"Can I get a drawing, mister Rosa?"

Kai Saarto

Many of us fans will write to Don Rosa and ask for a drawing. Unfortunately, he cannot do that. To save you from disappointment beforehand, here´s what Don himself says about it:

 

Up until about 3 or 4 years ago, I would send free drawings, sometimes in full color if requested, to anyone who wrote to me asking for one. But eventually, especially with the ease of communication afforded by the Internet, I realized it would be impossible to send a drawing or even a bad scribble to all the very nice Duckfans who write me and request such things. *All* of my spare time is taken up by my efforts to reply to 100% of the mail and e-mail I get, a chore that takes me 2 to 4 hours every single day! I can't take time off from my low-paying labor-intensive job to grant such requests. And I realized that if I can't do a drawing for every single person who requests one, then it is unfair to do a drawing for *anyone* at all.

My method of making amends for this decision is that whenever I go on a signing tour or to a convention, I sit for up to 6 or 7 hours at a time and do free drawings as fast as I can, non-stop, for as many Duckfans as is humanly possible. But doing drawings by mail is something that I *very regrettably* cannot do.

And even if there was time, there's also the cost of protective packaging and postage (which is virtually always to Europe). And I realized that if I can't do a drawing for every single person who requests one, then it is unfair to do a drawing for *anyone* at all. Some people send me nice little gifts, but I can't do drawings for them because if *everyone* started sending me nice gifts for that reason, I would have the same problem (and I don't want to be "paid" by fans to do drawings).

Some people send me drawings that they have done and ask for one in return, but to do drawings for them would be unfair to all the folks who have never learned to draw. And some people even offer me money, sometimes a few bucks and sometimes a LOT of money that I could *really* use, but I can't do drawings for money since just because somebody can afford to pay for a drawing does *not* mean they deserve a drawing more than some nice youngster who can't afford to pay... in fact, they probably still deserve it less than the kid. I don't want fans' money, I want *publishers'* money.

This makes me feel very bad because *I* am first and foremost a comics fan myself, that's why I have this job. I was strictly a comics fan until I suddenly became a "professional" only about 10 years ago. And I am *very flattered and honored* that another Duckfan would want a drawing from me. So, when I find that I can't honor this request, it makes me feel very rude and arrogant, but I still see no other way to deal with it.