DON:
>COMPUSERVE we were discussing, it's fading fast. In the past 24 hours
>there were 3 messages [Edited] And as I described it, that is not a Disney
>section which people must go out of their way to sign up for... it is
>available to the thousands of COMPUSERVE comics forum viewers at all times,
>and shows up on their list of options. It's about what I'd expected...
I guess I'd like to give a chance before calling in the undertaker. Per
mentioned a while back that this list got off to a slow start and the he
posted most of the messages at first. Even if it is readily available to
people who frequent the CS comics forum, I wonder how many Disney comics
fans even look there? I long ago gave up in *any* generic comics
forum/newsgroup/conference as supur heros were the only thing discussed
there. I wouldn't have found out about the Disney forum if James hadn't
posted a message here.
RON:
>I have a freeflag on com pub and comics there....If you all
>think it would be worth it, I can post echoes of the Digest up
>there & see if it will either stimulate the conversation there
>or send some new folks this way?
With Don complaining about paying to have his words echoed back at him
multiple times, I'm sure he wouldn't want to pay again to read what he
wrote on compuserve... :)
JAMES:
>I think if CompuServe's Disney section is going to survive (and I hope
>it does), it has to do it on its own. I've posted some stuff there
>this morning to try and stimulate conversation [...]
I saw your posts and replied to one (though I know you are trying to get
others to reply). As I said above, it may take some time for the word to
get out to Disney comics fans that the forum is there. It was a fluke that
I found out about this list (from a cross posting on RIME's Disney
conference) and it will take a lot of flukes for other Dc fans to get the
word. I think we are just too spread out and disconnected in the US--like
rubber rafts adrift in a sea of superhero worshipers...
Tryg Helseth <trygve at maroon.tc.umn.edu> Minneapolis, MN, USA
or <tryg.helseth at tstation.mn.org>
"I wish they all could be Calisota Ducks!" -the Beach Drakes
Author
Topic: 199409
(131 messages)
Tryg Helseth
Disney on Compuserve
Message 76 -
1994-09-17 at 04:55:20
Tryg Helseth
Lurkers and LURKER$
Message 77 -
1994-09-17 at 04:55:45
Don Rosa wrote:
>PER:
>Could you send me another list of the subscribers, privately, so I can
>again check to see who is reading my comments? There are lurkers and there
>are LURKERS, yaknowutahmean?
Based on past conversations here, I can understand Don's concern that some
"lurkers" may be involved in grandiose plots to undermine him. But it
seems to me that if the list of subscribers is made available to some
members of the list, then it should be available to all. I too am curious
as to else is on this list. Just nosey, I guess... :)
Tryg Helseth <trygve at maroon.tc.umn.edu> Minneapolis, MN, USA
or <tryg.helseth at tstation.mn.org>
"I wish they all could be Calisota Ducks!" -the Beach Drakes
>PER:
>Could you send me another list of the subscribers, privately, so I can
>again check to see who is reading my comments? There are lurkers and there
>are LURKERS, yaknowutahmean?
Based on past conversations here, I can understand Don's concern that some
"lurkers" may be involved in grandiose plots to undermine him. But it
seems to me that if the list of subscribers is made available to some
members of the list, then it should be available to all. I too am curious
as to else is on this list. Just nosey, I guess... :)
Tryg Helseth <trygve at maroon.tc.umn.edu> Minneapolis, MN, USA
or <tryg.helseth at tstation.mn.org>
"I wish they all could be Calisota Ducks!" -the Beach Drakes
Don Rosa
Disney-comics digest #435.
Message 78 -
1994-09-17 at 06:23:29
PER:
I think, maybe, my request to you through the Digest to send me
a listing of the subscribers was passed directly on to at least one of
those "lurkers" themselves, as private mail. That's the only explanation
I can see for the plaintive message I just received from a "DavidH1006"
saying "How am I suppose (sic) to. I'm only a regular subscriber." He
must have received my request for a subscriber list, I guess.
JAMES W.:
I agree with you. I'm not going out of my way to stimulate
conversation on that Disney comics section on COMPUSERVE. I'll carry on
any discussion with great passion as long as someone else begins it; but
I won't attempt to provoke participation. I mean, why should I
humiliate myself by begging for attention on that super-hero-fan
infested forum? Who needs it?! Exactly as you say, it needs to sink or
swim by its own steam. In a minute I'll go see what comments you put on
this morning.
FABIO:
Fabio? Fabio? Oh, wheeeerrrreeee are yoooouuuuuu, Faaaaabioooo?
I think, maybe, my request to you through the Digest to send me
a listing of the subscribers was passed directly on to at least one of
those "lurkers" themselves, as private mail. That's the only explanation
I can see for the plaintive message I just received from a "DavidH1006"
saying "How am I suppose (sic) to. I'm only a regular subscriber." He
must have received my request for a subscriber list, I guess.
JAMES W.:
I agree with you. I'm not going out of my way to stimulate
conversation on that Disney comics section on COMPUSERVE. I'll carry on
any discussion with great passion as long as someone else begins it; but
I won't attempt to provoke participation. I mean, why should I
humiliate myself by begging for attention on that super-hero-fan
infested forum? Who needs it?! Exactly as you say, it needs to sink or
swim by its own steam. In a minute I'll go see what comments you put on
this morning.
FABIO:
Fabio? Fabio? Oh, wheeeerrrreeee are yoooouuuuuu, Faaaaabioooo?
Ronald A. Evry
Disney-comics digest #435.
Message 79 -
1994-09-17 at 07:15:13
>Your name isn't fimilar to me. What do you do for a living?
>James Williams
Well, I write a column on comics for the Journal Newspapers in
the metro DC area....I also occasionally write for The Comics
Journal & will soon be appearing on sporadic episodes of
"Flights of Fantasy," a nationally syndicated TV show about
comics.
Probably the only people on this list who have seen my column
is Don (I mailed him one about DD's 60th where I mentioned him)
& Mark Myerson.
I also contributed to some VERY early issues of the original Barks
Collector back when John Nichols was doing it.
Mostly, I lurk....
Ron :)
>James Williams
Well, I write a column on comics for the Journal Newspapers in
the metro DC area....I also occasionally write for The Comics
Journal & will soon be appearing on sporadic episodes of
"Flights of Fantasy," a nationally syndicated TV show about
comics.
Probably the only people on this list who have seen my column
is Don (I mailed him one about DD's 60th where I mentioned him)
& Mark Myerson.
I also contributed to some VERY early issues of the original Barks
Collector back when John Nichols was doing it.
Mostly, I lurk....
Ron :)
Don Rosa
Disney-comics digest #436.
Message 80 -
1994-09-18 at 15:30:41
TRYG:
My request to see a subscriber list was because I sometimes
wonder if anyone at the Disney (or Egmont) corporations are reading
these words. If so, that would be great, and I would never change a
thing I say since I only speak de lawd's trooth... but I'd still like to
know who is reading this material just to know. There might be a truth
or two that I would ADD or a few that I would withhold.
I have no fear that The Weasel is reading these words. He can't
put together a cogent grade-school-level sentence, much less operate a
computer.
And I don't know if it's a good idea or not to post the contents
of this Digest on that COMPUSERVE Disney section -- that's up to Per.
And I can see how, if anything, it might compel some subscriber to drop
off here if he thinks that he can see this material on COMPUSERVE. Heck,
it would suit me -- I'd no longer have to pay these Internet fees... but
I think it's more important THIS Disney comics forum survives than the
COMPUSERVE one. This alludes to what I wanted to tell you: I only pay to
read THIS Digest -- I have "free flag" on the COMPUSERVE comics forum,
and I pay no fee for hook-up time or downloaded material there.
My request to see a subscriber list was because I sometimes
wonder if anyone at the Disney (or Egmont) corporations are reading
these words. If so, that would be great, and I would never change a
thing I say since I only speak de lawd's trooth... but I'd still like to
know who is reading this material just to know. There might be a truth
or two that I would ADD or a few that I would withhold.
I have no fear that The Weasel is reading these words. He can't
put together a cogent grade-school-level sentence, much less operate a
computer.
And I don't know if it's a good idea or not to post the contents
of this Digest on that COMPUSERVE Disney section -- that's up to Per.
And I can see how, if anything, it might compel some subscriber to drop
off here if he thinks that he can see this material on COMPUSERVE. Heck,
it would suit me -- I'd no longer have to pay these Internet fees... but
I think it's more important THIS Disney comics forum survives than the
COMPUSERVE one. This alludes to what I wanted to tell you: I only pay to
read THIS Digest -- I have "free flag" on the COMPUSERVE comics forum,
and I pay no fee for hook-up time or downloaded material there.
Tryg Helseth
Disney-comics digest #436.
Message 81 -
1994-09-18 at 23:44:54
DON:
> My request to see a subscriber list was because I sometimes
>wonder if anyone at the Disney (or Egmont) corporations are reading
>these words. [...]I have no fear that The Weasel is reading these words.
Oh, I get it now--pardon my slowness to pick up on that.
> And I don't know if it's a good idea or not to post the contents
>of this Digest on that COMPUSERVE Disney section -- that's up to Per.
I don't think it would be worthwhile; nor do I think that cross-posting all
the CompuServe messages here would be of much benefit. I could see
cross-posting specific messages if they had some importance, though. And
it probably wouldn't hurt to mention the existance of this list to CS users
now and then.
>And I can see how, if anything, it might compel some subscriber to drop
>off here if he thinks that he can see this material on COMPUSERVE. Heck,
>it would suit me -- I'd no longer have to pay these Internet fees...
I'd guess your case is the exception rather than the rule as most CS users
end up paying for forum messages. Furthermore, I wonder what percentage of
the subscribers here use CS for the mailing list. Maybe Per could supply
us with some statistics on that... A Per-centage perhaps? :)
Tryg Helseth <trygve at maroon.tc.umn.edu> Minneapolis, MN, USA
or <tryg.helseth at tstation.mn.org>
"I wish they all could be Calisota Ducks!" -the Beach Drakes
> My request to see a subscriber list was because I sometimes
>wonder if anyone at the Disney (or Egmont) corporations are reading
>these words. [...]I have no fear that The Weasel is reading these words.
Oh, I get it now--pardon my slowness to pick up on that.
> And I don't know if it's a good idea or not to post the contents
>of this Digest on that COMPUSERVE Disney section -- that's up to Per.
I don't think it would be worthwhile; nor do I think that cross-posting all
the CompuServe messages here would be of much benefit. I could see
cross-posting specific messages if they had some importance, though. And
it probably wouldn't hurt to mention the existance of this list to CS users
now and then.
>And I can see how, if anything, it might compel some subscriber to drop
>off here if he thinks that he can see this material on COMPUSERVE. Heck,
>it would suit me -- I'd no longer have to pay these Internet fees...
I'd guess your case is the exception rather than the rule as most CS users
end up paying for forum messages. Furthermore, I wonder what percentage of
the subscribers here use CS for the mailing list. Maybe Per could supply
us with some statistics on that... A Per-centage perhaps? :)
Tryg Helseth <trygve at maroon.tc.umn.edu> Minneapolis, MN, USA
or <tryg.helseth at tstation.mn.org>
"I wish they all could be Calisota Ducks!" -the Beach Drakes
Tryg Helseth
Something familiar about that name!
Message 82 -
1994-09-18 at 23:47:06
RON:
>I also contributed to some VERY early issues of the original Barks
>Collector back when John Nichols was doing it.
Oh, so? I thought I had seen your name somewhere before. Has John passed
on the Barks Collector to someone else? I know my subscription dried up
several years ago...
>Mostly, I lurk....
As do most of the subscribers, but that's OK since a "Lurking Permit"
comes with each subscription... :)
Tryg Helseth <trygve at maroon.tc.umn.edu> Minneapolis, MN, USA
or <tryg.helseth at tstation.mn.org>
"I wish they all could be Calisota Ducks!" -the Beach Drakes
>I also contributed to some VERY early issues of the original Barks
>Collector back when John Nichols was doing it.
Oh, so? I thought I had seen your name somewhere before. Has John passed
on the Barks Collector to someone else? I know my subscription dried up
several years ago...
>Mostly, I lurk....
As do most of the subscribers, but that's OK since a "Lurking Permit"
comes with each subscription... :)
Tryg Helseth <trygve at maroon.tc.umn.edu> Minneapolis, MN, USA
or <tryg.helseth at tstation.mn.org>
"I wish they all could be Calisota Ducks!" -the Beach Drakes
Per Starback
Subscriber list
Message 83 -
1994-09-19 at 15:47:59
Don wrote:
> PER:
> I think, maybe, my request to you through the Digest to send me
> a listing of the subscribers was passed directly on to at least one of
> those "lurkers" themselves, as private mail. That's the only explanation
> I can see for the plaintive message I just received from a "DavidH1006"
> saying "How am I suppose (sic) to. I'm only a regular subscriber." He
> must have received my request for a subscriber list, I guess.
What do you mean? Of course he received that request as you sent it
to the whole list. If you want to send something just to me, then
send it to me instead. That way I will read it sooner too, as those
who try to unsubscribe to the list by sending a request to the whole
list instead of just to me have found out.
David Hanson is one of our newest members, and your message was
probably (one of) the first from the list he received, so I think he
can be excused if he didn't realize that it wasn't sent just to him.
Generally speaking I don't see much point in this checking of who
reads the list. This is a public list, so everyone is to allowed to
subscribe to it, and what's more, everything written to the list is
available in a public archive over the net. If there's anything you
all don't want to write in a public forum then don't write it here,
because this is a public forum. Simple as that.
Anyway, there seems to be widespread interest in a list of members of
this mailing list, so I'll send one out later. If anyone thinks this
is a bad idea, and doesn't want their address and name to be listed
like that, please write me a letter as soon as possible stating so and
why.
-- "
Per Starback, Uppsala, Sweden. email: starback at minsk.docs.uu.se
"Life is but a gamble! Let flipism chart your ramble!"
> PER:
> I think, maybe, my request to you through the Digest to send me
> a listing of the subscribers was passed directly on to at least one of
> those "lurkers" themselves, as private mail. That's the only explanation
> I can see for the plaintive message I just received from a "DavidH1006"
> saying "How am I suppose (sic) to. I'm only a regular subscriber." He
> must have received my request for a subscriber list, I guess.
What do you mean? Of course he received that request as you sent it
to the whole list. If you want to send something just to me, then
send it to me instead. That way I will read it sooner too, as those
who try to unsubscribe to the list by sending a request to the whole
list instead of just to me have found out.
David Hanson is one of our newest members, and your message was
probably (one of) the first from the list he received, so I think he
can be excused if he didn't realize that it wasn't sent just to him.
Generally speaking I don't see much point in this checking of who
reads the list. This is a public list, so everyone is to allowed to
subscribe to it, and what's more, everything written to the list is
available in a public archive over the net. If there's anything you
all don't want to write in a public forum then don't write it here,
because this is a public forum. Simple as that.
Anyway, there seems to be widespread interest in a list of members of
this mailing list, so I'll send one out later. If anyone thinks this
is a bad idea, and doesn't want their address and name to be listed
like that, please write me a letter as soon as possible stating so and
why.
-- "
Per Starback, Uppsala, Sweden. email: starback at minsk.docs.uu.se
"Life is but a gamble! Let flipism chart your ramble!"
Don Rosa
Disney-comics digest #438.
Message 84 -
1994-09-20 at 07:54:45
PER:
Well, it's not that I disagree with you, but the last time I
asked for a list of subscribers, you posted it immediately with no
qualms. If I had known you'd changed your attitude, I would never have
asked.
Also, tell me how to address a message that will go to you
privately. I never address any messages -- I just hit "REPLY".
As for thinking my other message was sent privately to "DavidH",
I sometimes get private messages from people that they intended to send
to the Digest, and I figured that's what happened. Besides, I always
preface my comments to "PER:" or whoever; or maybe he didn't know what a
"PER" was... it's not a common name in these parts.
Well, it's not that I disagree with you, but the last time I
asked for a list of subscribers, you posted it immediately with no
qualms. If I had known you'd changed your attitude, I would never have
asked.
Also, tell me how to address a message that will go to you
privately. I never address any messages -- I just hit "REPLY".
As for thinking my other message was sent privately to "DavidH",
I sometimes get private messages from people that they intended to send
to the Digest, and I figured that's what happened. Besides, I always
preface my comments to "PER:" or whoever; or maybe he didn't know what a
"PER" was... it's not a common name in these parts.
Harry Fluks
DavidH and Moe
Message 85 -
1994-09-20 at 11:58:50
DON: (quite an unfamiliar name in Holland 8-)
> As for thinking my other message was sent privately to "DavidH",
That same David Hanson also sent a letter to me saying "What are you
talking about?". I guess David isn't used to mailing lists, and (as Per said)
thinks all messages are sent to him personally.
BTW, now that I send a message to this rather quiet list:
I forgot to ask what SPECIES our Hillbilly character (Moe/Urtigao/Jesper/
Skogs-Ola) is!
Is he a Duck? Is he a dog?
--Harry.
(fluks at pcssdc.pttnwb.nl)
> As for thinking my other message was sent privately to "DavidH",
That same David Hanson also sent a letter to me saying "What are you
talking about?". I guess David isn't used to mailing lists, and (as Per said)
thinks all messages are sent to him personally.
BTW, now that I send a message to this rather quiet list:
I forgot to ask what SPECIES our Hillbilly character (Moe/Urtigao/Jesper/
Skogs-Ola) is!
Is he a Duck? Is he a dog?
--Harry.
(fluks at pcssdc.pttnwb.nl)
Suzy Shaw
Article That Mentions This List
Message 86 -
1994-09-20 at 23:22:40
Hello--
I am one of this list's many lurkers. I have just finished an
article for the _Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science_
on "The Internet as an Entertainment System." Although the section
about this delightful Duck List ended up on the editorial cutting room
floor, it was one of my favorite parts, and I thought you all might
enjoy seeing what I said about you. If you'd like to see the entire
(unedited) article, it's URL: http://e-street.eastlib.ufl.edu/basis7.txt
--Suzy Shaw, CyberLibrarian and DuckLover
suzshaw at nervm.nerdc.ufl.edu
"Chickory chick, cha-la, cha-la!"
-----
Comic books have long been a subculture unto themselves, avidly
collected, traded, and celebrated in sprawling moveable circus-like swap
meets known as Cons. I am one of millions of kids who grew up on _Walt
Disney's Comics & Stories_ in the 40's and 50's, knowing only that
Donald Duck was so much more delightful when drawn by "The Good Artist."
It was clear even to children that despite his signing each and every
one, Walt Disney did not draw all of those comic stories. I eventually
learned that "The Good Artist" (which is what fans everywhere had
independently dubbed him) was Carl Barks, and that quite a cult had grown
up around him over the years. I began acquiring a reprint series of his
work and this re-exposure sent me prowling the Net. The search for Barks
eventually led me to the Disney Comics List. Here I found a group of
avid fans and artist wannabes (mostly Scandinavian or Italian, it would
seem) engaged in a direct dialog with current Disney comic book artists
who are struggling to live up to (or live down) the Barks legacy--
something of a love/hate relationship. There is a fascinating discussion
of the details, mechanics and (for lack of a better word), the politics
of producing comic book art, which is giving these fans a whole new level
of appreciation of the medium. This awareness used to be available only
the few who were rich and/or lucky enough to attend the Cons regularly;
now the Con never stops and is open to anyone with a computer and access
to the Net. Reading this list sparked my interest in the Duck art of Barks'
successors, and I have started buying current Disney comics as a result.
One of the most prominent artists posting to this list is Don Rosa,
whom many hail as the true heir of the Barks tradition. Rosa freely
shares his views, including his frustrations, with the fans. Donald Duck
recently celebrated his 60th birthday, and a special commemorative comic
was issued. Rosa authored the set piece of the book, a delightful parody
of the classic movie "It's a Wonderful Life" called "The Duck Who Never
Was." A dejected Donald, thinking everyone has forgotten his birthday,
casually wishes he'd never been born, only to be overheard by a lurking
genie and have the wish granted. He views the results: Uncle Scrooge a
bum, the nephews blimped out couch potatoes, Daisy a rich but bitter
romance novelist, etc. But the list readers had their attention drawn to
the little things that went wrong: an empty dialog balloon; a family tree
scrawled on a fence upside down and mis-labeled; Donald's birth date
botched on a form, when the birthday was the whole point of the story.
Worst of all, much of the story's subtlety was blown when a "helpful"
editor filled in the ellipsis after "It's a won..." Rosa had intended for
the characters to skirt around the film's title but never actually
mention it. However, there is a measure of revenge. One scene featured a
museum case which Rosa had originally labeled "Ancient Demon Worship"
with a Mickey Mouse doll on display within it. The Disney people made
the publisher remove Mickey from the case in one panel (the space is
shown blank) and re-label the case "Ancient Icons." In the next panel,
however, after Donald's wish has been granted and the museum is in ruins,
the Mickey Mouse doll is shown sprawled over broken glass, apparently
stabbed. Since Disney had not expressly ordered it taken out of _that_
panel also, the grisly image remained, and Rosa and the fans had the last
laugh.
I am one of this list's many lurkers. I have just finished an
article for the _Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science_
on "The Internet as an Entertainment System." Although the section
about this delightful Duck List ended up on the editorial cutting room
floor, it was one of my favorite parts, and I thought you all might
enjoy seeing what I said about you. If you'd like to see the entire
(unedited) article, it's URL: http://e-street.eastlib.ufl.edu/basis7.txt
--Suzy Shaw, CyberLibrarian and DuckLover
suzshaw at nervm.nerdc.ufl.edu
"Chickory chick, cha-la, cha-la!"
-----
Comic books have long been a subculture unto themselves, avidly
collected, traded, and celebrated in sprawling moveable circus-like swap
meets known as Cons. I am one of millions of kids who grew up on _Walt
Disney's Comics & Stories_ in the 40's and 50's, knowing only that
Donald Duck was so much more delightful when drawn by "The Good Artist."
It was clear even to children that despite his signing each and every
one, Walt Disney did not draw all of those comic stories. I eventually
learned that "The Good Artist" (which is what fans everywhere had
independently dubbed him) was Carl Barks, and that quite a cult had grown
up around him over the years. I began acquiring a reprint series of his
work and this re-exposure sent me prowling the Net. The search for Barks
eventually led me to the Disney Comics List. Here I found a group of
avid fans and artist wannabes (mostly Scandinavian or Italian, it would
seem) engaged in a direct dialog with current Disney comic book artists
who are struggling to live up to (or live down) the Barks legacy--
something of a love/hate relationship. There is a fascinating discussion
of the details, mechanics and (for lack of a better word), the politics
of producing comic book art, which is giving these fans a whole new level
of appreciation of the medium. This awareness used to be available only
the few who were rich and/or lucky enough to attend the Cons regularly;
now the Con never stops and is open to anyone with a computer and access
to the Net. Reading this list sparked my interest in the Duck art of Barks'
successors, and I have started buying current Disney comics as a result.
One of the most prominent artists posting to this list is Don Rosa,
whom many hail as the true heir of the Barks tradition. Rosa freely
shares his views, including his frustrations, with the fans. Donald Duck
recently celebrated his 60th birthday, and a special commemorative comic
was issued. Rosa authored the set piece of the book, a delightful parody
of the classic movie "It's a Wonderful Life" called "The Duck Who Never
Was." A dejected Donald, thinking everyone has forgotten his birthday,
casually wishes he'd never been born, only to be overheard by a lurking
genie and have the wish granted. He views the results: Uncle Scrooge a
bum, the nephews blimped out couch potatoes, Daisy a rich but bitter
romance novelist, etc. But the list readers had their attention drawn to
the little things that went wrong: an empty dialog balloon; a family tree
scrawled on a fence upside down and mis-labeled; Donald's birth date
botched on a form, when the birthday was the whole point of the story.
Worst of all, much of the story's subtlety was blown when a "helpful"
editor filled in the ellipsis after "It's a won..." Rosa had intended for
the characters to skirt around the film's title but never actually
mention it. However, there is a measure of revenge. One scene featured a
museum case which Rosa had originally labeled "Ancient Demon Worship"
with a Mickey Mouse doll on display within it. The Disney people made
the publisher remove Mickey from the case in one panel (the space is
shown blank) and re-label the case "Ancient Icons." In the next panel,
however, after Donald's wish has been granted and the museum is in ruins,
the Mickey Mouse doll is shown sprawled over broken glass, apparently
stabbed. Since Disney had not expressly ordered it taken out of _that_
panel also, the grisly image remained, and Rosa and the fans had the last
laugh.
Dwight Decker
Carl Barks in Sweden
Message 87 -
1994-09-21 at 00:15:33
Although I've been pretty much a lurker in this group, I was recently
sent a Swedish newspaper clipping that I thought I'd translate and
post here. It probably doesn't tell you anything you don't already
know, but what the heck...it might be interesting. It's from the
June 19, 1994 issue of the Stockholm "Aftonbladet":
QUACK!
DONALD DUCK'S 93-YEAR-OLD FATHER IS IN TOWN
by Johann Brannstrom
Do you think Donald Duck is in amazingly good shape for being
60 years old?
You should see his father.
"I'm a little hard of hearing, but I've been that way since
1916," says Carl Barks, 93: the master of the comic strip.
He held court yesterday at the Grand Hotel in Stockholm.
This is the first time that the legendary artists has ever
been outside of his homeland in the USA. But now, at the age
of 93 (!), he is on a European tour, where he has been met by
a press reception worthy of a rock star.
"I always wanted to travel, but I could simply never afford
it -- or else I was too busy," is how he explains it.
"But I'm utterly astounded by my reception. I had no idea
that comics were such a large part of the culture here."
BARKS GREATEST OF THEM ALL
And if comics are a large part of the culture, Carl Barks is
the greatest when it comes to comics. (There's a pun here that
isn't coming across. The same word in Swedish -- stor -- covers
both "large" and "great".--DRD)
A proof of that was the Adamsson Award statuette that he
received yesterday from the Swedish Comics Academy "for creating
some of the best comics adventures ever."
Actually, he did not create Donald Duck. But it was Carl Barks
who gave the duck his character and temperament, starting with when
he began as a talented young artist at Disney Studios in 1936.
"I have been asked how much of Donald Duck's character is my
own. The answer is: I don't know. Maybe I did give him a part of
myself, but if I did it was subconsciously."
Since then, he has drawn 6300 pages of Donald Duck adventures.
He also single-handedly created such characters as Scrooge
McDuck, Gyro Gearloose, and Gladstone Gander.
MAKES COMEBACK AS 93-YEAR-OLD
He retired in 1973 -- and began to produce oil paintings using
Disney characters. The most recent sold for $200,000. Now he has
promised to make a comeback and write a new Donald Duck adventure,
his first in 25 years. You will be able to read it in October.
"My dream is for Donald Duck and my other characters to live
on forever."
-----------------------------
With the article was a color photo of Barks standing in a hotel
lobby with somebody wearing a Donald Duck suit. The caption read:
CARL AND DONALD. Master comic artist Carl Barks, 93, is traveling
outside of his American homeland for the first time. Yesterday he
came to Sweden and held court for a press reception large enough
to be worthy of any rock star one can think of. Donald Duck's
father received an Adamsson Award statuette from the Swedish
Comics Academy.
Okay, okay, the translation's a little rough. If I really wanted to
polish it, I'd change that photo caption intro to something like
"Duck and Duck Man" to preserve the alliteration of the original
("Carl och Kalle" -- Donald Duck in Swedish is Kalle Anka), and
maybe fix some of the errors. I believe Barks retired in 1966 from
full-time funnybook work, though I don't recall just when he did
his last Junior Woodchucks script (which might be where the 1973
date comes from). While one of his paintings did change hands
recently for $200,000, he hasn't done any new ones for quite some
time (or am I misinformed?). Oh well, this should give you the
idea.
I was in Copenhagen last November and had dinner with some of
the local comics people. Freddy Milton brought along a copy of
what was then the proposed itinerary for Barks's upcoming Euro-
tour and showed it to us. Evidently, Barks's agent had sent the
itinerary out to a number of people for advice and comment, and
in the course of things Freddy had gotten a copy. We were all
amazed because the schedule then proposed was murderously packed
with events -- it would have killed me, and Barks is more than
twice my age. The agent was only allowing a day to recover from
jet lag, for example, which made me guffaw in disbelief when I
saw it, because I was suffering severely from it right then. The
way I heard it later, the agent had put out the schedule as a
tentative proposal to find out what was actually feasible, with
every intention of cutting it down; Barks himself supposedly cut
it to a third. Still...Barks is in amazing shape for 93. If I
live that long, I'd like to be still upright and making European
tours myself...
--Dwight R. Decker
sent a Swedish newspaper clipping that I thought I'd translate and
post here. It probably doesn't tell you anything you don't already
know, but what the heck...it might be interesting. It's from the
June 19, 1994 issue of the Stockholm "Aftonbladet":
QUACK!
DONALD DUCK'S 93-YEAR-OLD FATHER IS IN TOWN
by Johann Brannstrom
Do you think Donald Duck is in amazingly good shape for being
60 years old?
You should see his father.
"I'm a little hard of hearing, but I've been that way since
1916," says Carl Barks, 93: the master of the comic strip.
He held court yesterday at the Grand Hotel in Stockholm.
This is the first time that the legendary artists has ever
been outside of his homeland in the USA. But now, at the age
of 93 (!), he is on a European tour, where he has been met by
a press reception worthy of a rock star.
"I always wanted to travel, but I could simply never afford
it -- or else I was too busy," is how he explains it.
"But I'm utterly astounded by my reception. I had no idea
that comics were such a large part of the culture here."
BARKS GREATEST OF THEM ALL
And if comics are a large part of the culture, Carl Barks is
the greatest when it comes to comics. (There's a pun here that
isn't coming across. The same word in Swedish -- stor -- covers
both "large" and "great".--DRD)
A proof of that was the Adamsson Award statuette that he
received yesterday from the Swedish Comics Academy "for creating
some of the best comics adventures ever."
Actually, he did not create Donald Duck. But it was Carl Barks
who gave the duck his character and temperament, starting with when
he began as a talented young artist at Disney Studios in 1936.
"I have been asked how much of Donald Duck's character is my
own. The answer is: I don't know. Maybe I did give him a part of
myself, but if I did it was subconsciously."
Since then, he has drawn 6300 pages of Donald Duck adventures.
He also single-handedly created such characters as Scrooge
McDuck, Gyro Gearloose, and Gladstone Gander.
MAKES COMEBACK AS 93-YEAR-OLD
He retired in 1973 -- and began to produce oil paintings using
Disney characters. The most recent sold for $200,000. Now he has
promised to make a comeback and write a new Donald Duck adventure,
his first in 25 years. You will be able to read it in October.
"My dream is for Donald Duck and my other characters to live
on forever."
-----------------------------
With the article was a color photo of Barks standing in a hotel
lobby with somebody wearing a Donald Duck suit. The caption read:
CARL AND DONALD. Master comic artist Carl Barks, 93, is traveling
outside of his American homeland for the first time. Yesterday he
came to Sweden and held court for a press reception large enough
to be worthy of any rock star one can think of. Donald Duck's
father received an Adamsson Award statuette from the Swedish
Comics Academy.
Okay, okay, the translation's a little rough. If I really wanted to
polish it, I'd change that photo caption intro to something like
"Duck and Duck Man" to preserve the alliteration of the original
("Carl och Kalle" -- Donald Duck in Swedish is Kalle Anka), and
maybe fix some of the errors. I believe Barks retired in 1966 from
full-time funnybook work, though I don't recall just when he did
his last Junior Woodchucks script (which might be where the 1973
date comes from). While one of his paintings did change hands
recently for $200,000, he hasn't done any new ones for quite some
time (or am I misinformed?). Oh well, this should give you the
idea.
I was in Copenhagen last November and had dinner with some of
the local comics people. Freddy Milton brought along a copy of
what was then the proposed itinerary for Barks's upcoming Euro-
tour and showed it to us. Evidently, Barks's agent had sent the
itinerary out to a number of people for advice and comment, and
in the course of things Freddy had gotten a copy. We were all
amazed because the schedule then proposed was murderously packed
with events -- it would have killed me, and Barks is more than
twice my age. The agent was only allowing a day to recover from
jet lag, for example, which made me guffaw in disbelief when I
saw it, because I was suffering severely from it right then. The
way I heard it later, the agent had put out the schedule as a
tentative proposal to find out what was actually feasible, with
every intention of cutting it down; Barks himself supposedly cut
it to a third. Still...Barks is in amazing shape for 93. If I
live that long, I'd like to be still upright and making European
tours myself...
--Dwight R. Decker
H.W. Fluks
Barks in Sweden
Message 88 -
1994-09-21 at 10:29:39
Dwight Decker:
Thank you for posting that translation. A few remarks:
> I believe Barks retired in 1966 from
> full-time funnybook work, though I don't recall just when he did
> his last Junior Woodchucks script (which might be where the 1973
> date comes from).
Barks delivered his last JW script ("Captains Outrageous" for JW #25) on
March 30, 1973.
> While one of his paintings did change hands
> recently for $200,000, he hasn't done any new ones for quite some
> time (or am I misinformed?).
According to Grandey (in a TV interview in Holland - I posted a translation
a while ago), he did 2 paintings this year.
--Harry.
(fluks at pcssdc.pttnwb.nl)
Thank you for posting that translation. A few remarks:
> I believe Barks retired in 1966 from
> full-time funnybook work, though I don't recall just when he did
> his last Junior Woodchucks script (which might be where the 1973
> date comes from).
Barks delivered his last JW script ("Captains Outrageous" for JW #25) on
March 30, 1973.
> While one of his paintings did change hands
> recently for $200,000, he hasn't done any new ones for quite some
> time (or am I misinformed?).
According to Grandey (in a TV interview in Holland - I posted a translation
a while ago), he did 2 paintings this year.
--Harry.
(fluks at pcssdc.pttnwb.nl)
Tallmo
Hello from a lurker
Message 89 -
1994-09-21 at 20:24:10
Hello everybody,
I have been guilty of "lurking" for a month or so. I wanted to check out
things first. Especially since I have not kept up with all new artists. Not
the old ones either, in fact. My favourites have always been those I read
as a child, between 1959 and 1964. I have been familiar with Barks of
course - and Floyd Gottfredson. But not until now, when I have downloaded
the list from Lysator, have I found out the names of those who made the
other good ones.
I have always admired (without knowing his name) Tony Strobl's Mission To
Mangomoa, Junior Geniuses, The Fabulous Fiddlesticks, and when it comes to
MM & Goofy I always thought that the artist who made Goofy with long nose,
extra skinny, and large "bags" on his elbows is the best. Paul Murry it is,
obviously (e g The Secret Of Drake's Island, The Moose Head Mystery).
I was really surprised, though, to learn that some of the stories I *never*
liked, was actually made when these artists switched characters: when TS
drew Goofy or PM drew Donald.
Then there is a very strange artist, whose work I only have seen twice: Can
opener salesman and Scrooge's birthday by DM (Dick Moores). Does anyone
know if he is involved with the cartoons? That bizarre bird that annoys
Donald as photographer in one of the most famous cartoons appears in Can
opener salesman.
And about the newer artists (yeah, alright, I admit - I am 41): I picked up
a Don Rosa for the first time the other day. Not bad!
Well, enough for now. Knowing names was really a revelation long a-waited.
Best regards,
Karl-Erik Tallmo
Stockholm
PS. I took the titles from the list "swedish.dbl". Should I refer to
stories with a number instead? If, so is there a list with Swedish "Kalle
Anka & Co" issues and the appropriate international numbers? KET
---------------------------------------------------------------------
KARL-ERIK TALLMO, Swedish writer, journalist, critic and HyperCard
programmer, living in Stockholm. Contributor of articles to Nordic dailies
and magazines. Writes about music, literature and computers. Also DTP,
Swedish grammar checking, translation, etc. through the private firm NISUS
PUBLISHING.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
I have been guilty of "lurking" for a month or so. I wanted to check out
things first. Especially since I have not kept up with all new artists. Not
the old ones either, in fact. My favourites have always been those I read
as a child, between 1959 and 1964. I have been familiar with Barks of
course - and Floyd Gottfredson. But not until now, when I have downloaded
the list from Lysator, have I found out the names of those who made the
other good ones.
I have always admired (without knowing his name) Tony Strobl's Mission To
Mangomoa, Junior Geniuses, The Fabulous Fiddlesticks, and when it comes to
MM & Goofy I always thought that the artist who made Goofy with long nose,
extra skinny, and large "bags" on his elbows is the best. Paul Murry it is,
obviously (e g The Secret Of Drake's Island, The Moose Head Mystery).
I was really surprised, though, to learn that some of the stories I *never*
liked, was actually made when these artists switched characters: when TS
drew Goofy or PM drew Donald.
Then there is a very strange artist, whose work I only have seen twice: Can
opener salesman and Scrooge's birthday by DM (Dick Moores). Does anyone
know if he is involved with the cartoons? That bizarre bird that annoys
Donald as photographer in one of the most famous cartoons appears in Can
opener salesman.
And about the newer artists (yeah, alright, I admit - I am 41): I picked up
a Don Rosa for the first time the other day. Not bad!
Well, enough for now. Knowing names was really a revelation long a-waited.
Best regards,
Karl-Erik Tallmo
Stockholm
PS. I took the titles from the list "swedish.dbl". Should I refer to
stories with a number instead? If, so is there a list with Swedish "Kalle
Anka & Co" issues and the appropriate international numbers? KET
---------------------------------------------------------------------
KARL-ERIK TALLMO, Swedish writer, journalist, critic and HyperCard
programmer, living in Stockholm. Contributor of articles to Nordic dailies
and magazines. Writes about music, literature and computers. Also DTP,
Swedish grammar checking, translation, etc. through the private firm NISUS
PUBLISHING.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Fabio Gadducci
Hello? Is anybody there? :-)
Message 90 -
1994-09-21 at 22:16:16
>FABIO:
> Fabio? Fabio? Oh, wheeeerrrreeee are yoooouuuuuu, Faaaaabioooo?
There was someone calling for me?!?
I know, I'm for the n-th time late in answering back. But it is not my
fault, as usual :-).
I've organized a small comic convention in La Spezia, with the financial
help of the public administration of that town, and I had to spend the
weekend there.
The subject of the main panel was obviously devoted to Marvel Comics, if
you were wondering. This is quite a dangerous period in Italy for
(superhero ) comics, since Marvel opened Marvel Italy just three monts ago.
It seems that they are using the same tactics as in the USA: saturate the
market with as much garbage as possible, so to make the other companies
quit.
Anyway, enough of this. First of all, thank you Per for your interest: I
think I'll have no more problem with the link. The only problem was the
time-out time: it seems that it is quite time-expensive for my server to
look up at the mailing list address, so that my mails were continuosly
deferred. My system manager says he incremented the time-out delay.
And a last thing about computer: those of you who work with a UNIX system,
can very easily recover the list of the subscribers to the list simply
typing
vrfy disney-comics at minsk.docs.uu.se
or, just to be sure
vrfy -txxx disney-comics at minsk.docs.uu.se
(xxx is any time you like) if your server is slow, too.
Let's change subject again. First of all, Don. OK, I'll try not to copy
part of the mails when I'm answering back. I know that all of you on
Compuserve has to pay for it, but it usually slip out of my mind! I promise
I'll pay more attention to it. About your story on the 'Sixty years special
edition': if you check, also Van Horn story was cut up. The reason is that
they had to fill it in the digest version, and four strips for page are
quite difficult to look for a child. Why did they not cut up Rota's story?
Well, they had the black and white proofs for your and Van Horn's story, so
the cut up was quite an easy operation. Instead, they did not have the b&w
proofs for Rota's story. They took the art directly from the original
edition! They did not separate the black lines, after then recoloring the
story, but took directly each page in color, so that it made quite an
impossible thing to cut them up. (I hope I made it clear, but my knowledge
of technical English is not so good... neither of the colloquial English,
to be honest...)
Now, Harry. I'm sending this to the list because you are not the only one
who still has to get Becattini's index, through me or through Mauro
Ricciardelli, owner of 'Al Fumetto club' and publisher of the Index. The
problem is that, despite my (and Luca Boschi's and Alberto Becattini's)
best efforts, we are not yet been able to put our hands on those Index that
Ricciardelli still holds in his hands. We do not know why he doesn't want
to part with them. We hope that, since next Lucca should appear the second
volume of the Index (containing many errata corrige), to get at least a
dozen of them to satisfy part of the requests...
More or less, you are in the same situation as Ole: I have all your stuff
already ready to be sent, but I'm still waiting to be able to get the
Index...
(PS Harry, I'm sending you a longer mail telling you the whole truth on
your affair: let's skip it to the list)
Knut asked about Witch Hazel, who
>has also made several
>appearances in the norwegian DD pockets which probably means some italian
>artists have used here now and then?
Yes, it has been used a lot of times, starting from the Sixties, when she
appeared in a lot of stories, co-starring Goofy, usually realized by Carlo
Chendi (writer) and Luciano Bottaro (artist). The team-up :-) Hazel-Goofy
proved really successful, and it has been proposed by many Italian authors,
mainly during the Seventies.
And that's all for now. I hope I'll be able to help you, Geir, in your
search for strange facts in Barks' stories: not with my limitated
knowledge, but asking to some Italian authority in barksism.
See you soon,
Fabio
PS I'll be in London from October 2 to October 9. And in Mannheim (Germany)
from October 12 to October 16. Is there any duck fan near these places?!
================================================================
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
================================================================
> Fabio? Fabio? Oh, wheeeerrrreeee are yoooouuuuuu, Faaaaabioooo?
There was someone calling for me?!?
I know, I'm for the n-th time late in answering back. But it is not my
fault, as usual :-).
I've organized a small comic convention in La Spezia, with the financial
help of the public administration of that town, and I had to spend the
weekend there.
The subject of the main panel was obviously devoted to Marvel Comics, if
you were wondering. This is quite a dangerous period in Italy for
(superhero ) comics, since Marvel opened Marvel Italy just three monts ago.
It seems that they are using the same tactics as in the USA: saturate the
market with as much garbage as possible, so to make the other companies
quit.
Anyway, enough of this. First of all, thank you Per for your interest: I
think I'll have no more problem with the link. The only problem was the
time-out time: it seems that it is quite time-expensive for my server to
look up at the mailing list address, so that my mails were continuosly
deferred. My system manager says he incremented the time-out delay.
And a last thing about computer: those of you who work with a UNIX system,
can very easily recover the list of the subscribers to the list simply
typing
vrfy disney-comics at minsk.docs.uu.se
or, just to be sure
vrfy -txxx disney-comics at minsk.docs.uu.se
(xxx is any time you like) if your server is slow, too.
Let's change subject again. First of all, Don. OK, I'll try not to copy
part of the mails when I'm answering back. I know that all of you on
Compuserve has to pay for it, but it usually slip out of my mind! I promise
I'll pay more attention to it. About your story on the 'Sixty years special
edition': if you check, also Van Horn story was cut up. The reason is that
they had to fill it in the digest version, and four strips for page are
quite difficult to look for a child. Why did they not cut up Rota's story?
Well, they had the black and white proofs for your and Van Horn's story, so
the cut up was quite an easy operation. Instead, they did not have the b&w
proofs for Rota's story. They took the art directly from the original
edition! They did not separate the black lines, after then recoloring the
story, but took directly each page in color, so that it made quite an
impossible thing to cut them up. (I hope I made it clear, but my knowledge
of technical English is not so good... neither of the colloquial English,
to be honest...)
Now, Harry. I'm sending this to the list because you are not the only one
who still has to get Becattini's index, through me or through Mauro
Ricciardelli, owner of 'Al Fumetto club' and publisher of the Index. The
problem is that, despite my (and Luca Boschi's and Alberto Becattini's)
best efforts, we are not yet been able to put our hands on those Index that
Ricciardelli still holds in his hands. We do not know why he doesn't want
to part with them. We hope that, since next Lucca should appear the second
volume of the Index (containing many errata corrige), to get at least a
dozen of them to satisfy part of the requests...
More or less, you are in the same situation as Ole: I have all your stuff
already ready to be sent, but I'm still waiting to be able to get the
Index...
(PS Harry, I'm sending you a longer mail telling you the whole truth on
your affair: let's skip it to the list)
Knut asked about Witch Hazel, who
>has also made several
>appearances in the norwegian DD pockets which probably means some italian
>artists have used here now and then?
Yes, it has been used a lot of times, starting from the Sixties, when she
appeared in a lot of stories, co-starring Goofy, usually realized by Carlo
Chendi (writer) and Luciano Bottaro (artist). The team-up :-) Hazel-Goofy
proved really successful, and it has been proposed by many Italian authors,
mainly during the Seventies.
And that's all for now. I hope I'll be able to help you, Geir, in your
search for strange facts in Barks' stories: not with my limitated
knowledge, but asking to some Italian authority in barksism.
See you soon,
Fabio
PS I'll be in London from October 2 to October 9. And in Mannheim (Germany)
from October 12 to October 16. Is there any duck fan near these places?!
================================================================
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
================================================================