What the Chuck?

Regular readers of this blog know that I'm fascinated by "Bootleg" Donalds, other comic company's attempts at replicating the Disney Ducks.  Today's Donald knockoff comes from the good people at Fawcett comics:  Chuck Duck.

Blue suit, hat with ribbon, lack of pants... you got yourself a Bootleg Donald.

According to Cartoon SNAP,  Sherlock Monk's sidekick is one of many funny animal creations by Chad Grothkopf.   The above scan is from Hoppy the Marvel Bunny #1, a must-read for funny animal fans.

The Big Blog of Kids' Comics has more information and scans from this forgotten bit of comics history.

Dip Stick

Think Howard The Duck was Marvel's first bootleg Donald? Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Dippy Duck!

Dippy Duck was written by none other than Stan The Man Lee, and drawn by Joe Maneely.

I'm pretty sure Dippy Duck has some form of brain damage.

Dippy Duck is notable for being the final comic to feature the Atlas globe logo. It's a fun little bit of Marvel history.

He's also kind of a jerk.

If you really want to read more, the comic is available out there on the Interwebs.

Aside from the fact that he wears a bow tie and no pants, he's not all that similar to Donald.  Dippy wouldn't last two minutes on the mean streets of Duckburg.

Quick, Quack!

Regular readers of this blog know that I'm fascinated with Bootleg Donalds, other comic companies' attempts to cash in on the success of the Disney Ducks. Direct from the Golden Age of Comics, it's Quick-Quack:

Quick-Quack is yellow, not white, but he has a hat and bowtie and doesn't wear pants. He's also clumsy and looks perpetually pissed-off. That, my friends, is the recipe for a perfect Bootleg Donald.

From Fawcett's Funny Animals #77, 1952

Cock a Doodles

From The Big Blog of Kids Comics, here's a Bootleg Donald by the great Sheldon Mayer:

Doodles Duck!

He's got a bow tie, he wears a hat, he's got nephews, and he don't got pants.  Doodles Duck, everyone.

The Pelican Brief

Here's another cool Bootleg Donald by H.Chambers:

Cartoon SNAP has the scans and the info on this trippy piece of comics history.

Come And Get It

The Big Blog of Kids' Comics features another Bootleg Donald, Ellis Holly Chambers' Dizzy Duck.

Who needs pants when you've got a bow tie?

Goosed

This Cilly Goose story from Animal Comics #17 features a Bootleg Donald in a shirt and fez.

I don't know who the creators are, but it's pretty cute.  The entire comic is available for download at the Digital Comic Museum.

I get more emails

Alert reader Peter sends this bootleg Donald t-shirt

Thanks, Peter!

Gosh, he's handsome

Yet another bootleg Donald, Plato Platypus:

 

At least this Mort wears pants...

For comparison's sake, here's a real platypus (sans pants):

Handsome!

Paranoia, the destroyer

Here's an awesome sorta-but-not-really Bootleg Donald, Destroyer Duck:

Image from The Kirby Museum

For those not in the know, Destroyer Duck was created by Steve Gerber and Jack Kirby, to help Gerber raise funds for his lawsuit against Marvel over the ownership of Howard the Duck.

The Gerber Curse

This article from Comics Should Be Good does a much better job than I can explaining this bizarre comic and the circumstances leading to its creation.

I am a huge fan of both Gerber and Kirby, and Howard the Duck is one of my favorite comics of all time, and yet I've only ever seen one issue of this series. I'm dying to read it, though, especially if it contains scenes like this:

Awesome.

Shrinky Dink

I'm not sure if Dinky Duck really counts as a Bootleg Donald, but Uncle Drake certainly seems like he could be a citizen of Duckburg, what with his jaunty hat, spectacles, and utter contempt for pants.

The entire issue is up for your enjoyment at the Digital Comic Museum, and boy is it ever adorable.

Take a Gander at this:

Today's Bootleg Donald comes from Giggle Comics #74, American Comics Group, 1950. He's wearing a blue hat, he's got a shirt but no pants, he never shuts up, he's GABBY GANDER!

Like all of the ACG funny animal comics, this feature sports some attractive cartooning (I assume from a moonlighting animator). It makes you wonder why this style of kids' comic ever fell out of fashion in the first place. Boom Kids (kaboom) and Bongo are the only modern publishers I can think of who put out books like this anymore.

Anyway, click on over to the Digital Comic Museum and check out the runs of Giggle Comics, Ha Ha Comics, Spencer Spook, etc...there are worse ways to spend an afternoon.