Creation, Translation, and Adaptation in Donald Duck Comics: The Dream of Three Lifetimes (Palgrave Fan Studies)

This book examines the scope and nature of Donald Duck and his family's popularity in Germany, in contrast to the diminished role they play in America. This is achieved through examination of the respective fan communities, business practices, and universality of the characters. This work locates and understands the aspects of translation and adaptation that inform the spread of culture that have as yet been underexplored in the context of comic books. It represents a large-scale attempt to incorporate adaptation and translation studies into comics studies, through a lens of fan studies (used to examine both the American and German fan communities, as well as the work of Don Rosa). This work builds on the efforts of other scholars, including Janet Wasko and Illaria Meloni, while expanding the historical understanding of what might be the world's best-selling comics. Peter Cullen Bryan is Lecturer at Pennsylvania State University, USA. His areas of study include American Studies, Intercultural Communications, and 21st Century American culture, emphasizing comic art and fan communities. His research has appeared in the Journal of Fandom Studies, The Journal of American Culture , and Popular Culture Studies Journal . He serves on the boards of the Mid-Atlantic Popular Culture Association and the Popular Culture Association, as well as Secretary for the Intercultural Communication section of the International Communication Association. Acknowledgments 6 Contents 9 List of Tables 12 Chapter 1: “A Duck’s Eye View of Europe”: How to Read Donald Duck 13 References 38 Chapter 2: “The Empire-Builder from Calisota”: Donald Duck and the Rise of Disney 41 McCay, Bray, and Early Animated Propaganda 43 Building The House of Mouse 49 The Duck Appears 52 References 57 Chapter 3: “Donald Gets Drafted”: Donald Duck at War and as Propaganda 58 Animation as Propaganda 60 Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros 64 The Darker Side of Propaganda 71 Merchandising, Merchandising 77 References 78 Chapter 4: “The Buckaroo of the Badlands”: Carl Barks Remembering the Frontier 80 Carl Barks as a Creator 82 The Philosophy of Carl Barks 88 Carl Barks and Frontier Theory 93 Carl Barks and the Sheriff of Bullet Valley 99 Scrooge McDuck as the Frontiersman 103 Carl Barks Goes Back North to the Frontier 105 Carl Barks at the End of an Era 108 Finding Carl Barks 110 References 112 Chapter 5: “The Good Duck Translator”: Erika Fuchs and the Exporting of Donald Duck 116 Cultural Exchange and the Occupation of Germany 117 Konrad Adenauer Joins the West 123 Cultural Diplomacy and the Duck 127 Saludos Amigos and Three Caballeros Revisited 131 Disney Comics and the Power of Donald Duck 133 The Good Duck Translator 136 Erika Fuchs and Translation Studies 140 The Fuchs Effect Illustrated 146 References 150 Chapter 6: “Guardians of the Lost Library”: Developments of the Duck Fan Communities 153 Comics Collecting Communities 156 Pre-Digital Fan Communications 161 Gladstone Comics Arrives on the Scene 174 Gladstone Grows a New Fan Community 178 DuckTales (Woo-ooo!) 181 The Eisner Era 184 The End of Gladstone and the Rise (and Fall) of Disney Comics 186 References 191 Chapter 7: “The King of the Klondike”: Don Rosa and (Re)envisioning the Frontier 194 The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck as Fan Fiction 200 Don Rosa and “The King of the Klondike” 207 Don Rosa and “The Vigilante of Pizen Bluff” 208 References 217 Chapter 8: “The Dream of Three Lifetimes”: Barks, Fuchs, Rosa, and Artistic Hybridity in Donald Duck Comics 219 Reference 226 Index 227 "This book examines the scope and nature of Donald Duck and his family's popularity in Germany, in contrast to the diminished role they play in America. This is achieved through examination of the respective fan communities, business practices, and universality of the characters. This work locates and understands the aspects of translation and adaptation that inform the spread of culture that have as yet been underexplored in the context of comic books. It represents a large-scale attempt to incorporate adaptation and translation studies into comics studies, through a lens of fan studies (used to examine both the American and German fan communities, as well as the work of Don Rosa). This work builds on the efforts of other scholars, including Janet Wasko and Illaria Meloni, while expanding the historical understanding of what might be the world's best-selling comics"--Page 4 of cover