DON:
Yes, it still remains to be seen whether I'll be able to go to either show,
Gothenburg or Alvsjo; I've been rather broke lately, and don't know for certain
that I can afford either, even if I'll find the time necessary.
But anyway -- what'll your itinerary be? And what are you planning to do in the
week between the two shows? Go to Norway? Remain in Sweden? And for how long
will Ann be staying in Scandinavia?
Still hoping to see you, I'll remain
Duckly yours
Mattias
**** Mattias Hallin ** Lund * Sweden ** <Mattias.Hallin at jurenh.lu.se> ****
* *
* "Oh bury me thar! With my battered git-tar! *
************** A-screamin' my heart out fer yew!" *************
Author
Topic: 199410
(172 messages)
Mattias Hallin
Imminent itinerary?
Message 76 -
1994-10-14 at 10:39:07
Suzy Shaw
Whose Grandma?
Message 77 -
1994-10-14 at 14:43:45
Of course, I'm not the expert the rest of you are, but when I was
growing up reading the original '40s-'50s Barks stories, I always assumed
Grandma was the *nephews'* grandmother, not Donald's. Maybe this comes
from having the kid P.O.V., and therefore identifying more with the
nephews than with Donald. Whenever my parents would speak of ''going
to Grandma's house,'' they meany to *my* grandma's, not theirs.
I realize it's Barks' world and he therefore gets to make the rules,
but I can't help but suspect he either forgot or changed his mind in
later years.
--Suzy Shaw
suzshaw at nervm.nerdc.ufl.edu
''A metal misfit in a world that's gone nylon''
growing up reading the original '40s-'50s Barks stories, I always assumed
Grandma was the *nephews'* grandmother, not Donald's. Maybe this comes
from having the kid P.O.V., and therefore identifying more with the
nephews than with Donald. Whenever my parents would speak of ''going
to Grandma's house,'' they meany to *my* grandma's, not theirs.
I realize it's Barks' world and he therefore gets to make the rules,
but I can't help but suspect he either forgot or changed his mind in
later years.
--Suzy Shaw
suzshaw at nervm.nerdc.ufl.edu
''A metal misfit in a world that's gone nylon''
Per Starback
Unsubscribe to Disney Newsgroup
Message 78 -
1994-10-14 at 17:28:51
> I have been trying to unsubscribe to this newsgroup for the past 3 months
> but as of yet have been unsuccessful. If this doesn't unsubscribe me,
> please inform me how to unsubscribe. I have written several letters
> trying to unsubscribe but no one seems very helpful in trying to help me
> unsubscribe because I keep getting mail. Please help!!!!!!
Sorry, it was my fault. Digging through old mail I see that you first
tried unsubscribing by sending such a request to all the members of
the list, then you tried sending such a request to all the members of
the list, then you tried sending such a request to all the members of
the list, then you tried sending such a request to the *administrator*
of the list. I thought I really did unsubscribe you then. Sorry I
missed that somehow.
--
Per
> but as of yet have been unsuccessful. If this doesn't unsubscribe me,
> please inform me how to unsubscribe. I have written several letters
> trying to unsubscribe but no one seems very helpful in trying to help me
> unsubscribe because I keep getting mail. Please help!!!!!!
Sorry, it was my fault. Digging through old mail I see that you first
tried unsubscribing by sending such a request to all the members of
the list, then you tried sending such a request to all the members of
the list, then you tried sending such a request to all the members of
the list, then you tried sending such a request to the *administrator*
of the list. I thought I really did unsubscribe you then. Sorry I
missed that somehow.
--
Per
Ronald A. Evry
Disney-comics digest #461.
Message 79 -
1994-10-14 at 20:24:47
From Don:
> I actually DID do a 10-page "gag" story last month... my first
> since 1990. And it wasn't so hot. At least it didn't seem very good when
> I was doing it -- I'd had an idea for a story in my notes for many
> years, and decided to use it. But getting it to actually WORK was like
> pulling teeth... which tells me that it was NOT working. I can't judge
> whether it ultimately worked or not, but since it was a difficult story
> to do, I didn't enjoy it and therefore felt that it SUCKED. We'll see.
> Good ideas for 10-page stories are always very easy to make stories out
> of -- I think I wrote "On a Silver Platter" in about an hour.
> I might try another 10-pager, but I really can't get inspired by
> the whole idea. I see these as ADVENTURE characters -- and only
> adventure stories seem worth dealing with. "Gag" stories are too
> forgetable.
It's a shame you feel that way Don.
While Barks's adventure stories were always terrific, I still
feel his genius was the way he handled the 10 page funny
stories in WDC&S.
The ones with neighbor Jones were always my favorites, but I
also enjoyed the stories where Donald would get some new
occupation and wind up in some ludicrous situation when he
tried to apply "ingenuity" to the task at hand.
Barks's technique usually (but not always) involved piling one
situation on top of another until everything exploded.
To top it all off, he always managed to put sparkling
characterization into those tales as well.
Ron
> I actually DID do a 10-page "gag" story last month... my first
> since 1990. And it wasn't so hot. At least it didn't seem very good when
> I was doing it -- I'd had an idea for a story in my notes for many
> years, and decided to use it. But getting it to actually WORK was like
> pulling teeth... which tells me that it was NOT working. I can't judge
> whether it ultimately worked or not, but since it was a difficult story
> to do, I didn't enjoy it and therefore felt that it SUCKED. We'll see.
> Good ideas for 10-page stories are always very easy to make stories out
> of -- I think I wrote "On a Silver Platter" in about an hour.
> I might try another 10-pager, but I really can't get inspired by
> the whole idea. I see these as ADVENTURE characters -- and only
> adventure stories seem worth dealing with. "Gag" stories are too
> forgetable.
It's a shame you feel that way Don.
While Barks's adventure stories were always terrific, I still
feel his genius was the way he handled the 10 page funny
stories in WDC&S.
The ones with neighbor Jones were always my favorites, but I
also enjoyed the stories where Donald would get some new
occupation and wind up in some ludicrous situation when he
tried to apply "ingenuity" to the task at hand.
Barks's technique usually (but not always) involved piling one
situation on top of another until everything exploded.
To top it all off, he always managed to put sparkling
characterization into those tales as well.
Ron
Jørgen Andreas Bangor
David's story, Fethry ++
Message 80 -
1994-10-14 at 22:12:04
David:
> Actually I was inspired by the very first Branca-drawn story I
>ever saw: "The Robot Raiders of Magica De Spell" (US 210, 1986). In
>that one, Magica invented robots that looked like her.
I can't remember having seen that, but then... I haven't read the
DD&Co from that time to close. I didn't think they were to bad at
the start of the 80s, but later they just became more worse for
every year, until they suddenly changed in the late 80s (guess
whose stories started to appear at that time :-)
I _do_ remember a story from the late 60s though, were Donald is
copied by aliens (Strobl, I think).
There are of course also a lot of Italian stories where characters
are copied.
The fight between the witches in David's story reminded me about
something. I think it must be a short story from the 60s were Magica
and Mad Madam Mim work together to steal the dime. It's not one of the
stories were they live together in a castle.
Magica realize that she isn't able to do the job alone, and therfore
asks Mim to help her. Mim doesn't see any reason why she should work
together with a second class witch like Magica, and then they start
a little fight to impress each other.
David:
>In English: "But you could use *another*
>shark! Double the effectiveness, you know!" "Double?! Did you say
>DOUBLE?" "That's what I said!"
That's almost the same words as in the Norwegian version.
David again:
>Someone mentioned the Mickey/Goofy "Zoom Transport" stories.
>It may interest you that production of these will soon grind almost
>to a halt
That certainly interest me! Whatever they use instead, it can't be
worse. Oh, just read the first issue of Disney Afternoon. Maybe it
_can_...
David:
>In fact, I personally have only seen a handful of
>Fethry stories from Egmont, all of them 1-pagers.
There was a story with Fethry in DD&Co quiet recently. Four or five
pages, or something like that. The story wasn't too bad, but I'm not
so sure I like the art. I don't know who draw it, but I've seen the
same style in some stories with Mad Madam Mim and Brer Rabbit (no, they
do not appear in the same stories...).
Harry:
>BTW, Fredrik: Ludwig Von Drake is called Donald Dingue in French.]
And in Norway he is called Raptus von Rupp, not Ludwig von Duck.
David:
> Let's see -- Mickey is trying to straighten a pipe. Gives
>Goofy a wrench, then holds up the pipe and says, "When I nod my head,
>you hit it with the hammer." BONK! Methinks one Mouse should have
>defined "it" a little more carefully. ;-)
I'm impressed!
Guess Don like this one ;-)
Jorgen A. Bangor (jorgenb at ifi.uio.no)
> Actually I was inspired by the very first Branca-drawn story I
>ever saw: "The Robot Raiders of Magica De Spell" (US 210, 1986). In
>that one, Magica invented robots that looked like her.
I can't remember having seen that, but then... I haven't read the
DD&Co from that time to close. I didn't think they were to bad at
the start of the 80s, but later they just became more worse for
every year, until they suddenly changed in the late 80s (guess
whose stories started to appear at that time :-)
I _do_ remember a story from the late 60s though, were Donald is
copied by aliens (Strobl, I think).
There are of course also a lot of Italian stories where characters
are copied.
The fight between the witches in David's story reminded me about
something. I think it must be a short story from the 60s were Magica
and Mad Madam Mim work together to steal the dime. It's not one of the
stories were they live together in a castle.
Magica realize that she isn't able to do the job alone, and therfore
asks Mim to help her. Mim doesn't see any reason why she should work
together with a second class witch like Magica, and then they start
a little fight to impress each other.
David:
>In English: "But you could use *another*
>shark! Double the effectiveness, you know!" "Double?! Did you say
>DOUBLE?" "That's what I said!"
That's almost the same words as in the Norwegian version.
David again:
>Someone mentioned the Mickey/Goofy "Zoom Transport" stories.
>It may interest you that production of these will soon grind almost
>to a halt
That certainly interest me! Whatever they use instead, it can't be
worse. Oh, just read the first issue of Disney Afternoon. Maybe it
_can_...
David:
>In fact, I personally have only seen a handful of
>Fethry stories from Egmont, all of them 1-pagers.
There was a story with Fethry in DD&Co quiet recently. Four or five
pages, or something like that. The story wasn't too bad, but I'm not
so sure I like the art. I don't know who draw it, but I've seen the
same style in some stories with Mad Madam Mim and Brer Rabbit (no, they
do not appear in the same stories...).
Harry:
>BTW, Fredrik: Ludwig Von Drake is called Donald Dingue in French.]
And in Norway he is called Raptus von Rupp, not Ludwig von Duck.
David:
> Let's see -- Mickey is trying to straighten a pipe. Gives
>Goofy a wrench, then holds up the pipe and says, "When I nod my head,
>you hit it with the hammer." BONK! Methinks one Mouse should have
>defined "it" a little more carefully. ;-)
I'm impressed!
Guess Don like this one ;-)
Jorgen A. Bangor (jorgenb at ifi.uio.no)
Jørgen Andreas Bangor
A lot of subjects...
Message 81 -
1994-10-14 at 23:05:11
Now I've read part II of "Historien gjentar seg"
(Horsing around with history), but I don't think I'll say
much more about it. Part II didn't make any surprises, and
the end is a little abrupt. Looks like van Horn suddenly
realized he didn't have enough space.
RoC:
>His best, IMHO, is however "Night of the Saracen", code unknown, another
>Viking story, except it's more like Arabian Nights. Beautiful and moody.
> He even had his name on the *cover*, way back in 1987.
>It was upside down and disguised as Arabian gibberish.
I see that I have to check the frontcovers a bit better in the future.
Does anybody know of any other signatures or other things hidden in the
art (I know Don's D.U.C.K. :)
BTW: What is 'F0K-DD'. I think that I identify the last two letters, but
what is F0K? It's not hex, anyway...
Fredrik:
>That sounds like the previously discussed "This is Your Life, Donald
>Duck" to me. Although I don't remember seeing any Grandpa, Donald spent
>his childhood years on Grandma's farm in that story.
I've read that. And I've read Rota's story. But a few days ago, a book
appeared in one of the local comic shops, that I haven't heard of before
(the book).
"Walt Disney's The life of Donald Duck,
a reproduction of the only authorized biography."
Originally published in 1941.
$ 19.95
Applewood Books
Bedford, Massachusetts.
It's not a comic book though. It's text and illustrations. I did't look
too close at it, but I did see a drawing of an egg in a nest.
James:
>It's funny that this thread should come up this weekend. On Friday,
>I started on my newest duck story which deals with this exact subject.
Do you mean you write duck stories too?
Don:
> I might try another 10-pager, but I really can't get inspired by
>the whole idea. I see these as ADVENTURE characters -- and only
>adventure stories seem worth dealing with. "Gag" stories are too
>forgetable.
I think I agree. At least when it comes to you. I mean, you treat them
like adventure characters, and then they feel like adventure characters
when I read one of your stories (adventures). I also like your 10-page
"gag" stories, but it's the adventures that first come to mind when I'm
thinking about your stories. Since I also like adventure stories better
than gag stories, I would of course prefer to see your talent used to be
doing that (please don't misunderstand. I'm not telling you what to do,
just my humble opinion :)
When it comes to van Horn, it's gag stories.
James:
>The lack of parents never bothered me, the lack of friends always will.
>Make a list of Donald's closest friends. Subtract from it anyone
>who is related to Donald. I bet when you're done, the list is empty
I hope Daisy's not a relative... Gyro doesn't even look like a relative.
I remember that one of Jon Gisle's points in his book "Donaldismen" was
that none of the civilized persons were parents. Dogs and wolfs on the
other hand...
This discussion about Grandma reminded me of something funny. The only
time I can remember having seen her real name, "Anna Duck", in Norway
is in a Mickey Mouse story.
And now I'll go home to read DDA #29, which I've got at last.
Jorgen A. Bangor (jorgenb at ifi.uio.no)
(Horsing around with history), but I don't think I'll say
much more about it. Part II didn't make any surprises, and
the end is a little abrupt. Looks like van Horn suddenly
realized he didn't have enough space.
RoC:
>His best, IMHO, is however "Night of the Saracen", code unknown, another
>Viking story, except it's more like Arabian Nights. Beautiful and moody.
> He even had his name on the *cover*, way back in 1987.
>It was upside down and disguised as Arabian gibberish.
I see that I have to check the frontcovers a bit better in the future.
Does anybody know of any other signatures or other things hidden in the
art (I know Don's D.U.C.K. :)
BTW: What is 'F0K-DD'. I think that I identify the last two letters, but
what is F0K? It's not hex, anyway...
Fredrik:
>That sounds like the previously discussed "This is Your Life, Donald
>Duck" to me. Although I don't remember seeing any Grandpa, Donald spent
>his childhood years on Grandma's farm in that story.
I've read that. And I've read Rota's story. But a few days ago, a book
appeared in one of the local comic shops, that I haven't heard of before
(the book).
"Walt Disney's The life of Donald Duck,
a reproduction of the only authorized biography."
Originally published in 1941.
$ 19.95
Applewood Books
Bedford, Massachusetts.
It's not a comic book though. It's text and illustrations. I did't look
too close at it, but I did see a drawing of an egg in a nest.
James:
>It's funny that this thread should come up this weekend. On Friday,
>I started on my newest duck story which deals with this exact subject.
Do you mean you write duck stories too?
Don:
> I might try another 10-pager, but I really can't get inspired by
>the whole idea. I see these as ADVENTURE characters -- and only
>adventure stories seem worth dealing with. "Gag" stories are too
>forgetable.
I think I agree. At least when it comes to you. I mean, you treat them
like adventure characters, and then they feel like adventure characters
when I read one of your stories (adventures). I also like your 10-page
"gag" stories, but it's the adventures that first come to mind when I'm
thinking about your stories. Since I also like adventure stories better
than gag stories, I would of course prefer to see your talent used to be
doing that (please don't misunderstand. I'm not telling you what to do,
just my humble opinion :)
When it comes to van Horn, it's gag stories.
James:
>The lack of parents never bothered me, the lack of friends always will.
>Make a list of Donald's closest friends. Subtract from it anyone
>who is related to Donald. I bet when you're done, the list is empty
I hope Daisy's not a relative... Gyro doesn't even look like a relative.
I remember that one of Jon Gisle's points in his book "Donaldismen" was
that none of the civilized persons were parents. Dogs and wolfs on the
other hand...
This discussion about Grandma reminded me of something funny. The only
time I can remember having seen her real name, "Anna Duck", in Norway
is in a Mickey Mouse story.
And now I'll go home to read DDA #29, which I've got at last.
Jorgen A. Bangor (jorgenb at ifi.uio.no)
Don Rosa
Disney-comics digest #461.
Message 82 -
1994-10-15 at 05:19:36
DAVID:
Yes, when I first saw a U$ #289 (with part V), the first thing I
did was wince and cuss at the color printing! In my issue there are at
least two pages grossly off register and many of the other pages that
are sorta blurry. Part of the blurring is something I didn't know was
done which you seem to mention, and I wonder how they even go about it
-- but I see off-register lines of blue and red coloring next to solid
black lines. They lay color over the black to beef it up, eh? I didn't
know they had to do that. The whole story looked PALE to me, which is
odd since I LIKE the pale coloring and black-blacks of old comics --
makes the art stand out and the backgrounds stay back, unlike the way
modern lurid color printing does. Still, I was upset for an instant by
the pale look -- perhaps since I've gotten used to seeing these stories
in umpty-um foreign editions on slick paper with jet-black ink (and
completely uninspired coloring) and I get shocked by the pale black inks
in the Gladstones and inspired coloring botched at the printing plant.
FRANK:
How do I define a "gag" story? Asking me that made me stop and
think long enough to realize I HAVE done gag stories since 1990. I did
that Olympics story in 1993, and had almost successfully blotted it from
my memory, thank you. That was another uninspired gag story. And those
others you mention which were "adventure" oriented ("On Stolen Time",
"Super Snooper Strikes Again" were long (15-page?) gag stories. And yet
none of these 15-page Lo$ stories are gag stories. I think the
difference in these 15-pagers is that the Lo$ stories are so loaded with
logistic problems of continuity and references to past stories and
foreshadowing to future stories, etc., etc., that they are far more
complex to those self-contained gag stories of the same length. Anyway,
that's my definition. The gag stories are far easier to do in a sense,
but they are difficult for me because I can't maintain interest
(inspiration?) when there's not as many ideas to juggle. These Lo$ short
stories were all an absolute joy, and yet they were the most difficult
and challenging stories I'll probably ever do. That's why I always say I
don't write such great dialogue nor draw such good art, yet I am
INTENSELY proud of my work! Take that 15-page "New Laird of Castle
McDuck" -- I think I got more accomplished in that 15 pages than in a
year worth of any given American super-hero comic.
MARK:
What was that recent 10-pager about. Oh, I'd rather forget it.
But... I had the idea in my notes about "what if" some businessman
noticed Donald's ability to tell his nephews apart even though they are
absolutely identicle, and he hires Donald as a quality control inspector
in a manufacturing plant due to his "Master" attention to detail. I'd
already made references in the past to how Donald can tell the Kids
apart, but $crooge saw them as all identicle (he's the businessman). My
story has lots of funny little bits... but I just couldn't figure out
how to work the plot; Donald apparently DOES have these powers, so how
would he screw up his job even though he DOES have this attention to
detail??? I tried to figure it that he can only do it when he's not
thinking about it -- but I just couldn't pull the basic logistics off
smoothly. The whole story seemed "forced" to me -- so I don't like it.
Feh.
Yes, when I first saw a U$ #289 (with part V), the first thing I
did was wince and cuss at the color printing! In my issue there are at
least two pages grossly off register and many of the other pages that
are sorta blurry. Part of the blurring is something I didn't know was
done which you seem to mention, and I wonder how they even go about it
-- but I see off-register lines of blue and red coloring next to solid
black lines. They lay color over the black to beef it up, eh? I didn't
know they had to do that. The whole story looked PALE to me, which is
odd since I LIKE the pale coloring and black-blacks of old comics --
makes the art stand out and the backgrounds stay back, unlike the way
modern lurid color printing does. Still, I was upset for an instant by
the pale look -- perhaps since I've gotten used to seeing these stories
in umpty-um foreign editions on slick paper with jet-black ink (and
completely uninspired coloring) and I get shocked by the pale black inks
in the Gladstones and inspired coloring botched at the printing plant.
FRANK:
How do I define a "gag" story? Asking me that made me stop and
think long enough to realize I HAVE done gag stories since 1990. I did
that Olympics story in 1993, and had almost successfully blotted it from
my memory, thank you. That was another uninspired gag story. And those
others you mention which were "adventure" oriented ("On Stolen Time",
"Super Snooper Strikes Again" were long (15-page?) gag stories. And yet
none of these 15-page Lo$ stories are gag stories. I think the
difference in these 15-pagers is that the Lo$ stories are so loaded with
logistic problems of continuity and references to past stories and
foreshadowing to future stories, etc., etc., that they are far more
complex to those self-contained gag stories of the same length. Anyway,
that's my definition. The gag stories are far easier to do in a sense,
but they are difficult for me because I can't maintain interest
(inspiration?) when there's not as many ideas to juggle. These Lo$ short
stories were all an absolute joy, and yet they were the most difficult
and challenging stories I'll probably ever do. That's why I always say I
don't write such great dialogue nor draw such good art, yet I am
INTENSELY proud of my work! Take that 15-page "New Laird of Castle
McDuck" -- I think I got more accomplished in that 15 pages than in a
year worth of any given American super-hero comic.
MARK:
What was that recent 10-pager about. Oh, I'd rather forget it.
But... I had the idea in my notes about "what if" some businessman
noticed Donald's ability to tell his nephews apart even though they are
absolutely identicle, and he hires Donald as a quality control inspector
in a manufacturing plant due to his "Master" attention to detail. I'd
already made references in the past to how Donald can tell the Kids
apart, but $crooge saw them as all identicle (he's the businessman). My
story has lots of funny little bits... but I just couldn't figure out
how to work the plot; Donald apparently DOES have these powers, so how
would he screw up his job even though he DOES have this attention to
detail??? I tried to figure it that he can only do it when he's not
thinking about it -- but I just couldn't pull the basic logistics off
smoothly. The whole story seemed "forced" to me -- so I don't like it.
Feh.
Don Rosa
Disney-comics digest #462.
Message 83 -
1994-10-15 at 05:53:33
JAMES:
Funny you should mention Donald not having any close friends in
the stories. I think somebody in a "publisher" position (i.e. someone
who knows nothing about writing or drawing or stories or humor or
anything else, but who all those who DO must obey) has decided that
Donald should have a best pal to be in his stories with him. And the
editors and writers are sore about this since the publisher cannot think
through his idea enough to realize that this "best pal" would serve no
function in a Donald story... that's why there's never been one. He
can't be more flawed a character than Donald or he's steal the stories
from him. He would therefore need to be the saner of the duo... and this
is the function that the nephew team fulfills, but Donald doesn't need
to follow the Kids' advice since they're just kids. If there was an
adult around with Donald to tell him how to act like an adult the whole
story system would collapse.
MATTIAS:
I will arrive in Goteborg on Oct. 27 and attend the entire book
fair. On that Sunday afternoon I'll go to Oslo to do who knows what they
have lined up as far as promotional tours or whatever. Then on Thursday
evening I'll go to Stockholm and leave there early Monday.
But I thought you knew: Ann won't be coming. I had agreed to a
nearly 2-week trip only if I managed to find a way for her to accompany
me for part of the trip. Then we were invited to Germany for several
weeks in June. Ann can't take off so much time from work other than
about ONE week somewhere, and she finally decided to use that week in
Germany. She loved Scandanavia... but given the choice of seeing
Scandanavia a second time in the winter, and seeing Germany for the
first time and in the spring... she decided on Germany. The problem is
that I was already tied to a 2-week trip here coming up... and I'm a
little sorry about that now. I'll enjoy it loads -- but that's an extra
long time to be separated from both my wife and my PAYING job.
RON:
I've said this so many times that I'm sure it's tantamount to
nagging. But I really don't need for you to repeat passages of my past
messages, or (as in this case) almost my ENTIRE other message, just so
you can comment on it. I know what I said -- and all this repeating just
needlessly adds to the costs for those of us who are paying by the ounce
to read these Digests. I know I'm a voice in the wilderness, but I
really think everyone can carry on these discussions the same way I
do... you note I never repeat people's messages to them when I reply.
Are my replies unclear as a result? Tell me if they are. I just think
these Digests can be reduced in size about 25-30% by refraining from
all this repeating.
(And PLEASE... I am NOT picking on you!)
Funny you should mention Donald not having any close friends in
the stories. I think somebody in a "publisher" position (i.e. someone
who knows nothing about writing or drawing or stories or humor or
anything else, but who all those who DO must obey) has decided that
Donald should have a best pal to be in his stories with him. And the
editors and writers are sore about this since the publisher cannot think
through his idea enough to realize that this "best pal" would serve no
function in a Donald story... that's why there's never been one. He
can't be more flawed a character than Donald or he's steal the stories
from him. He would therefore need to be the saner of the duo... and this
is the function that the nephew team fulfills, but Donald doesn't need
to follow the Kids' advice since they're just kids. If there was an
adult around with Donald to tell him how to act like an adult the whole
story system would collapse.
MATTIAS:
I will arrive in Goteborg on Oct. 27 and attend the entire book
fair. On that Sunday afternoon I'll go to Oslo to do who knows what they
have lined up as far as promotional tours or whatever. Then on Thursday
evening I'll go to Stockholm and leave there early Monday.
But I thought you knew: Ann won't be coming. I had agreed to a
nearly 2-week trip only if I managed to find a way for her to accompany
me for part of the trip. Then we were invited to Germany for several
weeks in June. Ann can't take off so much time from work other than
about ONE week somewhere, and she finally decided to use that week in
Germany. She loved Scandanavia... but given the choice of seeing
Scandanavia a second time in the winter, and seeing Germany for the
first time and in the spring... she decided on Germany. The problem is
that I was already tied to a 2-week trip here coming up... and I'm a
little sorry about that now. I'll enjoy it loads -- but that's an extra
long time to be separated from both my wife and my PAYING job.
RON:
I've said this so many times that I'm sure it's tantamount to
nagging. But I really don't need for you to repeat passages of my past
messages, or (as in this case) almost my ENTIRE other message, just so
you can comment on it. I know what I said -- and all this repeating just
needlessly adds to the costs for those of us who are paying by the ounce
to read these Digests. I know I'm a voice in the wilderness, but I
really think everyone can carry on these discussions the same way I
do... you note I never repeat people's messages to them when I reply.
Are my replies unclear as a result? Tell me if they are. I just think
these Digests can be reduced in size about 25-30% by refraining from
all this repeating.
(And PLEASE... I am NOT picking on you!)
Mattias Hallin
Disney-comics digest #463.
Message 84 -
1994-10-16 at 15:36:55
DON:
No -- you never said Ann wasn't coming; the last time you mentioned your
Scandinavian trip, I got a clear impression you said she *would* come! But --
that's neither here nor there; I do have a day off from work Friday oct. 28th,
and will be checking on train schedules and -fares to see if I can make it to
Goteborg or not; I do have to be back in Lund by about 7 pm, and well... it
remains to be seen if I can afford to!
Also, about your comments to Ron, I agree though for a different reason that
quoting previous messages ought to be kept to a minimum. Personally I *don't*
have to pay-per-read, since I use an account at my workplace, but too many
quotes in a message IMO makes it so much less readable that I often skip it.
Now, there are times when quotes are rather necessary, e.g. when Geir or RoC or
someone is commenting on several weeks worth of discussions, but in our daily
discussions I think we ought to keep the quotes to a minimum. This is eassilly
done by either editing out everything but the bare essentials from the message
you're quoting, or by shortly recapping the qestion or issue you want to
comment on in the beginning of your own posting; check the first sentence of
this paragraph, f'rinstance ("Also, about your comments to Ron...") -- I use 24
words of my own to recap the issue/previous message that I'm commenting on. I
think this is a better practice.
All my best!
Mattias
**** Mattias Hallin ** Lund * Sweden ** <Mattias.Hallin at jurenh.lu.se> ****
* *
* "Oh bury me thar! With my battered git-tar! *
************** A-screamin' my heart out fer yew!" *************
No -- you never said Ann wasn't coming; the last time you mentioned your
Scandinavian trip, I got a clear impression you said she *would* come! But --
that's neither here nor there; I do have a day off from work Friday oct. 28th,
and will be checking on train schedules and -fares to see if I can make it to
Goteborg or not; I do have to be back in Lund by about 7 pm, and well... it
remains to be seen if I can afford to!
Also, about your comments to Ron, I agree though for a different reason that
quoting previous messages ought to be kept to a minimum. Personally I *don't*
have to pay-per-read, since I use an account at my workplace, but too many
quotes in a message IMO makes it so much less readable that I often skip it.
Now, there are times when quotes are rather necessary, e.g. when Geir or RoC or
someone is commenting on several weeks worth of discussions, but in our daily
discussions I think we ought to keep the quotes to a minimum. This is eassilly
done by either editing out everything but the bare essentials from the message
you're quoting, or by shortly recapping the qestion or issue you want to
comment on in the beginning of your own posting; check the first sentence of
this paragraph, f'rinstance ("Also, about your comments to Ron...") -- I use 24
words of my own to recap the issue/previous message that I'm commenting on. I
think this is a better practice.
All my best!
Mattias
**** Mattias Hallin ** Lund * Sweden ** <Mattias.Hallin at jurenh.lu.se> ****
* *
* "Oh bury me thar! With my battered git-tar! *
************** A-screamin' my heart out fer yew!" *************
Fredrik Ekman
Signatures
Message 85 -
1994-10-16 at 18:20:27
On Fri, 14 Oct 1994, Jørgen Andreas Bangor wrote:
> I see that I have to check the frontcovers a bit better in the future.
> Does anybody know of any other signatures or other things hidden in the
> art (I know Don's D.U.C.K. :)
Well, you've got Van Horn's insects, if that counts as a signature. One
or more insects have appeared in every story I've seen by him _except_
"Deck Us All" (D 93050) and that takes place in the middle of snowy
December.
/F
> I see that I have to check the frontcovers a bit better in the future.
> Does anybody know of any other signatures or other things hidden in the
> art (I know Don's D.U.C.K. :)
Well, you've got Van Horn's insects, if that counts as a signature. One
or more insects have appeared in every story I've seen by him _except_
"Deck Us All" (D 93050) and that takes place in the middle of snowy
December.
/F
Per Starback
Oil book
Message 86 -
1994-10-16 at 19:35:25
RoC wrote that
> Something special is probably also in the pipes for Egmont's
> complete edition, scheduled for 1996.
and when James Williams asked about more about this, he continued by
saying that
> it's the German publisher Ehapa's reworked and updated version
> of Cochran's and Hamilton's 1981 catalogue of Barks oils,
i.e. _The Fine Art of Walt Disney's Donald Duck by Carl Barks_.
So it is Ehapa who will publish it, and not Egmont? I'm looking
forward to it already!
-- "
Per Starback, Uppsala, Sweden. email: starback at minsk.docs.uu.se
"Everything comes to him who sits and waits!"
> Something special is probably also in the pipes for Egmont's
> complete edition, scheduled for 1996.
and when James Williams asked about more about this, he continued by
saying that
> it's the German publisher Ehapa's reworked and updated version
> of Cochran's and Hamilton's 1981 catalogue of Barks oils,
i.e. _The Fine Art of Walt Disney's Donald Duck by Carl Barks_.
So it is Ehapa who will publish it, and not Egmont? I'm looking
forward to it already!
-- "
Per Starback, Uppsala, Sweden. email: starback at minsk.docs.uu.se
"Everything comes to him who sits and waits!"
Ed Berndt
PARENT GREETINGS-Please! Thanks!
Message 87 -
1994-10-17 at 04:33:07
> > Hello,
> >
> > Three teachers at Basin City Elementary in the North Franklin School
> > District in the State of Washington are using the Internet with their
> > fourth grade students this year for the first time. We have 52 children in
> > our fourth grade classes and they are exited and eager to begin using and
> > learning about the Internet. These students and their teachers are the
> > only ones in the entire North Franklin School District that have a
> > connection to the Internet. The reason they have a connection is because
> > they applied and were accepted into a special State of Washington
> > Telecommunication project entitled "Best of Washington".
> >
> > We (the fourth grade teachers) are writing because we need you
> > help. First, we want to amaze our student'sparents and get THEM truly
> > enthused at our "Parents' Internet Night" on Monday, October 24 We also
> > wish to demonstrate to our school board how far the internet reaches and
> > its scope. We would greatly appreciate a quick message from as many
> > people and as many countries as possibel We will have a map of the world and
> > put flags on the places we get messages from. Also ( if it is no
> > trouble) we would appreciate your sharing your career (job) with us. This
> > would allow us to see the variety of people and their work that is on the
> > internet.
> >
> > Please send a short messages that tells us where you are from (country,
> > city, area) and what you do for a living. We would appreciate it and we
> > will write back and share the results with you.
> >
> > If you dicide to help us, please:
> >
> > send your e-mail to: eberndt at mirage.esd123.wednet.edu Do not send your
> > leters (messages) to the list. Thanks in advance!
> >
> > Ed Berndt
> > 4th Grade Teacher
> > Basin City Elementary * *
> > E-Mail Address: eberndt at mirage.esd123.wednet.edu @
> > :-) :-) :-) :-) Have a good day. :-) :-) \___/
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
> >
> > Three teachers at Basin City Elementary in the North Franklin School
> > District in the State of Washington are using the Internet with their
> > fourth grade students this year for the first time. We have 52 children in
> > our fourth grade classes and they are exited and eager to begin using and
> > learning about the Internet. These students and their teachers are the
> > only ones in the entire North Franklin School District that have a
> > connection to the Internet. The reason they have a connection is because
> > they applied and were accepted into a special State of Washington
> > Telecommunication project entitled "Best of Washington".
> >
> > We (the fourth grade teachers) are writing because we need you
> > help. First, we want to amaze our student'sparents and get THEM truly
> > enthused at our "Parents' Internet Night" on Monday, October 24 We also
> > wish to demonstrate to our school board how far the internet reaches and
> > its scope. We would greatly appreciate a quick message from as many
> > people and as many countries as possibel We will have a map of the world and
> > put flags on the places we get messages from. Also ( if it is no
> > trouble) we would appreciate your sharing your career (job) with us. This
> > would allow us to see the variety of people and their work that is on the
> > internet.
> >
> > Please send a short messages that tells us where you are from (country,
> > city, area) and what you do for a living. We would appreciate it and we
> > will write back and share the results with you.
> >
> > If you dicide to help us, please:
> >
> > send your e-mail to: eberndt at mirage.esd123.wednet.edu Do not send your
> > leters (messages) to the list. Thanks in advance!
> >
> > Ed Berndt
> > 4th Grade Teacher
> > Basin City Elementary * *
> > E-Mail Address: eberndt at mirage.esd123.wednet.edu @
> > :-) :-) :-) :-) Have a good day. :-) :-) \___/
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
H.W. Fluks
Wendigo, Database, Rota, Database
Message 88 -
1994-10-17 at 11:35:09
I promised to type in the English Wendigo "poetry". I thought it was
a small part of the story. But now that I re-read the script, I realise
that EVERYTHING the Wendigos say is "poetry".
I didn't even notice that when I read the English text the first time.
I guess that is because I don't read the English loud, and it wasn't
rhyming. The original Barks story was like this as well, I guess... I only
read the Dutch version of it.
So I agree with Don now: the poetry pieces would make no sense if you don't
have the entire story.
**** start of boring Database stuff ****
David (good you found access to internet again):
> Harry, this story is now known as "The Gleam" (remember, Mickey
> has solved many jewel robberies) and will be titled as such when
> Gladstone eventually uses it. Isn't it called that in our database?
I have (so far) had the following policy WRT story descriptions in the
Disney comics Database:
if a story has no title on its own, but it had one in a reprint,
the reprint title is taken using R: as a prefix. If it has no title anywhere,
an 'official' decription is used (D:). Mostly from the Carl Barks Library
in Color, or from the book "MM in Color".
In the case of the Gleam, the story was reprinted WITH a title, so that
R: overrides the "MM in Color" description. When Gladstone uses it, and
uses "The Gleam" as a story title, I can use that as an "official" title.
(If a story is reprinted twice with different titles, I just take one...)
Of course, I could change the 'policy'. But the idea was that titles in
reprints are a bit more "official" than descriptions outside the story.
**** end of boring Database stuff ****
Ole about Marco Rota:
> His best, IMHO, is however "Night of the Saracen", code unknown, another
> Viking story, except it's more like Arabian Nights.
I agree that the Saracen story is very good. But Rota's recent stories for
Egmont are getting worse.
BTW: The Saracen story appeared in a special comic in Italy, hence it has
no "normal" story code.
Ole again:
> Harry: thank you for the 'Diznirep' files and data. Lasse could tell
> that you are a real programmer!
I hope you are able to compile and run the programs! And yes,
programming is part of my job (if that makes me a 'real programmer' 8-).
And I'd love to see your current Danish index!
Fredrik:
> I've also got some comments on the database, but I'll gather some more
> ammunition before I dump them onto you.
You're making me curious...
Thanks for the thanks.
--Harry.
a small part of the story. But now that I re-read the script, I realise
that EVERYTHING the Wendigos say is "poetry".
I didn't even notice that when I read the English text the first time.
I guess that is because I don't read the English loud, and it wasn't
rhyming. The original Barks story was like this as well, I guess... I only
read the Dutch version of it.
So I agree with Don now: the poetry pieces would make no sense if you don't
have the entire story.
**** start of boring Database stuff ****
David (good you found access to internet again):
> Harry, this story is now known as "The Gleam" (remember, Mickey
> has solved many jewel robberies) and will be titled as such when
> Gladstone eventually uses it. Isn't it called that in our database?
I have (so far) had the following policy WRT story descriptions in the
Disney comics Database:
if a story has no title on its own, but it had one in a reprint,
the reprint title is taken using R: as a prefix. If it has no title anywhere,
an 'official' decription is used (D:). Mostly from the Carl Barks Library
in Color, or from the book "MM in Color".
In the case of the Gleam, the story was reprinted WITH a title, so that
R: overrides the "MM in Color" description. When Gladstone uses it, and
uses "The Gleam" as a story title, I can use that as an "official" title.
(If a story is reprinted twice with different titles, I just take one...)
Of course, I could change the 'policy'. But the idea was that titles in
reprints are a bit more "official" than descriptions outside the story.
**** end of boring Database stuff ****
Ole about Marco Rota:
> His best, IMHO, is however "Night of the Saracen", code unknown, another
> Viking story, except it's more like Arabian Nights.
I agree that the Saracen story is very good. But Rota's recent stories for
Egmont are getting worse.
BTW: The Saracen story appeared in a special comic in Italy, hence it has
no "normal" story code.
Ole again:
> Harry: thank you for the 'Diznirep' files and data. Lasse could tell
> that you are a real programmer!
I hope you are able to compile and run the programs! And yes,
programming is part of my job (if that makes me a 'real programmer' 8-).
And I'd love to see your current Danish index!
Fredrik:
> I've also got some comments on the database, but I'll gather some more
> ammunition before I dump them onto you.
You're making me curious...
Thanks for the thanks.
--Harry.
H.W. Fluks
Rosa in Disney-comics digest #460.
Message 89 -
1994-10-17 at 12:15:11
Don:
> Do the Digests have titles?
When you reply (or send a new message), your computer should give you an
editor window with a line starting with "Subject:" somewhere on top.
The text behind this is the "title" (mostly called "subject" 8-) of the
message. If you reply, the text is already filled in: it's the subject of
the message you reply to. You should be able to edit this. Per has a
program that puts all the "subjects" of the messages in a digest in the
"contents" header.
Maybe there are some list members that scan messages on subject: only read
those messages that have an interesting subject.
But don't worry too much about this: your messages are (almost) always
interesting, and (almost) always regard the entire previous digest, so
your subjects are quite accurate...
> I notice everyone's
> contributions seem to have titles that they add themselves, while mine
> always have the titles as I describe above.
Funny you say that in a digest where 6 of the 7 messages carry the title
"Disney-comics digest #459"...
--Harry.
> Do the Digests have titles?
When you reply (or send a new message), your computer should give you an
editor window with a line starting with "Subject:" somewhere on top.
The text behind this is the "title" (mostly called "subject" 8-) of the
message. If you reply, the text is already filled in: it's the subject of
the message you reply to. You should be able to edit this. Per has a
program that puts all the "subjects" of the messages in a digest in the
"contents" header.
Maybe there are some list members that scan messages on subject: only read
those messages that have an interesting subject.
But don't worry too much about this: your messages are (almost) always
interesting, and (almost) always regard the entire previous digest, so
your subjects are quite accurate...
> I notice everyone's
> contributions seem to have titles that they add themselves, while mine
> always have the titles as I describe above.
Funny you say that in a digest where 6 of the 7 messages carry the title
"Disney-comics digest #459"...
--Harry.
DAVID.A.GERSTEIN
Disney-comics digest #461-463
Message 90 -
1994-10-17 at 13:36:55
Dear Folks,
Several things to chat about today.
First, Don Rosa asked me if "Humperdink" appeared more than
once as the name of Donald's grandpa. As far as I remember, yes.
Maybe not, but the fact remains that no other name was ever given
(and furthermore, wasn't Grandma's name of Elvira only used once,
too? I seem to remember that's what we concluded when discussing it
some months ago). In the particular story I recall, Grandma was in
need of money and decided to sell some antiques in her attic, but
couldn't bring herself to get rid of them in the end because each of
them reminded her of some great event in her life. Humperdink was
mentioned many times in this story.
I just got British MICKEY & FRIENDS #41/1994 today. It began
with the Mickey hypnotism gag story ("Hocus Pocus Hypnosis," D93392),
and I was completely shocked by it. You see, I believe that this
particular story was drawn by William Van Horn's son, Noel, who began
working for Egmont about a year and a half ago. (Don't hold me to
that until I get further evidence -- but I believe this to be the
case.) It certainly owes a lot to Gottfredson art c. 1942. The real
difference is in the rather rough linework, but this artist will just
take some time to get his style down pat. I'm prepared. Next, Mickey
spends the entire story talking in 1930s Gottfredson-lingo! For
example: "Yer eyes are growin' heavy! Ya can't even keep 'em open!"
And so forth (the dialogue wasn't altered much in Britain, it seems).
Mickey even says "oh, fer gosh sakes" in one panel. It's one of the
"new" Egmont Mickeys, all right. Sure is a shame that it contradicts
a Gottfredson story -- and that, in general, the tale is unspectacular.
But the fact remains that the spirit is willing. I'm beginning to look
forward to more... and if I'm right about this being Noel Van Horn,
he is apparently the guy who is going to draw my first Egmont
Mickey tale soon.
Do people want to see this in Gladstone's D&M? If enough of
you are enthusiastic about it, I can get after John to print it. But
again, it's more the mood of the story than the story itself that are
interesting in this case.
British #42 also contained a Donald/Gladstone story by Ben
Verhagen ("Got an Itch," H8235). Basically unspectacular.
Well-drawn, but I can't say I find it good enough to translate to
American idiom for use here. I wonder if the Brits are going to use
"Horsing Around with History"? No sign of it yet.
Now to the discussion of Don Rosa's "gag" stories. Well, Don,
I'll tell you my own thoughts. As far as I can figure it, "gag
stories" in your definition are those that do not involve a treasure
hunt, a villain, or any kind of long quest. So "On Stolen Time" is
an adventure, by your standards. Now then, your "gag" stories have
usually taken one of two routes. One is to create a story that moves
in a prescribed series of steps, building to a climax (i. e. "Oolated
Luck," "Recalled Wreck," "Mythological Menagerie"). Then there are
some which simply present a concept ('Donald is trying to do
such-and-such') and then bring on a series of basically unrelated
gags: for example, "Super Snooper Strikes Again," "Incident at
McDuck Tower," and "From Duckburg to Lillehammer" all contained
scenes that could have fundamentally been switched around without
harming the story's concept.
I love the former style, in which a story has a continuing
plot. The latter style somewhat leaves me less satisfied -- the
stories seem to meander about, and the climax seems sudden when it
arrives.
No matter what you say, the story you did most recently sounds
like it can't be anything but a story of the former type, the style I
like more. You may have had a harder time doing it, but it sounds
like you at least worked it out to some kind of satisfaction. I'm
looking forward to seeing it -- when Gladstone uses it in *two
years*, or however darned long it's going to be.
Last, thanks to those of you who appreciated my doing gag
stories with Mickey. Next year the standard MM format goes from
eight to ten pages (maybe I mentioned that), and I have some ideas on
the rack that ought to let Mickey really express himself. To me,
Mickey has emotions and thoughts like the best characters in fiction,
and I'm just itching to depict them!
I'll be off now, folks. Take care, and I'll be in touch
tomorrow.
David Gerstein
"Keep yer nose in the air, Monty! With any luck, your head'll
fall off backwards!"
<9475609 at arran.sms.ed.ac.uk>
Several things to chat about today.
First, Don Rosa asked me if "Humperdink" appeared more than
once as the name of Donald's grandpa. As far as I remember, yes.
Maybe not, but the fact remains that no other name was ever given
(and furthermore, wasn't Grandma's name of Elvira only used once,
too? I seem to remember that's what we concluded when discussing it
some months ago). In the particular story I recall, Grandma was in
need of money and decided to sell some antiques in her attic, but
couldn't bring herself to get rid of them in the end because each of
them reminded her of some great event in her life. Humperdink was
mentioned many times in this story.
I just got British MICKEY & FRIENDS #41/1994 today. It began
with the Mickey hypnotism gag story ("Hocus Pocus Hypnosis," D93392),
and I was completely shocked by it. You see, I believe that this
particular story was drawn by William Van Horn's son, Noel, who began
working for Egmont about a year and a half ago. (Don't hold me to
that until I get further evidence -- but I believe this to be the
case.) It certainly owes a lot to Gottfredson art c. 1942. The real
difference is in the rather rough linework, but this artist will just
take some time to get his style down pat. I'm prepared. Next, Mickey
spends the entire story talking in 1930s Gottfredson-lingo! For
example: "Yer eyes are growin' heavy! Ya can't even keep 'em open!"
And so forth (the dialogue wasn't altered much in Britain, it seems).
Mickey even says "oh, fer gosh sakes" in one panel. It's one of the
"new" Egmont Mickeys, all right. Sure is a shame that it contradicts
a Gottfredson story -- and that, in general, the tale is unspectacular.
But the fact remains that the spirit is willing. I'm beginning to look
forward to more... and if I'm right about this being Noel Van Horn,
he is apparently the guy who is going to draw my first Egmont
Mickey tale soon.
Do people want to see this in Gladstone's D&M? If enough of
you are enthusiastic about it, I can get after John to print it. But
again, it's more the mood of the story than the story itself that are
interesting in this case.
British #42 also contained a Donald/Gladstone story by Ben
Verhagen ("Got an Itch," H8235). Basically unspectacular.
Well-drawn, but I can't say I find it good enough to translate to
American idiom for use here. I wonder if the Brits are going to use
"Horsing Around with History"? No sign of it yet.
Now to the discussion of Don Rosa's "gag" stories. Well, Don,
I'll tell you my own thoughts. As far as I can figure it, "gag
stories" in your definition are those that do not involve a treasure
hunt, a villain, or any kind of long quest. So "On Stolen Time" is
an adventure, by your standards. Now then, your "gag" stories have
usually taken one of two routes. One is to create a story that moves
in a prescribed series of steps, building to a climax (i. e. "Oolated
Luck," "Recalled Wreck," "Mythological Menagerie"). Then there are
some which simply present a concept ('Donald is trying to do
such-and-such') and then bring on a series of basically unrelated
gags: for example, "Super Snooper Strikes Again," "Incident at
McDuck Tower," and "From Duckburg to Lillehammer" all contained
scenes that could have fundamentally been switched around without
harming the story's concept.
I love the former style, in which a story has a continuing
plot. The latter style somewhat leaves me less satisfied -- the
stories seem to meander about, and the climax seems sudden when it
arrives.
No matter what you say, the story you did most recently sounds
like it can't be anything but a story of the former type, the style I
like more. You may have had a harder time doing it, but it sounds
like you at least worked it out to some kind of satisfaction. I'm
looking forward to seeing it -- when Gladstone uses it in *two
years*, or however darned long it's going to be.
Last, thanks to those of you who appreciated my doing gag
stories with Mickey. Next year the standard MM format goes from
eight to ten pages (maybe I mentioned that), and I have some ideas on
the rack that ought to let Mickey really express himself. To me,
Mickey has emotions and thoughts like the best characters in fiction,
and I'm just itching to depict them!
I'll be off now, folks. Take care, and I'll be in touch
tomorrow.
David Gerstein
"Keep yer nose in the air, Monty! With any luck, your head'll
fall off backwards!"
<9475609 at arran.sms.ed.ac.uk>