THESECRETARY

It is only natural for a Hyperfantasticatillionaire to employ at least one secretary, and Scrooge McDuck is no exception, although he seems to manage quite well on his own. At least, he is regularly seen writing his own letters, doing his own filing, and ordering his own travel tickets, but nevertheless Carl Barks did supply Scrooge with a female secretary in a few of his duck stories. Her name is Quackfaster. Miss Quackfaster. This is her story.

THE STORIES

Barks only used Miss Quackfaster in two stories:

U$36 The Midas Touch - 1961

Miss Quackfaster can scarcely be counted as a member of the story's cast as this panel is the only one in which she is portrayed. And her name is not revealed, either...

U$39 A Spicy Tale - 1962

In this story Miss Quackfaster is portrayed an 'astonishing' 4 times, and she even receives her name! But as Scrooge's personal secretary she is apparently not yet authorized to make his tea...

THE NAMES

Barks called his invention Miss Quackfaster, and he only used this name in the second of the two stories he made with her. It is a general misconception that her first name in Barks' stories was Emily, but Barks never used it! It was a later invention of artist Keno Don Rosa, and it has stuck with her since.
For once it may be argued that Barks did not have a lucky hand in the secretary's namegiving. After all, a private secretary is supposed to lead a withdrawn and almost shadowy existence in the background, so the 'loud' name of Quackfaster seems rather misplaced. This is probably why she is mostly known as Miss Typefast in the English speaking countries. And this seems a much more appropriate name for an efficient secretary.
To make things even more confusing her name in the TV series Duck Tales is Mrs. Featherby, which seems an unnecessary change not to mention that the title indicates that she is or has been married...

THE BIOGRAPHY

Barks portrayed Scrooge's loyal private secretary and receptionist as a stern and effective elderly woman wearing glasses fastened in her hair which is set in a bun. You might recall a prototype of a spinsterish schoolteacher from your own childhood. She is called Miss to boot.
Barks never developed either her physical appearance or her personality, and he did certainly not supply her with a past. But according to Don Rosa she was hired as Scrooge's secretary way back in 1908, which would make her more than 70 years old in Barks' first story from 1961! This comes across as being somewhat debatable, eh?

THE OTHERS

Scrooge employed other secretaries than Miss Quackfaster. When Barks drew Scrooge's secretaries they were usually female, but for some reason he also used male secretaries as well. However, the most memorable ones are women. Here they are:

FC1150 Ruling the Roost - 1960 Daisy Duck	FC1150 Ruling the Roost - 1960 Miss Robin, Daisy's secretary!
U$62 Queen of the Wild Dog ... - 1966 (Unnamed secretary)	WDCS258 Ten-Cent Valentine - 1958 Magica de Spell (in disguise)

THE AFTERMATH

Although Barks quickly abandoned Miss Quackfaster, she was certainly not forgotten by several of Barks' contemporary colleagues. Here are examples from a few of the best known:

Philip 'Phil' DeLara (1914-1973)	John N. Carey (1915-1987)
Anthony 'Tony' Joseph Strobl (1915-1991)	Victor Arriagada Rios (Vicar) (1934-2012)
Daniel Branca (1951-2005)	Antoni Gil-Bao (?-)

Miss Quackfaster has had her greatest success in the Italian duck universe that has produced more than 800 stories with the secretary in smaller roles. The Italian artists, though, depict her as both taller and younger. These facts have meant that fans speculate that she must be the granddaughter of Miss Quackfaster...