Keskustelujen arkisto

This year's Don Rosa album covers are not brand-spanking new, but they will
be new to many of you, I think. Back during the fabled "Gladstone Original
Run," we took some overruns of albums we'd already published, and collected
them into big, fat albums wrapped by new covers commissioned from Don
specifically for that purpose. These fat albums did not receive a wide
distribution, so those covers are among Don's more obscure works. As this
year's Rosa albums collect material from the "original run" period, and
these covers were also a product of that time, it seemed a natural fit.

Naturally, there are those of you out there who will disagree with the
cover choices. I, in fact, would have loved to have put the cover of "His
Majesty McDuck" on one, so I could, at least in my own eyes, have redeemed
myself with a new, more sophisticated coloring job on it. On the other
hand, I was never too happy with my coloring on the fat albums covers,
either, so I'm rather pleased to have another crack at those.

The first volume will be 52 pages, and have a cover price of $10.95. The
following three volumes will be 40 pages at $9.95 each.

AUGIE:

Your reminiscence about the Micro-Ducks cover was interesting, and I was
reminded of all the "illogical" covers DC put out in the 1960s that just
bugged the bejebbers out of me. However, your remark about out "ignoring"
your letter, though you clearly did not mean it as a complaint, did get me
thinking (always dangerous!): ignoring something implies an element of
arrogance, be it of snobbery or stupidity or whatever, and we strenuously
try to avoid that. There is, after all, a great difference between ignoring
someone, and not doing what that someone wants.

Gladstone is no longer advertising on the back cover of the CBG, if you
want the official word. Can't say I agree with you about conspicuous
advertising of what you apparently regard as our ongoing failure, though.
We gotta sell this stuff, even if you think its garbage.

>Also, are there any plans from Gladstone to specially commemorate $crooge's
>50th birthday this summer?

We already are, with our upcoming product catalog offerings. As for the
summer, there are things afoot.

>I got the first couple of Gladstones today with the slick covers
>back on them again. I have to admit - it's well worth the extra $.45. The
>book looks right again.

Can't argue with you there.

>My local retailer asked me an interesting question today: He asked me if I
>didn't think the title on "Penny Pincher" was a bit insulting. That is, isn't
>Gladstone calling me cheap for buying it.

I think your local retailer needs a hobby.

>I also bought the Unexpurgated Barks book. It's an interesting historical
>oddity. I really don't have much to comment on it past that.

Fair enough.

Gary

****************************
"Shpidah! He is our hero!"
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Gladstone on the Web: http://www.hamlco.com/bhc/
---------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------
End of Disney comics Digest V97 Issue #41
*****************************************

CAREY:

> Augie, how do you get your copies of the latest Gladstones so
> quick? I won't be seeing the new issues until next Wednesday,
> the 26th. Do you have some kind of special deal? Or are the
> comic book stores in Southern California just slower in getting
> new issues?

Probably the latter. Heck, before all the distributor changes, I used to get
my Gladstone books on the Monday before they were supposed to be available.
That was always fun. =)

Both Penny Pincher and an Uncle $crooge (Adventures or otherwise, I
forget) issue found their way into my pull file this week.

GARY:

Interesting choice for covers. I look forward to them.

> The first volume will be 52 pages, and have a cover price of $10.95. The
> following three volumes will be 40 pages at $9.95 each.

Great!

> AUGIE:
>
> Your reminiscence about the Micro-Ducks cover was interesting, and I was
> reminded of all the "illogical" covers DC put out in the 1960s that just
> bugged the bejebbers out of me. However, your remark about out "ignoring"
> your letter, though you clearly did not mean it as a complaint, did get me
> thinking (always dangerous!)

OK, poor choice of wording and I apologize. But for the record, I'd have
higher esteem for you guys if you had ignored it. It was the pathetic rambling
of a 13 year-old brat. I would never mean to imply you do that to this day or
even that you did it then. (I was too ignorant back then to even recognize it
if it were so which, in retrospect, I don't think it was.)

> Gladstone is no longer advertising on the back cover of the CBG, if you
> want the official word. Can't say I agree with you about conspicuous
> advertising of what you apparently regard as our ongoing failure, though.
> We gotta sell this stuff, even if you think its garbage.

I'm a big confused by this paragraph. Let's just say there are some who would
say (Heck, I've heard them say it already) that Gladstone not taking the back
cover of CBG is a sure sign that they're in desperate financial straits and are
looking for anyway to cut costs. My response to that is that if it is true, I
think this is a wise step. (Rather have costs cut in flashy advertising than
issue quality.) I am not necessarily of the opinion that Gladstone is in
imminent danger of going under, although I can see how one could easily
perceive that. (Get a $&*%! human to letter the $%&#*! comics, would you?!?
Sorry; I had to get that out of my system.)

But let's face it. It doesn't "look" good. Gladstone comics went "coverless."
Covers are pastiches of art from the inside. Gladstone doesn't commission
much by itself anymore, relying almost totally now on European stuff. The
comics are lettered by some guy name A. Machine. Gladstone charges $9 for a
32-page comic (the album series.) WDC&S starts at $6 and is now up to $7
making even the most ardant fan re-evaluate his fervor. The letters columns
disappear soon to be replaced by advertisements loosely fit into the Editorial
Realm by the header "The Year That Was..." Bruce Hamilton starts printing
stuff solely for the purpose of selling the original art. (This happened at
least twice. Once with that penguin story and once with some other story - an
adaptation of a movie, I think it was. I forgeto off-hand. I'll gladly look it
up if you'd like.) Then Bruce Hamilton surrenders the back page of CBG which
he's held for gosh-knows-how many consecutive issues, a thing he mentioned in a
recent ad before pulling them. Gladstone's comics don't sell very well, in any
case. There is no newstand presence.

Gee, I wonder why people would think Gladstone in financial difficulty?

> >Also, are there any plans from Gladstone to specially commemorate $crooge's
> >50th birthday this summer?
>
> We already are, with our upcoming product catalog offerings. As for the
> summer, there are things afoot.

I hope there's something more accessible to the under-$1000 per painting crowd.
=) Like a special issue of something or other.

> >My local retailer asked me an interesting question today: He asked me if I
> >didn't think the title on "Penny Pincher" was a bit insulting. That is, isn't
> >Gladstone calling me cheap for buying it.
>
> I think your local retailer needs a hobby.

Yeah, I thought it was a reach myself, too. He used to have a hobby. Then he
tried to make a business out of it and is choking on Gladstone comics... Those
$9-for-32-pages paperweights... He's stopped stocking them for all but those
of us who reserve them. He used to buy one extra to keep on the shelf, but
not one has ever sold.

> >I also bought the Unexpurgated Barks book. It's an interesting historical
> >oddity. I really don't have much to comment on it past that.
>
> Fair enough.

Well, part of that is because I haven't read it totally yet. Not because I
hated it or loved it. Just not enough data to draw a conclusion. I'm a
letterhack; I have an opinion on everything. ;-)

-Augie
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Augie De Blieck Jr. * (Email removed) * VR.5 FAQkeeper
Watch VR.5 on The Sci-Fi Channel Tuesday Nights, 10 p.m. EST!
Then read the FAQ: http://www.nic.com/~augie/vr5/index.htm

Vidar asked if I knew anything about the Norwegian printing of JW 10 A: Tony
Strobl s version:

It was first printed in USA in JW 10 of course, called Maple Sugar Time. I
think the only reprint of Strobl in USA came in Uncle Scrooge Comics Digest
3. Jippes version came in WDC 607 and has the same name as you all know.
In Norway Tony Strobl s story was called Hakkespettenes sirupshoest and came
in Walt Disney Manedshefte 4/74. Jippes was printed in DD Weekly 9/97 and
the name was changed till Loenn for strevet. No further printing of JW 10 A
in Norway.
Denmark also had one printing of Strobl, in Walt Disney Ekstahaefte 4/74,
called Ih du soede sirup. Sweden had En soet historia in Walt Disney Serier
4/74. Both countries brought Jippes in their weekly magazine no 9/97. And
Vidar: Like all evil translators I am still here...

Erik Hoerthe

Reprinted from http://www.mania.com with comments added in by yours truly,
where noted.

Gladstone

Don Rosa 1997 Special #2

The second of a four-issue miniseries within the Uncle Scrooge albums,
reprints more of Rosa's original Scrooge material from the first run of
Gladstone comics. Issue 2 features "Last Sled to Dawson," Rosa's first
use of the villainous Soapy Slick, from USA 5 (198810, "Nobody's
Business," a ten-page story featuring Scrooge, Donald, and Gladstone, from
US 220 (1987), and "The Paper Chase," a two pager written by Gary
Gabner and illustrated by Rosa, from US 226 (1988). Full color throughout
40 pages

Donald Duck Adventures #45

Features "The Red Duck," a European adventure in which Donald and the
nephews travel back to Duckburg in 1726, via Gyro's latest time machine,
and confront their piratical ancestor, The Red Duck! Also featured is "The
Master Fisher," another European story in which Donald enters the annual
Duckburg fishing competition with the help of Gyro's sure-fire fishing lure. 32
pages -- Slick covers

Uncle Scrooge Adventures in Color #24

This month's addition to Gladstone's regular series Scrooge Albums, Uncle
Scrooge Adventures in Color 24, features Carl Barks' "The Twenty-four
Carat Moon" and "The Magic Ink" from Uncle Scrooge 24 (1958). "The
Twenty-four Carat Moon" follows Scrooge, Donald, and the boys into out
space in a rocket race against a multitude of adversaries, including the
Beagle Boys, to be the first to reach - and claim - a multi million-dollar
satellite. Little do they realized the moon is already inhabited by a solitary
and lonely king! In "The Magic Ink," US 24's back-up story, Scrooge purchases a
newly formulated ink with the special property of affecting the judgment of
anyone who reads a message written with it. Full color throughout 32 pages

[So much for the "special" albums appearing during the months when the regular
U$A albums were on break, eh? Has this ever worked out? Have the albums ever
come out every other week rather than two-in-one-week since about album #3 or
so? -Augie]

Uncle Scrooge Adventures #49

Features "Dead-Eye Duck's Diary," a European adventure/take-off on the
cowboy western genre. Scrooge, Donald, and the boys encounter
desperadoes and train robbers when they try to track down a treasure they
get wind of from an old-timer at a wild-west show. 32 pages

Uncle Scrooge #305

Presents "The Vigilante of Pizen Bluff," another Don Rosa episode of
"The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck." This one, which Keno
designates "chapter 6 1/2", tells of young Scrooge's encounter with the
legendary Dalton gang. 32 pages -- Slick covers

[Does mania.com know what they mean by "Keno" here? Makes one wonder. . .
-Augie]

Walt Disney's Comics and Stories Penny Pincher #4

Begins another three-issue miniseries. This one will feature early Gladstone
stories by Daan Jippes/ Fred Milton and by William Van Horn. PP #4 contains "The
Success Test" from WDC&S #512. This, the second story by Jippes/ Milton (with an
assist from Ben Verhagen) reprinted by Gladstone, features Donald and the boys
in another grudge match against lucky Gladstone Gander. William Van Horn's short
stories, "A Sound Deal," "Prickly Relation," and "The Dime Collector," round out
the issue. Jippes original cover to WDC&S #512 serves as the cover for the issue
16 pages -- Slick covers

Walt Disney's Comics #614

Airheads - A new William Van Horn 10 pager that pits Donald and the
boys against their Van Horn - created nimesis, Woimly Filcher in a contest
to win first place in a radio - controlled model airplane show. Attacks of the
Hideous Space Varmints - The first installment of a new Don Rosa epic. This one
takes Scrooge, Donald, and the nephews in to outer space where they encounter a
pair of unusual-looking cosmic travelers. The Robin Hood Adventure - Part two of
Floyd Gottfredson's classic Sunday strip fairy tale in which Mickey meets the
legendary Merry Men and takes part in one of their adventures. The above,
together with classic Disney stories featuring Scam and Chip 'N' Dale, and a
European tale starring Mickey and the Phantom Blot, combine to bring you yet
another 64 page spectacular with the high quality paper, printing, and color
you've come to expect from Gladstone and from WDC&S. The new cover from Holland
puts the finishing touches on this month's package. Quality paper with slick
cover wrap Comic Book size

[I'd be happier at this point with WDC&S if they dropped the cardboard cover
and replaced it with a slick cover. Keep the square binding if you'd like, but
the extra price isn't worth it anymore for a cardboard cover. -Augie]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Augie De Blieck Jr. * (Email removed) * VR.5 FAQkeeper
Watch VR.5 on The Sci-Fi Channel Tuesday Nights, 10 p.m. EST!
Then read the FAQ: http://www.nic.com/~augie/vr5/index.htm

--------------------------------
End of Disney comics Digest V97 Issue #42
*****************************************

Howdy strangers!

After two months in lurkerdom I'm back with a vengeance for my first message
of the year!!!

First thing I can think of to relate is my thoughts on the latest Gladstone
releases:

WALT DISNEY'S COMICS AND STORIES 608:
"Plastic Mickey" is my favorite non-Gottfredson MM story in WDC&S over the
past few years. The plot was exciting and unusual, and it had some great
well-timed humor--Mickey shocked by the prospect of stolen comic books, the
silly pictures in the Plastic Sam comic panels, the rididculous disasters
caused by "rubberizer", etc. Who is this Red Bat villain? Have we seen him
somewhere before? "The Once and Future Duck" was Rosa at his best
historic/scientific reasearch and usage of olde Englishe accents in
appropriate places (I loved the references to "magick"). On the flip side,
WDC 608 contained two stories I'd already seen before--"Christmas On Bear
Mountain," and "A Goofy Look At Weather" which appeared in GOOFY ADVENTURES
11 (1991). I liked the older version's lettering and coloring better--why
was it changed, Gladstone?

UNCLE $CROOGE ADVENTURES 43:
"The Queen of the Wild Dog Pack"--one of the more bloodcurdling tales to
come from Barks' pen, but also a gold mine of puns and wordplay, and an
example of one of Barks' funniest new plot staples from his last cartooning
years--the forever girl-starved Donald, who reappeared in stories such as
"Micro-Ducks from Outer Space" and "Pawns of the Loup Garou." The ending
seemed strange, though--it seemed to "end" without really "ending." Is there
an explanation for this in the various discussions of editors' butchering of
Barks' work? Elsewhere in the issue, the Gyro gag was somewhat weak, but the
art of the one about Donald and Daisy was magnificent--except for the
mechanical lettering.

UNCLE $CROOGE ADVENTURES 44:
Finally we get to see some David Gerstein stories in the USA, and we get one
of Don Rosa's most actiony covers! Now if we could only get better paper and
lettering. "Two in One" had well-timed action, great gags, and clever
Barksian references. (It was actually somewhat similar to a DuckTales TV
episode, "Magica's Shadow War".) On the flip side, I found "The Sheepish
Rancher" to be rather weak and clich?d. I noticed a typo on page 4, panel 8
of "TiO": shouldn't "thing" in "They've got another thing coming" be
"think"? And wouldntcha know it, the title was left off of both stories!!

UNCLE $CROOGE 302:
This issue is a step in the right direction for U$ after the smoke has
cleared from "Lo$" and the 300th anniversary. "Monkey Business" was a pretty
good Barks story. Although the ten-pagers after 1955 get alot less good
press than their "Golden Age" counterparts, they actually contain some of
the best examples of Barks' quick humor, and his ability to cram alot of
action into a little space. (GLADSTONE: Some of my favorites from this
period are "Delivery Dilemma" [WDC 291] and "The Beauty Business" [WDC 308],
which have not been reprinted in the USA since the 1970s, albums excluded.)
I'm probably the only person on this list who'll say this, but I also liked
"The Telltale Hand" and "Abner the Actor," two shining relics from the Vic
Lockman era. (GLADSTONE: could you print some of the "Beagles and Mim"
stories? But don't devote all non-Barks space to this type of tale--even I
know when Lockman becomes grating. BTW, the original printing of this
issue's cover was left out--it comes from U$ 44 [1963].)

DONALD DUCK ADVENTURES 42:
Although I'm sure some most of you will brand this and/or U$ 302 as the
worst Duck comic ever published by Gladstone, I dessay I liked it plenty.
(Note: the cover was undated again--it's from WDC 177.) The plot of "The
Saga of Sourdough Sam" is nothing new, but a few special twists were put
into it--I chuckled at the moments "stolen" from Barks' classics "Lost in
the Andes" and "Voodoo Hoodoo." The story was even made into a DUCKTALES TV
episode, "Merit-Time Adventure," where it was lumped together with Barks'
"Terror of the River." Paul Murry's Ducks look a little awkward, especially
Scrooge with that Von Drake hair (although it must be a coincidence since
LVD hadn't debuted then), but as always, I marvel at the non-Duck
characters. I feel that this is one of Murry's artistic advantages over
Gottfredson--by following Barks' technique of having all characters except
the stars drawn as otherwise normal-looking people with dog- or pig-noses,
he gave his characters that certain "humanity" which most of us are
comfortable with when reading Duck comics (see Don Rosa's description in
Digest V96 #255). Gottfredson, on the other hand, drew dogs and pigs that
really *looked* like dogs and pigs, and besides populated MM's world with
creatures from ape-people to hippo-people, making it look like a zoo!
Perhaps this led to Western's habit in the 1950s of not publishing
Gottfredson stories, or if they did, usually redrawing them in a "modern" style.

Is David Gerstein's Gladstone website
<http://wso.williams.edu/~dgerstei/gladstone/> out of business? Much of the
info is out-of-date by nearly half a year.

ALIPIO (et al):
Non list-member Joe Torcivia asked me the following about a 1980 Brazil issue:

"BTW, that Brazilian comic also had a Donald story by Jack Manning -- in
which Don encountered a wizard and a cowardly great dane which was the image
of Scooby Doo!!!! I guess that's one reason why we'll never see that one in
America! Any of you digest group know anything about this - what the story
was about? As I could never translate it even crudely?"

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
Remember that "Culprits, Inc." story from PHANTOM BLOT 3 that was doctored
for UNCLE SCROOGE ADVENTURES 23? Chris Barat has sent me the original
dialogue. If you want, I can post it to the list, or you can ask for it in
private e-mail.

DON:
>DAVID:
>I knew it was you who sent that Christmas message where $crooge was posting
>something through Gyro's Internet account. The main give-away was the
>comment about "Gurgle-Urp" soda. You're the only one I've seen use that name.

But you referred to it in "The Duck That Never Was"! (BTW, where does this
name come from? A Barks story? Goes to show how out-of-touch I am. ;-)

>I ignore anything Barks did with these characters after 1967,

Why? Don't they take place in the 1950s too? ;-)

Also, I've recently read Barks' story "House of Haunts" from U$ 63, which
prominently features the castle of the Mad Duke of Duckburg. Since you've
never mentioned it in "Life of Scrooge," "His Majesty McDuck," or "Guardians
of the Lost Library," does this also belong to the list of Barksian facts
you ignore? (But I suspect European translators had a good time "localizing"
this story! ;-)

Speaking of which...

JACOB SPARRE *ANDERS*EN:
>I think the "proper" view is that Duckburg is Duckburg (even when we call it
>"Dunnuv¡k"), and it is neither in France, nor in the Faroes - and not
>_really_ in USA either (even though a lot of stuff indicates it is - I have
>never met a Duck in USA, but lots of ducks).
>
>Think of it as some sort of parallel dimension.

I've always thought of the Duck planet as being simply a copy of our
world--except there are a few extra cities and countries (and the people
look like animals, of course). I think Don Rosa expressed it best when he
showed in "Life of Scrooge" part 10 when he showed a map indicating that in
the Duck world, Duckburg/Calisota "replaces" the area that in our world is
the area of northern California.

DAVID:
<<About sixty years ago, a lot of Jewish immigrants in this country
(including some of my relatives) tended to work as merchants or shopkeepers.
Gottfredson noticed this trend, putting yarmulkes on the shopkeepers in "The
Miracle Master" and "Oscar the Ostrich". I guess there were some religious
taboos HERE in the 1980s, because in the American reprints, the yarmulkes
were removed. (In fact, the shopkeeper in the strip for 2/22/36 had his
entire head replaced with that of a bill-collector from strip 10/14/34!)>>

Wow! But I thought that comic strip stories couldn't be "censored"--they
could only be banned altogether. Could this be used as an argument to
"censor" stories with minor stereoptypes, such as "MM Joins the Foreign
Legion" into acceptable printing form?

PER:
>3 VE = Venezuela (UNE.EDU 3)
>3 AR = Argentina (COM 2)
>1 PE = Peru
>1 MX = Mexico

One of those we know is Cristian Lucas of Argentina. I think another
Argentine named Hugo Diaz is also lurking here. (but he has an "edu"
address!) Will the Mexican, Peruvian, and Venezuelans come and show
themselves, por favor?

>1 ZA = South Africa

Maybe this will be helpful in the mystery of Glomgold's cap!

I noticed that it said there was one member from France. But Didier has a
"compuserve.com" address and Laurent has an "aol.com" address--so there must
be another froggie lurker out there!

BTW, Per, recently I've been surfing through the various old mailing list
messages stored at <ftp://ftp.update.uu.se/pub/comics/disney/archive/>. All
the messages there seem to be taken from the single-message versions rather
than the digests, so the headers ("from, to, cc") in each are EXTREMELY
long. Could you fix that?

OFF-TOPIC EVIL TRANSLATOR ANECDOTE:
The Fairfax County (in northern Virginia) Board of Supervisors has a TV
channel that broadcasts all its meetings live, and recently installed an
automatic closed-caption machine which translates the dialogue of the
meetings into printed words on the screen. The mistranslations reported in
the newspaper were so similar to the "Evil Translator" discussion we had a
while back that I thought I'd post them here:

(Real dialogue on left, ET [Evil Translator] on right)

Kauffman (the name of a politician) = Cuff Man
building = build egg
no ma'am = Gnome
applicants = apbly cams
exactly = descxly
Supervisor Dix = Suspect Dix
black people = plaque people
sweet potato = sweat potato *or* sweet point tattoo

About the same time, the paper reported how former US State Secretary Henry
Kissinger's voice at a recent speech of his caused a lot of frogs to become
excited because his voice sounded like a frog's mating call.

PER:
>The Internet Movie Database <http://www.imdb.com> mentions that
>("our") Jack Hannah was chosen by the magazine as one of the 50 most
>beautiful people in the world in 1996. Is that really true, or has
>someone confused him with some other Jack Hannah?

It must be someone else. "Our" Jack Hannah died on June 11, 1994. That is
mentioned in the letter column of DD 289.

>Did we ever pinpoint the date of Tony Strobl's death?
>The first time it was mentioned on this list was in August 1993,
>when I cited a text from somewhere else about this. That text
>didn't know exactly when he had died though, but said that his death
>was "recently announced". So somewhere in 1993 seems probable.
>
>Gladstone Gazette #1 says that he died in 1994, which I therefore
>don't believe. I can't find any other date in print though.

If his death had really been announced in 1993, it obviously had to be
before then. The GLADSTONE GAZETTE is a paper that has referred to me as
"Jonothon Markoff"! ;-)

>Sorry! Normally I have a size limit on messages to avoid that sort of
>thing. Really long messages don't make it to the list before I have
>okayed them. (And that's the reason for some of the delayed messages
>folks here have noticed.) I had forgot to replace that limit after
>temporarily removing it when letting through a legit long message.

The "legit long message" must have been mine, which appeared in the digest
in late November about one or two days after I had written it. Speaking of
which, is this one long enough for ya? ;-)

DIDIER (AND DON):
>Well yes, one of the possible meanings of Picsou is "to steal coins", an
>other one would be "to pick up or to grab coins", the pun probably also
>plays on the fact that he is a bird and that he could peck at grains
>"picorer". I had chosen the meaning "to steal coins" as it gave more sense
>to the anecdote about the bank involved in Picsou's launch.

I think what is meant is "pinchpenny," the common American expression for
such a character. (BTW, on the subject of first/last names, isn't Donald
called in Italy by his last name Paperino instead of his first name Paolino?)

**FINALLY**:
Enough small talk--let's get to the real purpose of this message! As
mentioned before, I recently got DONALD DUCK ADVENTURES 42.
**BUT**--included in the envelope with DDA 42 was--<<<drumroll>>>--

****THE GLADSTONE GAZETTE 9****!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, the one-and-only final issue of the paper which has been a boon to
Gladstone subscribers and sour grapes to Gladstone
buyers-not-subscribers--the oasis of letters in a sea of ads! But with no
further ado, here's the uncut uncensored unappreciated text of the end of an
era which will almost certainly not be missed--I give you here the complete
text of the issue with no editing whatsoever!!!

EXCEPT:
Due to the restrictions of e-mail typeset, I can only type in one font. The
GAZETTE frequently makes use of bold and italic letters, which I have to
replace which boringly generic "**" and capitalization. Since the editor's
replies to letters are in italics to distinguish them from the rest of the
text, I have added the word "editor" at the beginning of each, even though
it does not appear in the GAZETTE itself. I deleted the GAZETTE title logo
and the staff roster which I found peripheral. Otherwise, you'll be reading
the exact same paper I have in hand to type this. Oh, wait--you get a bonus:
JPM [Jonathan P. Markoff] adds his own comments and corrections in boxes
specifically marked. But you want the actual thing, not me talking about
acurracy, right? So--lights, camera, action...oh wait, that's not really the
right word--FINGERS, KEYBOARD, ACTION!!!!!!!!!!

****HEY KIDS! HAVE YOU HEARD THE NIFTY NEWS?****
*Slick Gladstone covers are returning to Gladstone comic books in February!*

Several months ago, when Gladstone converted all its titles to softcover
books, we promised everyone (including ourselves) we would swith back to
slick covers as soon as it became economically feasible to do so. Paper,
printing, and production costs had risen so high that the self-covers were
our only option at the time. We would have lost money on slick cover books
even if we raised our cover price to $1.95, or even $2.25. (I know the
bigger companies can produce a slick cover book for $1.95 but we then could
not.)
Well, the market has stabilized, paper costs have improved, and we've
negotiated some other economies, so we now CAN afford to produce $1.95 slick
cover books! Due to lead times in production, the first books will be
shipping to comic shops and newsstands in February of 1997.
Once we reestablish slick covers, we will run letters pages in the books
themselves again, which will obviate the need for the GLADSTONE GAZETTE, so
this will be the last issue you receive. I'd like to thank all our fans who
stuck with us through the hard time and continued to purchase and support
our product. We never could have done it without you!

JOHN

[Note from JPM: "John," of course, is Editor John Clark.]

[Note from JPM: **SPOILER** for "Ringtail Van Dukke."]

Your story, "The Last Voyage of Ringtail Van Dukke," in DONALD DUCK
ADVENTURES #39, is excellent. It is well drawn, has lots of good adventure,
and many surprising twists and turns. I especially like the twist of using
the old idea that a knock on the head can turn Donald into his ancestor, and
then surprising us by showing that it was a real ghost all the time! This
excellent work has made me resubscribe to all the comic books you publish!

[Note from JPM: **END OF SPOILER**]

Charles McFarlane
Union, CT

I read UNCLE SCROOGE #297. A super issue, and kudos to Don Rosa. However,
I'm intrigued with a comment from Magica on page 6, panel 5. She says she
"recognize[s] that mint mark...that date...that nick... ." From Rosa's
previous issues, I know the date (1875), but not the mint mark. A trivial
question, perhaps, but it piques my numismatic curiosity. I need closure.
What is the mint mark?

R. M. Jarrett
Pasadena, CA

Editor: There really is no definitive answer to your question, as the dime's
mint mark has never been revealed in a story. Rosa invesitgated, however,
and discovered that three U. S. mints produced 1875 dimes: Carson City, San
Francisco, and Philadelphia. The latter is idenitfied as having no maint
mark, so it couldn't be Philadelphia. Since Howard Rockerduck, who brought
the dime from the States, made his fortune in the California gold rush, Rosa
deduced the most likely mint mark would be "S," for San Francisco.

I've recently decided to start collecting the *USA* album series, and I
really like what you are doing with them. It's worth the steep Canadian
cover price (ouch, eh?). I just have a couple of questions about the series.
1. I know you're following tradition or something, but I really wish your
colorists would color in the duck's mouths and feet-bottoms like you do on
the cover. For such a high price, I expect highly detailed coloring.
2. From what I can see, you're reprinting one issue of UNCLE SCROOGE per
album, but how are you going to fit 71 issues, and the specials, into 56
albums at 1 issue per album?
Thanks for your time, and keep up the good work, I know the American comic
market isn't on your side.

Shaun M. Knowler
<(Email removed)>

Editor: Most of our readers feel that leaving the ducks' bills and feet one
color works better and gives a cleaner look for interior pages, an opinion
with which we agree. Soon, when the UNCLE SCROOGE stories, as they were
originally written by Barks, begin shrinking from 32 to as little as 15
pages of material, we'll begin reprinting two, or even three, issues per
alubm. It'll all work out to 56 books, honest!

I'd like to congratulate you for the beautiful and very informative *USA*
albums--they're just marvelous to read again and again! And a very warm and
special big compliment to Don Rosa for his "Life and Times of Scrooge
McDuck." It is sure the best comic book series I EVER read. This series
contains all the stuff a good story is made from; it has very nice wit, is
true in details and historically founded. It is amazing to read
it--especially the American version.
What would be more succesful: to blackmail Don Rosa to write more "Life
and Times" stories, or to implore him?

Chris Schmidlin
Switzerland

Editor: Actually, we don't have to do either. Don's intention has always
been to come up with additonal "Life and Times" stories from time to time.
Look for his latest installment, "The Vigilante of Pizen Bluff," coming up
in US #304.

[Note from JPM: 305, actually.]

I loved US 300. Everuthing in it was good, especially "Go Slowly, Sands of
Time," with its sage advice to do what you enjoy. Keep up the good work!

Bob Kane
San Francisco, CA

[Note from JPM: is this Bob Kane of Batman fame???]

I want to let you know what an absolutely splendid job you are doing in
the comic industry. I can say nothing but good things about the way you have
been producing Disney comics. My dad began to buy comics for me as soon as I
could hold a book, and I learned to read with them. I have been collecting
Gladstone comics since I was about five years old; I am 18 now and have over
400 copies of MICKEY, DONALD, and the rest of the ducks. It was through
these that I developed a love for reading, for drawing, and for knowledge.
This in turn, helped me in school, and I have always been a top student. You
publish awesome, interesting stories--I must say, a tradition that was
somewhat lost when Disney actually took over the line. You have kept a
commitment to quality and to the reader. Your comics don't require a
"V-chip" like some of the other ones out there, and I hope you realize just
how invaluable you have been to at least one person's outlook on life. For
all you readers out there, if you know any kids who are just learning to
read, go buy them a Disney comic, it really is a valuable tool! Keep up the
great work!
Secondly, for as long I can remember, I have loved the masterpieces of Don
Rosa. Of every comic book I have ever read, I have ALWAYS cherished his
works! Don't lose him! Now, I realize that Carl Barks is truly a patriarch
in the Disney legacy, but Rosa deserves just as much credit as Barks. Every
once in a while we see a little piece on Barks' life, his works (even those
not related to ducks), and even his family. It seems that Rosa is just now
beginning to be in BIG demand. Is there any chance of seeing anything on
Rosa's life and times? Some artists, such as William Van Horn, have a
distinctive quality to their artwork, but it's more "cartoony." Barks' work
is usually indistinguishable from the rest of the artists, except for his
classic storylines, but ROSA! He makes the ducks come alive! And they become
your friends through appreciation for the author. His are fantastically
distinctive in the artwork, in the storyline, in the detail, in the
reasearch that goes into each story. I have learned more about the History
of the world from Rosa's stories than I ever learned from a textbook, and it
was reading from Rosa's works that I learned to appreciate detail in any
work of art. If I was a duck, I would want no one but Rosa to draw me! Tell
him congratulations on becoming the only artist whose shoes are as big as
Walt's himself!
Lastly, when I first began collecting comics, I remember reading a story
about Donald and the boys finding a magic flute that would grant them
wishes. I remember I loved the story, but over the years and several moves,
it somehow got mislaid. I would love to read it again, but have no idea who
wrote it, or even how the story ended. All I remember is Donald put the
flute in a cookie jar to hide it from Gladstone. Is there any chance you
could tell me what this story is and if there is any chance of it possibly
being reprinted? Thanks so much! I am sorry this is kind of a gushing,
babbling letter, but sometimes just have to talk about it! You are really
wonderful people! Thanks again!

Amy Ritter
Phoenix, AZ

Editor: It's always a real pleasure for us when we get letters like yours,
Amy. We believe our comics are among the few "wholesome" ones left in the
market and it's nice to know there is a new generation of readers who
appreciate them and even learn from them. Sorry, the Donald story you
describe doesn't ring a bell, but we'll continue looking and, if we can
identify it, try to get a copy and reprint it.

[Note from JPM: I don't recognize this one either, but it sounds like Tony
Strobl.]

I very much like the idea of the "miniseries" comic to begin in 1997. In
particular, I am excited about the possibility of seeing Mickey stories from
the 50s and 60s by Paul Murry, Dick Moores and others. My favorites include
"The Case of the Vanishing Bandit" and "The Shattered Glass Mystery." Two
mentioned from the last GAZETTE are also classics, "The Secret of the
Ancient Incas" and "Undercover Mountie."
You did not mention if this new offering would be monthly or bimonthly,
but for stories that continue from one issue to the next, I prefer monthly.
With more than a month between issues, it is harder to maintain enthusiasm
and interest in the story's next likely direction.
Thanks for considering my comments, and for being willing to give the
"serial" format a try.

Ed Pavlik
Champaign, IL

Editor: The first themed set (issues 1-3) of WALT DISNEY'S COMICS AND
STORIES PENNY PINCHER will ship in February, March, and April. After that
we'll begin another two- or three-issue monthly miniseries. The first three
issues will feature stories about Donald Duck and Neighbor Jones, drawn by
Barks, Van Horn, and Vicar, but a good Mouse serial by Murry is a definite
possibility for the future. We can't locate "Incas" or "Mountie," however.
Can you give us any help with issue numbers?

[Note from JPM: "The Secret of the Ancient Inca's" comes from WDC 274-276.
"Undercover Mountie" comes from WDC 277-279. Thanks to Harry Fluks' database
for the info.]

I hope to be able to buy UNCLE SCROOGE, UNCLE SCROOGE ADVENTURES, DONALD
DUCK, and DONALD DUCK ADVENTURES on a monthly basis very soon. It is not
sufficient to read only two issues per month. It would be great if more
titles could be added. How about one about all the adventures of Uncle
Scrooge before he met Donald? The title I like most is UNCLE SCROOGE
ADVENTURES, as it usually involves everyone (Scrooge, Donald, Huey, Dewey,
and Louie). I like the full-length stories the best.

Leong Yin Yin
(Email removed)
ay.com.sg

Editor: You're in luck, Yin. UNCLE SCROOGE ADVENTURES has recently been
converted to a monthly book. In addition, WALT DISNEY'S COMICS AND STORIES
is now also monthly, and our new PENNY PINCHER series will be issued on a
monthly basis. We don't have any immediate plans to convert any other
titles, but you never know.

Since you started the CARL BARKS LIBRARY IN COLOR I became a serious
collector of these beautiful albums. During the years before, I collected
Gladstone comic books whenever and wherever they were available.
My wife works at German Lufthansa and she brought with her most of the
books and albums from all over the world. It was always a big surprise when
the comics arrived, packed for Christmas, birthdays and so on.
So there never was any great hurry to complete the series as fast as I did
during the last half year, when I noticed that you don't keep all the issues
in print, as you announced in the beginning! A former pupil of mine now
works in a new comic book shop in Frankfurt, Germany and she phoned
throughout the whole land and helped me to complete the collection. Up to
now I have all the 51 WDC&S issues, the 9-issue special series, the 25
DONALD DUCK ADVENTURES (which are my favorites, REALLY GREAT!) and the first
8 UNCLE SCROOGE ADVENTURES plus the Don Rosa set.
I was a little disappointed by the thin size of USA! Are the costs for
paper really that high? I expected a more similar to the DDA series.
But, anyway, the stories and color are superb. They bring timeless fun and
entertainment to generations of readers and comic fans. For me and also some
of my friends your albums are a great pleasure trip back to childhood, when
I read stories like "The Golden Helmet" or "Only a Poor Old Man." We had
friends among the children of American soldier families and we exchanged
comics in order to read them in the other language.
Today, I am happy to have one comic book left of this period: UNCLE
SCROOGE #1!
When Carl Barks visited Germany in 1994, I had the honor that the
"maestro" did sign this issue and the Gladstone CHRISTMAS STORIES album.
This was only possible with the help of the press-speaker of Egmont
Holdings, Mrs. Marion Egenberger, because Carl Barks first had the intention
to sign NOTHING. But he was amused to find some files of his work in quite
good shape here in Germany.
As a bonus, for your interest, pleasure and enjoyment I would like to
present to you my newest CD, which will soon be released in the U. S. A. by
DA Music, Little Silver, NJ; this CD is my "thank you" for your beautiful
and great work! Please enjoy it as background entertainment while doing the
best for the ducks!

Georg Dill
Johannesburg, Germany

Editor: The early UNCLE SCROOGE stories, being 32 pages long, necissitated
our having to decide between 32 and 64 pages of material in each album, plus
a minimum of four additional pages. Mainly because of the retail price, we
chose the latter. Georg's CD--realeased under his stage name, George
Salta--is titled "Tierra Linda" and features excellent guitar instrumental
music with a modernistic Spanish/jazz flavor. It's worth taking the time to
track one down to hear it.

[Note from JPM: The following letter also appeared, with minor variations,
in THE GLADSTONE GAZZETTE 5, earlier in 1996.]

"Three Little Cupids," the lead feature in DONALD DUCK ADVENTURES #37,
hearkened back to more innocent times, when the sole purpose of comic books
was to be fun and provide a little escape for readers.
I'm glad to see Gladstone is producing some new stories rather than
relying solely upon the output of Europe and reprints; there's something
exciting about reading a story for the first time anywhere. And the work of
talented craftsmen like Pat Block, perhaps, will be read in Europe as the
works of Vicar, Branca and the rest are read here.
"Cupids," by Shelly and Pat Block, definitely had some great, entertaining
moments. At first I couldn't quite fathom the Nephews' plan: I thought they
would fill out the computer match forms to show Donald and Daisy that they
really are compatible. Instead, the boys concocted a scheme of false
identities and relied upon cartoon clich?s to see that Don and Daisy would
assume the names of their false counterparts.

[Note from JPM: **MINOR SPOILER** ahead]

Once I got past the contrived nature of the tale, I really enjoyed it. Not
one of the sixteen pages dragged along, and the plot was funny and exciting.
Every time Donald and the man bumped into one another, I expected their
hairpieces to switch, giving away their true identities. But instead the man
was revealed to be a jewel thief and their briefcases got switched to give
the story an added dimension. I was impressed by the writing debut of the
Blocks and hope to see more shorts like this in the future. Pat's work was,
as always, exemplary, while his lettering isn't quite as authentic to Barks
as Ron Fernandez' is!

[Note from JPM: **END OF SPOILER**]

"His Master's Voice," like "Cupids," was a story that surpassed my initial
expectations. Daniel Branca's artwork was wonderfully lively, but David
Gerstein's script from an old Egmont plot was most enjoyable. Like the lead
story in this issue, "Voice" hinged on the clich?s of comic timing (that
Scrooge would never let the demure duck get a word in edgewise, which would
have ended his humiliation).
The two pager that rounded out this issue, another new Gladstone product,
showed promise for artists Craig Deely and Steve Collins. Deely's Ducks
were, alternately, static (page one, panels two and four) and incredibly
animated (page one, panel five; page two, panels two and four). I hope you
continue to give Craig assignments so his talent grows. Trust me, you've got
a winning team there.
Thanks for your time, and keep up the good work. I doubt I'll ever be
disappointed with Gladstone.

Joey Marchese
Union, NJ

Editor: Pat and Shelly are indeed turning out to be formidable talents in
the Disney comics arena and, as you suggested, the European market has
acquired some of their stories from us to run overseas and have even
purchased some scripts from them. (Look for us to run them soon.) Craig
Deely does show some promise but unfortunately his day job keeps him too
busy to do freelance most of the time. Steve Collins is usually available
for inking assignments, however.

There are a few memorable Donald Duck stories about Valentine's Day, but
with the publication of "Three Little Cupids" their number has grown by one.
It had great jokes on each page, and artwork with a fairly distinctive
style. I hope there will be future stories by the Blocks, and I'd also like
to see some biographical articles about them. Is Pat any relation to
political cartoonist Herbert (Herblock) Block?
On the flip side, the back-up stories and one pagers in your last few
issues have left much to be desired. I suggest cutting down on the number of
Tony Strobl gags and instead priting Carl Barks' gags from DONALD DUCK and
UNCLE SCROOGE, since very few of those have been reprinted lately. I'd also
like to see you reprint William Van Horn stories from the period of
1988-1991, such as "A Sound Deal" (MICKEY AND DONALD #2), "The Amazon Queen"
(Gladstone's DONALD DUCK ADVENTURES #20), "Beachhead Bathos" (Disney's DDA
#3), and "It's Bats, Man!" (Disney's DDA #6), and some of Don Rosa's stories
from the 520s and 530s of WALT DISNEY'S COMICS AND STORIES.

Jonathan Markoff
Vienna, VA

Editor: Of course, the final GLADSTONE GAZETTE wouldn't be complete without
letters from Joey Marchese and Jonothon Markoff! Thanks for your input,
guys. Pat reports that he and Herbert Block are not related, and we will
consider reprinting some of our older material.

[Note from JPM: Originally this space was filled with the staff roster,
which I've deleted as mentioned earlier.]

THE GLADSTONE GAZETTE
November, 1996. Published by the Bruce Hamilton Company, 212 S. Montezuma,
Prescott, AZ 86303.
Printed in U. S. A.

[Note from JPM: Shouldn't the zip code be 86302, not 86303?]

*GLADSTONE*
**PROFILE**

**COLLEEN WINKLER**

I was born in Blanding, Utah, and lived on a farm at the edge of town. At
the age of 10, my family moved to Scottsdale, Arizona. At 28, I married,
moved to Prescott, and had a beautiful baby girl. About a year later a
friend told me about Gladstone. I always loved anything to do with Disney,
so I interviewed and was hired to work in the Another Rainbow/Gladstone
Subscription Dept.
After two years, my husband's job relocated us to a different part of
Arizona. Eleven months later his job phased out, we moved back to Prescott
and I returned to Another Rainbow/Gladstone. This time my position was in
the Direct Market and Litho Departments. In July of 1994, I was promoted to
the Art Department as Production Liason and am now working as a Production
Artist and do occasional freeleance coloring.
So after eight going on nine years of working here, you could say I'm
addicted to this company and to Disney comics.
My daughter, Charlene, is proud that her mom not only works for the
company that publishes Walt Disney comic books, but actually helps to make them!

[Note from JPM: following the autobio was a photo of Colleen Winkler.]

[end of GAZETTE {quite literally!}]

And there you have it. The last of a not-so-old school. I can't say that was
one of my best letters in there, but it was written *WAY* back in February
1996, so Gladstone must have really dug into their files!

Actually, a few months ago I planned to make it my self-appointed duty to
herald EVERY issue of TGG in such a manner, but due to Gladstone's sudden
change of plans (which I can't really argue with) that job suddenly became
easier! Of course, if you'd REALLY like, I can always bring you the
*second*-to-the-last GAZETTE issue...

JAKOB SOEDERBAUM:
Thanks for hints as to how to title this mail! Even though Per's computer
"spoiled" the message you tried to send back then. I avoided that problem by
sending mine in one piece!

--Jonathan Markoff

--------------------------------
End of Disney comics Digest V97 Issue #45
*****************************************

Today Sunday February 23rd 1997, the umptieth Disney Comic has appeared in
Italy.
It has strange features maybe worth mentioning. You can't buy it on its own,
but only as an add-on to Italy's second main newspaper "La Repubblica", on
every sunday. It's called "Disney MEGAzine" (no typo, that's it!) and it's
not very cheap (almost doubles the newspaper's price, bringing it from 0.80
Euro to 1.50 Euro. The first issue carries 66 pages, of which only 22 are
comics: 16 one-page new Italian gags (not bad, but nothing special); plus
(most interesting feature!) 6 pages with the first instalment of a complete,
chronological reprinting of Taliaferro's daily strips (1938-02-07 to
1938-02-26).
I haven't decided whether I'll go on buying it (it's not compulsory, you can
also have the newspaper alone!).

By the way: this week's "Topolino" announces for tomorrow the first issue of
"Maestri Disney" which we discussed some weeks ago. I'll buy it and let you
know my opinion...

Marco

<I am not sincere, not even when I say I am not> - Jules Renard

If it weren'tfor Marco's messages, I'd think I'd somehow
gotten unsubscribed from the list. It's been kinda quiet
lately...

On Feb 26, 11:36pm, Marco Barlotti wrote:

> Issue #1 is dedicated to G. B. Carpi, boasted (through a quote from
Willie
> Ito) to represent "in the States, as much a legend as Taliaferro,
> Gottfredson and Barks". I await from our friends there confirmation
or
> denial of Ito's opinion...

Huh? "As much a legend as Taliaferro, Gottfredson, and Barks"?!
In the first place, Barks is way above the others in name
recognition among fans in the States. You drop quite a bit
to reach Gottfredson, then you drop another bit to reach
Taliaferro. Barks is probably the only genuine "legend" of
the three. (Various fans' opinions may differ, of course,
but I think it can be said that objectively speaking, Barks
is in a class by himself for name recognition alone, let alone
collector activity and fannish adulation.) Carpi is utterly
unknown here, since so little Italian product has been
translated and printed in the US. I suspect Ito was being nice
for Carpi's hometown audience...

--Dwight Decker

The Disney comics mailing list has problems. Rather, the computer it
runs on has problems. It was to be replaced with a new computer, but
it didn't work out (my system administrator tells me), and now we're
back with the old one again. This means that there will be new tries
to switch to the new computer soon. I hope they won't be as
disruptive to the list as the last try was.

I am currently going through some messages sent to the list when it
was out of order. Watch this space for more old messages:

--------------------------------
End of Disney comics Digest V97 Issue #44
*****************************************