Date: 08-Feb-1995 11:14am EST
From: DeBlieck, August
ADEBLIEC
Dept: STUDENT
Tel No:
TO: Remote INTERNET Address ( _IN%DISNEY-COMICS at MINSK.DOCS.UU.SE )
Subject: Life of Uncle $crooge
DAVID: Will have to reread those stories over the weekend and get back to
you on Monday about them. Although, to tell you the truth, a lot of what
you wrote makes sense. :)
JORGEN AND DON: Here we go, at long last:
For those of you who need a refresher: Jorgen asked me close to
two months ago what I, as a relative newcomer to $crooge lore,
thought of Don's The Life and Times of Uncle $crooge. Don echoed
his question, and I promised an answer as soon as school began.
School has begun, I'm back on e-mail every day, and one of my New
Year's Resolutions is to post more on the e-mailing lists I'm on.
(Now if only Donald had stuck to this one instead of that silly
"I will not get angry" one. ;)
I spent the last weekend rereading the series to refresh my
memory. Trust me, there are worse things to do than read these
issues again. :)
How do I look upon it? I enjoy it as stories which stand alone
on their own, and not merely as a compilation of facts culled
from Carl Barks' work. That is, even when I don't know where the
references are - or even if they exist - I still enjoy the
stories. I am proud of the fact that I did catch a couple
references. (The Square Egg story comes immediately to mind.
Oddly, this is one I've heard a lot about, but have yet to read.)
A lot of references I picked up on from their admittedly
bastardized version from DuckTales. (Uncle Seafoam's gold teeth,
for example, was the basis of one DuckTales episode. Even, to a
more limited degree, the tale of Scrooge's first dime - to the
extent that I know he got it shining shoes and being 'smarter
than the smarties', although DT may have gotten that in the wrong
order.)
I'm learning a heck of a lot as I go along. I didn't know much
of Scrooge's family before, for example. Thanks to chapter 1
alone, I can remember all of them - almost. (What's his mother's
first name?) I understand why HDL and Donald and U$ are all
uncle's and nephew's. It's been a big help. And it's part of
the reason chapter 1 is probably my favorite. That last page is
a masterpiece.
I am saddened to admit that I didn't catch the Afrikaner Glomgold
references soon enough, though. :(
Don's annotations are invaluable references for newbies like
myself. A few of the stories to which he has alluded I have
reprints of. It's fun to go back and reread them, to see how
much more impressive Don's work is. He's taken off-the-cuff
remarks flipped out of U$'s mouth in the middle of an action
scene, and turned them into a believable and workable story.
Part of why I enjoy Lo$ so much, methinks, is that I'm a
superhero comic junkie, as well. Don's Lo$ is quite like a
superhero tale in that it tells our favorite character's origin
and early days in a believable chronology. I was talking to my
comic book dealer who sells the Gladstone comics about this and
he just shook his head and said, "Tsk, I think you're bringing
superhero continuity into this." And he's partially right.
These are merely fun little stories, told terrifically by Carl
Barks. They really shouldn't be taken so seriously. But I do.
And so do most of the people on this list. (Even though you guys
have been doing this longer than I.) It's just as relevant an
approach, and even more fun, than just dismissing it as a simple
set of fun stories.
I'm not quite sure what else to say. If you have any other
questions, feel free to ask - I'd be more than happy to answer
them for you. But the simple answer to your question is that I
enjoy the stories as stories unto themselves, and then I am
impressed by the research that went into them. I don't get all
the references, though it's always a personal accomplishment when
I do. :)
My only potential let down of the series is that when it's done,
we in America probably won't have Todd Klein lettering Don's work
anymore. :( Don, any chance of keeping Todd on to letter all
your stories?
Also, while I'm here, I am excited every month by the new
Gladstone comics. I must admit to being slightly amazed at a
large number of people on this list. Due to my inexperience,
almost every Barks reprint is new to me. (The exception being
some of the one-pagers.) I can't imagine what it will be like
when every reprint is one I've already read. It's a day that
will bring not only a sense of accomplishment, but also one of
sadness. But I'll have to wait to cross that bridge until I come
to it. I imagine it will be nice to reread them for the first
time in years, I guess, since I will have last seen them, and in
whatever new format we have for comics in the future. (Duck
stories on the glossy paper, like the superhero books? I hope
not.)
I've gone on way too long. I now return you to the regular list.
-Augie De Blieck Jr.
"This was once a noble house, lad! McDucks sailed forth in fear
o' no man born o' woman... except maybe the tax collector!"
-Sir Quackly McDuck
Author
Topic: 199502
(185 messages)
August DeBlieck
Life of Uncle $crooge
Message 76 -
1995-02-08 at 18:17:08
STUDENTD SCHEIBEL
Animation
Message 77 -
1995-02-08 at 19:50:11
To whomever recieves this message,
I am 17 years old and am very much interested in
animation. I have been drawing since at least kindergarten.
I was wondering if you could send me some information on
what college classes I should take. if I were to be a Disney
animator. I have been to the animation studio in MGM studios
and that was pretty helpful but I still need more
information.
Thank you for your time.
Danny Fitzpatrick
I am 17 years old and am very much interested in
animation. I have been drawing since at least kindergarten.
I was wondering if you could send me some information on
what college classes I should take. if I were to be a Disney
animator. I have been to the animation studio in MGM studios
and that was pretty helpful but I still need more
information.
Thank you for your time.
Danny Fitzpatrick
Cdoberman
Alexander's Tomb
Message 78 -
1995-02-08 at 23:17:25
I know there was some discussion a week or so ago about the discovery of
Alexander's Tomb. The New York Times reported on Monday: A high-level
archaeological team from the Greek government, investigating claims that the
tomb of Alexander the Great had been discovered in Egypt's western desert,
visited the site Sunday and siad they saw no evidence that the tomb had been
found.
But Liana Souvaltzi, the archaeologist who announed last week that she had
found the tomb outside the oasis of Siwa, said Saturday: "I have no
reservations. This is Alexander's tomb. There is no doubt."
She said the tomb was built in Macedonian style and that three tablets uncover
ed at the site provided the archaelogical proof.
Souvaltzi wouldn't let any one from the team see her report or accompany them
to the site. The inscriptions on the tablets were translated by her
husband, who has no formal training. He also provides the financing for her
research.
It goes on, but I won't. Sounds like the Greek government disagrees with
each claim made by the archaeologist. Better send in Scrooge McDuck.
DON: BTW -- my wife and I were as amazed at the beauty of the tobacco plants
displayed, as we were stunned by the fact that 1,000 children would raise a
lethal drug for their 4-H Club agriculture project. Sad. (I've lived in
Utah, Montana, New England, California and the Ohio Valley -- you're right
about Utah and Wyoming, they both have their amazing spots. But I still
think Kentucky is one of the most beautiful states in the country.)
Wes Andersen
Alexander's Tomb. The New York Times reported on Monday: A high-level
archaeological team from the Greek government, investigating claims that the
tomb of Alexander the Great had been discovered in Egypt's western desert,
visited the site Sunday and siad they saw no evidence that the tomb had been
found.
But Liana Souvaltzi, the archaeologist who announed last week that she had
found the tomb outside the oasis of Siwa, said Saturday: "I have no
reservations. This is Alexander's tomb. There is no doubt."
She said the tomb was built in Macedonian style and that three tablets uncover
ed at the site provided the archaelogical proof.
Souvaltzi wouldn't let any one from the team see her report or accompany them
to the site. The inscriptions on the tablets were translated by her
husband, who has no formal training. He also provides the financing for her
research.
It goes on, but I won't. Sounds like the Greek government disagrees with
each claim made by the archaeologist. Better send in Scrooge McDuck.
DON: BTW -- my wife and I were as amazed at the beauty of the tobacco plants
displayed, as we were stunned by the fact that 1,000 children would raise a
lethal drug for their 4-H Club agriculture project. Sad. (I've lived in
Utah, Montana, New England, California and the Ohio Valley -- you're right
about Utah and Wyoming, they both have their amazing spots. But I still
think Kentucky is one of the most beautiful states in the country.)
Wes Andersen
Don Rosa
Disney-comics digest #577.
Message 79 -
1995-02-09 at 06:53:52
First of all, allow me to request that, for the love a god, would
somebody PLEASE unsubscribe "hyung hwan chung"!!!
AUGIE:
Thanks for the comments of a "newbie" on the Lo$. You seem to be getting
just the sort of feeling and enjoyment out of it that I hoped all readers would.
And you make me happy that I'm doing those accompanying texts to help people
check out the references.
As for your dealer's suggestion/accusation that I should not be bringing
"super-hero continuity" into Duck comics, I can understand why this objection
arises, but I don't think it's valid, or I at least don't think everyone should
expect every artist or writer to do Duck stories that match their particular
preference. As I've said, I don't expect everyone to like my stories, but the
solution for those who don't like 'em is to simply not read 'em, not complain
that I'm putting something into their Duck comics that they don't want; I don't
change the comics they like, I do OTHER comics that they can simply ignore.
But the whole idea of continuity being "bad" stems from the fact that
these are readers (like myself!) who dislike what American super-hero comics
have turned our industry into, and we recall that the very FIRST aspect of the
birth of these sort of modern super-hero stories was CONTINUITY -- therefore,
continuity is BAD. My love for continuity comes from two things -- first being
my love of Mort Weisinger's Superman comics of the late 50s-early 60s -- these
were not forerunners of modern 1990's super-heroes, but were the last hurrah of
1930s science-fiction from whence those writers sprung. The continuity was a
sign of respect for the reader and a recognition of the fact that understanding
continuity gives a reader are far deeper understanding of characterization.
Secondly, I love history and I love accuracy and I love detail -- with these
thoughts in my head, I have NO CHOICE but to utilize continuity in my stories.
In fact, even before I was reading Weisinger Superman stories, in the lil'
private comic books I did when I was about 10, I was using strict continuity
tactics. That's just me -- it has nothing to do with "Marvel super-heroes" and
though it may not be everyone's cuppa tea, it's silly to say it's inherently
bad.
I'm glad you seem to like that stuff -- thanx. But as I've said to the
two people who ever voiced a dislike to my face to my continuity and sequels
(the other Gladstone Duck writer and writer/artist): "I'm very sorry you don't
like it -- but expect many years of more of the same."
WES:
This nonsense about Alexander the Great's tomb is an object lesson in
what I deal with when I do my research. As you can see what is very probably the
case here, historians and archaeologists come in all sorts, and there are many
who will make loud proclamations either out of delusion or dishonesty to enhance
their prestige and future careers. I'll be very surprised that any other
historians agree with the spurious claims that Alex's tomb has been found --
when I first read the reports, I thought it a highly dubious idea that the man
who conquered the world and built some of the greatest cities and temples of the
time, had his remains hauled out into the middle of nowhere in a region far from
his homeland or conquests and was entombed in a little hovel of a crypt by
Ptolemy, his #1 general who loved him and would have wanted to enshrine him
forever in the city of his greatest achievements. How silly.
DANNY F.:
We don't get into animation much around here. But if you think there's
much of a future in animation, perhaps you should look closer at those
"animators" you see behind the glass at the MGM Studio tour. The accompanying
video with Cronkite and Williams shows the animation techniques of 30-40 years
ago as if they were still being used today. Disney animation is now done either
by computers or by minimum wage workers in Korea or such. Those "animators"
behind the glass were all busy making "seriographs" (fake animation cels) and
painting fake animator's models all to be sold by Disney Fine Art Editions in
the collectible-lout market. Perhaps you can be an animation director or
character designer... but it doesn't take many of them in the entire industry of
the future, and you'd hafta be slick to get one of those jobs. Learning computer
programming might be what one should study to be in the future animation bizniz.
But then, I do comic books and really don't know much about it all...
somebody PLEASE unsubscribe "hyung hwan chung"!!!
AUGIE:
Thanks for the comments of a "newbie" on the Lo$. You seem to be getting
just the sort of feeling and enjoyment out of it that I hoped all readers would.
And you make me happy that I'm doing those accompanying texts to help people
check out the references.
As for your dealer's suggestion/accusation that I should not be bringing
"super-hero continuity" into Duck comics, I can understand why this objection
arises, but I don't think it's valid, or I at least don't think everyone should
expect every artist or writer to do Duck stories that match their particular
preference. As I've said, I don't expect everyone to like my stories, but the
solution for those who don't like 'em is to simply not read 'em, not complain
that I'm putting something into their Duck comics that they don't want; I don't
change the comics they like, I do OTHER comics that they can simply ignore.
But the whole idea of continuity being "bad" stems from the fact that
these are readers (like myself!) who dislike what American super-hero comics
have turned our industry into, and we recall that the very FIRST aspect of the
birth of these sort of modern super-hero stories was CONTINUITY -- therefore,
continuity is BAD. My love for continuity comes from two things -- first being
my love of Mort Weisinger's Superman comics of the late 50s-early 60s -- these
were not forerunners of modern 1990's super-heroes, but were the last hurrah of
1930s science-fiction from whence those writers sprung. The continuity was a
sign of respect for the reader and a recognition of the fact that understanding
continuity gives a reader are far deeper understanding of characterization.
Secondly, I love history and I love accuracy and I love detail -- with these
thoughts in my head, I have NO CHOICE but to utilize continuity in my stories.
In fact, even before I was reading Weisinger Superman stories, in the lil'
private comic books I did when I was about 10, I was using strict continuity
tactics. That's just me -- it has nothing to do with "Marvel super-heroes" and
though it may not be everyone's cuppa tea, it's silly to say it's inherently
bad.
I'm glad you seem to like that stuff -- thanx. But as I've said to the
two people who ever voiced a dislike to my face to my continuity and sequels
(the other Gladstone Duck writer and writer/artist): "I'm very sorry you don't
like it -- but expect many years of more of the same."
WES:
This nonsense about Alexander the Great's tomb is an object lesson in
what I deal with when I do my research. As you can see what is very probably the
case here, historians and archaeologists come in all sorts, and there are many
who will make loud proclamations either out of delusion or dishonesty to enhance
their prestige and future careers. I'll be very surprised that any other
historians agree with the spurious claims that Alex's tomb has been found --
when I first read the reports, I thought it a highly dubious idea that the man
who conquered the world and built some of the greatest cities and temples of the
time, had his remains hauled out into the middle of nowhere in a region far from
his homeland or conquests and was entombed in a little hovel of a crypt by
Ptolemy, his #1 general who loved him and would have wanted to enshrine him
forever in the city of his greatest achievements. How silly.
DANNY F.:
We don't get into animation much around here. But if you think there's
much of a future in animation, perhaps you should look closer at those
"animators" you see behind the glass at the MGM Studio tour. The accompanying
video with Cronkite and Williams shows the animation techniques of 30-40 years
ago as if they were still being used today. Disney animation is now done either
by computers or by minimum wage workers in Korea or such. Those "animators"
behind the glass were all busy making "seriographs" (fake animation cels) and
painting fake animator's models all to be sold by Disney Fine Art Editions in
the collectible-lout market. Perhaps you can be an animation director or
character designer... but it doesn't take many of them in the entire industry of
the future, and you'd hafta be slick to get one of those jobs. Learning computer
programming might be what one should study to be in the future animation bizniz.
But then, I do comic books and really don't know much about it all...
Wilmer Rivers
Animation and comics
Message 80 -
1995-02-09 at 13:40:09
Don Rosa writes:
> Learning computer programming might be what one should study to be
> in the future animation bizniz.
One annual event I attend with some degree of anxiety is SIGGRAPH, the
computer industry's biggest convention devoted to graphics. (I say
anxiety, because just imagine what it's like to be in a meeting attended
by 20,000 computer graphics geeks. That's a critical mass of nerds.)
Anyway, the 2 most recent SIGGRAPHs are in Orlando and Anaheim, so
you can see the driving influence behind the industry. Disney was of
course very much in presence, but so were the other studios, trying to
come up with the latest technology to surpass the wildebeest stampede
in "The Lion King" or the dinosaur stampede in "Jurassic Park". From
time to time, I get ads from Hanna-Barbera looking for computer anima-
tors, too. It's not clear whether anyone at these studios can still
draw, except for the set designers, I suppose. Which brings me (at long
last!) to the reason for this posting, namely Don's next comment:
> But then, I do comic books and really don't know much about it all...
Would you give that same advice to someone looking to break into the
comic book industry in the next 10 years or so? Since computer coloring
is commonplace, will computer art follow? (Of course, 90% of the comic
books in USA stores appear to have been WRITTEN by a computer, since
they all have pretty much the same mindless plot...)
Wilmer Rivers
> Learning computer programming might be what one should study to be
> in the future animation bizniz.
One annual event I attend with some degree of anxiety is SIGGRAPH, the
computer industry's biggest convention devoted to graphics. (I say
anxiety, because just imagine what it's like to be in a meeting attended
by 20,000 computer graphics geeks. That's a critical mass of nerds.)
Anyway, the 2 most recent SIGGRAPHs are in Orlando and Anaheim, so
you can see the driving influence behind the industry. Disney was of
course very much in presence, but so were the other studios, trying to
come up with the latest technology to surpass the wildebeest stampede
in "The Lion King" or the dinosaur stampede in "Jurassic Park". From
time to time, I get ads from Hanna-Barbera looking for computer anima-
tors, too. It's not clear whether anyone at these studios can still
draw, except for the set designers, I suppose. Which brings me (at long
last!) to the reason for this posting, namely Don's next comment:
> But then, I do comic books and really don't know much about it all...
Would you give that same advice to someone looking to break into the
comic book industry in the next 10 years or so? Since computer coloring
is commonplace, will computer art follow? (Of course, 90% of the comic
books in USA stores appear to have been WRITTEN by a computer, since
they all have pretty much the same mindless plot...)
Wilmer Rivers
Dwight Decker
Animation and comics
Message 81 -
1995-02-09 at 17:55:00
>
> Don Rosa writes:
> > Learning computer programming might be what one should study to be
> > in the future animation bizniz.
> > But then, I do comic books and really don't know much about it all...
> Would you give that same advice to someone looking to break into the
> comic book industry in the next 10 years or so?
>
I know some longtime comic-book colorists whose work has drastically
dried up within the last couple of years because the major companies
are moving to 'pooter color. A friend of mine who started a comics
packaging company invested some vast amount of money in computer
equipment so he could do on-line color as part of his services. One
guy sitting at a drawing board with a box full of Dr. Martin's paints
won't cut it anymore for funnybook coloring. As one coloring chum of
mine put it, "Does the Hulk really need fancy computer coloring effects?
Maybe not, but it's getting them."
What seems to be happening is the disappearance of the lone, self-taught
free-lancer who works at home with a few simple tools. The nature of the
industry is changing, with increasingly more sophisticated computer
equipment, and the amount of training you have to have just to get started
is going up. It isn't so much computer "programming" -- that's done by
specialists -- but being able to use the existing equipment, and keeping
up on new advances. A pal of mine is staying on in a staff job at a
funnybook company he's been wanting to leave mainly because the company
is bringing in new computers with programs he needs to learn so he can
find a new job later.
The guy who originally posted the question -- what courses he should take
in college to be an animator...well, I suppose he has to start somewhere
in his research, but it ain't that simple, and if he thinks taking a few
"college courses" is going to be enough... I guess the serious advice,
from everything I've heard, is to have a good grounding in art. Take
drawing courses. Learn perspective and form, anatomy and cartooning.
Take courses in computer graphics. Find a school with an animation
program -- Doesn't Disney sponsor one, California Institute of Art
or something like that? Also, get books on animation, learn about
the business. A lot of things can't be taught in a college course,
but have to be worked out by yourself.
Meanwhile, anybody tried to buy zip-a-tone lately? I've heard it
isn't being made any more: the architectural and drafting firms that
were the main users of the stuff have gone to computers that lay in
the toning with a click of the mouse button. Artists I know have been
frantically scouring art supply stores for whatever remaining zip
they can find. (For non-artists and our foreign friends: zip-a-tone
is a trade name for sticky-back acetate sheets with dot patterns
printed on them, used by artists for shading effects.) One more sign
that it's going to be harder for the hermit freelancer to stay
competitive without a colossal investment in training and equipment...
--Dwight Decker
> Don Rosa writes:
> > Learning computer programming might be what one should study to be
> > in the future animation bizniz.
> > But then, I do comic books and really don't know much about it all...
> Would you give that same advice to someone looking to break into the
> comic book industry in the next 10 years or so?
>
I know some longtime comic-book colorists whose work has drastically
dried up within the last couple of years because the major companies
are moving to 'pooter color. A friend of mine who started a comics
packaging company invested some vast amount of money in computer
equipment so he could do on-line color as part of his services. One
guy sitting at a drawing board with a box full of Dr. Martin's paints
won't cut it anymore for funnybook coloring. As one coloring chum of
mine put it, "Does the Hulk really need fancy computer coloring effects?
Maybe not, but it's getting them."
What seems to be happening is the disappearance of the lone, self-taught
free-lancer who works at home with a few simple tools. The nature of the
industry is changing, with increasingly more sophisticated computer
equipment, and the amount of training you have to have just to get started
is going up. It isn't so much computer "programming" -- that's done by
specialists -- but being able to use the existing equipment, and keeping
up on new advances. A pal of mine is staying on in a staff job at a
funnybook company he's been wanting to leave mainly because the company
is bringing in new computers with programs he needs to learn so he can
find a new job later.
The guy who originally posted the question -- what courses he should take
in college to be an animator...well, I suppose he has to start somewhere
in his research, but it ain't that simple, and if he thinks taking a few
"college courses" is going to be enough... I guess the serious advice,
from everything I've heard, is to have a good grounding in art. Take
drawing courses. Learn perspective and form, anatomy and cartooning.
Take courses in computer graphics. Find a school with an animation
program -- Doesn't Disney sponsor one, California Institute of Art
or something like that? Also, get books on animation, learn about
the business. A lot of things can't be taught in a college course,
but have to be worked out by yourself.
Meanwhile, anybody tried to buy zip-a-tone lately? I've heard it
isn't being made any more: the architectural and drafting firms that
were the main users of the stuff have gone to computers that lay in
the toning with a click of the mouse button. Artists I know have been
frantically scouring art supply stores for whatever remaining zip
they can find. (For non-artists and our foreign friends: zip-a-tone
is a trade name for sticky-back acetate sheets with dot patterns
printed on them, used by artists for shading effects.) One more sign
that it's going to be harder for the hermit freelancer to stay
competitive without a colossal investment in training and equipment...
--Dwight Decker
Dave Rawson
Toot Suite
Message 82 -
1995-02-09 at 18:57:00
DAVID GERSTEIN:
Yes, I'm the same Dave Rawson that wrote "Toot Suite" for
Warner Bros. I didn't know that it had ever seen print,
though, nor have I ever seen art for it. Thanks for the
alert.
I can be reached at "Dave.Rawson at Salata.com"
* Evaluation copy of Silver Xpress. Day # 96
--- via Silver Xpress V4.01 [NR]
Yes, I'm the same Dave Rawson that wrote "Toot Suite" for
Warner Bros. I didn't know that it had ever seen print,
though, nor have I ever seen art for it. Thanks for the
alert.
I can be reached at "Dave.Rawson at Salata.com"
* Evaluation copy of Silver Xpress. Day # 96
--- via Silver Xpress V4.01 [NR]
Todd Spiegel
Unsubscribe
Message 83 -
1995-02-09 at 19:51:26
Please unsubscribe tdspiegel at peseta.ucdavis.edu (also known as
ez041516 at bullwinkle.ucdavis.edu and tdspiegel at ucdavis.edu).
ez041516 at bullwinkle.ucdavis.edu and tdspiegel at ucdavis.edu).
Dwight Decker
Animation training
Message 84 -
1995-02-09 at 22:21:22
Coincidentally, somebody posted a note on rec.arts.animation
to the effect that Don Bluth's new animation studio in
Phoenix is staffing up. The basic requirement for animators
was said to be "strong illustration skills," with the idea
being that someone who already had strong illustration skills
could be taught to be a computer operator. Your portfolio
is what would get you in the door to begin with. How Disney
does things these days, I dunno, but probably the main thing
is a good art background, with emphasis on cartooning, perspective,
forms, motion, objects in space, that kinda stuf'.
--Dwight Decker
to the effect that Don Bluth's new animation studio in
Phoenix is staffing up. The basic requirement for animators
was said to be "strong illustration skills," with the idea
being that someone who already had strong illustration skills
could be taught to be a computer operator. Your portfolio
is what would get you in the door to begin with. How Disney
does things these days, I dunno, but probably the main thing
is a good art background, with emphasis on cartooning, perspective,
forms, motion, objects in space, that kinda stuf'.
--Dwight Decker
Jørgen Andreas Bangor
Mostly a (long) answer to Paul Benjamin
Message 85 -
1995-02-10 at 01:10:53
HARRY:
>I seem to remember there was a third one, but I'm not sure. At least it's
>not mentioned in our Database.
Could this third one be the story where Mickey and Goofy are hired to find
that little thing which makes things invisible? It turns out to make itself
invisible... A lot of the story takes place in Venezia (Venice?).
This story must be the first one of the three, since the first part of
it is about the training of M&G as secret agents. It's also the only one (as
far as I know), of these, that have been published in Norway (must have been
in 1966 or 67).
DAVID:
>This is actually a burro
Which reminds me that we should not forget Benny Burro :-)
PAUL (I think this is the first time I'm the first one to answer a new
member, so I use the chance to wish you welcome :-) :
>And what about the European output that I learned of from the Gladstone
issues?
I'm not really sure what you mean by "the European output", but if you are
wondering about what the production of Disney comics in Europe is like, I
can tell you a little about it. It's _huge_.
If you get Harry's file "story-codes" from the ftp-site, you can learn
a lot from that.
It's mainly three European publishers that produce Disney stories:
Egmont (earlier Gutenberghus) in Denmark, GP (earlier Oberon) in Holland
and Disney Italy (earlier Mondadori) in Italy. Of these is Egmont the biggest.
Egmont publishes weekly and monthly (and a lot of other) magazines in most of
Europe and in some African and Asian countries. There are local publishers
(owned by Egmont) in the individual countries that produce the local issues
in the local language. The only one you would find in English is the British
"Mickey Magazine", which, according to David, isn't very interesting.
Egmont started production of their own stories (the D-code stories) in
the early seventies, and has since then produced thousand of stories, of
varying quality. Gladstone would never be able to (if they were interested)
to publish all this in English.
Just to illustrate some of "the European output" I can list some of the
publications we get here in Norway (which gives me the chance to brag about
how lucky we are here, of course :-)
* Donald Duck & Co * Weekly magazine, 48 pages.
* Mikke Mus * Monthly magazine, 33 pages
* Ole Brumm * Bimonthly (I think), Winnie the Pooh, 33 pages
* Onkel Skrue * Monthly digest, Italian stories, 99 pages
* Mikke Krim * Monthly digest, 99 pages
* Donald pocket * Monthly pocket book, mostly Italian stories, 256 pages
* Onkel Skrue pocket * Bimonthly pocket, reprints of Italian stories,
288 pages
* Dumbo * Four times a year (I think), magazine for children
* Donald Ducks Store Show * Once a year, reprints of Danish stories,
100 pages
* Donald Ducks Stjerneshow * Once a year, reprints of Danish stories,
100 pages
* Donald Ducks Vintershow * Once a year, reprints of Danish stories,
100 pages
* Donald Ducks Sommershow * Once a year, reprints of Danish stories,
100 pages
* Donald Ducks Elleville Eventyr * varying, reprints of monthly magazines
* Donald Duck fra dag til dag * 1 - 2 times a year, newspaper strips, one
year per book.
* The Golden Books * Once a year, Barks stories, about 200 pages.
* The White Books * Once a year until last year, many of them consist of
Barks and Gottfredson stories.
* Donald Ducks Julehefte * Once a year, Danish stories, about 50 pages
* Ingen jul uten Mikke og Langbein * Once a year, Sunday strips, ca. 30 pages
* Ole Brumm julehefte * Once a year, ca. 30 pages
* Onkel Skrues julefortellinger * Once a year, replacing the white books,
Italian stories, 256 pages.
In addition to these, which are only comics, there are each year published
some books with text. Mainly for small children. Hjemmet (which is the
Norwegian part of Egmont) even has a book club for children, which means
that the members get two books with Disney stories each month.
There is also a comic club, which publishes comics in hard cover books,
but these are only reprints, and not all of them are Disney.
There were also a couple of album series, but none have been published for
a while.
Both Don Rosa and William van Horn are working for Egmont now. That's why
their new stories have D-codes.
BTW: Have I used the word "varying" correctly here?
>>def varying
>varying hare (n)
> n, any of several hares having white fur in winter
I'm not so sure it was _that_ I meant...
About Marvel and Gladstone.
---------------------------
As far as I have understood (and the American market seems very chaotic to
me) Marvel had a deal with Gladstone, which meant they were (or at least
should have been) distributing Gladstone's publications to the direct
market. These issues have the Marvel symbol on the cover. Marvel has nothing
to do with the production of these, _but_, Marvel is producing their own
Disney stories based on "The Little Mermaid", "The Beauty and the Beast"
and "Aladdin". These are monthly titles (started around August last year).
These are hardly discussed here, since they are not based on the so-called
Dell Disney characters.
Hope this was useful :)
Jorgen
>I seem to remember there was a third one, but I'm not sure. At least it's
>not mentioned in our Database.
Could this third one be the story where Mickey and Goofy are hired to find
that little thing which makes things invisible? It turns out to make itself
invisible... A lot of the story takes place in Venezia (Venice?).
This story must be the first one of the three, since the first part of
it is about the training of M&G as secret agents. It's also the only one (as
far as I know), of these, that have been published in Norway (must have been
in 1966 or 67).
DAVID:
>This is actually a burro
Which reminds me that we should not forget Benny Burro :-)
PAUL (I think this is the first time I'm the first one to answer a new
member, so I use the chance to wish you welcome :-) :
>And what about the European output that I learned of from the Gladstone
issues?
I'm not really sure what you mean by "the European output", but if you are
wondering about what the production of Disney comics in Europe is like, I
can tell you a little about it. It's _huge_.
If you get Harry's file "story-codes" from the ftp-site, you can learn
a lot from that.
It's mainly three European publishers that produce Disney stories:
Egmont (earlier Gutenberghus) in Denmark, GP (earlier Oberon) in Holland
and Disney Italy (earlier Mondadori) in Italy. Of these is Egmont the biggest.
Egmont publishes weekly and monthly (and a lot of other) magazines in most of
Europe and in some African and Asian countries. There are local publishers
(owned by Egmont) in the individual countries that produce the local issues
in the local language. The only one you would find in English is the British
"Mickey Magazine", which, according to David, isn't very interesting.
Egmont started production of their own stories (the D-code stories) in
the early seventies, and has since then produced thousand of stories, of
varying quality. Gladstone would never be able to (if they were interested)
to publish all this in English.
Just to illustrate some of "the European output" I can list some of the
publications we get here in Norway (which gives me the chance to brag about
how lucky we are here, of course :-)
* Donald Duck & Co * Weekly magazine, 48 pages.
* Mikke Mus * Monthly magazine, 33 pages
* Ole Brumm * Bimonthly (I think), Winnie the Pooh, 33 pages
* Onkel Skrue * Monthly digest, Italian stories, 99 pages
* Mikke Krim * Monthly digest, 99 pages
* Donald pocket * Monthly pocket book, mostly Italian stories, 256 pages
* Onkel Skrue pocket * Bimonthly pocket, reprints of Italian stories,
288 pages
* Dumbo * Four times a year (I think), magazine for children
* Donald Ducks Store Show * Once a year, reprints of Danish stories,
100 pages
* Donald Ducks Stjerneshow * Once a year, reprints of Danish stories,
100 pages
* Donald Ducks Vintershow * Once a year, reprints of Danish stories,
100 pages
* Donald Ducks Sommershow * Once a year, reprints of Danish stories,
100 pages
* Donald Ducks Elleville Eventyr * varying, reprints of monthly magazines
* Donald Duck fra dag til dag * 1 - 2 times a year, newspaper strips, one
year per book.
* The Golden Books * Once a year, Barks stories, about 200 pages.
* The White Books * Once a year until last year, many of them consist of
Barks and Gottfredson stories.
* Donald Ducks Julehefte * Once a year, Danish stories, about 50 pages
* Ingen jul uten Mikke og Langbein * Once a year, Sunday strips, ca. 30 pages
* Ole Brumm julehefte * Once a year, ca. 30 pages
* Onkel Skrues julefortellinger * Once a year, replacing the white books,
Italian stories, 256 pages.
In addition to these, which are only comics, there are each year published
some books with text. Mainly for small children. Hjemmet (which is the
Norwegian part of Egmont) even has a book club for children, which means
that the members get two books with Disney stories each month.
There is also a comic club, which publishes comics in hard cover books,
but these are only reprints, and not all of them are Disney.
There were also a couple of album series, but none have been published for
a while.
Both Don Rosa and William van Horn are working for Egmont now. That's why
their new stories have D-codes.
BTW: Have I used the word "varying" correctly here?
>>def varying
>varying hare (n)
> n, any of several hares having white fur in winter
I'm not so sure it was _that_ I meant...
About Marvel and Gladstone.
---------------------------
As far as I have understood (and the American market seems very chaotic to
me) Marvel had a deal with Gladstone, which meant they were (or at least
should have been) distributing Gladstone's publications to the direct
market. These issues have the Marvel symbol on the cover. Marvel has nothing
to do with the production of these, _but_, Marvel is producing their own
Disney stories based on "The Little Mermaid", "The Beauty and the Beast"
and "Aladdin". These are monthly titles (started around August last year).
These are hardly discussed here, since they are not based on the so-called
Dell Disney characters.
Hope this was useful :)
Jorgen
Jørgen Andreas Bangor
Life of Uncle $crooge
Message 86 -
1995-02-10 at 02:12:22
Thank you very much, Augie!
Before reading your answer I wondered if Don's Lo$ might be too "inside"
and non-interesting for people unfamiliar with Disney comics. After having
read it, I get the impression that it, au contraire, might be a good
introduction to them! This also means that Don's details from Barks stories
might have a double effect. For us who have known Barks for some time (in
my case, almost all my life :) it's fun to see the details (ah, that's
from ...!), and for newcomers it's fun to suddenly recognize the details
in the old stories.
I would also believe that this means that Don really have succeeded in
making this listing of details into stories that reallly have a value in
themselves. My compliments, Don.
>Trust me, there are worse things to do than read these issues again. :)
Indeed! I reread "The Son of the Sun" yesterday :)
>The Square Egg story comes immediately to mind. Oddly, this is one I've
>heard a lot about, but have yet to read.
It was quite recently published in the DDAiC series.
>I didn't know much of Scrooge's family before, for example.
I don't think any of us knew much about his closest family before this
story :)
About this super-hero thing -- I know close to nothing about super-hero
comics, so I didn't make any connections there, but I see that this is just
another thing Don is criticized for about this story, and his other stories
for that matter. I can just say one thing: I don't understand the critizism!
That's not because I think Don is so great that there is no reason at all
to criticize him (his work), but because he's just one of hundreds of Disney
writers/artists, and he's doing what _he_ wants to do with the characters. As
Don says himself, there's no reason to attack him for writing stories they
don't like, it's just not to read them.
It seems to me that these people have a very narrow mind about what is
really Disney, which makes me believe that they can't have read much besides
Barks' stories. I guess they mean that Don is messing with his stories, which
they for some reason find sacred, or something.
Being a Norwegian, I have had the chance to read almost everything that
is produced of Disney comics. Therefore I just see Don's works as _his_ works
in the huge amount of stories. The difference, though, is that Don puts more
work in his stories than most of the other writers/artists do (and he's
probably a lot more talented than most of them). This makes his stories
into something special, but it's still _his_ stories. I don't need to have
them in mind when I read a Vicar or Branca story. Some other writers/artists
(mostly Italian) have made stories which are supposed to explain the history
of some characters, and I don't always like them, but this is no reason to
criticize the writers/artists for messing with facts. If Cavazzano wants to
tell us that Grandma Duck and Scrooge are brother and sister, he's welcome.
I can enjoy the story, and think it is a good work, but I don't need to have
it in mind when I read Don's Lo$.
Now why did I write all this? I don't have to tell this to anyone on this
list...
Jorgen
Before reading your answer I wondered if Don's Lo$ might be too "inside"
and non-interesting for people unfamiliar with Disney comics. After having
read it, I get the impression that it, au contraire, might be a good
introduction to them! This also means that Don's details from Barks stories
might have a double effect. For us who have known Barks for some time (in
my case, almost all my life :) it's fun to see the details (ah, that's
from ...!), and for newcomers it's fun to suddenly recognize the details
in the old stories.
I would also believe that this means that Don really have succeeded in
making this listing of details into stories that reallly have a value in
themselves. My compliments, Don.
>Trust me, there are worse things to do than read these issues again. :)
Indeed! I reread "The Son of the Sun" yesterday :)
>The Square Egg story comes immediately to mind. Oddly, this is one I've
>heard a lot about, but have yet to read.
It was quite recently published in the DDAiC series.
>I didn't know much of Scrooge's family before, for example.
I don't think any of us knew much about his closest family before this
story :)
About this super-hero thing -- I know close to nothing about super-hero
comics, so I didn't make any connections there, but I see that this is just
another thing Don is criticized for about this story, and his other stories
for that matter. I can just say one thing: I don't understand the critizism!
That's not because I think Don is so great that there is no reason at all
to criticize him (his work), but because he's just one of hundreds of Disney
writers/artists, and he's doing what _he_ wants to do with the characters. As
Don says himself, there's no reason to attack him for writing stories they
don't like, it's just not to read them.
It seems to me that these people have a very narrow mind about what is
really Disney, which makes me believe that they can't have read much besides
Barks' stories. I guess they mean that Don is messing with his stories, which
they for some reason find sacred, or something.
Being a Norwegian, I have had the chance to read almost everything that
is produced of Disney comics. Therefore I just see Don's works as _his_ works
in the huge amount of stories. The difference, though, is that Don puts more
work in his stories than most of the other writers/artists do (and he's
probably a lot more talented than most of them). This makes his stories
into something special, but it's still _his_ stories. I don't need to have
them in mind when I read a Vicar or Branca story. Some other writers/artists
(mostly Italian) have made stories which are supposed to explain the history
of some characters, and I don't always like them, but this is no reason to
criticize the writers/artists for messing with facts. If Cavazzano wants to
tell us that Grandma Duck and Scrooge are brother and sister, he's welcome.
I can enjoy the story, and think it is a good work, but I don't need to have
it in mind when I read Don's Lo$.
Now why did I write all this? I don't have to tell this to anyone on this
list...
Jorgen
Paul Benjamin
Disney-comics digest #578.
Message 87 -
1995-02-10 at 03:12:25
Thanks to Jorgen for his responses to my questions.
Can I infer from what I read that the current work of Rosa and Van Horn is
not available in English? Or is Gladstone reprinting it? What IS Gladstone
doing? All reprints? Are the Gladstone/Marvel comics poorly distributed?
I used to find Gladstone and later Disney comics in all sorts of places
(7-11, Waldenbook, Safeway) and as my previous posting indicated, I haven't
seen a new US comic in over a year.
--
Paul Benjamin Phone: (602) 733-6427
Sunquest Information Systems Fax: (602) 733-6615
4801 East Broadway Blvd. pwb at sunquest.com
Tucson, Arizona 85715 **Area Code Changes to (520) on March 19**
Can I infer from what I read that the current work of Rosa and Van Horn is
not available in English? Or is Gladstone reprinting it? What IS Gladstone
doing? All reprints? Are the Gladstone/Marvel comics poorly distributed?
I used to find Gladstone and later Disney comics in all sorts of places
(7-11, Waldenbook, Safeway) and as my previous posting indicated, I haven't
seen a new US comic in over a year.
--
Paul Benjamin Phone: (602) 733-6427
Sunquest Information Systems Fax: (602) 733-6615
4801 East Broadway Blvd. pwb at sunquest.com
Tucson, Arizona 85715 **Area Code Changes to (520) on March 19**
Don Rosa
Disney-comics digest #578.
Message 88 -
1995-02-10 at 06:39:43
DWIGHT AND OTHERS:
Yes, everything you say, true, so true.
But isn't it odd about that huge display in the MGM Studio Tour with all
the fake "animators" working behind the glass, and the video describing
animation of 40 years ago as if it were still being done today. I guess that's
all for the Great Unwashed who don't even have a grasp of garden-variety,
classic animation -- and it would be useless to try to describe MODERN animation
to them, at least not when they're the sort who think it requires a college
degree to program their VCR. But y'see how they've fooled the poor guy who was
on here and believed what the video was claiming.
JANGOR:
Thank you again for what you said about my Lo$ and about my stories in
general -- that's just the way I see it.
I liked your run-down of the Egmont/Gladstone/etc. publications etc. But
you slipped when you said that Marvel distributes Gladstones to the Direct
market; no, they distribute them to the NEWSSTAND market, Gladstone does the
Direct market.
And what "African" countries does Egmont publish Disneys (or anything
else) in?
Yes, everything you say, true, so true.
But isn't it odd about that huge display in the MGM Studio Tour with all
the fake "animators" working behind the glass, and the video describing
animation of 40 years ago as if it were still being done today. I guess that's
all for the Great Unwashed who don't even have a grasp of garden-variety,
classic animation -- and it would be useless to try to describe MODERN animation
to them, at least not when they're the sort who think it requires a college
degree to program their VCR. But y'see how they've fooled the poor guy who was
on here and believed what the video was claiming.
JANGOR:
Thank you again for what you said about my Lo$ and about my stories in
general -- that's just the way I see it.
I liked your run-down of the Egmont/Gladstone/etc. publications etc. But
you slipped when you said that Marvel distributes Gladstones to the Direct
market; no, they distribute them to the NEWSSTAND market, Gladstone does the
Direct market.
And what "African" countries does Egmont publish Disneys (or anything
else) in?
Ronald A. Evry
Disney-comics digest #578.
Message 89 -
1995-02-10 at 06:43:53
In RE to Jorgen's statement on Marvel's relation to Gladstone,
it was actually the other way around...Gladstone took care of
the direct market and Marvel handled the newstand market. The
books were indeed isdentical, except for the "Disney Comics
distributed by Marvel" logo instead of the Gladstone one on the
covers.
Wal-Marts were good places to find Marvel Gladstones about a
month after they had passed through the direct comic shops.
Ron
it was actually the other way around...Gladstone took care of
the direct market and Marvel handled the newstand market. The
books were indeed isdentical, except for the "Disney Comics
distributed by Marvel" logo instead of the Gladstone one on the
covers.
Wal-Marts were good places to find Marvel Gladstones about a
month after they had passed through the direct comic shops.
Ron
DAVID.A.GERSTEIN
Sequel critics/new British MM
Message 90 -
1995-02-10 at 16:55:19
DON:
You mention "two people who ever voiced a dislike to my face to
my continuity and sequels (the other Gladstone Duck writer and
writer/artist)".
Who writes Ducks for Gladstone? Ron Fernandez, I guess.
But he did a sequel to "Trick or Treat" and next fall he's doing a
sequel to the sequel, from what he told me at the Convention. And
is the writer/artist Vic Lockman? Who else writes AND draws
Ducks for Gladstone but him? Do you mean Van Horn? He's only
done ONE measly story for Gladstone in Series II. Everything else
for Egmont.
I guess you expected everyone to know who you were referring to
with the quip above, but doggoned if I can figure it out.
VAN HORN'S NEW SCROOGE STORY has just seen its first part reach
British publication. That's right, for the first time since I've
been in Britain, they finally decided to print a non-Mickey story
that was in more than one part. The English title is "The Pauper's
Glass." I like the story (partly because Pegleg Pete appears in a
single panel on page 7!), but it just doesn't seem to have any
distinguishing spark. If we're supposed to not recognize a disguised
amnesiac Scrooge on page 8, Van Horn has failed, because there is
little doubt in my mind as to who exactly we're looking at.
The art is variant. WH is using pie-eyes again and I think it
works to the characters' benefit. On the other hand his HDL look
downright unattractive nonetheless in many panels.
But I like the story enough to be eager to see the second part.
The British also printed the MM story "Phantom Bob Returns"
this time out. I think it must have been improved by the Norwegian
translator, Jorgen.
We see M+F ending up foodless while MM is away. I always
thought they lived with their mom and only visited MM a lot (as in
the old FG strips). The writer here would paint MM as a very
negligent parent indeed. So the kids are always at his house, and
whenever he gets caught in an adventure that he hasn't prepared for,
they go without food? Ouch!
The bit about Mickey's friends tearful over his kidnapping and
then forgetting about looking for him due to various distractions,
was incredible. Some friends they are.
And who's the little girl (well, I think it was a little girl,
because she was licking a lollipop) who hung around the Blot's house?
The Blot calls her Alberta on the first page. Is this the Blot's
daughter (as in that old Disney Comics story)? A maid of
some kind? Certainly seems to be in on his plot, in any case. And
why would a little girl be in on his plot if she wasn't a relation?
Esteban is capable of such wonderful art. We've got Egmont's
art management to blame for the style he is now forced to use in his
Mickey Mouse stories.
Next week's MM story is titled "The Prowler" according to an ad
in this issue. I'm not looking forward to it. Sounds like another
by-the-numbers crook chase.
The British issue also contains a short Launchpad story, "The
Stunted Pilot" (D93284, art by Colomer) and a very funny DD gag by
Santanach (D93028), in which DD "wants to see three guys shovelling
snow when he gets back" from town -- or so he tells the kids, and
-- well, that's exactly what he sees.
David Gerstein
<9475609 at arran.sms.ed.ac.uk>
You mention "two people who ever voiced a dislike to my face to
my continuity and sequels (the other Gladstone Duck writer and
writer/artist)".
Who writes Ducks for Gladstone? Ron Fernandez, I guess.
But he did a sequel to "Trick or Treat" and next fall he's doing a
sequel to the sequel, from what he told me at the Convention. And
is the writer/artist Vic Lockman? Who else writes AND draws
Ducks for Gladstone but him? Do you mean Van Horn? He's only
done ONE measly story for Gladstone in Series II. Everything else
for Egmont.
I guess you expected everyone to know who you were referring to
with the quip above, but doggoned if I can figure it out.
VAN HORN'S NEW SCROOGE STORY has just seen its first part reach
British publication. That's right, for the first time since I've
been in Britain, they finally decided to print a non-Mickey story
that was in more than one part. The English title is "The Pauper's
Glass." I like the story (partly because Pegleg Pete appears in a
single panel on page 7!), but it just doesn't seem to have any
distinguishing spark. If we're supposed to not recognize a disguised
amnesiac Scrooge on page 8, Van Horn has failed, because there is
little doubt in my mind as to who exactly we're looking at.
The art is variant. WH is using pie-eyes again and I think it
works to the characters' benefit. On the other hand his HDL look
downright unattractive nonetheless in many panels.
But I like the story enough to be eager to see the second part.
The British also printed the MM story "Phantom Bob Returns"
this time out. I think it must have been improved by the Norwegian
translator, Jorgen.
We see M+F ending up foodless while MM is away. I always
thought they lived with their mom and only visited MM a lot (as in
the old FG strips). The writer here would paint MM as a very
negligent parent indeed. So the kids are always at his house, and
whenever he gets caught in an adventure that he hasn't prepared for,
they go without food? Ouch!
The bit about Mickey's friends tearful over his kidnapping and
then forgetting about looking for him due to various distractions,
was incredible. Some friends they are.
And who's the little girl (well, I think it was a little girl,
because she was licking a lollipop) who hung around the Blot's house?
The Blot calls her Alberta on the first page. Is this the Blot's
daughter (as in that old Disney Comics story)? A maid of
some kind? Certainly seems to be in on his plot, in any case. And
why would a little girl be in on his plot if she wasn't a relation?
Esteban is capable of such wonderful art. We've got Egmont's
art management to blame for the style he is now forced to use in his
Mickey Mouse stories.
Next week's MM story is titled "The Prowler" according to an ad
in this issue. I'm not looking forward to it. Sounds like another
by-the-numbers crook chase.
The British issue also contains a short Launchpad story, "The
Stunted Pilot" (D93284, art by Colomer) and a very funny DD gag by
Santanach (D93028), in which DD "wants to see three guys shovelling
snow when he gets back" from town -- or so he tells the kids, and
-- well, that's exactly what he sees.
David Gerstein
<9475609 at arran.sms.ed.ac.uk>