Marco Rota's "From egg to duck" story

[Olaf Solstrand]

Sorry to quote Daniël on this, but my mailbox is so filled up that I can't find 
Sigvald's post, so...

> SIGVALD GROSFJELD to MICHEL PRIOR, 14-08-2003:
> 
> > Marco Rota once tried to write about Donald's life. Many people, 
> > even here at DCML, think that he failed because he didn't knew 
> > enough about Barks' views about the relations in the Duck-family - 
> > facts that were partly revealed in "Race to the South Seas".

Funny coincidence. I was just writing something about this in another forum, and 
feels like putting in a translation of my opinions of a certain matter here.

In a discussion on who was the greatest artist (the discussion was titled "Barks 
or Rosa?"), someone said that they didn't like Rota, and especially not his 
hidden "Marks"es, as that would imply Rota was a true Barksist, which he's not 
for several reasons, among them that he thinks of Scrooge and Grandma as 
siblings.

I replied:

"Knut: 
How many stories can you show us where Rota says that Scrooge and Grandma are 
siblings? So far, I've found ONE: "From egg to duck". You may have more, but in 
that case I'd like to hear examples.

"From egg to duck" was Donald's life story. This story was written for Italian 
Mondadori, and as it was about Donald's life, it was quite natural that both 
Scrooge and Grandma was in it. So... Rota simply HAD TO say Scrooge and Grandma 
was siblings. If he hadn't done that, the story would never have been printed. 
It's as easy as that.

You see, Scrooge and Grandma WAS siblings. And that has nothing to do with Marco 
Rota - they had been in decades (I think) before Rota wrote "From egg to duck" - 
in Mondadori stories. And it WAS a Mondadori story he wrote. We'd seen so many 
stories where Scrooge and Grandma were siblings that we didn't wonder about that 
anymore. It was a nailed fact. Marco Rota had nothing to do with that.

What would have happened if Rota in the story had shown ANOTHER relationship 
between the two, or if he hadn't shown it at all? Two things could have 
happened. Either the story would have been refused - or his editor would have 
changed it.

Another question: How many stories can you show us where Barks says that Scrooge 
and Grandma are NOT siblings? 

So far, I've found ONE: "Race to the South Seas". But it isn't exactly said very 
clearly here - one must interpret it on one's own from how Donald and Gladstone 
claim to be related to Scrooge.

And of course, there's Carl Barks' Family tree. But even though this was drawn 
as early as in 1950, it hasn't been published. OK, it was published in CBL #6, 
but how many has this book? (And when did it come? OK, I assume it was before 
1984, when "From egg to duck" was written, but anyhow this family tree was NOT 
very well-known in Europe!)

In addition, remember that we for decades had read in Italian stories that 
Scrooge and Grandma were siblings. Marco Rota IS an Italian. He wrote this story 
for an Italian editorial desk. To publish in a country where EVERYBODY knew that 
Scrooge and Grandma were siblings. Actually, to publish in SEVERAL countries 
where everybody knew that Scrooge and Grandma were siblings (among them Norway, 
where we had already read about this realationship in "Donald Pocket" and "Onkel 
Skrue" booklets for almost twenty years).

My point is: This relationship was NECESSARY if the story should ever have been 
published at all - and, maybe Rota simply didn't even KNOW that Barks thought 
that Scrooge and Grandma were siblings... YES, I mean that in 1984 you should be 
allowed to call yourself a Barksist without knowing this. Saying Scrooge were 
the brother of the wife of the son of Grandma was as unlikely in Europe twenty 
years ago as it would have been saying a thousand years ago that Earth were 
round as a ball.

I'm sick and tired that EVERY TIME someone discusses Barks and Rota, this 
siblinghood is mentioned. Unless one was very observant or a devoted collector 
of foreign comics, there was NO DOUBT that Scrooge and Grandma was siblings, 
even though one had read most of what Barks had written. And when we in addition 
grew up with that they WERE... I think that ANY Italian writing that story would 
have mentioned that siblinghood, no matted how much they respected Barks. But 
this is something mentioned EVERY TIME we discuss this - as if this relationship 
was something Marco Rota had made up himself. Well, he didn't! It was strongly 
established - it was A FACT!

Europe wasn't enlightened on this real relationship before "The charge-up 
Kill-Motor hill" came in 1994. Almost TEN YEARS AFTER "From egg to duck" came, 
after Egmont had hired new, American editors. And suddenly Marco Rota had to 
take all the rotten tomatoes, for doing what an entire continent had done before 
him, and he anyway would have been forced doing in such a story. Why?

After this Marco Rota haven't written anything showing what relationship Scrooge 
and Grandma has - but my guess would be that he, as the barksist he is, has 
changed his mind on this point.


Personally I accept BOTH these relationships, and I've read good stories 
supporting both of them. If I should ever need to mention this in one of MY 
stories, I would go with the Barks-relationship (not that Egmont would give me 
much of a choice). But I like the thought of Scrooge and Grandma being siblings, 
and have read several good stories about it."




Any opinions? I guess what I really want to discuss here, is: "Could one in 1984 
call oneself a barksist without knowing that Barks didn't think that Scrooge and 
Grandma were siblings?"

Other thoughts:
-- Have ANYONE heard from Rota on this siblinghood AFTER "Life of Scrooge" came?
-- Who created the relationship between Scrooge and Grandma as siblings?
-- Why did this relationship fall apart so easily when "Life of Scrooge" came? 
No offense to Don Rosa, but this new relationship was so despite everything we 
grew up with that I'm surprised it ever got through... even though it came from 
Barks originally.



Quack,
Olaf the Blue