest, Vol 1 #528 - 10 msgs

[Donald Markstein]

> As I recall there was also a scrawny little fellow with a black
> hat that looked like someone (or some animal) had taken several bites out
of
> the hat brim. Can't remember his name, however.

That sounds like it could be Joe Blftsplk (spelling approximate -- I can
easily spell either of the variants on "Mxyzptlk" but I often get that one
wrong when I don't look it up). Always had a tiny raincloud over his head,
because he was the Anti-Gladstone, i.e., world's unluckiest person. Of
course, you might be thinking of any number of others, because practically
every character in that strip who had a hat, looked like it had pieces
bitten off.

Actually, Abner started in 1934 -- it was in the late '30s that it started
hitting its stride. The Broadway musical opened in 1956 (and had a revival
quite recently, I believe), and the movie version came out in '59.

Other commonly-heard American English words from that strip are "druthers"
(to have your druthers is to be allowed to do what you'd rather do, or, in
Abner dialect, what you "druther" do) and "irregardless" (an intensified
version of "regardless", deplored by anyone who thinks people should use
"correct" grammar and diction).

An extremely popular strip in its time, and with good reason -- it was very,
very funny. Barks was almost certainly influenced by Capp, one of America's
leading humorists. And I'd say both were probably influenced by Frederick
Burr Opper, a very prominent cartoonist a generation or two before them.

And yeah, I can kinda see Barks thinking of Sadie Hawkins Day when he had
Daisy chasing around for Donald. Some of the situations Donald got into were
VERY reminiscent of Abner trying to elude Daisy Mae.

Quack, Don

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