Originally posted by: UncleOwen

I don't mean to sound like an asshole, but if you take the time to research and criticize Star Wars, do the same to other works of fiction. Carl Barks is one of the greatest men to ever work in the comic book industry, and should be recognized for his contribution to American pop culture.

Uncle Owen, I don't mean to sound like an asshole, but Dumbella is just Della's nickname. The Scrooge McDuck universe is fairly serious, so far as anthropomorphic duck universes go, and most of the ducks -- especially on the clan McDuck side of the family -- have "real" names. Dumbella may have been Della's original name, but it was handily retconned to make it fit in to Barks' milieu. If you accept "Dumbella" as her given name, then you must still refer to George "Goofy" Geef as Dippy Dawg, right?

And you'll forgive me, I hope, if I violated whatever canon rules you follow for the Scrooge McDuck universe. There's several different versions; the Barks-Rosa version is my favorite, and it's from Rosa that I drew Della's given name. But the Duck Tales version was also very influential for my generation. I think Donald's very absence adds a layer of complexity to the character and his relationship with his family that he lacks in most of his appearances. In fact, it makes him more Scrooge-like: One might say that the men of the McDuck blood have an insatiable urge to leave their families behind and independently make something of themselves. (See also Pothole McDuck.) And then there's the various European versions which spun off from Barks and are slightly different -- Rosa notes some of these differences in the TPB of Life and Times. And also the very tangential Darkwing Duck universe; while I love Darkwing, it's a bit more slapstick than most of the duck tal -- er, stories. But I'm sure you know all this, and you're just trying to be helpful. Didn't really answer the question, though.