Globality
Carl Lund
clund at cox.net
Sat Feb 14 14:35:20 CET 2009
I would add to what Gary says that it seems to this American reader, at
least, that it makes for better stories to have them originally in
English rather than translated into English. Let me rephrase that
slightly: it makes for better Duck stories. Part of what made Barks'
stories so successful is that they were more than adventures; they were
more than comedies; there was also some social satire in there. And
while there are universal themes that lend themselves to social satire,
certainly, the best and the sharpest--I would argue--come from the
country whose society sets the framework for the action and the satire.
Duckburg (to me at least) seems quintessentially American. I say that
not to be jingoistic; it just does. I miss the highly literate
translations of European stories in Gladstone Series I (as well as the
erudite commentary often provided), but it takes a very special
translation to capture the spirit of the original while capturing the
imagination of its new audience.
At various times, I've subscribed to Kalle Anke & C:o, Micky Maus, and
Picsou. I haven't seen art that I enjoyed other than translations of
Barks, Rosa, or Strobl work. I'm not an artist, so I don't know why
that is. I have the utmost respect for all artists--especially since I
have not an artistic bone in my body. But my aesthetic response to most
of what I've seen from other Duck people has been at best neutral. (With
the exception of Jippes depending on in what style he's working.) I
don't know that my experience is going to change with American artists,
but I think that the larger the pool of artists, the better.
Carl
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