Regarding handling of Disney Comics at Disney stores --
Perhaps they could take a tip from the Warner Bros. stores,
which do not sell DC Comics, but do sell Comic Anthologies and
Trade PB's -- Certainly the Disney stores could order the
beautiful Barks anthology books from Gladstone -- There is no
"shelf-life" to those books and they would certainly be
an attractive addition to the store. Being shrink-wrapped,
people wouldn't loiter in the syore reading them, and they
would bring wider exposure to what Gladstone is doing with the
reprint books.
Ron
Author
Topic: 199402
(215 messages)
Ronald A. Evry (Ronald)
Disney-comics digest #239.
Message 91 -
1994-02-12 at 15:24:26
Gary Leach
Disney-comics digest #239.
Message 92 -
1994-02-12 at 21:22:47
DON:
A slight cavaet to your remarks on why the Disney Stores don't carry Disney
comics (either ours or the late-lamented theirs). The fact is, they can order
only Disney comics from Diamond, Capital, Heroes World, what have you, so long
as they put in a minimum order for each Disney title they would desire to
carry. No distributor requires that dealers in comics, if they order one title
from one company, must also order titles from other companies-if that was so,
there would be no more comics retail industry because they all would have gone
hopelessly broke years ago. And today, more than ever, retailers are becoming
selective, so the Disney Stores would be right in there ordering what the
distributors would confidently know they would order and be happy to provide.
This, of course, has no direct bearing on the basic problem you stated: the
stores just won't fool with it, partly because comics are periodicals, partly
because comics require attention that t-shirts and pencil erasers do not, and
because they ask customers to consider the concept of READING. In short...TOO
MUCH TROUBLE!
ALL:
Comics get no respect in the USA. People who think that is changing to any
significant degree are only fooling themselves, I'm afraid. Even TV, which has
tapped the vein of comics more often of late, still treat them as cartoons,
whether animated or live action. Nothing has or is going to change the fact
that, to the general public, long-underwear heroes and talking mice are just
plain silly, nevermind that what they do take seriously-soap operas,
docudramas, local news-wallow in some of the most egregious nonsense
imaginable. Comics have been defined as kid's stuff, and there is no will or
inclination on the part of the general public to embrace a new definition. TOO
MUCH TROUBLE!
Since the WDCiC fiasco, I've been considering the outlandish notion that
somehow, someway, Disney-the corporation-could be tried in court and found
incompetent to administer the affairs of the corporation. At the very least it
could be established that they possess no competence in the market area of
comics and therefore such administration should be awarded to the various
comic book licensees worldwide. Pipe dream as that is, it does make me wonder
if someday a large group of stockholders might notice that Disney management
is not handling certain of Disney's affairs at all properly and call them on
the carpet for such bonehead moves as not allowing licensees to produce
products that will pay royalties to the corporation. If I was a stockholder,
that would certainly leave me somewhat perlexed.
"How come you don't want to earn any money for me, guys? Hmmm...?"
A slight cavaet to your remarks on why the Disney Stores don't carry Disney
comics (either ours or the late-lamented theirs). The fact is, they can order
only Disney comics from Diamond, Capital, Heroes World, what have you, so long
as they put in a minimum order for each Disney title they would desire to
carry. No distributor requires that dealers in comics, if they order one title
from one company, must also order titles from other companies-if that was so,
there would be no more comics retail industry because they all would have gone
hopelessly broke years ago. And today, more than ever, retailers are becoming
selective, so the Disney Stores would be right in there ordering what the
distributors would confidently know they would order and be happy to provide.
This, of course, has no direct bearing on the basic problem you stated: the
stores just won't fool with it, partly because comics are periodicals, partly
because comics require attention that t-shirts and pencil erasers do not, and
because they ask customers to consider the concept of READING. In short...TOO
MUCH TROUBLE!
ALL:
Comics get no respect in the USA. People who think that is changing to any
significant degree are only fooling themselves, I'm afraid. Even TV, which has
tapped the vein of comics more often of late, still treat them as cartoons,
whether animated or live action. Nothing has or is going to change the fact
that, to the general public, long-underwear heroes and talking mice are just
plain silly, nevermind that what they do take seriously-soap operas,
docudramas, local news-wallow in some of the most egregious nonsense
imaginable. Comics have been defined as kid's stuff, and there is no will or
inclination on the part of the general public to embrace a new definition. TOO
MUCH TROUBLE!
Since the WDCiC fiasco, I've been considering the outlandish notion that
somehow, someway, Disney-the corporation-could be tried in court and found
incompetent to administer the affairs of the corporation. At the very least it
could be established that they possess no competence in the market area of
comics and therefore such administration should be awarded to the various
comic book licensees worldwide. Pipe dream as that is, it does make me wonder
if someday a large group of stockholders might notice that Disney management
is not handling certain of Disney's affairs at all properly and call them on
the carpet for such bonehead moves as not allowing licensees to produce
products that will pay royalties to the corporation. If I was a stockholder,
that would certainly leave me somewhat perlexed.
"How come you don't want to earn any money for me, guys? Hmmm...?"
Ron Bauerle
More Duck Hair
Message 93 -
1994-02-13 at 01:48:59
I hope I'm not revealing any cluelessness here, but one more comment on
whether or not the Ducks should have hair:
What about that wig or whatever that Gyro Gearloose wears under his hat?
RDB
whether or not the Ducks should have hair:
What about that wig or whatever that Gyro Gearloose wears under his hat?
RDB
Don Rosa
Disney-comics digest #240.
Message 94 -
1994-02-13 at 06:36:34
GARY:
I think that, in my comments about Disney Stores and comics, I
was saying that a LOCAL distributor would never allow a store to order
only Disney comics, or only comics, or anything less than EVERYTHING if
they were a customer... and that the store COULD order whatever it
wanted from Diamond since that's a totally different concept: with a
local distributor the store would be becoming a sortuva licensed outlet
for ALL periodicals -- with Diamond, the store would be BUYING the
product so could buy whatever it wished. And, as you say, the very
thought that a Disney Store would go to any such trouble is laughable
considering the profit and ease there is in selling T-shirts and Ariel
dolls to the moron masses.
Another thing I'm delighted to see another human in this country
besides me realize is that American comics as a mass market item is
forever and irreversably DEAD. The American super-hero writers and
artists are all making skads of money and getting loads of attention...
but they naturally want to think that the future of the industry is
rosey and that everyone respects and loves and KNOWS them as much as the
kiddies at the comic conventions. But their livlihoods are based on
extremely small sales in the highly profitable direct market, and have
as a cornerstone a sort of comic genre that no intelligent grown up (and
few intelligent children) sees as anything less than utterly silly. All
the American comic writers and artists have this pipe dream, as you say,
that they are gaining respect and sales, which is not the case. And I
don't think there is ANYTHING which can change this. No matter HOW good
the material suddenly became in American comics, it is still doomed as a
mass medium because it has two things working against it that CANNOT
change: the American perception of comics as kid stuff... and the fact
that comics require READING. Of course, the success of Disney comics in
America has a third dooming force pulling them down: DISNEY EXECUTIVES.
RON:
Yes, isn't that a WIG Gyro is wearing? It's clear that there's a
STRAP of some sort around his bird-chin... and that strap seems to lead
not to his HAT but to his HAIR. Has anyone ever wondered about that
strap?
Actually, what IS Gyro? I always thought he was a sorta
cockatoo-stork judging by his beak, his intelligence and his lankiness.
Even though he doesn't have a chicken-beak, I understand most people
have always thought of him as a chicken. But if he IS a chicken, that
would explain that tuft of reddish hair -- I'd need to check the
encyclopedia for the name, but there is a species of chicken with a tuft
of fuzzy reddish hair on its head (and no strap).
I think that, in my comments about Disney Stores and comics, I
was saying that a LOCAL distributor would never allow a store to order
only Disney comics, or only comics, or anything less than EVERYTHING if
they were a customer... and that the store COULD order whatever it
wanted from Diamond since that's a totally different concept: with a
local distributor the store would be becoming a sortuva licensed outlet
for ALL periodicals -- with Diamond, the store would be BUYING the
product so could buy whatever it wished. And, as you say, the very
thought that a Disney Store would go to any such trouble is laughable
considering the profit and ease there is in selling T-shirts and Ariel
dolls to the moron masses.
Another thing I'm delighted to see another human in this country
besides me realize is that American comics as a mass market item is
forever and irreversably DEAD. The American super-hero writers and
artists are all making skads of money and getting loads of attention...
but they naturally want to think that the future of the industry is
rosey and that everyone respects and loves and KNOWS them as much as the
kiddies at the comic conventions. But their livlihoods are based on
extremely small sales in the highly profitable direct market, and have
as a cornerstone a sort of comic genre that no intelligent grown up (and
few intelligent children) sees as anything less than utterly silly. All
the American comic writers and artists have this pipe dream, as you say,
that they are gaining respect and sales, which is not the case. And I
don't think there is ANYTHING which can change this. No matter HOW good
the material suddenly became in American comics, it is still doomed as a
mass medium because it has two things working against it that CANNOT
change: the American perception of comics as kid stuff... and the fact
that comics require READING. Of course, the success of Disney comics in
America has a third dooming force pulling them down: DISNEY EXECUTIVES.
RON:
Yes, isn't that a WIG Gyro is wearing? It's clear that there's a
STRAP of some sort around his bird-chin... and that strap seems to lead
not to his HAT but to his HAIR. Has anyone ever wondered about that
strap?
Actually, what IS Gyro? I always thought he was a sorta
cockatoo-stork judging by his beak, his intelligence and his lankiness.
Even though he doesn't have a chicken-beak, I understand most people
have always thought of him as a chicken. But if he IS a chicken, that
would explain that tuft of reddish hair -- I'd need to check the
encyclopedia for the name, but there is a species of chicken with a tuft
of fuzzy reddish hair on its head (and no strap).
Robert Reeves
Comics at Disney Stores
Message 95 -
1994-02-13 at 20:38:55
As Ronald A. Evry pointed out, books and anthologies could do quite well at
your local Disney Store. Granted I usually see more T-shirts go out the door
than books, but does anyone remember that Disney _did_ offer their comic
books one time? I can't say anything about any other store than the one here
in Boston, but I remember right after Disney (ahem) took over from Gladstone
publishing duties, there was available for purchase a boxed set of the 1st
'Disney' books. I can't remember the price (it was high!) as I already had
the books I wanted from the local comic shop, but thought I'd add (?) something
to the discussion....
Robert (snowbound in Boston)
your local Disney Store. Granted I usually see more T-shirts go out the door
than books, but does anyone remember that Disney _did_ offer their comic
books one time? I can't say anything about any other store than the one here
in Boston, but I remember right after Disney (ahem) took over from Gladstone
publishing duties, there was available for purchase a boxed set of the 1st
'Disney' books. I can't remember the price (it was high!) as I already had
the books I wanted from the local comic shop, but thought I'd add (?) something
to the discussion....
Robert (snowbound in Boston)
HATHAWAY
Reading is Dead?
Message 96 -
1994-02-14 at 00:04:18
Don certainly has a point about selling stuff that involves READING being
a losing proposition. We all despair of the illiteracy of every American
but ourselves. However, by that same token the recent massive popularity
of the Internet itself should be impossible. After all, most all the
messages posted and sent around and around all involve READING, not
to mention writing (well, keyboard pushing mostly). I wonder if the
distinction is that a lot of access to this medium does not involve
a direct sale of a tangible item, such as goes on in Disney stores and
such money-generating schemes. Still, the thousand or so newsgroups
available right here is some indication that many Americans _do_ know
how to read. (A ghastly amount of noise at times ...). Whether they
will _pay_ for the privilege is another matter. And whether the
Mousemeisters will ever respect American intelligence does seem quite
unlikely.
QQQQQUUUUUUAAAAAAAAACCCCKKKK!!!!! (Sorry, I needed that.)
Wm. Hathaway
P.S.
(BTW, myself, I never read Fiction. The affairs of D. Duck and the
clan are as real to me as Bart Simpson and Rocket J. Squirrel - probably
more so. While Mr. Rosa and others undoubtedly work very hard to bring
their adventures to us, I don't consider that they are making anything
up - rather they are doing us the esteemed service of transcribing the
actual lives of the feathered fellows so we can share in their trials
and triumphs so as to advance ourselves and bring about a better world
where someday bills and webbed feat can be displayed proudly in public
and where 'fair and square' defeats the greedy forces of that corporation
which claims to 'own' their free spirits.)
(Hey, call me a dreamer - but how many would have thought that one
day the word 'Hubble' would be praised and not snickered at? Nine
years at this place and I never thought of giving up.)
a losing proposition. We all despair of the illiteracy of every American
but ourselves. However, by that same token the recent massive popularity
of the Internet itself should be impossible. After all, most all the
messages posted and sent around and around all involve READING, not
to mention writing (well, keyboard pushing mostly). I wonder if the
distinction is that a lot of access to this medium does not involve
a direct sale of a tangible item, such as goes on in Disney stores and
such money-generating schemes. Still, the thousand or so newsgroups
available right here is some indication that many Americans _do_ know
how to read. (A ghastly amount of noise at times ...). Whether they
will _pay_ for the privilege is another matter. And whether the
Mousemeisters will ever respect American intelligence does seem quite
unlikely.
QQQQQUUUUUUAAAAAAAAACCCCKKKK!!!!! (Sorry, I needed that.)
Wm. Hathaway
P.S.
(BTW, myself, I never read Fiction. The affairs of D. Duck and the
clan are as real to me as Bart Simpson and Rocket J. Squirrel - probably
more so. While Mr. Rosa and others undoubtedly work very hard to bring
their adventures to us, I don't consider that they are making anything
up - rather they are doing us the esteemed service of transcribing the
actual lives of the feathered fellows so we can share in their trials
and triumphs so as to advance ourselves and bring about a better world
where someday bills and webbed feat can be displayed proudly in public
and where 'fair and square' defeats the greedy forces of that corporation
which claims to 'own' their free spirits.)
(Hey, call me a dreamer - but how many would have thought that one
day the word 'Hubble' would be praised and not snickered at? Nine
years at this place and I never thought of giving up.)
David A Gerstein
Gyro is a CHICKEN, I tell ya! A GIANT CHICKEN!
Message 97 -
1994-02-14 at 02:44:16
Dear Folks,
Don Rosa said, "Yes, isn't that a WIG Gyro is wearing? It's
clear that there's a STRAP of some sort around his bird-chin... and
that strap seems to lead not to his HAT but to his HAIR. Has anyone
ever wondered about that strap?"
There is definitely ONE Barks story wherein Gyro is surprised,
or shocked, or something, and his entire WIG flies up revealing his
bald head underneath. But I always thought that was an exaggeration
like having Donald's pupils leave his eyes at the sight of the
shrunken Cornelius Cobb in "Voodoo Hoodoo".
The way to tell is for someone to look at that story about
Gyro learning to swim. He is without his hat for most of it, I
recall, but I can't remember if that strap is still there or not. If
it is, we'll know Gyro definitely wears a wig. Sorry I *can't* do the
looking myself -- but I only have one of my six CBLGG albums here at
school with me, and it's the wrong one for this debate.
BTW, if the strap went to his hat from his chin, as I believe
it does, it would be covered by his frizzy hair, or at least buried in
it. Either that or it would pull back the area of hair it crossed,
leaving Gyro looking rather odd. That's why I think it isn't drawn.
But find that swimming story -- you know, "I'll use fins and
an inner tube and water wings, and phooey on what the neighbors
think!" -- and prove me wrong, folks!
Don again: "Actually, what IS Gyro? I always thought he
was a sorta cockatoo-stork judging by his beak, his intelligence
and his lankiness. Even though he doesn't have a chicken-beak, I
understand most people have always thought of him as a chicken."
Hey, he HAS a chicken-beak! Barks himself frequently
refers to him as one, which clinches it. "He was a tall, gawky
*chicken*, twice as tall as the Ducks" -- there we go. I do notice
that he's pretty big for a chicken -- look at the Barks Daisy Double
Date story, and look at Clara Cluck and her rooster boyfriend (whose
name I've forgotten). Those chickens are the same size as the Ducks,
but portlier... Gyro's a *giant* chicken! But there are giant Ducks
too -- though most Ducks Barks draws are DD/U$ size, some are the size
of the dogfaces in the stories, and of Gyro.
In any event, in the US, Gyro is a chicken. I know that at
least one other country's comic lettercol pegged him as a crane,
although I don't know which country (I heard it here). And one old
Whitman story by Kay Wright (well, drawn by him) called him a goose,
which is like calling an apple a piano. Gyro a *goose*? Damned if he
looks like a goose! For now, the back covers of the CBLGG series,
calling him "Barks' cerebral chicken," will stand.
Yours,
David Gerstein
P. S. The title of this article sounded unusually desperate,
but in fact was a Warner-Bros. cartoon reference. Anyone here get it?
Don Rosa said, "Yes, isn't that a WIG Gyro is wearing? It's
clear that there's a STRAP of some sort around his bird-chin... and
that strap seems to lead not to his HAT but to his HAIR. Has anyone
ever wondered about that strap?"
There is definitely ONE Barks story wherein Gyro is surprised,
or shocked, or something, and his entire WIG flies up revealing his
bald head underneath. But I always thought that was an exaggeration
like having Donald's pupils leave his eyes at the sight of the
shrunken Cornelius Cobb in "Voodoo Hoodoo".
The way to tell is for someone to look at that story about
Gyro learning to swim. He is without his hat for most of it, I
recall, but I can't remember if that strap is still there or not. If
it is, we'll know Gyro definitely wears a wig. Sorry I *can't* do the
looking myself -- but I only have one of my six CBLGG albums here at
school with me, and it's the wrong one for this debate.
BTW, if the strap went to his hat from his chin, as I believe
it does, it would be covered by his frizzy hair, or at least buried in
it. Either that or it would pull back the area of hair it crossed,
leaving Gyro looking rather odd. That's why I think it isn't drawn.
But find that swimming story -- you know, "I'll use fins and
an inner tube and water wings, and phooey on what the neighbors
think!" -- and prove me wrong, folks!
Don again: "Actually, what IS Gyro? I always thought he
was a sorta cockatoo-stork judging by his beak, his intelligence
and his lankiness. Even though he doesn't have a chicken-beak, I
understand most people have always thought of him as a chicken."
Hey, he HAS a chicken-beak! Barks himself frequently
refers to him as one, which clinches it. "He was a tall, gawky
*chicken*, twice as tall as the Ducks" -- there we go. I do notice
that he's pretty big for a chicken -- look at the Barks Daisy Double
Date story, and look at Clara Cluck and her rooster boyfriend (whose
name I've forgotten). Those chickens are the same size as the Ducks,
but portlier... Gyro's a *giant* chicken! But there are giant Ducks
too -- though most Ducks Barks draws are DD/U$ size, some are the size
of the dogfaces in the stories, and of Gyro.
In any event, in the US, Gyro is a chicken. I know that at
least one other country's comic lettercol pegged him as a crane,
although I don't know which country (I heard it here). And one old
Whitman story by Kay Wright (well, drawn by him) called him a goose,
which is like calling an apple a piano. Gyro a *goose*? Damned if he
looks like a goose! For now, the back covers of the CBLGG series,
calling him "Barks' cerebral chicken," will stand.
Yours,
David Gerstein
P. S. The title of this article sounded unusually desperate,
but in fact was a Warner-Bros. cartoon reference. Anyone here get it?
Torsten Wesley Adair
WDU$ #285 : TLaTo$M : Part One
Message 98 -
1994-02-14 at 03:04:33
Not much of a story, but a good start. The detail of the castle
is incredible, and the sight gags (I.3.8, I.11.3, I.11.5) are not intrusive.
Now, did we ever clear up the question of the hair coloring? Did Fergus'
hair actually turn from brown to white during the course of the story, or
is that just a coloring mistake? And why does U$' mother's eyes not reach
her bill? Is Hortense's "glxblt" taken from the comicstrip "Pogo"?
My guess as to DD's mother is Hortense, considering Fergus' comment (I.15.4).
Don, did you create the McDuck coat of arms, or did you find that
someplace as well?
(For those of you unfamiliar with my notation, I have borrowed the system
used for the Watchmen Annotations found elsewhere on the Internet. The
first Roman numeral refers to the story part or chapter. The second
numeral refers to the page, and the third numeral refers to the panel,
starting from the upper left-hand corner, and proceeding left to right,
top to bottom. Thus, the final panel of part one would be noted as I.15.6 .)
One suggestion... I realize that Gladstone will probably produce two
albums collecting TLaTo$M. I would like to suggest that Gladstone publish
a special, hardcover, limited edition containing:
all 211 or so pages (some would probably be edited to smooth the
story transitions)
Don Rosa's annotations (and maybe others as well)
Don Rosa's notebook, showing some rough layouts, the family tree,
and anything else Don might allow to see print.
Don's version of the McDuck family tree.
A map of U$ travels (this might become a bit difficult--maybe just
limit it to Glasgow to Duckburg)
Make it slipcased, with a nice embossed cover, gild the foreedge, and I'll
buy ten of them!
Would anyone care to compile annotations for TLaTo$M ?
Torsten Adair torsten at cwis.unomaha.edu Omaha, NE, USA (via NZ)
is incredible, and the sight gags (I.3.8, I.11.3, I.11.5) are not intrusive.
Now, did we ever clear up the question of the hair coloring? Did Fergus'
hair actually turn from brown to white during the course of the story, or
is that just a coloring mistake? And why does U$' mother's eyes not reach
her bill? Is Hortense's "glxblt" taken from the comicstrip "Pogo"?
My guess as to DD's mother is Hortense, considering Fergus' comment (I.15.4).
Don, did you create the McDuck coat of arms, or did you find that
someplace as well?
(For those of you unfamiliar with my notation, I have borrowed the system
used for the Watchmen Annotations found elsewhere on the Internet. The
first Roman numeral refers to the story part or chapter. The second
numeral refers to the page, and the third numeral refers to the panel,
starting from the upper left-hand corner, and proceeding left to right,
top to bottom. Thus, the final panel of part one would be noted as I.15.6 .)
One suggestion... I realize that Gladstone will probably produce two
albums collecting TLaTo$M. I would like to suggest that Gladstone publish
a special, hardcover, limited edition containing:
all 211 or so pages (some would probably be edited to smooth the
story transitions)
Don Rosa's annotations (and maybe others as well)
Don Rosa's notebook, showing some rough layouts, the family tree,
and anything else Don might allow to see print.
Don's version of the McDuck family tree.
A map of U$ travels (this might become a bit difficult--maybe just
limit it to Glasgow to Duckburg)
Make it slipcased, with a nice embossed cover, gild the foreedge, and I'll
buy ten of them!
Would anyone care to compile annotations for TLaTo$M ?
Torsten Adair torsten at cwis.unomaha.edu Omaha, NE, USA (via NZ)
Darin Reid
The Ftp Site/CBL
Message 99 -
1994-02-14 at 04:20:33
I haven't ftp'd the Disney site in a long time, what the heck is it?
Is there an Index of stories contained in the Carl Barks Library (the three
volume sets, not the albums) at the ftp site?
-Darin
--
Bitnet : Areid at Fordmulc
Unix/AIX: Reid at Dsm.Fordham.Edu
Vax/VMS : Areid at Mary.Fordham.Edu
Freenet : Bz809 at Cleveland.Freenet.Edu
Is there an Index of stories contained in the Carl Barks Library (the three
volume sets, not the albums) at the ftp site?
-Darin
--
Bitnet : Areid at Fordmulc
Unix/AIX: Reid at Dsm.Fordham.Edu
Vax/VMS : Areid at Mary.Fordham.Edu
Freenet : Bz809 at Cleveland.Freenet.Edu
Tryg Helseth
Not another Chicken Joke!
Message 100 -
1994-02-14 at 04:51:19
RON, DON, and DAVID:
All this talk about my personal role model, Gyro, sent me digging back in
the archives to defend the hair raising questions about the Gearloose mop-
top.
On David's suggestion, I looked up the untitled story from Uncle Scrooge
#23 about Gyro's new swimming pool. Yes! Gyro has his hair with no hat or
strap. It's either real hair or held on by a powerful adhesive. (Super
Glue hadn't been invented yet, but surely Gyro could have whipped something
up...)
Another interesting find is Gyro's appearance in WDC&S #141, the
Think Box story. In this episode, the straps go all the way to Gyro's
hat; he must have had his hair slicked down so they couldn't go through
the hair as they do in other stories... :)
I was trying to locate yet another story where Gyro appears without a hat;
there was one I remember where Gyro was quite a bit heavier and I don't
think he had a hat. As I recall, it was a brief appearance in a US or DD
story--probably in DD. Anyone remember this pre-Jenny Craig Gyro?
Now, is he a Chicken or not? I'll vote for an albino magpie!
"You can never build a machine so smart
there won't be some jerk too dumb to run it!"
-Gyro Gearloose
Tryg Helseth <trygve at maroon.tc.umn.edu> Minneapolis, MN, USA
or <tryg.helseth at tstation.mn.org>
"I wish they all could be Calisota Ducks!" -The Beach Drakes
All this talk about my personal role model, Gyro, sent me digging back in
the archives to defend the hair raising questions about the Gearloose mop-
top.
On David's suggestion, I looked up the untitled story from Uncle Scrooge
#23 about Gyro's new swimming pool. Yes! Gyro has his hair with no hat or
strap. It's either real hair or held on by a powerful adhesive. (Super
Glue hadn't been invented yet, but surely Gyro could have whipped something
up...)
Another interesting find is Gyro's appearance in WDC&S #141, the
Think Box story. In this episode, the straps go all the way to Gyro's
hat; he must have had his hair slicked down so they couldn't go through
the hair as they do in other stories... :)
I was trying to locate yet another story where Gyro appears without a hat;
there was one I remember where Gyro was quite a bit heavier and I don't
think he had a hat. As I recall, it was a brief appearance in a US or DD
story--probably in DD. Anyone remember this pre-Jenny Craig Gyro?
Now, is he a Chicken or not? I'll vote for an albino magpie!
"You can never build a machine so smart
there won't be some jerk too dumb to run it!"
-Gyro Gearloose
Tryg Helseth <trygve at maroon.tc.umn.edu> Minneapolis, MN, USA
or <tryg.helseth at tstation.mn.org>
"I wish they all could be Calisota Ducks!" -The Beach Drakes
Ajd105
Hello all
Message 101 -
1994-02-14 at 05:58:17
Hi everyone, I just subscribed to this list, and so far I'm delighted at
what I have read. I thought I would add my $0.02 Australian = $0.0144 US
to the discusssions:
Of course Gyro is a chicken. If you had ever kept them, you would know
that the rattle brained way of behaving is spot on. Somehow
storks/cranes are a bit too serene for Gyro, and geese have an angry
streak that just doesn't fit the bill. [Sorry about the pun there.]
The 1st chapter of US Life and Times just made it here last week, and I
have to say that I was absolutely delighted with it. In the past I
thought Don Rosa's (hello Mr Rosa) best work was the shorts, some of
which (Woodchucks animal recognition test, the yard sale...) were
absolute gems. With the longer stories, I thought they had a tendancy to
be overly reverential to Barks, and maybe too sentimental. I was
interested to read Don's own notes that he has been criticized that to
effect. Not too strongly I hope, because I think that was a small
failing. In any case, Life and Times pt 1 avoids any such problems, even
though it is liberally sprinkled with Barks references. This stands on
its own as a fine bit of story telling. As well as references to US
stories, I really liked the way the dialogue "I am invincible,
I am doom itself", harked to the Duck in the Iron Pants story. The only
thing wrong with this issue was the second story, which was so far below
the quality of the opener I was hard put to read it. That's probably
more of a comment on the 1st story than the 2nd though.
Also, let me take this chance too to congratulate Mr Rosa for what I
think is one of the most striking covers in comics, the pose of $crooge
on Uncle Scrooge Adventures #5. The people at Gladstone can take a bow
too for the colouring. For some time I've been meaning to blow this up
and frame it - would this be legal?
Hope I didn't rehash anything that preceded my joining.
Andrew Davies
what I have read. I thought I would add my $0.02 Australian = $0.0144 US
to the discusssions:
Of course Gyro is a chicken. If you had ever kept them, you would know
that the rattle brained way of behaving is spot on. Somehow
storks/cranes are a bit too serene for Gyro, and geese have an angry
streak that just doesn't fit the bill. [Sorry about the pun there.]
The 1st chapter of US Life and Times just made it here last week, and I
have to say that I was absolutely delighted with it. In the past I
thought Don Rosa's (hello Mr Rosa) best work was the shorts, some of
which (Woodchucks animal recognition test, the yard sale...) were
absolute gems. With the longer stories, I thought they had a tendancy to
be overly reverential to Barks, and maybe too sentimental. I was
interested to read Don's own notes that he has been criticized that to
effect. Not too strongly I hope, because I think that was a small
failing. In any case, Life and Times pt 1 avoids any such problems, even
though it is liberally sprinkled with Barks references. This stands on
its own as a fine bit of story telling. As well as references to US
stories, I really liked the way the dialogue "I am invincible,
I am doom itself", harked to the Duck in the Iron Pants story. The only
thing wrong with this issue was the second story, which was so far below
the quality of the opener I was hard put to read it. That's probably
more of a comment on the 1st story than the 2nd though.
Also, let me take this chance too to congratulate Mr Rosa for what I
think is one of the most striking covers in comics, the pose of $crooge
on Uncle Scrooge Adventures #5. The people at Gladstone can take a bow
too for the colouring. For some time I've been meaning to blow this up
and frame it - would this be legal?
Hope I didn't rehash anything that preceded my joining.
Andrew Davies
Ajd105
Addendum
Message 102 -
1994-02-14 at 06:06:49
Sorry, I also meant to mention the panel with the worm armed with a
spiked club in U$ life and times #1. I'm still chuckling 4 days later..
Andrew Davies
(No, not the guy who directed The Fugitive...)
spiked club in U$ life and times #1. I'm still chuckling 4 days later..
Andrew Davies
(No, not the guy who directed The Fugitive...)
Wilmer Rivers
Gyro is a CHICKEN, I tell ya! A GIANT CHICKEN!
Message 103 -
1994-02-14 at 06:29:14
Foghorn Leghorn to the chicken hawk?
Wilmer Rivers
Wilmer Rivers
Jean-Michel Pomarede
Mailing list
Message 104 -
1994-02-14 at 06:41:11
Dear Mr. Disney person,
I would like to contribute to your ongoing conversation about Gyro's nature,
but I do not know if I can send any mail to anyone else. My name is David
Pomarede, and you can contact me at: jlpomarede at sun.aitc.rest.tasc.com
Thank you for your time.
David
Pomarede
The
Crimson
Coluprid
I would like to contribute to your ongoing conversation about Gyro's nature,
but I do not know if I can send any mail to anyone else. My name is David
Pomarede, and you can contact me at: jlpomarede at sun.aitc.rest.tasc.com
Thank you for your time.
David
Pomarede
The
Crimson
Coluprid
Harry Fluks
Gyro is a CHICKEN (?)
Message 105 -
1994-02-14 at 10:59:09
David about Gyro:
> Hey, he HAS a chicken-beak! Barks himself frequently
> refers to him as one, which clinches it.
What Barks says outside his comics, doesn't count. 8-)
> In any event, in the US, Gyro is a chicken. I know that at
> least one other country's comic lettercol pegged him as a crane,
> although I don't know which country (I heard it here).
You must mean my message. That "one other country" is Holland. But I
think the answer of the publisher nowadays is "Gyro is just a weird bird".
--Harry
(First, Grandma is not Donald's mother, and now, Gyro is a chicken? You are
right of course, but I have to redefine my view on the Duckburg world...)
> Hey, he HAS a chicken-beak! Barks himself frequently
> refers to him as one, which clinches it.
What Barks says outside his comics, doesn't count. 8-)
> In any event, in the US, Gyro is a chicken. I know that at
> least one other country's comic lettercol pegged him as a crane,
> although I don't know which country (I heard it here).
You must mean my message. That "one other country" is Holland. But I
think the answer of the publisher nowadays is "Gyro is just a weird bird".
--Harry
(First, Grandma is not Donald's mother, and now, Gyro is a chicken? You are
right of course, but I have to redefine my view on the Duckburg world...)