Ducking Around
If there's one thing I love, its ducks. In particular, I love a certain kind of duck. A quackity, wascally, quarterly kind of duck. That duck happens to live in a quaint little city in a magical world. One who gets stuck with all the bad luck...
No one but Donald Duck!
Donald is one of my favorite cartoon characters ever made (He's second. Buzz Lightyear is first). I've always loved his temperamental attitude and how he can power through the day even when life's got him by the feathers. He always seems to be around, even when he doesn't want to be. Something about his need for fame, primarily when Mickey's around, draws me towards him more than Daffy when tackling with Bugs Bunny. Sure, Daffy may have the upper hand since he's a dangerous fowl, but Donald's got that charm that even the little black duck has to admit is cool.
You wouldn't think Donald's the kind of character has his own expanded world... but he does. Carl "The Good Duck Artist" Barks must really have taken a liking to him, seeing as how he's given Donald, Daisy, and their nephews an expanded world to play in. Characters like Uncle Scrooge, Gladstone Glander, Gyro Gearloose, The Duck Family Tree, and the entire city of Duckburg just happen to be the home for these guys. You don't see Mickey Mouse with that kind of love and attention... and he's supposed to be the mascot!
Most people know about his world from the Ducktales cartoons (including the 2017 reboot). Others are more familiar with his comic book adventures. I'm more familiar with Donald's cartoon appearances, video game roles like Maui Mallard in Cold Shadow and Kingdom Hearts. As for the comics, since I had never seen Ducktales, I played the 2013 remake of the NES game.
What's even funnier is that a lot of Ducktales characters were introduced to me back in the year 2000 when this little gem came out.
Funny thing about Ducktales 1987 and Goin' Quackers. Both games strangely adapted elements from Carl Barks' world, but they also excluded their significant characters. For example, Ducktales 1987 excluded Donald Duck (the comic series' central character), while Goin' Quackers excluded Scrooge McDuck! But hey, Quackers went a step further and included MERLOCK the Magician from that Ducktales movie in 1990. I really should watch that movie someday since I'm more familiar with his game appearance.
While I've only had a tertiary experience with the Duck Universe, I've slowly put more effort into getting invested. I've examined a lot of Barks' art and paneling. I've watched both Ducktales series. I even dabbled into the other Duck show, Darkwing Duck, and boy, that's been fun so far! I was lucky enough to find two copies of Barks' Donald Duck comics at a comic book shop when visiting someone special of mine.
A lot of what I've seen from Donald has barely even scratched the surface! I want to know more, especially when it comes to the antics of villains like Magica De Spell. What's the gearings of GIZMODUCK, and how Gyro Gearloose's bumblings haven't gotten him arrested by the federal government yet. One day, I would love to be able to write official Donald Duck comics. The characters and worlds intrigue me so much to a near-nauseating degree. While I don't write my own fan stories, I use Barks' influence on my own works. You may have felt it, especially if you've been reading about the adventures of a certain fox & rabbit duo.
If I'm going to create an homage to Donald and his colorful world, I'd better get to work. So what am I ducking around for? I should do some research!
BE QUACKTASTIC~!
(Did I mention Donald is in Kingdom Hearts? Because he's an amazing mage in those games.)
Comentarios