Just wanted everyone to know that Life of $crooge part ONE is
available at my local Wal-Mart, probably at yours too!
Apparently, they have a "Disney Comics/Distributed by Marvel
Comics" indicia on the cover, but the rest of the book is
identical!
Even though Gladstone may have sold out to the direct market,
apparently this Disney/Marvel thing is for the newstand market.
Ron
Author
Topic: 199404
(249 messages)
Ronald A. Evry (Ronald)
Disney-comics digest #286.
Message 1 -
1994-04-01 at 08:25:23
Wilmer Rivers
Ice Festival in Duckburg
Message 2 -
1994-04-01 at 10:24:32
Per asks about a lithograph of a Barks painting which the Swedish
distributor calls (in Swedish, of course) "Ice Festival in Duckburg".
> It displays a lot of Duckburgians with an emphasis on Donald and Daisy
> on skates. (Scrooge has skates for rent.) What painting is this?
It's called "Mardi Gras before the Thaw". It features practically
EVERYBODY - in addition to all the characters from the Barks stories,
it has Pluto chasing the skating Beagle Boys into a near collision
with Horace Horsecollar and Clarabelle Cow, while the unmistakeable
outlines of Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy are seen in shadows as they carry
balloons into a castle which seems more representative of Anaheim than
of Duckburg. But the statue of Cornelius Coot dominates the skyline,
so it's to be taken as a winter carnival in Duckburg, as the Swedish
distributor has decided in their re-naming of the print. Among the
gags are that Gyro is skating on stilts, with a propeller mounted to
a motor on his back, and HD&L are building a snowman which looks just
like Donald. Donald and Daisy are by far the largest figures in the
foreground, and it shows quite prominently that Daisy has green eyes.
Wilmer Rivers
distributor calls (in Swedish, of course) "Ice Festival in Duckburg".
> It displays a lot of Duckburgians with an emphasis on Donald and Daisy
> on skates. (Scrooge has skates for rent.) What painting is this?
It's called "Mardi Gras before the Thaw". It features practically
EVERYBODY - in addition to all the characters from the Barks stories,
it has Pluto chasing the skating Beagle Boys into a near collision
with Horace Horsecollar and Clarabelle Cow, while the unmistakeable
outlines of Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy are seen in shadows as they carry
balloons into a castle which seems more representative of Anaheim than
of Duckburg. But the statue of Cornelius Coot dominates the skyline,
so it's to be taken as a winter carnival in Duckburg, as the Swedish
distributor has decided in their re-naming of the print. Among the
gags are that Gyro is skating on stilts, with a propeller mounted to
a motor on his back, and HD&L are building a snowman which looks just
like Donald. Donald and Daisy are by far the largest figures in the
foreground, and it shows quite prominently that Daisy has green eyes.
Wilmer Rivers
Harry Fluks
Ice Festival in Duckburg
Message 3 -
1994-04-01 at 13:11:08
Wilmer:
> Per asks about a lithograph of a Barks painting which the Swedish
> distributor calls (in Swedish, of course) "Ice Festival in Duckburg".
> It's called "Mardi Gras before the Thaw".
Do you have some more information, like the orientation of the painting
(Portrait or Landscape) and the year in which Barks drew it?
All we had so far was the title (in our file "oils" on ftp.lysator.liu.se)
--Harry.
> Per asks about a lithograph of a Barks painting which the Swedish
> distributor calls (in Swedish, of course) "Ice Festival in Duckburg".
> It's called "Mardi Gras before the Thaw".
Do you have some more information, like the orientation of the painting
(Portrait or Landscape) and the year in which Barks drew it?
All we had so far was the title (in our file "oils" on ftp.lysator.liu.se)
--Harry.
Adair_t
The Marvel Connection
Message 4 -
1994-04-02 at 02:38:57
For those of you who have subscribed since Gladstone resumed publicationof Disney comics:
Gladstone sells comicbooks to the direct market. Marvel distributes
Gladstone's products to newstands. The only difference that I can recall is
that the logo is changed on the cover, and maybe a UPC box is added.
They appear to be the same inside.
I have yet to see any newsstands in New Zealand selling Disney comics.
This is very surprising, as the newstands generally have a better selection of
comicbooks than their American counterparts. If Marvel does have newstand
distribution rights for Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the U.S. (the same
market as Gladstone?), then they should exploit it. BTW, I get my Gladstones
via a comicbook store, which gets them via the direct market.
I am glad Marvel is distributing Disney comics, as Marvel has the talentand experience to successfully sell comics via the newsstand.
(One more note for new subscribers. Disney Comics refers to comicbooks
published by Disney (sometimes referred to as "The Dark Ages"), whereas Disney
comics (small "c") refers to all comicbooks published for Disney.)
Marvel also seems to be publishing the Disney movie adaptations, as seenby the recent "Three Musketeers" comicbook.
Would someone who is more knowledeable please give more information?
Torsten Adair Adair_T at kosmos.wcc.govt.nz Wellington, New Zealand
Gladstone sells comicbooks to the direct market. Marvel distributes
Gladstone's products to newstands. The only difference that I can recall is
that the logo is changed on the cover, and maybe a UPC box is added.
They appear to be the same inside.
I have yet to see any newsstands in New Zealand selling Disney comics.
This is very surprising, as the newstands generally have a better selection of
comicbooks than their American counterparts. If Marvel does have newstand
distribution rights for Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the U.S. (the same
market as Gladstone?), then they should exploit it. BTW, I get my Gladstones
via a comicbook store, which gets them via the direct market.
I am glad Marvel is distributing Disney comics, as Marvel has the talentand experience to successfully sell comics via the newsstand.
(One more note for new subscribers. Disney Comics refers to comicbooks
published by Disney (sometimes referred to as "The Dark Ages"), whereas Disney
comics (small "c") refers to all comicbooks published for Disney.)
Marvel also seems to be publishing the Disney movie adaptations, as seenby the recent "Three Musketeers" comicbook.
Would someone who is more knowledeable please give more information?
Torsten Adair Adair_T at kosmos.wcc.govt.nz Wellington, New Zealand
Adair_t
Donald in Mathmagic Land
Message 5 -
1994-04-02 at 03:01:05
The only reason I bought the recent issue of Donald Duck Adventures was
because of the adaptation of "Mathmagic Land" by Tony Strobl. I'm a bit
partial to educational comicbooks, and I was curious to compare this story with
the film.
Overall, it was enjoyable, and factual. I was disappointed that the
pool table scene was edited, as I remember being awed by the method of using
the diamonds on the sides, but had forgotten as to how to use them. I suppose
Disney didn't want to promote juvenile delinquency.
I may be mistaken (actually, a book I read may be mistaken), but I
thought Algebra was named after a middle-eastern mathematician, not after a
word. I was also surprised that Scrooge, a brilliant bussinessman, didn't
realize the mistake of doubling money each time. For those of you who want a
physical demonstration of this, try folding a piece of paper eight times.
(After five minutes with a calculator and pen, the sum that Scrooge
would own Donald would be $184,467,440,737,095,516.16
Or, in other words, one hundred eighty-four quadrillion, four hundred
sixty-seven trillion, four hundred forty billion, seven hundred thirty-seven
million, ninety-five thousand, five hundred sixteen dollars and sixteen cents.)
(I just realized a mistake. Did Donald start with one penny, or two?
If one, then divide the above total by two. If you have a calculator handy,
the answer should be 2^63 (two to the sixty-third power)).
This reminds me of a subject which I haven't seen here yet. How much
money is in Scrooge's moneybin?
Torsten "grains of sand" Adair adair_t at kosmos.wcc.govt.nz Wellington, NZ
because of the adaptation of "Mathmagic Land" by Tony Strobl. I'm a bit
partial to educational comicbooks, and I was curious to compare this story with
the film.
Overall, it was enjoyable, and factual. I was disappointed that the
pool table scene was edited, as I remember being awed by the method of using
the diamonds on the sides, but had forgotten as to how to use them. I suppose
Disney didn't want to promote juvenile delinquency.
I may be mistaken (actually, a book I read may be mistaken), but I
thought Algebra was named after a middle-eastern mathematician, not after a
word. I was also surprised that Scrooge, a brilliant bussinessman, didn't
realize the mistake of doubling money each time. For those of you who want a
physical demonstration of this, try folding a piece of paper eight times.
(After five minutes with a calculator and pen, the sum that Scrooge
would own Donald would be $184,467,440,737,095,516.16
Or, in other words, one hundred eighty-four quadrillion, four hundred
sixty-seven trillion, four hundred forty billion, seven hundred thirty-seven
million, ninety-five thousand, five hundred sixteen dollars and sixteen cents.)
(I just realized a mistake. Did Donald start with one penny, or two?
If one, then divide the above total by two. If you have a calculator handy,
the answer should be 2^63 (two to the sixty-third power)).
This reminds me of a subject which I haven't seen here yet. How much
money is in Scrooge's moneybin?
Torsten "grains of sand" Adair adair_t at kosmos.wcc.govt.nz Wellington, NZ
Adair_t
Top Publishers for April 1994
Message 6 -
1994-04-02 at 04:12:39
Found this in rec.arts.comics.misc. It has been edited for brevity.
Torsten Adair adair_t at kosmos.wcc.govt.nz Wellington, New Zealand
Path: newshost.wcc.govt.nz!comp.vuw.ac.nz!uunet!panix!news.intercon.com!howland.reston.ans.net!noc.near.net!news.delphi.com!news.delphi.com!not-for-mail
From: antarcti at news.delphi.com (ANTARCTIC at DELPHI.COM)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc,alt.comics.alternative
Subject: Top Publishers for April 1994
Date: 29 Mar 1994 19:39:48 -0500
Organization: Delphi Internet Services Corporation
Lines: 67
Message-ID: <2nahok$bqk at news.delphi.com>
Here's a quick list of the top publishers for April 1994,
by dollar share of the direct market, as reported by Capital City.
Publisher Year 92 12/93 Year 93 1/94 2/94 3/94 4/94
Marvel 45.76% 30.24% 33.43% 35.87% 32.41% 31.85% 32.88%
DC 19.34% 20.04% 19.00% 18.32% 16.67% 20.16% 23.94%
[...]
(23) Gladstone .26% .45% .23% .43% .56% .41% .34%
[...]
Torsten Adair adair_t at kosmos.wcc.govt.nz Wellington, New Zealand
Path: newshost.wcc.govt.nz!comp.vuw.ac.nz!uunet!panix!news.intercon.com!howland.reston.ans.net!noc.near.net!news.delphi.com!news.delphi.com!not-for-mail
From: antarcti at news.delphi.com (ANTARCTIC at DELPHI.COM)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc,alt.comics.alternative
Subject: Top Publishers for April 1994
Date: 29 Mar 1994 19:39:48 -0500
Organization: Delphi Internet Services Corporation
Lines: 67
Message-ID: <2nahok$bqk at news.delphi.com>
Here's a quick list of the top publishers for April 1994,
by dollar share of the direct market, as reported by Capital City.
Publisher Year 92 12/93 Year 93 1/94 2/94 3/94 4/94
Marvel 45.76% 30.24% 33.43% 35.87% 32.41% 31.85% 32.88%
DC 19.34% 20.04% 19.00% 18.32% 16.67% 20.16% 23.94%
[...]
(23) Gladstone .26% .45% .23% .43% .56% .41% .34%
[...]
Wilmer Rivers
Mathmagic Land
Message 7 -
1994-04-02 at 06:21:46
Torsten Adair writes about "Donald Duck in Mathmagic Land":
> I may be mistaken (actually, a book I read may be mistaken), but I
> thought Algebra was named after a middle-eastern mathematician, not after a
> word.
No, almost all the exotic-sounding words in the English language that
have the prefix "al" come from Arabic nouns rather then proper names.
"Al" is the definite article in Arabic. Science has lots of these
words, such as Al-cohol, Al-chemy, Al-dehyde, Al-falfa, Al-gorithm,
Al-idade (that's a surveying instrument), Al-kali, etc. As for
algebra, that means "the reunion of broken parts".
Wilmer Rivers
> I may be mistaken (actually, a book I read may be mistaken), but I
> thought Algebra was named after a middle-eastern mathematician, not after a
> word.
No, almost all the exotic-sounding words in the English language that
have the prefix "al" come from Arabic nouns rather then proper names.
"Al" is the definite article in Arabic. Science has lots of these
words, such as Al-cohol, Al-chemy, Al-dehyde, Al-falfa, Al-gorithm,
Al-idade (that's a surveying instrument), Al-kali, etc. As for
algebra, that means "the reunion of broken parts".
Wilmer Rivers
Tryg Helseth
How much does $crooge have in his money bin?
Message 8 -
1994-04-02 at 22:34:59
On Sat, 02 Apr 1994 12:01:05 +1200,
adair_t at kosmos.wcc.govt.nz <adair_t at kosmos.wcc.govt.nz> wrote:
TORSTEN ADAIR Writes:
> This reminds me of a subject which I haven't seen here yet. How much
>money is in Scrooge's moneybin?
Torsten:
I remember a reference in a '50s Scrooge story where he quotes his net
worth as "9 Fantasticatillion, 40 Billion Jillion Centrificalion dollars
and 16 cents." Or something like that. I can't remember exactly which
story that appeared in, but maybe someone else knows.
Now the first question I have is what do those units translate to in units
we are familiar with; secondly, does that represent his total worth or
just what is in the bin?
Another way to determine Scrooge's wealth is may be by volumne. The volume
of money is referred to as being "3 cubic acres" which again is an
unfamiliar unit of measure. Now an acre is a square mesure consisting of
43,560 square feet. A square plot containing an acre would be approx.
208.7 feet squared. We might guess that a "cubic acre" would be 208.7 feet
cubed, or 9.09 million cubic feet. So $crooges bin is about 27.3 million
cubic feet (773 million liters).
Scrooges bin appears to be mainly filled with coins with bills
intermixed. I don't have any idea as to what the average foot of money
would be worth. Anyone care to guess?
Tryg Helseth <trygve at maroon.tc.umn.edu> Minneapolis, MN, USA
or <tryg.helseth at tstation.mn.org>
"I found my thrill on Killmotor hill..." $crooge McDuck
adair_t at kosmos.wcc.govt.nz <adair_t at kosmos.wcc.govt.nz> wrote:
TORSTEN ADAIR Writes:
> This reminds me of a subject which I haven't seen here yet. How much
>money is in Scrooge's moneybin?
Torsten:
I remember a reference in a '50s Scrooge story where he quotes his net
worth as "9 Fantasticatillion, 40 Billion Jillion Centrificalion dollars
and 16 cents." Or something like that. I can't remember exactly which
story that appeared in, but maybe someone else knows.
Now the first question I have is what do those units translate to in units
we are familiar with; secondly, does that represent his total worth or
just what is in the bin?
Another way to determine Scrooge's wealth is may be by volumne. The volume
of money is referred to as being "3 cubic acres" which again is an
unfamiliar unit of measure. Now an acre is a square mesure consisting of
43,560 square feet. A square plot containing an acre would be approx.
208.7 feet squared. We might guess that a "cubic acre" would be 208.7 feet
cubed, or 9.09 million cubic feet. So $crooges bin is about 27.3 million
cubic feet (773 million liters).
Scrooges bin appears to be mainly filled with coins with bills
intermixed. I don't have any idea as to what the average foot of money
would be worth. Anyone care to guess?
Tryg Helseth <trygve at maroon.tc.umn.edu> Minneapolis, MN, USA
or <tryg.helseth at tstation.mn.org>
"I found my thrill on Killmotor hill..." $crooge McDuck
Mark Semich
Previews and How much does $crooge have in his money bin?
Message 9 -
1994-04-03 at 01:28:44
I don't remember just where I saw this, but I recall reading
an analysis of Scrooge's money bin in an old Gladstone letter column.
The author had calculated the volume of the bin, and perhaps just how
much cash it could hold. (I seem to remember something about how 3
cubic acres would actually be *much* larger than the bin appears to
be.)
WDC&S 591 just came out and contains a new William Van Horn story,
"Magica's Missin' Magic." This story includes, as one of it's main
characters, the whistling flea, Baron Itzy Bitzy. I know that I've
read a previous Van Horn story with this flea in it - does anyone know
off hand which story this was?
I've been very busy recently, so I'm in the midst of catching up on my
mail. Among other things, I got a recent letter from David Gerstein
wherein he mentions the Gladstone previews from last month. I don't
know if these have already been mentioned here, my apologies if they
have:
(Comments are David's :-) )
"DDA 27: 'Rustler's in Widows Gap' by Pat Block. This is the new tale
done directly for Gladstone that Gary Leach told us about. It is 24
pages long! Hurray! First Donald Western in a long, long, time!"
"WDC&S 592 (64 pages): A William Van Horn DD story (no title given).
the conclusion of 'Hoppy the Kangaroo,' and (groan) 30 pages of Tony
Strobl's Donald Duck in memorial to Strobl, who died recently. I
don't care much for Strobl, but know he has his fans and agree he
deserves a tribute - but why, when this is WDC&S, are they using only
Strobl DUCK material? Didn't he draw mice. wolves, dawgs, etc. as
well? Great, even with 64 pages Gladstone's WDC&S continues to be ALL
ducks and mice..."
"US 287: The third part of LO$ (I've forgotten the title, sorry!),
plus one of Jippes' redrawn Barks Junior Woodchuck tales, 'Duck-Made
Disaster.' YYYYES!..."
I certainly look forward to most of these stories, especially the
Rosa, the new Pat Block tale, the Jippes Woodchuck story (I wrote in to
Gladstone and asked to see these) and also "Hoppy the Kangaroo," as I
never read it the first time around. All in all, it looks to be a
great month.
Also just got the new April Previews myself:
---
Descriptions are Gladstone's, [comments are mine]
D&M 25 - This issue: "The Unorthodox Ox," by Carl Barks, in which
Donald borrows Grandma's "tame" bull. Also features the final
installment of the Mickey and Goofy epic, "Don't Call Me Tut" [Blech!]
- a gag-filled [couldn't have chosen a better description myself] romp
from Disney Studios. Plus: "This is Your Life, Donald Duck," by Tony
Strobl. - FC, 64pg $2.95
DD 286 - Join Carl Barks, Floyd Gottfredson, Frederico Pedrocchi, Don
Rosa, and William Van Horn for this 60th Anniversary tribute to the
greatest cartoon water-bird of all time! Contains a 16-page story by
Rosa, a classic Donald/Mickey reprint (the first Mickey adventure in
which Donald participated) by Gottfredson, a 17-page Italian story
(first printed in 1937) by Pedrocchi, and "Donald's Victory Garden"
by Carl Barks - his first ten-pager, which originally appeared in
WDC&S #31. Plus: a 10-page framing sequence by William Van Horn. New
cover image by William Van Horn. - FC, 64pg $2.95
["Cover image"? I'm starting to feel very afraid...]
USA #28 - Presents the epic Barks adventure, "Land Beneath the Ground"
- featuring artwork edited from Western's reprinting of the tale!
Also: The first installment of Romano Scarpa's Scrooge adventure, "The
Man From Oola Oola." Cover by Don Rosa. - FC, 64pg $2.95
---
Aside from D&M, it looks like a good month. The DD is certainly a
gem, and I'm very interested in what the Scarpa story in USA will be
like.
Off to the Funny Farm...
an analysis of Scrooge's money bin in an old Gladstone letter column.
The author had calculated the volume of the bin, and perhaps just how
much cash it could hold. (I seem to remember something about how 3
cubic acres would actually be *much* larger than the bin appears to
be.)
WDC&S 591 just came out and contains a new William Van Horn story,
"Magica's Missin' Magic." This story includes, as one of it's main
characters, the whistling flea, Baron Itzy Bitzy. I know that I've
read a previous Van Horn story with this flea in it - does anyone know
off hand which story this was?
I've been very busy recently, so I'm in the midst of catching up on my
mail. Among other things, I got a recent letter from David Gerstein
wherein he mentions the Gladstone previews from last month. I don't
know if these have already been mentioned here, my apologies if they
have:
(Comments are David's :-) )
"DDA 27: 'Rustler's in Widows Gap' by Pat Block. This is the new tale
done directly for Gladstone that Gary Leach told us about. It is 24
pages long! Hurray! First Donald Western in a long, long, time!"
"WDC&S 592 (64 pages): A William Van Horn DD story (no title given).
the conclusion of 'Hoppy the Kangaroo,' and (groan) 30 pages of Tony
Strobl's Donald Duck in memorial to Strobl, who died recently. I
don't care much for Strobl, but know he has his fans and agree he
deserves a tribute - but why, when this is WDC&S, are they using only
Strobl DUCK material? Didn't he draw mice. wolves, dawgs, etc. as
well? Great, even with 64 pages Gladstone's WDC&S continues to be ALL
ducks and mice..."
"US 287: The third part of LO$ (I've forgotten the title, sorry!),
plus one of Jippes' redrawn Barks Junior Woodchuck tales, 'Duck-Made
Disaster.' YYYYES!..."
I certainly look forward to most of these stories, especially the
Rosa, the new Pat Block tale, the Jippes Woodchuck story (I wrote in to
Gladstone and asked to see these) and also "Hoppy the Kangaroo," as I
never read it the first time around. All in all, it looks to be a
great month.
Also just got the new April Previews myself:
---
Descriptions are Gladstone's, [comments are mine]
D&M 25 - This issue: "The Unorthodox Ox," by Carl Barks, in which
Donald borrows Grandma's "tame" bull. Also features the final
installment of the Mickey and Goofy epic, "Don't Call Me Tut" [Blech!]
- a gag-filled [couldn't have chosen a better description myself] romp
from Disney Studios. Plus: "This is Your Life, Donald Duck," by Tony
Strobl. - FC, 64pg $2.95
DD 286 - Join Carl Barks, Floyd Gottfredson, Frederico Pedrocchi, Don
Rosa, and William Van Horn for this 60th Anniversary tribute to the
greatest cartoon water-bird of all time! Contains a 16-page story by
Rosa, a classic Donald/Mickey reprint (the first Mickey adventure in
which Donald participated) by Gottfredson, a 17-page Italian story
(first printed in 1937) by Pedrocchi, and "Donald's Victory Garden"
by Carl Barks - his first ten-pager, which originally appeared in
WDC&S #31. Plus: a 10-page framing sequence by William Van Horn. New
cover image by William Van Horn. - FC, 64pg $2.95
["Cover image"? I'm starting to feel very afraid...]
USA #28 - Presents the epic Barks adventure, "Land Beneath the Ground"
- featuring artwork edited from Western's reprinting of the tale!
Also: The first installment of Romano Scarpa's Scrooge adventure, "The
Man From Oola Oola." Cover by Don Rosa. - FC, 64pg $2.95
---
Aside from D&M, it looks like a good month. The DD is certainly a
gem, and I'm very interested in what the Scarpa story in USA will be
like.
Off to the Funny Farm...
Dwight Decker
How much money does Scrooge have in his money bin
Message 10 -
1994-04-03 at 03:38:45
Years and years ago, I wrote a semi-serious article on this
subject for The Comics Journal. I figured out the volume of
three cubic acres, then arbitrarily assumed that the pennies,
nickels, and dimes balanced the 50-cent pieces, silver
dollars, and bills of various denominations so that the mass
of money averaged out to so many quarters (the American 25-cent
piece). That is, I assumed the bin to be filled with stacks of
quarters (less ten feet or so between the top of each column
and the ceiling). This was, I admit, a completely arbitrary
assumption, and Scrooge's sheaves of banknotes probably
increased the actual amount considerably. However, I could
weigh a quarter and measure its diameter and width, and
calculate from there for a figure that might be suggestive.
I've long since forgotten my actual results, but I think I
discovered that Scrooge has more money in the bin than is
actually in circulation in the entire United States. The
weight of all that money also had serious implications for
the money-bin floor. A further complication was that about
1964 or so, the price of silver rose to the point that the
silver content of dimes and quarters was worth more than the
face value, so the government switched from silver coinage
to cheaper metals. The old silver coins have virtually
disappeared from circulation and are now worth several times
face value to collectors and dealers. No doubt a large part
of Scrooge's hoard includes the old silver coins and so would
be worth more than face value.
This is all speculative nonsense, of course, and when the
article appeared, several people complained about my arbitrary
assumption that the money bin could be thought of as containing
nothing but quarters. I didn't mean for it to be taken
seriously; I just needed a firm peg to hang the calculations on.
Oddly enough, a couple of years after the article appeared, I got
a check out of nowhere from a French comics magazine that had
translated and printed it...
--Dwight Decker
subject for The Comics Journal. I figured out the volume of
three cubic acres, then arbitrarily assumed that the pennies,
nickels, and dimes balanced the 50-cent pieces, silver
dollars, and bills of various denominations so that the mass
of money averaged out to so many quarters (the American 25-cent
piece). That is, I assumed the bin to be filled with stacks of
quarters (less ten feet or so between the top of each column
and the ceiling). This was, I admit, a completely arbitrary
assumption, and Scrooge's sheaves of banknotes probably
increased the actual amount considerably. However, I could
weigh a quarter and measure its diameter and width, and
calculate from there for a figure that might be suggestive.
I've long since forgotten my actual results, but I think I
discovered that Scrooge has more money in the bin than is
actually in circulation in the entire United States. The
weight of all that money also had serious implications for
the money-bin floor. A further complication was that about
1964 or so, the price of silver rose to the point that the
silver content of dimes and quarters was worth more than the
face value, so the government switched from silver coinage
to cheaper metals. The old silver coins have virtually
disappeared from circulation and are now worth several times
face value to collectors and dealers. No doubt a large part
of Scrooge's hoard includes the old silver coins and so would
be worth more than face value.
This is all speculative nonsense, of course, and when the
article appeared, several people complained about my arbitrary
assumption that the money bin could be thought of as containing
nothing but quarters. I didn't mean for it to be taken
seriously; I just needed a firm peg to hang the calculations on.
Oddly enough, a couple of years after the article appeared, I got
a check out of nowhere from a French comics magazine that had
translated and printed it...
--Dwight Decker
Adair_t
Grand Comics Index
Message 11 -
1994-04-03 at 05:07:18
I found this is rec.arts.comics.misc, and given the high amount of indexing
done in this list, I thought it might be of interest.
Torsten Adair adair_t at kosmos.wcc.govt.nz Wellington, New Zealand
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc
Path: newshost.wcc.govt.nz!comp.vuw.ac.nz!uunet!butch!enterprise!news
From: stroup at univrs.decnet.lockheed.com
Subject: Grand Comics Database
Message-ID: <1994Mar31.155503.1 at univrs.decnet.lockheed.com>
Lines: 36
Sender: news at enterprise.rdd.lmsc.lockheed.com (News Administrator)
Organization: Lockheed Palo Alto Research Labs
Date: Thu, 31 Mar 94 23:55:15 GMT
Announcing the GRAND COMICS DATABASE
With the emergence of a strong electronic comic book fandom,
the Bay Area Comicbook Klub and APA-Index have joined
forces to create the ultimate comic book database. It will
contain information on every comic book ever published. The
database includes fields for writer, artist, inker, letterer,
colorist, editor, cover artist and more! And best of all, we are
going to give it to comic book fandom. It will be available
online, on disk, and by ftp for just the cost of mailing or
access time.
Obviously this is a major project. So, WE NEED YOUR HELP.
Anyone who already has indexed books in electronic form,
we'd love to have your data. Everyone else, we'd like a little
of your time. Contact us and you can index any books that
aren't already done.
For having just started this project in March, we are doing
well. With only 7 volunteers so far, we have over 100 titles
and 2,000 issues already indexed. But we have a long way to
go. We estimate that there are already over 100,000 different
comics to put into the database, with more being published
each week. So if you can give us some support, send me a SASE
or e-mail me at the following address for more details.
Come and join in the Grand Adventure!
The Grand Comics Database
Tim Stroup
130 Baroni Ave. #16
San Jose, CA 95136
stroup at univrs.decnet.lockheed.com
done in this list, I thought it might be of interest.
Torsten Adair adair_t at kosmos.wcc.govt.nz Wellington, New Zealand
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc
Path: newshost.wcc.govt.nz!comp.vuw.ac.nz!uunet!butch!enterprise!news
From: stroup at univrs.decnet.lockheed.com
Subject: Grand Comics Database
Message-ID: <1994Mar31.155503.1 at univrs.decnet.lockheed.com>
Lines: 36
Sender: news at enterprise.rdd.lmsc.lockheed.com (News Administrator)
Organization: Lockheed Palo Alto Research Labs
Date: Thu, 31 Mar 94 23:55:15 GMT
Announcing the GRAND COMICS DATABASE
With the emergence of a strong electronic comic book fandom,
the Bay Area Comicbook Klub and APA-Index have joined
forces to create the ultimate comic book database. It will
contain information on every comic book ever published. The
database includes fields for writer, artist, inker, letterer,
colorist, editor, cover artist and more! And best of all, we are
going to give it to comic book fandom. It will be available
online, on disk, and by ftp for just the cost of mailing or
access time.
Obviously this is a major project. So, WE NEED YOUR HELP.
Anyone who already has indexed books in electronic form,
we'd love to have your data. Everyone else, we'd like a little
of your time. Contact us and you can index any books that
aren't already done.
For having just started this project in March, we are doing
well. With only 7 volunteers so far, we have over 100 titles
and 2,000 issues already indexed. But we have a long way to
go. We estimate that there are already over 100,000 different
comics to put into the database, with more being published
each week. So if you can give us some support, send me a SASE
or e-mail me at the following address for more details.
Come and join in the Grand Adventure!
The Grand Comics Database
Tim Stroup
130 Baroni Ave. #16
San Jose, CA 95136
stroup at univrs.decnet.lockheed.com
Don Rosa
Disney-comics digest #288.
Message 12 -
1994-04-03 at 18:18:34
TRYG:
I was afraid you were going to try to answer that insidious
question of how much money $crooge has in his Bin... but you gave the
only appropriate answer of one of the fanciful numbers that Barks gave
now and then. I was always irritated when people wrote in to those
letter pages trying to determine how much money was in $crooge's 3 cubic
acres, especially since it's not possible to even GUESS at without
making sweeping assumptions and generalizations as to just what's in an
average cubic foot (or wotever) of the bin. The calculations might be
fun if they could have the slightest sort of viable framework to start
from. The Bin is filled with ordinary pocket-change type cash which has
been dumped in from 1902 until 19??, along with 8 hogsheads of Canadian
and American currency from the previous 5 years. How many pennies?
Silver dollars from when they were common? Double eagle gold pieces from
when they were used?
And, while I can't explain this, I also dislike anyone trying
to nail down that nebulous amount. I realize how strange this is coming
from someone who apparently relishes in "nailing down" so many other
aspects of $crooge's life, so I can't defend my attitude. I guess there
are SOME things I think should be elusive... and for some reason the
contents of the Bin are one of 'em.
AND YET... as to the question you (Tryg) ask, as to whether an
amount of money is $crooge's net worth or just the contents of his Bin,
I addressed that matter in part 12 of the "Lo$". So often people seem to
feel that $crooge's bin is ALL of his money; if he's a thriving
businessman, it may be only a FRACTION of his worth. But if that's true,
why does he worry about it so much?
I feel pretentious saying SPOILER WARNING as if I think people
are waiting on pins and needles to see this stuff -- but there, I
slipped the warning in sideways...
"Lo$" CHAPTER 12, page 8 & 9 -- $crooge has just opened the
door to the Bin and shown DD and HDL what's inside.
DD: "Oh, my stars and little comets! It IS a bin! A bin of
MONEY -- just like the TV show quesses!"
HDL: "Lookit that gauge -- it's nearly 100 feet deep!"
DD: "He... he has ALL his money in this ONE huge room!"
U$: "Don't be an idiot! This isn't ALL my money! I have assets
in banks and property around the world!
"But THIS... this is the money I earned MYSELF... ALONE... while
I travelled the globe for 50 years, singlehandedly discovering mines and
starting factories!
"Each coin in this bin has a meaning to me! Each is a souvenir!
Each is a trophy to my grit and glory!
"THIS is that part of my money I NEVER SPEND!"
That's one of the few times I pulled off something I kinda like.
Other times I am terribly embarrassed by how much my work SUCKS DONKEY
PARTS!!! One such time was that cover I did back in the 17th century
for the Gladstone album reprinting "Land Beneath the Ground". And it's
THAT @#$%&*+ cover that I just was told is what Gladstone is reusing on
their new reprint!!! I quickly called and offered to redo it FOR FREE
if they just wouldn't use that cover! I was still in my earliest
learning stages of learning to draw when I did that thing! But too late.
I aplogize to everyone for the reappearance of that cover art.
I was afraid you were going to try to answer that insidious
question of how much money $crooge has in his Bin... but you gave the
only appropriate answer of one of the fanciful numbers that Barks gave
now and then. I was always irritated when people wrote in to those
letter pages trying to determine how much money was in $crooge's 3 cubic
acres, especially since it's not possible to even GUESS at without
making sweeping assumptions and generalizations as to just what's in an
average cubic foot (or wotever) of the bin. The calculations might be
fun if they could have the slightest sort of viable framework to start
from. The Bin is filled with ordinary pocket-change type cash which has
been dumped in from 1902 until 19??, along with 8 hogsheads of Canadian
and American currency from the previous 5 years. How many pennies?
Silver dollars from when they were common? Double eagle gold pieces from
when they were used?
And, while I can't explain this, I also dislike anyone trying
to nail down that nebulous amount. I realize how strange this is coming
from someone who apparently relishes in "nailing down" so many other
aspects of $crooge's life, so I can't defend my attitude. I guess there
are SOME things I think should be elusive... and for some reason the
contents of the Bin are one of 'em.
AND YET... as to the question you (Tryg) ask, as to whether an
amount of money is $crooge's net worth or just the contents of his Bin,
I addressed that matter in part 12 of the "Lo$". So often people seem to
feel that $crooge's bin is ALL of his money; if he's a thriving
businessman, it may be only a FRACTION of his worth. But if that's true,
why does he worry about it so much?
I feel pretentious saying SPOILER WARNING as if I think people
are waiting on pins and needles to see this stuff -- but there, I
slipped the warning in sideways...
"Lo$" CHAPTER 12, page 8 & 9 -- $crooge has just opened the
door to the Bin and shown DD and HDL what's inside.
DD: "Oh, my stars and little comets! It IS a bin! A bin of
MONEY -- just like the TV show quesses!"
HDL: "Lookit that gauge -- it's nearly 100 feet deep!"
DD: "He... he has ALL his money in this ONE huge room!"
U$: "Don't be an idiot! This isn't ALL my money! I have assets
in banks and property around the world!
"But THIS... this is the money I earned MYSELF... ALONE... while
I travelled the globe for 50 years, singlehandedly discovering mines and
starting factories!
"Each coin in this bin has a meaning to me! Each is a souvenir!
Each is a trophy to my grit and glory!
"THIS is that part of my money I NEVER SPEND!"
That's one of the few times I pulled off something I kinda like.
Other times I am terribly embarrassed by how much my work SUCKS DONKEY
PARTS!!! One such time was that cover I did back in the 17th century
for the Gladstone album reprinting "Land Beneath the Ground". And it's
THAT @#$%&*+ cover that I just was told is what Gladstone is reusing on
their new reprint!!! I quickly called and offered to redo it FOR FREE
if they just wouldn't use that cover! I was still in my earliest
learning stages of learning to draw when I did that thing! But too late.
I aplogize to everyone for the reappearance of that cover art.
Bror Hellman
Donald in Mathmagic Land
Message 13 -
1994-04-03 at 22:11:37
> (After five minutes with a calculator and pen, the sum that Scrooge
> would own Donald would be $184,467,440,737,095,516.16
Oh! What a catastrophe! If $crooge would loose that kind of money every
day he would be ruined in just twohundred years! :-)
----------------------------------------------
... Does The Little Mermaid wear an algebra?
----------------------------------------------
Internet: hellman at proxxi.uf.se, DuckNet: hellman at 313:100/13.0
> would own Donald would be $184,467,440,737,095,516.16
Oh! What a catastrophe! If $crooge would loose that kind of money every
day he would be ruined in just twohundred years! :-)
----------------------------------------------
... Does The Little Mermaid wear an algebra?
----------------------------------------------
Internet: hellman at proxxi.uf.se, DuckNet: hellman at 313:100/13.0
John M Baker
How much does $crooge have in his money bin?
Message 14 -
1994-04-04 at 01:58:24
I know that Don Rosa has expressed his distaste for attempts to
answer this question, but I can't resist a few observations.
1. Unca Carl repeatedly told us, to the penny, the exact amount,
sometimes expressed as the amount in the money bin and sometimes as the
total fortune. These totals have the following in common: They are
never the same in two different stories. They always use made-up numbers
("nine multicaplujillion," etc.), presumably because real numbers don't
go high enough. And the amount always ends, "and sixteen cents."
2. Scrooge frequently worries, with some apparent justification
(e.g., "The Pixilated Parrot"), that without the money in his money bin
he will be only a poor old man. Yet it is also clear that he has vast
holdings elsewhere; remember the contest with Flintheart Glomgold, where
their holdings are actually liquidated. Presumably the answer is that he
has vast requirements for current cash and cannot continue operations
without the resources of his money bin.
(This brings up a related question: Why doesn't Scrooge just put
his money in banks and receive a return on his investment? Although the
emotional meaning of the money to him should not be discounted, it also
cannot be the whole story. One answer is that the money has a tangible
value as an investment, because of the scarcity of the coins and bills on
the collectors' market; banks would not give him credit above the face
value, and extensive sales to collectors would depress the market.
Second, bank deposits are insured only to the first $100,000, and Scrooge
is undoubtedly concerned about safety.)
3. Attempts to calculate the fortune based upon the volume of
the money bin are doomed to failure, for two reasons. First, we don't
even know what the volume is, since "three cubic acres" is not a standard
measure of volume. Should we assume that each cubic acre is a cube just
over 208 feet per side? Or should we assume that the money bin covers
three acres, to a depth of about 100 feet? The bin certainly looks
closer to three than six acres?
A more fundamental problem is the inability to assign any value
to a given volume. Scrooge probably couldn't do it himself: Should he
use the value at which his coins and bills would sell if slowly released
to collectors, or should he use the depressed prices that would prevail
if collectors knew his rare coins and bills were being liquidated? Note
also that the volume has stayed under the 100-foot marker, though we know
he has added to the money bin during that time. Probably he is upgrading
the collection, using up less valuable coins and bills of lower
denomination and recent vintage while retaining the collectors' items and
adding high-denomination bills.
4. Having said all that, remember that there was one story in
which the fortune was converted to $1,000,000 bills and stored in a
30-foot sphere. If we assume the inner diameter to be 28 feet, the
question becomes how many $1,000,000 bills would fit in a sphere of that
size. A bill is 6 3/16" x 2 5/8". Assume that they are stacked 150 to
the inch (new bills stack more than that to the inch, but these probably
were not new and certainly were not packed with 100% efficiency). Then
there are 15,960 (rounding slightly) to the cubic foot. Since the volume
of a cube equals 4/3 times pi times the cube of the radius, there are
11,494 cubic feet to the sphere. That works out to a fortune of
$183,444,240,000,000 - at one time in the past, and without taking
account of the holdings elsewhere.
JMB
answer this question, but I can't resist a few observations.
1. Unca Carl repeatedly told us, to the penny, the exact amount,
sometimes expressed as the amount in the money bin and sometimes as the
total fortune. These totals have the following in common: They are
never the same in two different stories. They always use made-up numbers
("nine multicaplujillion," etc.), presumably because real numbers don't
go high enough. And the amount always ends, "and sixteen cents."
2. Scrooge frequently worries, with some apparent justification
(e.g., "The Pixilated Parrot"), that without the money in his money bin
he will be only a poor old man. Yet it is also clear that he has vast
holdings elsewhere; remember the contest with Flintheart Glomgold, where
their holdings are actually liquidated. Presumably the answer is that he
has vast requirements for current cash and cannot continue operations
without the resources of his money bin.
(This brings up a related question: Why doesn't Scrooge just put
his money in banks and receive a return on his investment? Although the
emotional meaning of the money to him should not be discounted, it also
cannot be the whole story. One answer is that the money has a tangible
value as an investment, because of the scarcity of the coins and bills on
the collectors' market; banks would not give him credit above the face
value, and extensive sales to collectors would depress the market.
Second, bank deposits are insured only to the first $100,000, and Scrooge
is undoubtedly concerned about safety.)
3. Attempts to calculate the fortune based upon the volume of
the money bin are doomed to failure, for two reasons. First, we don't
even know what the volume is, since "three cubic acres" is not a standard
measure of volume. Should we assume that each cubic acre is a cube just
over 208 feet per side? Or should we assume that the money bin covers
three acres, to a depth of about 100 feet? The bin certainly looks
closer to three than six acres?
A more fundamental problem is the inability to assign any value
to a given volume. Scrooge probably couldn't do it himself: Should he
use the value at which his coins and bills would sell if slowly released
to collectors, or should he use the depressed prices that would prevail
if collectors knew his rare coins and bills were being liquidated? Note
also that the volume has stayed under the 100-foot marker, though we know
he has added to the money bin during that time. Probably he is upgrading
the collection, using up less valuable coins and bills of lower
denomination and recent vintage while retaining the collectors' items and
adding high-denomination bills.
4. Having said all that, remember that there was one story in
which the fortune was converted to $1,000,000 bills and stored in a
30-foot sphere. If we assume the inner diameter to be 28 feet, the
question becomes how many $1,000,000 bills would fit in a sphere of that
size. A bill is 6 3/16" x 2 5/8". Assume that they are stacked 150 to
the inch (new bills stack more than that to the inch, but these probably
were not new and certainly were not packed with 100% efficiency). Then
there are 15,960 (rounding slightly) to the cubic foot. Since the volume
of a cube equals 4/3 times pi times the cube of the radius, there are
11,494 cubic feet to the sphere. That works out to a fortune of
$183,444,240,000,000 - at one time in the past, and without taking
account of the holdings elsewhere.
JMB
Wilmer Rivers
Money on Scrooge's bin
Message 15 -
1994-04-04 at 02:33:56
John M. Baker writes:
> Why doesn't Scrooge just put
> his money in banks and receive a return on his investment? Although the
> emotional meaning of the money to him should not be discounted, it also
> cannot be the whole story. One answer is that the money has a tangible
> value as an investment, because of the scarcity of the coins and bills on
> the collectors' market; banks would not give him credit above the face
> value, and extensive sales to collectors would depress the market.
> Second, bank deposits are insured only to the first $100,000, and Scrooge
> is undoubtedly concerned about safety.)
And third, Scrooge himself undoubtedly owns the bank! Do you think he's
about to pay himself interest?
Wilmer Rivers
> Why doesn't Scrooge just put
> his money in banks and receive a return on his investment? Although the
> emotional meaning of the money to him should not be discounted, it also
> cannot be the whole story. One answer is that the money has a tangible
> value as an investment, because of the scarcity of the coins and bills on
> the collectors' market; banks would not give him credit above the face
> value, and extensive sales to collectors would depress the market.
> Second, bank deposits are insured only to the first $100,000, and Scrooge
> is undoubtedly concerned about safety.)
And third, Scrooge himself undoubtedly owns the bank! Do you think he's
about to pay himself interest?
Wilmer Rivers