Don Rosa and recently Daan Jippes have done an attempt to fill in the gap in a reconstruction of 'How Green was My Lettuce' (US 51).
In its first publication in summer 1964, the story was cut down from 17 to 15 pages to make room for ads. Of these two pages of material, 1 3/4 pages have survived. One tier worth of material (1/4) is lost.
http://coa.inducks.org/coa/c1/story.php/0/W+US+++51-01The survived material is published in The Carl Barks Library - Set V by putting it back in the story. To make this possible, changes were made to art that was possibly altered / added by the Western editors. The word balloon "Wak! Gophers!" in panel 4 of page 2 has been deleted because the next sequence in the excised portion reveals that Scrooge does not yet know about the gophers. The words "Now what?" in Scrooge's dialogue in panel 5 of published page 2 have been changed to "Suddenly," because he has just exclaimed "Wak! Now what?" in the cut previous panel. A small black dot, intended to represent Scrooge running from his bin, has been whited out of panel 7 of published page 2. In this panel, an additional dialogue balloon has been given to one of the nephews. He now asks "Where's Unca Scrooge?" because Donald's dialogue in the cut next panel is, "I don't see him, but there's a two-ton sack of money coming out of the door!" The still missing quarter-page is represented by a blank box in between first and third tier of restored page 2, where it logically seems to have been.
http://www.seriesam.com/barks/comicsus048.html#ccus_us0051-01Rosa's and now Jippes's attempts show two remarkably different interpretations of what could be inserted into the reconstruction, to smooth over Barks's missing art.
Don Rosa:http://coa.inducks.org/s.php/x/ARC+US++241Bpublished in Uncle Scrooge 241
Daan Jippes:(no COA link available)
published in box 6 of the Carl Barks Samlede verk hardcover book series, translated from Norwegian by Sigvald of DCF
Differences in art and staging:
- Rosa has two panels viewing the outside of the bin, as on the rest of reconstructed page 2.
Scrooge discovers having taken no lettuce after taking in his pincers, but the reason why is to be discovered in the Barks art that follows.
The camera angle is straight in both panels.
- Jippes has a panel viewing the inside of the bin, followed by a panel viewing from the outside. The indoor panel is based on some indoor panels of reconstructed page 3, and it adds variation to the outdoors staging of reconstructed page 2.
The reader discovers that the lettuce is glommed, but Scrooge is looking behind him and has yet to discover what happens.
The camera angle in the second panel is looking up from the ground.
Differences in dialogue:
- Rosa has Scrooge mentioning a farmer's market, adding a second advantage to the matter of Scrooge having a garden in his barren minefield that guards his money bin. This makes Scrooge not only using the lettuce for his own appetite (Barks), but also for consumers on the market (Rosa). So, in Rosa's interpretation, Scrooge not only saves money, but also makes money.
- Jippes focusses on the mine field. Two nephews, one filling out the other's sentence, mention the possibility that no would be trampling in the salad in Scrooge's mine field. Scrooge answers that he loves the green and crispy leaves of these salad/lettuce, apparently hinting at Scrooge's love for banknotes.
Differences between the versions, in comparison with Barks's remaining art:
- Rosa keeps the art of the panels open, as in the rest of reconstructed page 2 and as in Barks's general 1960s style.
- Jippes uses camera angles that seem to be inspired from Barks's late 1940s and early 1950s styles. Also the dialogue seems to be inspired from that area. Jippes uses fragmented dialogue for the nephews, a habit that Barks dropped long before the 1960s. In the remaining art of 'How Green Was My Lettuce', the nephews use complete sentences. (Or are there exceptions?)
Egg's OPINION:
Jippes attempt is disappointing in the sense that he just uses some loose Barks tricks, even in an anachronistic way. Jippes's attempt looks as if he just thew in some gags, about the mine field and the sound of lettuce being eaten. Nothing significant happens, storywise.
Jippes may have a good reason to use a variation indoors panel, as Rosa's version makes the overall reconstructed page visually repetitive, having only outdoors panels. However, repetitiveness could be a reason for editors to cut down that page, so it's matter of guessing whether Barks had only outdoors panels (Rosa) or an indoors variation (Jippes). The only hint of what Barks must have done is that it somehow must have been something that editors found missable enough to be cut for advertisement room.
Rosa's attempt is closer to Barks's 1960s style of storytelling. His attempt flows better in the reconstructed Barks page. The gag of Scrooge making profit on the farmer's market adds a character motivation to the reconstructed story. And the farmer's market associates with the storypoint of the ducks disguising as farmers later in the story.
Overall, Eggs thinks Rosa has the most Barksian ingredients that logically fit. Eggs thinks the idea of Scrooge making profits of the lettuce, is something that emphasizes to a new reader what the old rich duck is about. A Barks habit is that in each story, characters are introduced understandably to new readers. Rosa shows that Scrooge isn't just a lettuce-lover, but also explains how the duck manages to have a money bin.
Question about the reconstruction as published in the Carl Barks Library:
Is it 100% sure that the gap in 'How Green Was My Lettuce' should be the second tier of reconstructed page 2? Is there any solid proof that Rosa and Jippes are really filling in a gap on the exact, proper place? Or could the cuts originally have been elsewhere?
So far Egg's review for now.
Corrections and other cmments are welcome.
sources: pictures and reference to Carl Barks Samlede verk by Sigvald, posted to DCF on 2007-03-24 03:53
http://dcf.outducks.org/viewtopic.php?pid=186#p186