DCML Digest, Vol 42, Issue 1 (color-coded HD&L)

[kimba1962 at comcast.net]

Gary Leach wrote:

> The only distinct characteristics between the nephews, as a rule, is 
> that they have different names and different hat colors. In U.S. 
> comics this has generally settled into Huey-red, Dewey-blue, and 
> Louie-green, in that visual order. This is more a rule of thumb than 
> any hard-and-fast "policy" on anyone's part. 

Giving credit where credit is due, I believe DuckTales was primarily responsible for the "Huey = red, Dewey = blue, Louie = green" color scheme.  It may have existed prior to DT at isolated moments, but DT truly codified it (through constant visual repetition, if nothing else).  The rationale (sorry, I can't identify where it first appeared) was stated as being: 

Huey is the brightest of the three "hues," that is, red.
Dewey is the color of "dew" or water, blue.
That "leaves" Louie, and leaves are green.

Of course, there are occasional glitches: e.g., the recent Gemstone reprinting of "The Mysterious Stone Ray" in which the identity of the Nephew left behind on the beach with the Beagle Boy changes in "mid-flight."

Daniel van Eijmeren wrote:

> In panel 1.7 of the raffle turkey pet story (WDC 75), one of Donald's 
> nephews mentions his full name and possibly also the color of his cap: "The 
> blue streak you see next will be Huey Duck on his way to a raffle!" 

You may be unaware that "a blue streak" is an American colloquialism for moving extremely fast.  It doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the color of anything one's wearing.

Chris Barat
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