This is all taken from the latest Kvacket (NAFS(k)'s newsletter), so
most Swedes on the list will already have (or will soon get) this in
their mail. And for most of the rest of you maybe this isn't that
interesting, as it happens so far away... Hm, hopefully this is of
interest to some of you anyway; maybe to Norwegians and Danes at
least (as data about most other countries in the tour is minimal.
Just what dates Barks will be there -- but even that information is
updated and substantially different from what was published in CBG
long ago).
As I've updated the file "upcoming" at the ftp archive I'll just
reproduce the relevant portions of it here:
June 1--20, DENMARK: Barks exhibition at Nationalmuseum, Copenhagen.
(Nyvestergade 10.)
June 6, 5--8 pm, NORWAY: Norsk Tegneserieforum (NTF) arranges a
meeting at the Nobelinstituttet, Drammensveien 19. There's a
panel, and Barks will visit it. It's possible to join NTF at
the entrance. For more information call Jan P. Krogh at
phone number +47-22360770.)
June 7--12, NORWAY: An exhibition on Barks at Tusenfryd a bit north of
Oslo. (Erik H/orthe has made the exhibition.)
June 7, 1 pm, NORWAY: Barks opens that exhibition. Later in the
evening, there'll be a "student dinner with Barks in Blindern
in the premises of the Realistforeningen."
June 8, NORWAY: NRK will show a new documentary on Barks on TV.
June 9: 60 years since Donald Duck's debut (in the cartoon "The Wise
Little Hen").
June 9, 9 am, DENMARK: Barks arrives in Copenhagen by boat from Oslo.
June 10, DENMARK: At 3 pm Barks will be a guest of honor at the
Nationmuseum exhibition, signing lithographs.
June 11, 2 pm, DENMARK: Donald's birthday will be celebrated (a couple of
days too late) at Tivoli, Copenhagen. Barks will be there.
June 13, FINLAND: Barks arrives in Helsinki by air.
June 14, FINLAND: There's a press conference with Barks, and he meets
the mayor.
June 15, FINLAND: Barks visits the Aku Ankka editorial office.
June 18, 8.30 am, SWEDEN: Barks arrives by boat from Finland. (Silja
Line to the V"artahamnen.) A white Daimler will meet him
there.
Noon: Barks meets the press and gets the Adamson award from
the Svenska Serieakademin.
June 19, SWEDEN: Barks visits the royal castle and gives the children
there signed copies of Kalle Anka & C:o (the Swedish Disney
magazine).
1.13 pm: NAFS(k) and Seriefr"amjandet holds a meeting with
Barks in Stockholm! There will be some lectures, quizzes
etc., but the main thing is a short (~45 minutes) visit by
Barks. Attendees will have to register in advance.
June 20, POLAND: Barks arrives in Warsaw.
June 23, GERMANY: Barks arrives in Hamburg.
June 24, GERMANY: Barks arrives in Munich.
June 28, GERMANY: Barks arrives in Stuttgart.
July 1, FRANCE: Barks arrives in Paris/EuroDisney.
July 4, ITALY: Barks arrives in Milano.
July 11, THE NETHERLANDS: Barks arrives in Amsterdam.
July 15, THE UNITED KINGDOM: Barks arrives in London.
July 21: Barks's European tour is over, and he returns to Oregon.
-- "
Per Starback, Uppsala, Sweden. email: starback at minsk.docs.uu.se
"The trouble with travel is that every year more tourists try to see
more places in less and *less* time!"
Author
Topic: 199406
(121 messages)
Per Starback
Barks European Trip, yet again
Message 16 -
1994-06-06 at 01:39:48
Per Starback
Various other news
Message 17 -
1994-06-06 at 02:02:03
And here's some other stuff from the same newsletter that was my
source of my recent post on Barks's European tour:
* Norwegian television (NRK) has made a program on Carl Barks that
will be shown on Norwegian TV June 8. (It's been bought by Swedish
TV and will be shown in Sweden this autumn.) It's an hour long and
includes an interview with Barks as well as footage of Charlotte
Barks, Roy Disney jr., Malcolm Willits, inter alia. Barks talks among
other things on "Horsing Around With History" (see next item).
(My question: Who is Charlotte? A daughter?)
* "Horsing Around With History", the new Barks story inked by William
Van Horn, will be published in Europe in October this year.
* In August _Life of Donald Duck_ will be released as part of the
celebration of Donald's 60 years. It's a facsimile of a book from
1942, and with the book you get a CD with Barks, Clarence Nash
(Donald's first voice), and "Donald's current voice" (is that still
Tony Anselmo? /Per).
* A Carl Barks calendar for 1995 with 12 of his oils will be out in
September.
* About then a book containing water-colours by Barks (with
non-Disney subjects) will also be released.
* Barks has made a 300 pound bronze statue of Scrooge for a Disney
convention at Disney World September 6--11. (Well, it says so anyway.
I don't know what Barks's part of that really was.)
* A new issue of Danish fanzine "Carl Barks & Co." is out, edited by
Freddy Milton. It contains several interviews with Barks translated
into Danish as well as a new feature on Barks and a letter from Barks
to a professor in Illinois.
-- "
Per Starback, Uppsala, Sweden. email: starback at minsk.docs.uu.se
"Life is but a gamble! Let flipism chart your ramble!"
source of my recent post on Barks's European tour:
* Norwegian television (NRK) has made a program on Carl Barks that
will be shown on Norwegian TV June 8. (It's been bought by Swedish
TV and will be shown in Sweden this autumn.) It's an hour long and
includes an interview with Barks as well as footage of Charlotte
Barks, Roy Disney jr., Malcolm Willits, inter alia. Barks talks among
other things on "Horsing Around With History" (see next item).
(My question: Who is Charlotte? A daughter?)
* "Horsing Around With History", the new Barks story inked by William
Van Horn, will be published in Europe in October this year.
* In August _Life of Donald Duck_ will be released as part of the
celebration of Donald's 60 years. It's a facsimile of a book from
1942, and with the book you get a CD with Barks, Clarence Nash
(Donald's first voice), and "Donald's current voice" (is that still
Tony Anselmo? /Per).
* A Carl Barks calendar for 1995 with 12 of his oils will be out in
September.
* About then a book containing water-colours by Barks (with
non-Disney subjects) will also be released.
* Barks has made a 300 pound bronze statue of Scrooge for a Disney
convention at Disney World September 6--11. (Well, it says so anyway.
I don't know what Barks's part of that really was.)
* A new issue of Danish fanzine "Carl Barks & Co." is out, edited by
Freddy Milton. It contains several interviews with Barks translated
into Danish as well as a new feature on Barks and a letter from Barks
to a professor in Illinois.
-- "
Per Starback, Uppsala, Sweden. email: starback at minsk.docs.uu.se
"Life is but a gamble! Let flipism chart your ramble!"
Per Starback
Fantask
Message 18 -
1994-06-06 at 02:46:31
Fredrik wrote about Fantask's latest catalog with lots of Barks stuff:
> Unfortunately, I don't have the address [to Fantask] here
> now, although I could possibly find out.
It's Fantask A/S
Skt. Pedersstraede 18
1453 Kobenhavn K (slash that o please!)
Denmark
> (How many Danish members do we have, by the way? I hope I'm not
> writing this for Ole all by himself.)
Unfortunately, there's just a couple more of them. But I'm interested
as well, even though I'm no Dane. I got the latest issue of Fantask's
newsletter though, so I guess and hope I'll get this one too without
having to work for it.
-- "
Per Starback, Uppsala, Sweden. email: starback at minsk.docs.uu.se
"Everything comes to him who sits and waits."
> Unfortunately, I don't have the address [to Fantask] here
> now, although I could possibly find out.
It's Fantask A/S
Skt. Pedersstraede 18
1453 Kobenhavn K (slash that o please!)
Denmark
> (How many Danish members do we have, by the way? I hope I'm not
> writing this for Ole all by himself.)
Unfortunately, there's just a couple more of them. But I'm interested
as well, even though I'm no Dane. I got the latest issue of Fantask's
newsletter though, so I guess and hope I'll get this one too without
having to work for it.
-- "
Per Starback, Uppsala, Sweden. email: starback at minsk.docs.uu.se
"Everything comes to him who sits and waits."
Dwight Decker
Gare Barks
Message 19 -
1994-06-06 at 05:09:33
Howdy good peoples...
In answer to Per's query about Gare Barks...well,
maybe I shouldn't have mentioned this at all because
now I have to explain it. Yes, Gare had only one
complete arm. I think she was missing a hand and
a forearm on the other. I don't know what the story
was. She managed to become an accomplished painter,
of course, and she didn't seem too hampered by her
lack of a limb the day I visited the Barkses some
20 years ago. Many, if not most tasks (like
painting) can be done one-handedly with some
practice and adjustment. However, she did seem
sensitive enough on the issue that she posed for
photographs with only the one arm in view. It
probably would have been really tasteless if the
Topolino artist had not drawn her with both arms
in that "Duck Man" story. It's not really
important and would just distract from the point
of the story with an irrelevant side issue.
Uhmm...to amplify on something I said above since
it's too late to change it...if you're right-
handed, of course you'd paint with your right
hand, but you'd also do a lot of other things
with your left hand, like reach for things off
to the left side while your right hand was busy
doing something else. If you lost your left hand,
the quality of your painting wouldn't suffer,
but you'd have to use your right hand for
everything, which would slow things up. Am I
making sense? I'd better quit before I really
get in deep...!
--Dwight Decker
In answer to Per's query about Gare Barks...well,
maybe I shouldn't have mentioned this at all because
now I have to explain it. Yes, Gare had only one
complete arm. I think she was missing a hand and
a forearm on the other. I don't know what the story
was. She managed to become an accomplished painter,
of course, and she didn't seem too hampered by her
lack of a limb the day I visited the Barkses some
20 years ago. Many, if not most tasks (like
painting) can be done one-handedly with some
practice and adjustment. However, she did seem
sensitive enough on the issue that she posed for
photographs with only the one arm in view. It
probably would have been really tasteless if the
Topolino artist had not drawn her with both arms
in that "Duck Man" story. It's not really
important and would just distract from the point
of the story with an irrelevant side issue.
Uhmm...to amplify on something I said above since
it's too late to change it...if you're right-
handed, of course you'd paint with your right
hand, but you'd also do a lot of other things
with your left hand, like reach for things off
to the left side while your right hand was busy
doing something else. If you lost your left hand,
the quality of your painting wouldn't suffer,
but you'd have to use your right hand for
everything, which would slow things up. Am I
making sense? I'd better quit before I really
get in deep...!
--Dwight Decker
Bjorn-are.Davidsen
LO?12 and Barks in Norway
Message 20 -
1994-06-06 at 11:09:09
This was sent a week ago, but I think I somehow managed
to get the adress wrong, so I make another attempt (and add
some stuff).
Don!
After having read Lo$12 I just have to unlurk myself!
Congratulations on your well done project! Of course
not everyone will agree with your overall vision of
Scrooge's life, especially regarding his retirement
and return to business and adventure. Personally I
think it really does solve a lot of problems related to
Barks introduction and later elaborations on Scrooge,
when he decided to use him in more than one story,
gradually building up the mythology of his past.
Barks' use of Scrooge in "Christmas on Bear
Mountain" was after all not due to a lot of
consideration of his past or present. That only came
later and made CoBM somewhat of a problem (is
analomy the right word?) chronicling Scrooge's past,
concidering his present in the fifties and sixties.
However, I think you managed to solve much of the
problem!
I also liked your presentation of Citizen Duck! That
may be lost on the kids (or perhaps American kids
will understand), but is another example of how you
give additional value and reading joy to us more
grey haired readers.
Even if I think Lo$10 is the very best of the series,
the final chapter had it's great moments! I liked very
much the beginning, the part where they enter the bin
for the first time, and the ending looking backward
and forward at the same time.
I think I'll have to read it once or twice more to get
the proper perspective, but I think one difficulty is
that the reader (if this is not the first Scrooge story
one read) knows too much in advance. The content in
Scrooges money bin is no surprise. That is a plot
problem when you make it one of the climaxes of the
story. However, the Beagle Boys was for once very
cleverly disguised! By the way, don't you think
Scrooge did beat them a bit too easily?
Another thing which disturbs me somewhat is that
Scrooge is a bit too different from the way Barks
drew him in CoBM. I guess that is a problem when
you try to be consistent to your own (and Barks'
later) way of drawing Scrooge, but it didn't quite
seem right (I do not know if I have any clever
solutions to that problem!).
However, do not misunderstand! The final part of Lo$
was well done and overall very satisfying!
Regarding Barks in Norway
The media has been full of reports, interviews and stories
about the Duck Man's visit to Norway. It's been headline
stuff both on Television and in the newspapers. It is a bit
irritating, though, that they seldom seem to get the facts
rightm, and often get a bit too condescending about comics.
The main TV news program in Norway ("Dagsrevyen")
managed to portrait Barks as " the man who invented
Donald Duck 60 years ago". They did show several glimps
from Donald Duck cartoons. And the ones they showed from
comics were not by Barks!
Norwegian TV2 knew a bit more and even had an interview
with one of Norway's grand old (and very wealthy) men, the
shipping magnate Fred Olsen. He claimed to be perhaps
"the only man in Norway who had read Donald Duck from
the beginning in 1940 or 41" (he was not sure) when the
first WDCS came out. And he had kept a good collection
ever since, showing a fair understanding of Bark's work.
By the way, the interviews with Barks in the papers tended
to touch mainly on his use of National Geographic and why
there were no fathers and mothers in Duckburg. To that last
question Barks was reported as having said that "all ducks
come from eggs. When the mayor needs a new citizen he
just go out in the woods and get anohter egg" (or something
like that, I don't have the papers at hand). I guess Barks
was trying to make a joke about it! Or Don has to rewrite
his whole Lo$ series!
Bjron-Are
Bjorn Are
to get the adress wrong, so I make another attempt (and add
some stuff).
Don!
After having read Lo$12 I just have to unlurk myself!
Congratulations on your well done project! Of course
not everyone will agree with your overall vision of
Scrooge's life, especially regarding his retirement
and return to business and adventure. Personally I
think it really does solve a lot of problems related to
Barks introduction and later elaborations on Scrooge,
when he decided to use him in more than one story,
gradually building up the mythology of his past.
Barks' use of Scrooge in "Christmas on Bear
Mountain" was after all not due to a lot of
consideration of his past or present. That only came
later and made CoBM somewhat of a problem (is
analomy the right word?) chronicling Scrooge's past,
concidering his present in the fifties and sixties.
However, I think you managed to solve much of the
problem!
I also liked your presentation of Citizen Duck! That
may be lost on the kids (or perhaps American kids
will understand), but is another example of how you
give additional value and reading joy to us more
grey haired readers.
Even if I think Lo$10 is the very best of the series,
the final chapter had it's great moments! I liked very
much the beginning, the part where they enter the bin
for the first time, and the ending looking backward
and forward at the same time.
I think I'll have to read it once or twice more to get
the proper perspective, but I think one difficulty is
that the reader (if this is not the first Scrooge story
one read) knows too much in advance. The content in
Scrooges money bin is no surprise. That is a plot
problem when you make it one of the climaxes of the
story. However, the Beagle Boys was for once very
cleverly disguised! By the way, don't you think
Scrooge did beat them a bit too easily?
Another thing which disturbs me somewhat is that
Scrooge is a bit too different from the way Barks
drew him in CoBM. I guess that is a problem when
you try to be consistent to your own (and Barks'
later) way of drawing Scrooge, but it didn't quite
seem right (I do not know if I have any clever
solutions to that problem!).
However, do not misunderstand! The final part of Lo$
was well done and overall very satisfying!
Regarding Barks in Norway
The media has been full of reports, interviews and stories
about the Duck Man's visit to Norway. It's been headline
stuff both on Television and in the newspapers. It is a bit
irritating, though, that they seldom seem to get the facts
rightm, and often get a bit too condescending about comics.
The main TV news program in Norway ("Dagsrevyen")
managed to portrait Barks as " the man who invented
Donald Duck 60 years ago". They did show several glimps
from Donald Duck cartoons. And the ones they showed from
comics were not by Barks!
Norwegian TV2 knew a bit more and even had an interview
with one of Norway's grand old (and very wealthy) men, the
shipping magnate Fred Olsen. He claimed to be perhaps
"the only man in Norway who had read Donald Duck from
the beginning in 1940 or 41" (he was not sure) when the
first WDCS came out. And he had kept a good collection
ever since, showing a fair understanding of Bark's work.
By the way, the interviews with Barks in the papers tended
to touch mainly on his use of National Geographic and why
there were no fathers and mothers in Duckburg. To that last
question Barks was reported as having said that "all ducks
come from eggs. When the mayor needs a new citizen he
just go out in the woods and get anohter egg" (or something
like that, I don't have the papers at hand). I guess Barks
was trying to make a joke about it! Or Don has to rewrite
his whole Lo$ series!
Bjron-Are
Bjorn Are
James Williams
Bark's Best DD 10 Pagers
Message 21 -
1994-06-06 at 16:08:57
Per wrote:
>At the latest NAFS(k) meeting in Sweden, a small informal poll was
>conducted where it finished third (in that category) behind WDC 99
>(quiz show) and WDC 156 (master rainmaker).
Strange, I've always thought 'The Master Rainmaker' was one of Bark's
poorer stories. I never cared for the final gag and I just cannot
believe that Donald can fly an airplane. I've always thought that his
best DD 10 pagers where 'Omlet' and the one where DD tries to give HD&L
music lessons.
James
>At the latest NAFS(k) meeting in Sweden, a small informal poll was
>conducted where it finished third (in that category) behind WDC 99
>(quiz show) and WDC 156 (master rainmaker).
Strange, I've always thought 'The Master Rainmaker' was one of Bark's
poorer stories. I never cared for the final gag and I just cannot
believe that Donald can fly an airplane. I've always thought that his
best DD 10 pagers where 'Omlet' and the one where DD tries to give HD&L
music lessons.
James
Knut Hunstad
Lo$ 12
Message 22 -
1994-06-06 at 16:46:46
Just an answer to Don Rosa hoping the TV-scenes in Lo$ 12 were correctly
printed in B/W in other countries: at least in Norway it did!
Have to reread the whole story (Lo$1-12) a few times before I comment more
about it. Didn't quite "agree" with Scrooge withdrawing from everything and
then starting up again, but I guess it _is_ a kind of solution to the
"Christmas on bear mountain"-problem.
Donald's 60-years special was quite nice, but how come the square eggs still
were in a closet marked as "rocks"? And that none of them broke when falling
out of the closet? As far as I remember the story they should have been
properly labeled after DD & nephews return to Duckburg. Have to go home and
reread the two square egg stories...
BTW, I really liked that part at the beginning with the lunchbox...
Knut Hunstad
khun at veg.sintef.no
printed in B/W in other countries: at least in Norway it did!
Have to reread the whole story (Lo$1-12) a few times before I comment more
about it. Didn't quite "agree" with Scrooge withdrawing from everything and
then starting up again, but I guess it _is_ a kind of solution to the
"Christmas on bear mountain"-problem.
Donald's 60-years special was quite nice, but how come the square eggs still
were in a closet marked as "rocks"? And that none of them broke when falling
out of the closet? As far as I remember the story they should have been
properly labeled after DD & nephews return to Duckburg. Have to go home and
reread the two square egg stories...
BTW, I really liked that part at the beginning with the lunchbox...
Knut Hunstad
khun at veg.sintef.no
James Williams
A buncha things!
Message 23 -
1994-06-06 at 17:25:45
David,
Welcome back!
>B) DM 26: Paul Murry's "Crown of Tasbah" (from PHANTOM BLOT 5)
>takes up the whole book with a VERY good Van Horn cover. This is my
>favorite Murry Blot story -- better than the others in that series.
>"Tasbah" is a 32-page story -- my guess is that the story will be
>chopped up slightly. I don't mind that, because pacing is the way I
>think it can be improved.
A few lines earlier in this post, you were complaining about Gladstone
editing LO$ chapter 3. Why is it sacreligous to change so much as one
word or panel in Barks and Rosa and okay to butcher Murray? Me thinks
I see a double standard.
James
Welcome back!
>B) DM 26: Paul Murry's "Crown of Tasbah" (from PHANTOM BLOT 5)
>takes up the whole book with a VERY good Van Horn cover. This is my
>favorite Murry Blot story -- better than the others in that series.
>"Tasbah" is a 32-page story -- my guess is that the story will be
>chopped up slightly. I don't mind that, because pacing is the way I
>think it can be improved.
A few lines earlier in this post, you were complaining about Gladstone
editing LO$ chapter 3. Why is it sacreligous to change so much as one
word or panel in Barks and Rosa and okay to butcher Murray? Me thinks
I see a double standard.
James
Mark Mayerson
Upcoming Gladstones
Message 24 -
1994-06-06 at 20:58:23
As a general request, when David Gerstein or anybody else lists the
upcoming Gladstones, could they also list the contents of the Carl
Barks Library issues? While it's pretty easy to predict the Comics
and Stories Library, it's harder to predict the Donald Duck Library,
as it includes things other than Donald Duck series proper. I know that
Barks's Mickey Mouse story is about to be reprinted there and other
material, like the giveaways, will also see print there.
Thanks in advance.
___________________________________________________________________
Mark Mayerson Side Effects Software Inc.,
Internet: mayerson at sidefx.com Toronto, Ontario, Canada
(416) 366-4607
upcoming Gladstones, could they also list the contents of the Carl
Barks Library issues? While it's pretty easy to predict the Comics
and Stories Library, it's harder to predict the Donald Duck Library,
as it includes things other than Donald Duck series proper. I know that
Barks's Mickey Mouse story is about to be reprinted there and other
material, like the giveaways, will also see print there.
Thanks in advance.
___________________________________________________________________
Mark Mayerson Side Effects Software Inc.,
Internet: mayerson at sidefx.com Toronto, Ontario, Canada
(416) 366-4607
Mattias Hallin
Help, again!
Message 25 -
1994-06-07 at 10:27:33
HIYA, Y'ALL!
-- in pertickler those of y'all in Norway and/or Denmark:
could someone help me git aholt of the Donald Duck/Anders And-issue
that contains Lo$ #12?!? I don't wanna have to wait until this
Christmas to read the last chapter; and I already read parts 1 & 2 in
Norwegian (their first /?/ publication), so... I will of course pay
for the comic-book, and for postage; or get you something you need
from Sweden.
Let me know if you can help me out!
'Ta!
Mattias
!==============================================================================!
!* Mattias Hallin ** <Mattias.Hallin at Jurenh.lu.se> ** Phone: +46 46-14 84 43 **!
!* Trollebergsvagen 24 B ***** Work: Lund University, Box 117, S-221 00 Lund **!
!* S-222 29 Lund, SWEDEN **************************** Phone: +46 46-10 71 37 **!
!==============================================================================!
!*************** "Don't let the coyoteeeees howl over my grave!" **************!
!==============================================================================!
-- in pertickler those of y'all in Norway and/or Denmark:
could someone help me git aholt of the Donald Duck/Anders And-issue
that contains Lo$ #12?!? I don't wanna have to wait until this
Christmas to read the last chapter; and I already read parts 1 & 2 in
Norwegian (their first /?/ publication), so... I will of course pay
for the comic-book, and for postage; or get you something you need
from Sweden.
Let me know if you can help me out!
'Ta!
Mattias
!==============================================================================!
!* Mattias Hallin ** <Mattias.Hallin at Jurenh.lu.se> ** Phone: +46 46-14 84 43 **!
!* Trollebergsvagen 24 B ***** Work: Lund University, Box 117, S-221 00 Lund **!
!* S-222 29 Lund, SWEDEN **************************** Phone: +46 46-10 71 37 **!
!==============================================================================!
!*************** "Don't let the coyoteeeees howl over my grave!" **************!
!==============================================================================!
Mattias Hallin
I've been helped
Message 26 -
1994-06-07 at 13:14:39
'YALL!
A short note, just to let you know Knut Hunstad has promised to send me a
copy of Norwegian Donald Duck with Lo$ #12 -- so I've been helped, already!
Thanks, Knut!!!
Mattias
A short note, just to let you know Knut Hunstad has promised to send me a
copy of Norwegian Donald Duck with Lo$ #12 -- so I've been helped, already!
Thanks, Knut!!!
Mattias
Lasse Reichstein Nielsen
From RoC
Message 27 -
1994-06-07 at 14:13:19
Last message before I go to Copenhagen for a week, where I'll try
and attend Barks' appearance at the Danish National Museum, where
about 200 of his oils are on exhibit until June 20.th.
I'll report back as soon as possible.
And my mother will be in Stockholm on 11-12. and Kopperberg 18-19.
(that's in Sweden) on a mineral exhibition. If anyone should come
by, remind her to get me one of those double-digests with 512 pages.
Don:
I got the Cap' Kentuckies today, Monday. Thanks, they look funny and
show another side of your talent. You already did a story about a
'journey to the center of the Earth'. How's the new one different?
Oh, and I didn't like chapter XII.
It wasn't exactly like I had been looking forward to, but I'll read
it all over again in one go, and see if it fits better this time.
Harry:
ME>I like your program better and better:)
>Are you sarcastic? My programs were (and are) developped on an MSDOS-PC. But
>they are in C, and should be able to compile on a Unix-machine as well.
I read this on Lasses PC, which can even do unix too, so MSDOS is real fine
with me. The file names on .lysator. are a bother though.
>Ole about Matena's Vikings ("Grote Pyr"):
>> So "The Iron Lady" is drawn 10 years later again?
>Yes it's drawn more than 10 years later (I read somewhere else that the first
>3 stories were originally from 1973-1974). I don't understand the word 'again'
>in your question.
The first two stories appear to be from '71 and '72, but the third from
'79 is very different in style. I was wondering what a later one looks like.
<oLe 'RoC' Reichstein Nielsen, c/o Lasse 'Spot' R.N. (lrn at daimi.aau.dk)>
and attend Barks' appearance at the Danish National Museum, where
about 200 of his oils are on exhibit until June 20.th.
I'll report back as soon as possible.
And my mother will be in Stockholm on 11-12. and Kopperberg 18-19.
(that's in Sweden) on a mineral exhibition. If anyone should come
by, remind her to get me one of those double-digests with 512 pages.
Don:
I got the Cap' Kentuckies today, Monday. Thanks, they look funny and
show another side of your talent. You already did a story about a
'journey to the center of the Earth'. How's the new one different?
Oh, and I didn't like chapter XII.
It wasn't exactly like I had been looking forward to, but I'll read
it all over again in one go, and see if it fits better this time.
Harry:
ME>I like your program better and better:)
>Are you sarcastic? My programs were (and are) developped on an MSDOS-PC. But
>they are in C, and should be able to compile on a Unix-machine as well.
I read this on Lasses PC, which can even do unix too, so MSDOS is real fine
with me. The file names on .lysator. are a bother though.
>Ole about Matena's Vikings ("Grote Pyr"):
>> So "The Iron Lady" is drawn 10 years later again?
>Yes it's drawn more than 10 years later (I read somewhere else that the first
>3 stories were originally from 1973-1974). I don't understand the word 'again'
>in your question.
The first two stories appear to be from '71 and '72, but the third from
'79 is very different in style. I was wondering what a later one looks like.
<oLe 'RoC' Reichstein Nielsen, c/o Lasse 'Spot' R.N. (lrn at daimi.aau.dk)>
Fabio Gadducci
Eggshell and Strange Stories
Message 28 -
1994-06-07 at 15:15:45
Harry wrote:
>Fredrik Ekman wrote, about Grandma's relation to Donald and Scrooge:
>
>> I will try to sum up what conclusions have been drawn previously:
>
[...]
>> 5) There is an Italian comic that translates to "The beheaded totem
>> pole" where Scrooge meets his "sister" for the first time.
>
>Did someone mention this one before? There must be quite an explanation
>in the story if Scrooge meets his sister for the first time. I met *my*
>sister shortly after I was born.
>
>> Fabio, you told us about an upcoming Italian family tree a while ago.
>> Do you have any news about that? What's the official Italian view on
>> this these days?
>
>I have seen a "family tree" in a German comic ("DD Sonderheft"). It resembles
>(but is not equal to) the tree that was on the back page of the Dutch
>publication of Rota's "Egg shell" story. Of course, Grandma and Scrooge are
>sister and brother there. Maybe this tree has its origin in Italy as well?
>
Well, dear friends, there is NOT an offical view of Disney Italy... yet!
The tree that Luca Boschi proposed shows clearly that $crooge and Grandma
are not related at all.
But you are right about the Italian stories you quote. So what?
Well, "The beheaded totem pole" (I think I already wrote something about
this to the list) is maybe the clearest reference to Grandma as $crooge's
sister. For those of you who do not know, this story is part of a very long
serial (longer than life of $crooge), dealing with a whodunnit mistery, and
revealing many details (?) of the early years of Scrooge.
This has been the official version (more or less) of $crooge biography for
the last twenty years in Italy, simply 'cos there was no other definitive
source available, (except the Strobl story, reprinted in Italy in the
mid-Seventies), and because it was a really good story (Martina writer,
Carpi and Scarpa artists).
So, during the last years this was the canon: it was not stated explicitly
in every story, but it was the way to explain the very good relationship
between $crooge and Grandma, that are the starting point for a lot of
Italian stories (and even more so for many others we got from Egmont and
Brasil).
About the eggshell: it simply was a hardcover one-shot for the 50
anniversary of Donald, and it was aimed mainly to little children, so that
there was no intent of consistency. Moreover, as Harry said in a previous
letter, it is beautifully drawn.
About the egg-born: to have Donald (better, some of his ancestors, when
there was no canon to follow and no restriction, so that these things could
be handled more freely) explicitly sorting out of an egg is a device that
has been used some other time during the years in Italian stories, such as
Paperin Meschino and El Cid Pampeador (the last one by Martina and Bottaro:
a great artist, this guy), so it was not unusual for a Italian children to
see this kind of things.
Last thing: the tree has not an Italian origin, but, as Luca Boschi told
me, it was made in Germay. I do not know if we are referring to the same
German tree: the one Luca showed me had portrayals of some characters and,
I must add, it was poorly drawn.
>Yesterday I bought German pocket book ("Lustiges Taschenbuch") #196. It
>contains a very odd story called "The man behind the Ducks". It stars
>Carl Barks, an artist who lives in Grant Pass, Oregon with his wife Gare'.
>Both have dog-noses, and Carl has no hearing aid.
>
>Barks is interviewed. He tells about how he met Scrooge, and agreed to
>draw him in comic stories [!]. The story shows a lot of Barks panels:
>first appearances of Scrooge, the Beagle Boys, Gladstone, Magica etc.
>In the story, all these characters really exist, and they pose for Barks
>when he makes a story.
>
>Gyro even invented something to hang still in the air, so that Barks
>could draw him on a jumping stick (trying to make butter).
>As I said: very odd.
>
>The story also refers to a movie premiere of Scrooge in Venice, where a
>Barks painting is exhibited as well. The code "I 1919" suggests this
>happened about two years ago.
>
>Maybe you know more about this, Fabio? (or Luigi, if you're still there 8-)
>
>--Harry.
Well, as you assume, it is an Italian story. By Cimino (I think, but I'm
not sure) and one of the new artist, much in the style of Cavazzano (as
many of the young Italian Dsiney). The story has some wrong details about
Barks'life, too, but... well, it is just a thing for those readers who are
not fans, but are just curious about who was the author of all the stories
reprinted in the monthly Zio Paperone.
Again, Harry:
>I wouldn't like the story to be reprinted by Gladstone. It's not that good
>at all, and I think it would get a lot of negative reactions from die-hard
>Barks fans. Besides, the mentioning of an exhibition in Venice wouldn't
>make any sense.
>(But maybe I'm too negative about Italian stories in general?)
Well, actually you are! :-) And mentioning the exhibition in Venice makes
sense: it refers to the big Disney retrospective held at the Venice
festival, devoted to Disney's cartoons, some years ago; and to a famous
Italian story, by Cavazzano and Cimino, titled "Zio Paperone al Festival di
Venezia", where... well, you can imagine...
Besides that: why should Barks fans be upset? The story simply is a hommage
to the man of the ducks, and even if it is not perfect... who care? At
least, some other people will know about Unca Carl, and we'll be interested
in knowing more...
Then, Ole:
>Eisner Awards:
>--------------
> Fabio:
>>Instead, my vote would go to Roberta Gregory. Like her previous works on
>>Wimmen's Comix, Naughty Bits by R.G. (published by Fantagraphics) is a
>>really excellent read. Try it!!
>
> Would she be related to 'our' Bob Gregory?
I do not think so, but...
Andrew:
>(Finally, I'm not sure why you had to have Cleopatra in the story as the
>female antecedent of the JWW. The last keeper of the library of
>Alexandria was a woman called Hypatia, who died at her post at the hands
>of those who sacked the library - so Carl Sagan says anyway.)
Well, the story is a bit little more complicated: write me if you are
interested in (and btw, Hypatia really was a great historical character...)
Mark:
>Sometimes, built in limitations can be a blessing. Because there are
>8 panels to a page, Barks was able to knock you backwards with a half
>page panel. Jack Kirby had to go to a full page or even two pages for
>the same effect, because he wasn't generally limited to small panels.
>(Does anybody out there remember Jim Steranko's 4 page panel in a
>Shield story in Strange Tales?)
Something similar has been expressed by Quenau and the Oulipo about poetry...
And about Steranko: are you jocking?! When I interviewed him last year in
Prato, I was worshipping the place where he was posing his foot... Ehm,
maybe not so much, but I think his work on Capitan America and Nick Fury
(despite censoring and corrections) was GREAT!!
And now, a last thing.
The issue of Paperino Mese devoted to the 60 years of Donald just hit the
stands. It contains the story by Rosa "The duck tha never was" (at last,
Don), the other story by Vicar that will appear in the Gladstone special
issue, and other 200 pages of Italian, historical reprints: Donald on Mars,
"Il romanzo di un giovane povero" by Martina-Carpi, Lentils of babylon,
"L'ametista mai vista" by Scarpa (I think: I've not the issue with me) and
something else I do not remember right now.
But more important, there is a one-page introduction for each of the
authors who wrote a story, including Vicar and Don. You get a fair
treatment, Don, since the author of the introduction was Luca Boschi, and
you can imagine who told him all that stuff about you... :-) (Luca wrote
also about Moniago and your grandmother!!)
Well, back to work now. I'll try not to be a lurker anymore, but it is
really difficult to find time...
Fabio
================================================================
Fabio Gadducci Dip. di Informatica
Home: +39-50-541725 Universita` di Pisa
Off.: +39-50-887268 Corso Italia 40, 56100 PISA (ITALY)
FAX: +39-50-887226 E-mail:gadducci at di.unipi.it
================================================================
>Fredrik Ekman wrote, about Grandma's relation to Donald and Scrooge:
>
>> I will try to sum up what conclusions have been drawn previously:
>
[...]
>> 5) There is an Italian comic that translates to "The beheaded totem
>> pole" where Scrooge meets his "sister" for the first time.
>
>Did someone mention this one before? There must be quite an explanation
>in the story if Scrooge meets his sister for the first time. I met *my*
>sister shortly after I was born.
>
>> Fabio, you told us about an upcoming Italian family tree a while ago.
>> Do you have any news about that? What's the official Italian view on
>> this these days?
>
>I have seen a "family tree" in a German comic ("DD Sonderheft"). It resembles
>(but is not equal to) the tree that was on the back page of the Dutch
>publication of Rota's "Egg shell" story. Of course, Grandma and Scrooge are
>sister and brother there. Maybe this tree has its origin in Italy as well?
>
Well, dear friends, there is NOT an offical view of Disney Italy... yet!
The tree that Luca Boschi proposed shows clearly that $crooge and Grandma
are not related at all.
But you are right about the Italian stories you quote. So what?
Well, "The beheaded totem pole" (I think I already wrote something about
this to the list) is maybe the clearest reference to Grandma as $crooge's
sister. For those of you who do not know, this story is part of a very long
serial (longer than life of $crooge), dealing with a whodunnit mistery, and
revealing many details (?) of the early years of Scrooge.
This has been the official version (more or less) of $crooge biography for
the last twenty years in Italy, simply 'cos there was no other definitive
source available, (except the Strobl story, reprinted in Italy in the
mid-Seventies), and because it was a really good story (Martina writer,
Carpi and Scarpa artists).
So, during the last years this was the canon: it was not stated explicitly
in every story, but it was the way to explain the very good relationship
between $crooge and Grandma, that are the starting point for a lot of
Italian stories (and even more so for many others we got from Egmont and
Brasil).
About the eggshell: it simply was a hardcover one-shot for the 50
anniversary of Donald, and it was aimed mainly to little children, so that
there was no intent of consistency. Moreover, as Harry said in a previous
letter, it is beautifully drawn.
About the egg-born: to have Donald (better, some of his ancestors, when
there was no canon to follow and no restriction, so that these things could
be handled more freely) explicitly sorting out of an egg is a device that
has been used some other time during the years in Italian stories, such as
Paperin Meschino and El Cid Pampeador (the last one by Martina and Bottaro:
a great artist, this guy), so it was not unusual for a Italian children to
see this kind of things.
Last thing: the tree has not an Italian origin, but, as Luca Boschi told
me, it was made in Germay. I do not know if we are referring to the same
German tree: the one Luca showed me had portrayals of some characters and,
I must add, it was poorly drawn.
>Yesterday I bought German pocket book ("Lustiges Taschenbuch") #196. It
>contains a very odd story called "The man behind the Ducks". It stars
>Carl Barks, an artist who lives in Grant Pass, Oregon with his wife Gare'.
>Both have dog-noses, and Carl has no hearing aid.
>
>Barks is interviewed. He tells about how he met Scrooge, and agreed to
>draw him in comic stories [!]. The story shows a lot of Barks panels:
>first appearances of Scrooge, the Beagle Boys, Gladstone, Magica etc.
>In the story, all these characters really exist, and they pose for Barks
>when he makes a story.
>
>Gyro even invented something to hang still in the air, so that Barks
>could draw him on a jumping stick (trying to make butter).
>As I said: very odd.
>
>The story also refers to a movie premiere of Scrooge in Venice, where a
>Barks painting is exhibited as well. The code "I 1919" suggests this
>happened about two years ago.
>
>Maybe you know more about this, Fabio? (or Luigi, if you're still there 8-)
>
>--Harry.
Well, as you assume, it is an Italian story. By Cimino (I think, but I'm
not sure) and one of the new artist, much in the style of Cavazzano (as
many of the young Italian Dsiney). The story has some wrong details about
Barks'life, too, but... well, it is just a thing for those readers who are
not fans, but are just curious about who was the author of all the stories
reprinted in the monthly Zio Paperone.
Again, Harry:
>I wouldn't like the story to be reprinted by Gladstone. It's not that good
>at all, and I think it would get a lot of negative reactions from die-hard
>Barks fans. Besides, the mentioning of an exhibition in Venice wouldn't
>make any sense.
>(But maybe I'm too negative about Italian stories in general?)
Well, actually you are! :-) And mentioning the exhibition in Venice makes
sense: it refers to the big Disney retrospective held at the Venice
festival, devoted to Disney's cartoons, some years ago; and to a famous
Italian story, by Cavazzano and Cimino, titled "Zio Paperone al Festival di
Venezia", where... well, you can imagine...
Besides that: why should Barks fans be upset? The story simply is a hommage
to the man of the ducks, and even if it is not perfect... who care? At
least, some other people will know about Unca Carl, and we'll be interested
in knowing more...
Then, Ole:
>Eisner Awards:
>--------------
> Fabio:
>>Instead, my vote would go to Roberta Gregory. Like her previous works on
>>Wimmen's Comix, Naughty Bits by R.G. (published by Fantagraphics) is a
>>really excellent read. Try it!!
>
> Would she be related to 'our' Bob Gregory?
I do not think so, but...
Andrew:
>(Finally, I'm not sure why you had to have Cleopatra in the story as the
>female antecedent of the JWW. The last keeper of the library of
>Alexandria was a woman called Hypatia, who died at her post at the hands
>of those who sacked the library - so Carl Sagan says anyway.)
Well, the story is a bit little more complicated: write me if you are
interested in (and btw, Hypatia really was a great historical character...)
Mark:
>Sometimes, built in limitations can be a blessing. Because there are
>8 panels to a page, Barks was able to knock you backwards with a half
>page panel. Jack Kirby had to go to a full page or even two pages for
>the same effect, because he wasn't generally limited to small panels.
>(Does anybody out there remember Jim Steranko's 4 page panel in a
>Shield story in Strange Tales?)
Something similar has been expressed by Quenau and the Oulipo about poetry...
And about Steranko: are you jocking?! When I interviewed him last year in
Prato, I was worshipping the place where he was posing his foot... Ehm,
maybe not so much, but I think his work on Capitan America and Nick Fury
(despite censoring and corrections) was GREAT!!
And now, a last thing.
The issue of Paperino Mese devoted to the 60 years of Donald just hit the
stands. It contains the story by Rosa "The duck tha never was" (at last,
Don), the other story by Vicar that will appear in the Gladstone special
issue, and other 200 pages of Italian, historical reprints: Donald on Mars,
"Il romanzo di un giovane povero" by Martina-Carpi, Lentils of babylon,
"L'ametista mai vista" by Scarpa (I think: I've not the issue with me) and
something else I do not remember right now.
But more important, there is a one-page introduction for each of the
authors who wrote a story, including Vicar and Don. You get a fair
treatment, Don, since the author of the introduction was Luca Boschi, and
you can imagine who told him all that stuff about you... :-) (Luca wrote
also about Moniago and your grandmother!!)
Well, back to work now. I'll try not to be a lurker anymore, but it is
really difficult to find time...
Fabio
================================================================
Fabio Gadducci Dip. di Informatica
Home: +39-50-541725 Universita` di Pisa
Off.: +39-50-887268 Corso Italia 40, 56100 PISA (ITALY)
FAX: +39-50-887226 E-mail:gadducci at di.unipi.it
================================================================
Don Rosa
Disney-comics digest #349.
Message 29 -
1994-06-07 at 15:24:15
So... I'm back from Germany.
I saw NOTHING of the country besides a few downtown streets in
Frankfurt and Erlangen... but that's typical with my European tours.
Someday when I can afford to pay my own way (the liklihood of which
seems doubtful as long as I do Disney comics), I'll know my general way
around several countries and be more at ease than I would be were it my
first visit.
I did several signings at stores in Frankfurt, then four FULL
days at the Erlangen Comic convention, Germany's biggest, they tell me.
I musta done 10 TV, radio or newspaper/magazine interviews, as well as
one 2 hour press conference with a bunch of reporters from who-knows,
and even had lunch with the Lord-Mayor. In between all this, the
publisher would schedule me for 1 hour signing sessions at the big Ehapa
booth... but I would sit at the booth the entire day, other than when
they forced me to go do the interviews. I would guess, simply because of
the characters I work on, I was the main atttraction at the convention
-- Duck-fans waited up to 4 hours or more in line to get an autograph
and a sketch which, though it broke my heart to give them such crap,
usually was only a bad scribble. In fact, I took two long sessions when
I did only NICE drawings that I would be proud for a Duck fan to own,
but then I could only do 4 per hour, so I don't know what was the better
method... doing lots of very bad scribbles and making lots of people
"satisfied" (and if I were them, disappointed), or doing the nice
drawings and making about 15 or 20 people per session REAL happy.
Anyway, I did it both ways, so that had to be the best solution.
There's not a lot else to say. I saw NOTHING of the rest of the
convention since I never left the Ehapa booth... but that was MY choice.
I couldn't see how to both visit Germany and/or see a Euro comic con,
AND greet the Duck fans. After signing for an hour at any session, the
Ehapa peaople would say, "thanks, you can go relax now, go see the
sights" or something.... but I'd ask them what was I supposed to say to
the line of a hundred or so people who had already waited an hour opr
two or three to see me? "So long, chumps! Who needs you?"??? It's not
like I felt I had a choice -- they bought the comics, they paid my
income (indirectly), they deserved my time if that's what they wanted.
Besides, it's like the Twilight Zone. In America I exist on the
very bottom rung of the comic industry. At a convention I am placed at a
small table with the people who publish their own mini-comics. In
Europe, because of how much the Ducks are loved, it's totally the
oppsite and moreso! It's not like I'm the Rob Leifeld of that area, I'm
MORE than that since the normal American press and population have no
interest in the comic book "superstars" here. Rob Leifeld doesn't do
lunch with the Mayor in San Diego. But, anyway, since most of you folks
are IN Europe, I'm telling you things about the popularity of the Ducks
over there that you already know.
I'm not sure what else about the trip might interest any of
you... any questions?
I've just read through the bunch of Digests awaiting me, and I
only found a few things to comment on. I was anxious for some comments
on that "Lo$"#12, but only Bjorn Davidsen made any, which was
dissapointing to the part of me that is so afraid of what a dreadful
mistake each chapter of that series may or may not be.
BJORN:
Yes! ALL of chapter 12 is predictable! Isn't that the point of
it? My entire plan was to bring the entire storyline right up to what we
all ALREADY KNOW, and stop. Sure, you knew what would be in the Bin, but
the half-page panel was the demonstration NOT of how surprised the
reader should be, but how IMPORTANT the moment was. This was the
revelation to Donald Duck of just WHO his mysterious uncle was, how RICH
he really was, and everything else about him that he never knew. Would
you have had me devote a mere 1/8th page standard panel to that moment?
Of course you knew that $crooge would defeat the Beagles and get back
his cash and coin. EVERYTHING was MEANT to be predictable -- that was
its design. And, yes, $crooge defeated the Beagles far, FAR too easilly,
but I am given no choice; I had 15 pages to tell that important story --
and, in fact, I did wheedle an extra 16th page (had you noticed it was
an extra page longer than usual) since I told the editors that I simply
couldn't fit it in 15. With extra pages I would have extended the chase
scene somehow. In fact, now that we discuss it, perhaps in 1 1/2 years
when Gladstone gets around to that chapter, I'll do them an extra 4 or 5
pages of action to stick into the tale.
And yes, I was forced to decide on how to draw $crooge,
balancing his whiskers and glasses between how Barks drew them in CoBM,
and how they MUST look at the end of my series (the "classic" $crooge
outfit and appearance). This is just one of the many dicisions I was
forced to make in dealing with the descrepancies in Barks' most ancient
"facts", and I handled them as best I could.
Frankly, the 12th chapter was the perfect example of dealing
with those discrepancies and making decisions on how to handle the whole
tangled mess. And I know one thing: I often say I don't like my stories
or art... and I often say that these individual chapters of the Lo$ may
not be great stories in themselves when I was forcing myself to deal
with specific lists of ingredients and facts... this is true. But I am
quite confident that I did the BEST imagineable biography of $crooge
anyone could do, given the constraints I put on myself. So, it may not
be Barks' $crooge. How can it be since I'm not Barks. It's MY $crooge.
But I'm as proud of those 12 chapters as a unit as I could possibly be,
and no one can tell me I didn't put my all into doing the best job I
could for the character I love.
KNUT:
I saw the German printings of "The Duck Who Never Was" (my DD
60th Birthday story); it was in one of the special albums I was signing
through Germany. That was one of my stories I LIKED (whereas I'm usually
unhappy with my general results).
But it's amusing that you were observant enough to spot one of
my many hidden gags, and yet you didn't think enough about it to realize
the fallacy of your comment. You saw the case of square eggs in the
Duckburg Museum, and they were labelled "ROCKS". How could they still be
labelled rocks since Donald had discovered they were eggs and told the
world??? But of course he NEVER DID. He was never born! Everyone thought
they were still ROCKS.
And why didn't one break? Oh, hell, I don't know! So one broke
off camera which I didn't show. What difference would it make? Who said
they were fragile? I mean, they were as hard as rocks, remember?
By the way, was another background gag editted out of your
version? In one of the scenes there should be a case of small ancient
stone idols along with one 1930's Mickey Mouse doll, all labelled
"Ancient demon worship". In Germany they made it "Voodoo Dolls".
DAVID:
I can't comment on Gladstone's Lo$ #3 yet since I haven't seen
it. Maybe later today. Sounds like you think it generally came off well,
but I don't expect I'll like the changes Disney demanded concerning the
guns. Good thing I DON'T like guns, and I never show $crooge wanting to
use them except to scare people, so there's no serious problems of that
sort ahead. But we know how even when there's nothing that NEEDS
changes, Disney MUST find something to demand changed, or the person
whose job it is to make those demands will be worried that his boss will
think he's not needed. (This is ONE reason I put things like that
"Mickey Mouse demon doll" in the stories -- we expect Disney will demand
that be removed, and then they will leave the harmless stuff alone when
their "demand" quota is met.)
You got me (if it was you). The professor, whether it was Rhutt
Betler (as it was in my original version) or someone who later bought
the eggs from the vicuna hunter... even if he deduced they WERE eggs, he
would NOT know that the chickens were square. Or the people. Perhaps I
can change that if and when Gladstone re-reprints the series.
I have another IMPORTANT matter to discuss... about Barks and
his tour... and his "MANAGER". They've finally overstepped any bounds
by which anyone should expect me to be a sap and keep my mouth shut,
counting on my mindless devotion to Barks' comics not to finally pipe
up. But I'll save that till later today.
I saw NOTHING of the country besides a few downtown streets in
Frankfurt and Erlangen... but that's typical with my European tours.
Someday when I can afford to pay my own way (the liklihood of which
seems doubtful as long as I do Disney comics), I'll know my general way
around several countries and be more at ease than I would be were it my
first visit.
I did several signings at stores in Frankfurt, then four FULL
days at the Erlangen Comic convention, Germany's biggest, they tell me.
I musta done 10 TV, radio or newspaper/magazine interviews, as well as
one 2 hour press conference with a bunch of reporters from who-knows,
and even had lunch with the Lord-Mayor. In between all this, the
publisher would schedule me for 1 hour signing sessions at the big Ehapa
booth... but I would sit at the booth the entire day, other than when
they forced me to go do the interviews. I would guess, simply because of
the characters I work on, I was the main atttraction at the convention
-- Duck-fans waited up to 4 hours or more in line to get an autograph
and a sketch which, though it broke my heart to give them such crap,
usually was only a bad scribble. In fact, I took two long sessions when
I did only NICE drawings that I would be proud for a Duck fan to own,
but then I could only do 4 per hour, so I don't know what was the better
method... doing lots of very bad scribbles and making lots of people
"satisfied" (and if I were them, disappointed), or doing the nice
drawings and making about 15 or 20 people per session REAL happy.
Anyway, I did it both ways, so that had to be the best solution.
There's not a lot else to say. I saw NOTHING of the rest of the
convention since I never left the Ehapa booth... but that was MY choice.
I couldn't see how to both visit Germany and/or see a Euro comic con,
AND greet the Duck fans. After signing for an hour at any session, the
Ehapa peaople would say, "thanks, you can go relax now, go see the
sights" or something.... but I'd ask them what was I supposed to say to
the line of a hundred or so people who had already waited an hour opr
two or three to see me? "So long, chumps! Who needs you?"??? It's not
like I felt I had a choice -- they bought the comics, they paid my
income (indirectly), they deserved my time if that's what they wanted.
Besides, it's like the Twilight Zone. In America I exist on the
very bottom rung of the comic industry. At a convention I am placed at a
small table with the people who publish their own mini-comics. In
Europe, because of how much the Ducks are loved, it's totally the
oppsite and moreso! It's not like I'm the Rob Leifeld of that area, I'm
MORE than that since the normal American press and population have no
interest in the comic book "superstars" here. Rob Leifeld doesn't do
lunch with the Mayor in San Diego. But, anyway, since most of you folks
are IN Europe, I'm telling you things about the popularity of the Ducks
over there that you already know.
I'm not sure what else about the trip might interest any of
you... any questions?
I've just read through the bunch of Digests awaiting me, and I
only found a few things to comment on. I was anxious for some comments
on that "Lo$"#12, but only Bjorn Davidsen made any, which was
dissapointing to the part of me that is so afraid of what a dreadful
mistake each chapter of that series may or may not be.
BJORN:
Yes! ALL of chapter 12 is predictable! Isn't that the point of
it? My entire plan was to bring the entire storyline right up to what we
all ALREADY KNOW, and stop. Sure, you knew what would be in the Bin, but
the half-page panel was the demonstration NOT of how surprised the
reader should be, but how IMPORTANT the moment was. This was the
revelation to Donald Duck of just WHO his mysterious uncle was, how RICH
he really was, and everything else about him that he never knew. Would
you have had me devote a mere 1/8th page standard panel to that moment?
Of course you knew that $crooge would defeat the Beagles and get back
his cash and coin. EVERYTHING was MEANT to be predictable -- that was
its design. And, yes, $crooge defeated the Beagles far, FAR too easilly,
but I am given no choice; I had 15 pages to tell that important story --
and, in fact, I did wheedle an extra 16th page (had you noticed it was
an extra page longer than usual) since I told the editors that I simply
couldn't fit it in 15. With extra pages I would have extended the chase
scene somehow. In fact, now that we discuss it, perhaps in 1 1/2 years
when Gladstone gets around to that chapter, I'll do them an extra 4 or 5
pages of action to stick into the tale.
And yes, I was forced to decide on how to draw $crooge,
balancing his whiskers and glasses between how Barks drew them in CoBM,
and how they MUST look at the end of my series (the "classic" $crooge
outfit and appearance). This is just one of the many dicisions I was
forced to make in dealing with the descrepancies in Barks' most ancient
"facts", and I handled them as best I could.
Frankly, the 12th chapter was the perfect example of dealing
with those discrepancies and making decisions on how to handle the whole
tangled mess. And I know one thing: I often say I don't like my stories
or art... and I often say that these individual chapters of the Lo$ may
not be great stories in themselves when I was forcing myself to deal
with specific lists of ingredients and facts... this is true. But I am
quite confident that I did the BEST imagineable biography of $crooge
anyone could do, given the constraints I put on myself. So, it may not
be Barks' $crooge. How can it be since I'm not Barks. It's MY $crooge.
But I'm as proud of those 12 chapters as a unit as I could possibly be,
and no one can tell me I didn't put my all into doing the best job I
could for the character I love.
KNUT:
I saw the German printings of "The Duck Who Never Was" (my DD
60th Birthday story); it was in one of the special albums I was signing
through Germany. That was one of my stories I LIKED (whereas I'm usually
unhappy with my general results).
But it's amusing that you were observant enough to spot one of
my many hidden gags, and yet you didn't think enough about it to realize
the fallacy of your comment. You saw the case of square eggs in the
Duckburg Museum, and they were labelled "ROCKS". How could they still be
labelled rocks since Donald had discovered they were eggs and told the
world??? But of course he NEVER DID. He was never born! Everyone thought
they were still ROCKS.
And why didn't one break? Oh, hell, I don't know! So one broke
off camera which I didn't show. What difference would it make? Who said
they were fragile? I mean, they were as hard as rocks, remember?
By the way, was another background gag editted out of your
version? In one of the scenes there should be a case of small ancient
stone idols along with one 1930's Mickey Mouse doll, all labelled
"Ancient demon worship". In Germany they made it "Voodoo Dolls".
DAVID:
I can't comment on Gladstone's Lo$ #3 yet since I haven't seen
it. Maybe later today. Sounds like you think it generally came off well,
but I don't expect I'll like the changes Disney demanded concerning the
guns. Good thing I DON'T like guns, and I never show $crooge wanting to
use them except to scare people, so there's no serious problems of that
sort ahead. But we know how even when there's nothing that NEEDS
changes, Disney MUST find something to demand changed, or the person
whose job it is to make those demands will be worried that his boss will
think he's not needed. (This is ONE reason I put things like that
"Mickey Mouse demon doll" in the stories -- we expect Disney will demand
that be removed, and then they will leave the harmless stuff alone when
their "demand" quota is met.)
You got me (if it was you). The professor, whether it was Rhutt
Betler (as it was in my original version) or someone who later bought
the eggs from the vicuna hunter... even if he deduced they WERE eggs, he
would NOT know that the chickens were square. Or the people. Perhaps I
can change that if and when Gladstone re-reprints the series.
I have another IMPORTANT matter to discuss... about Barks and
his tour... and his "MANAGER". They've finally overstepped any bounds
by which anyone should expect me to be a sap and keep my mouth shut,
counting on my mindless devotion to Barks' comics not to finally pipe
up. But I'll save that till later today.
Terri Howell
No subject
Message 30 -
1994-06-08 at 18:52:42
Terri Howell
Utah State University
NFS
(801) 797-4041 Voice
(801) 797-2379 Fax
Utah State University
NFS
(801) 797-4041 Voice
(801) 797-2379 Fax