Where Scrooge lives

Francesco Spreafico frspreaf at tin.it
Tue Jan 15 16:30:40 CET 2002


From: "Tommi Perkola" <matope at uta.fi>

> That was the point, about which I criticized Rosa about a year ago in
> sfnet.harrastus.kulttuuri.sarjakuvat. In European tradition Duckburg is
> located "somewhere near", or in its own universum.

Nope, in *your* tradition, maybe. But since Italy is in Europe, and since
Italy, after all, is and has been for quite a while the country producing
most (or almost) Disney comics I can say that Duckburg is located in the US
even for Europe.

Sure, "Calisota" may not exist (so much as "Calidornia"), but no doubt about
the fact that they've always been in the US. Even though sometimes, in old
Italian stories, those US looked more like Milan's neighborhood, but they
still were US, because so it was written.

> This is something a US citizen might not think about, but while you're
> reading daily comics like Peanuts or Dilbert, you don't specifically
> locate them anywhere. These comics are entertaining, because they
> resemble readers' daily life in humorous way, and adding too many strict
> indications of stories' milieu or geographical situation would spoil
> their universality.

I've not been spoiled the slightest bit. Actually, for example, I got used
to the Dollar since I was a kid and this, incidentally, helped me now in
getting used to the Euro, since they're almost 1:1.

> For someone who lives in the same country this isn't a problem, but in
> another country or continent it is. Now disney comics are all originally
> situated in USA, but majority of them both read and drawn abroad. It is
> said, that italian Duckburg is an amalgamation of an American big city
> and italian smalltown. For example Chierchini's Duckburg looks more like
> Paris than any American city.

But it has a sign on it names "New York" (so to say). This might mislead
children in thinking that all the cities in the world look alike, but, after
all, is it so wrong?

> If you're grown reading italian disney, an American who both locates
> Duckburg in American west coast,

In Italian disney comics Duckburg has always been on US' west coast (except
maybe in some minor stories). Just think at Scarpa's "Imperatore della
Calidornia", where we see in the splash panel Duckburg and Micetown (and
even Bucky's town!) clearly set in California.

--
Francesco




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