Editing Junior Woodchucks (section)

==History==
The Junior Woodchucks first appeared in Barks' 10-page Donald Duck story "Operation St Bernard" (''WDC&S'' #125, February 1951).<ref name=Virtuoso>{{cite book |last1=Barrier |first1=Michael |title=Funnybooks: The Improbable Glories of the Best American Comic Books |date=2014 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0520283909|chapter=Carl Barks: The Virtuoso}}</ref> While the Woodchucks ultimately became a familiar and beloved element in the Duck universe, Barks' original intention was satirical. Thomas Andrae says, "Throughout the story, Barks satirizes the Woodchucks' elitism, obsession with rank, and paramilitary discipline. Major is the lowest rank in the Woodchucks, and every trooper has a lofty title and wears quarts of medals... Parodying the mystique of military language, Barks makes a running gag of converting Woodchuck titles into unintelligible acronyms."<ref name=Andrae/>

The Junior Woodchucks stories tended to "civilize" the nephews, who were usually seen as mischievous and immature in the 1940s. In the second Woodchucks story, "Ten-Star Generals" (''WDC&S'' #132, Sept 1951), the boys are very serious about passing their scout tests in the proper Woodchuck way, refusing to be tempted by Donald's encouragement to take shortcuts. Just a month later, they would be playing hooky from school. In a 1975 interview, Barks explained that he appreciated the mutability of the characters: "I began making them into sort of smart little guys once in a while, and very clumsy little guys at other times, and always, I aimed at surprise in each story so that nobody could pick up a comic book and say, 'Well, the nephews are going to behave thus and so.' They wouldn't know until they read the story just what those little guys were going to be up to in a particular sequence."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Summer |first1=Edward |editor1-last=Ault |editor1-first=Donald |title=Carl Barks: Conversations |date=2003 |publisher=University Press of Mississippi |isbn=978-1578065011 |page=83 |chapter=Of Ducks and Men: Carl Barks Interviewed}}</ref>

''The Junior Woodchucks' Book of Knowledge'' was first mentioned in "[[The Secret of Atlantis]]" (''Uncle Scrooge'' #5, March–May 1954). In the next issue's story, "[[Tralla La]]", the book made its first appearance as ''The Junior Woodchuck's Guidebook'' (''Uncle Scrooge'' #6, June 1954).<ref name=Purgatory>{{cite book |last1=Barrier |first1=Michael |title=Funnybooks: The Improbable Glories of the Best American Comic Books |date=2014 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0520283909|chapter=Carl Barks in Purgatory}}</ref> Historian [[Michael Barrier]] claims that the use of the ''Guidebook'' had a negative influence on the nephews' characterization, saying, "The ''Guidebook'' soon became something like a crutch. Faced with a dilemma, the nephews were more likely to rely on the Guidebook, seemingly a compendium of all human knowledge, than on their wits."<ref name=Purgatory/>

Barks introduced a female version of the Woodchucks — the Chickadees, featuring [[Daisy Duck|Daisy's]] nieces [[April, May and June Duck|April, May and June]] — in "The Chickadee Challenge" (''WDC&S'' #181, Oct 1955), headed by the stern Mrs. Ramrod.<ref name=FunnyAnimal/> The Junior Woodchucks' official hound, often called General Snozzie, was added to the cast in "Dodging Miss Daisy" (''WDC&S'' #213, June 1958).<ref name=FunnyAnimal/>

The Junior Woodchucks had a backup feature for five years in ''[[Mickey Mouse (comic book)|Mickey Mouse]]'', from issue #106 to 128 (April 1966 - Feb 1971), written by John Carey and drawn by [[Tony Strobl]].<ref name=FunnyAnimal/>

[[Gold Key Comics]] published a ''Huey, Dewey & Louie Junior Woodchucks'' comic starting in August 1966. The comic began as an annual, featuring stories by Strobl and writer [[Vic Lockman]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wells |first1=John |title=American Comic Book Chronicles: 1965-1969 |date=2014 |publisher=TwoMorrows Publishing |isbn=978-1605490557 |page=140}}</ref> In 1969, Barks — who had retired three years earlier — was prevailed upon to write some scripts in storyboard form for the comic, which became a quarterly. Under Barks, the stories came to focus on environmental themes.<ref name=FunnyAnimal/> Other stories in the series were drawn by [[Jerry Siegel]] (co-creator of [[Superman]]) and [[Bob Gregory (comics)|Bob Gregory]].<ref name=FunnyAnimal/> The series ended with issue #81 in 1984.<ref name=FunnyAnimal/>

In 1992, the Barks stories for the ''Junior Woodchucks'' title were redrawn by Dutch Disney comics artist [[Daan Jippes]] for ''[[Donald Duck Weekblad]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Becattini |first1=Alberto |title=Disney Comics: The Whole Story |date=2016 |publisher=Theme Park Press |isbn=978-1683900177| page=316}}</ref>

In 1993, [[Don Rosa]] published a memorable story about the history of the ''Junior Woodchucks Guidebook'' called "[[Guardians of the Lost Library]]", which was first published in the US in ''[[Uncle Scrooge Adventures]]'' #27 (July 1994).