Keskustelujen arkisto

Hi Everybody!
Last Saturday, Papersera forum has had Don Rosa in Rapallo for a lunch. He drew ducks and signed books and Papersera gave him the book realized about him.
You can find more information in Italian at : http://dailywardrum.splinder.com/post/24398372/resoconto-della-cena-a-rapallo-2-aprile-2011
And... For the first time in his life, Rosa drew Brigitta MacBridge ;):
http://img852.imageshack.us/img852/8505/brigittadon.jpg
Bye!
Simone

Wow! That is genuinely Amazing.

I don't think Don Rosa would used Brigitta in any of his stories because he would have considered her to be an apocryphical character just like any other character not used by Carl Barks or himself. She was originally created by Romano Scarpa as you all might know. He didn't even want to put Fethry in his Duck Family Tree. He only did so because his publishers asked him to.

Quote from user: CoolwaterAs long as it's not figures like Scamp or Super Goof ...
Sorry to go off-topic, but... You don't like those characters?

Quote from user: Roger NorthI don't think Don Rosa would used Brigitta in any of his stories because he would have considered her to be an apocryphical character just like any other character not used by Carl Barks or himself. She was originally created by Romano Scarpa as you all might know. He didn't even want to put Fethry in his Duck Family Tree. He only did so because his publishers asked him to.
Obviously!

He has said that so many times! ;) He just drew her for this occasion, but, in his opinion, she doesn't exist.

Quote from user: SimQuote from user: Roger NorthI don't think Don Rosa would used Brigitta in any of his stories because he would have considered her to be an apocryphical character just like any other character not used by Carl Barks or himself. She was originally created by Romano Scarpa as you all might know. He didn't even want to put Fethry in his Duck Family Tree. He only did so because his publishers asked him to.
Obviously!

He has said that so many times! ;) He just drew her for this occasion, but, in his opinion, she doesn't exist.
I'm kind of with Don Rosa on this one. The idea of Brigitta MacBridge never really appealed to me. I mean, Scrooge is supposed to be in his eighties, correct? And Brigitta seems to be much younger, maybe in her thirties or forties. You can't help but think she's after his money (and I know someone will point out that she's rich herself, but she's nowhere near McDuck's financial stature). The "golddigger" undertones here are very off-putting (and I know someone will point out that she's never portrayed to be one, but the impression seems inescapable to me). I really don't think giving Scrooge an outrageously obsessed unrequited love adds to the overall universe positively; the fact that Scarpa has Donald and the boys scheme with her makes it all the more grating.

I haven't received WDC&S 717 yet, but looks like Van Horn created a similar character; why didn't he just use Brigitta?

Quote from user: GeoXI think Brigitta is a character who suffers a lot from the tension between how we're supposed to view her in comic terms and the way we'd view her in real life. I sometimes enjoy her appearances, but the gold-digger associations are always, unavoidably there, and even if they're not, her behavior is often still on the decidedly stalkerish side. And even if you can get both those ideas out of your head, the fact that we all know she will never, ever succeed in "getting" Scrooge makes her seem more pitiable than anything else. In order to appreciate her, you sort of have to always have these things in mind--because how else can you interpret her behavior in a rational way?--while at the same time either rejecting them or putting them in an entirely different, non-real-world category. It's a difficult mental operation, not least because the tension can never resolve itself.
Also, if you think about it, you can't help the feeling that Brigitta is yet another example of a negative female stereotype. Just as Barks' version of Daisy has been criticized as misogynistic for being nagging, controlling and manipulative, Scarpa's Brigitta is basically a one-joke character. She stalks Scrooge and makes a fool of herself doing it. She's over-the-top, histrionic, and stops at nothing in her quest for his attention. There seem no redeeming qualities to her pursuit of him. She is indeed pitiful, and that makes her very unattractive as a character. A woman's obsession with a man is supposed to be a source of humor here, but I never really found it a funny situation overall. And of course, if it were the other way around, with Scrooge stalking Brigitta, it would be considered tasteless and even criminal.

Much the same can be said about Magica's pursuit of McDuck's number one dime, but at least she's a villian, and her getting her comeuppance is in the spirit of things. Brigitta, though, is supposed to be someone we connect to ... and it's really hard to do that. Glittering Goldie has her dignity and a mutual relationship with Scrooge (although I think she should never be used in "present day" stories the way Don Rosa did in, for example, "A Little Something Special"; overusing her takes away from that dignity somewhat), but with Brigitta it's just a disturbing one-sided yearning that, as you pointed out, can never be fulfilled. And the nephews egging her on just makes it worse.. do they really think she's right for Scrooge?

Also, if we have to see her in the US, why not a more imaginative name? "Brigitta MacBridge" has nothing to do with ducks or wealth. The names of other Scarpa characters have been Americanized, why not this one?

I agree with you entirely about the sexism involved--this is just another example of something you have to try to rationalize if you're going to enjoy the character. I also agree with you about "A Little Something Special," though you can ALMOST get away with that as being more a tribute to Scrooge in general than an actual thing that actually happens.
Don't have a problem with the name, though. If you look, you'll see that some Scarpa names are anglicized and some aren't, and if her name doesn't have any special associations in Italian, I don't see why it would need to in English. I don't think descriptive, Dickensian names are necessary in all cases. Ustabee I thought her last name was "MacBride," because, you know, she's always trying to get married and stuff. But the original name works for me.