Hi folks. Here's a copy of a letter I sent to Gladstone today after reading
WDC&S 627. It probably won't be considered appropriate for the letter column,
so I'm curious about the opinions of the list's readers. I hope the discussion
doesn't become too "off-topic". I'm most interested in what, if any, the
reactions to these stories have been during different decades and in different
countries..........>>>>>>>
Carl Barks's "The Icebox Robbers", reprinted in WDC&S 627, reminded me of
a disturbing fact that I first noticed earlier this year, when I started to
collect Barks's reprints. "Lovable" Donald Duck was a terribly abusive
"parent"! Especially in the Barks's ten-pagers, Donald *frequently* threatens
the nephews with a switch,very often because of his own frustration over a
mishap caused accidentally. Such stories could be used for education against
child abuse, but although Donald often ends up embarassed at the end of the
story, he never seem to learn good parenting skills. Such scenes actually
spoil the enjoyment of the stories for me.
I wonder if Donald's behavior was a reflection of common attitudes in
the 1940's. Was there any criticism at the time these stories were written.
Was anyone paying attention to these "simple comic book stories" at all back
then?
Robert Kass, MD
Arlington, MA
Author
Topic: 199807
(382 messages)
RobertK168
Donald's parenting "skills"
Message 16 -
1998-07-01 at 22:04:11
David
License
Message 17 -
1998-07-03 at 15:35:00
In digest #155 John Lustig mentioned that Gladstone's License may not be
renewed. Does anyone out there know much about the details of this
(comments from the staff at Gladstone most welcome).
Incidentally $ = dollar
$ + | is what Don Rosa said ( US dollar) without the bottom.
--------------------------------
End of Disney comics Digest V98 Issue #157
******************************************
renewed. Does anyone out there know much about the details of this
(comments from the staff at Gladstone most welcome).
Incidentally $ = dollar
$ + | is what Don Rosa said ( US dollar) without the bottom.
--------------------------------
End of Disney comics Digest V98 Issue #157
******************************************
-
Rosa comics
Message 18 -
1998-07-03 at 21:03:51
Hi, I've subscribed few weeks later and I'm writing first time. But to the
reason why I'm writing, so I've read all other Rosa's comics than these
"The Duck who fell to Earth" "Recalled wreck" "The Crocodile Collector"
"Fit to pied" "Fir-tree Fracas" "Rocket reverie "Metaphorically Spanking"
"Sailing with Daisy" "Forget Me Not" "Leaky Luck" "The Pied Piper of
Duckburg" "Duck Tales: Back in Time for a Dime!" "Treasure Under Glass"
"The Tenth Avatar" I would be very pleased if someone could tell in which
issues these comics are published in magazines like U$ U$A ....
Mikko Pihkoluoma
reason why I'm writing, so I've read all other Rosa's comics than these
"The Duck who fell to Earth" "Recalled wreck" "The Crocodile Collector"
"Fit to pied" "Fir-tree Fracas" "Rocket reverie "Metaphorically Spanking"
"Sailing with Daisy" "Forget Me Not" "Leaky Luck" "The Pied Piper of
Duckburg" "Duck Tales: Back in Time for a Dime!" "Treasure Under Glass"
"The Tenth Avatar" I would be very pleased if someone could tell in which
issues these comics are published in magazines like U$ U$A ....
Mikko Pihkoluoma
Vidar Svendsen
Marco Rota
Message 19 -
1998-07-03 at 21:21:52
There's a new Andold Wild Duck story in this week's
"Donald Duck & Co" This time Rota has managed to
get a good ending.
What else? There's a nice story by David Gerstein -
good work - and a Barks story (FC1161 A The Whole
Herd of Help) not printed in Norway since 1961.
The 96 pages were worth the Nkr 19,50 (about $2,5)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vidar Svendsen http://home.sol.no/~vidasven
And he said all those numbers
made him numb,
which (he thinks) is why
they're called numbers
"Donald Duck & Co" This time Rota has managed to
get a good ending.
What else? There's a nice story by David Gerstein -
good work - and a Barks story (FC1161 A The Whole
Herd of Help) not printed in Norway since 1961.
The 96 pages were worth the Nkr 19,50 (about $2,5)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vidar Svendsen http://home.sol.no/~vidasven
And he said all those numbers
made him numb,
which (he thinks) is why
they're called numbers
Marco Barlotti
Once upon a time... from Marco!
Message 20 -
1998-07-04 at 01:18:15
I asked:
>
>> Is this the end of the saga?
>
(regarding the <Once upon in America...> saga by Pezzin and Massimo De Vita)
to which Luca Boschi answered:
>Yes!
But I asked Pezzin too... and he told me that TWO more instalments are to
come! One about those flying machines... by Horace and Wilbur... and
another one (still far to come) about the oil rush!
So it is NOT the end of it... it seems! And I am quite glad.
Marco
http://marcobar.cce.unifi.it/Comics
>
>
>> Is this the end of the saga?
>
(regarding the <Once upon in America...> saga by Pezzin and Massimo De Vita)
to which Luca Boschi answered:
>Yes!
But I asked Pezzin too... and he told me that TWO more instalments are to
come! One about those flying machines... by Horace and Wilbur... and
another one (still far to come) about the oil rush!
So it is NOT the end of it... it seems! And I am quite glad.
Marco
http://marcobar.cce.unifi.it/Comics
>
Mikko Pohjola
The Black Knight of Ni-T'pick
Message 21 -
1998-07-04 at 18:22:25
DON ROSA:
[about your use of dialogue in your stories]
> too wordy? Well, wait and see what the original was, and then judge.
The problem may well be that your dialogue are so very... American
English. I don't think the translators always remember to localise the
style before translating. Sometimes this would be very hard indeed as your
stories are so very tempo-spato-cognitive (I hope I got that right) - so
very set in the Western Coast of USA in the 1950's. Somehow this was
especially apparent in this story where heavy accent was used.
> But look at all the blank area in those Finnish balloons! And I'm told to
> make those balloons too big JUST for Finland. I really think I'll start
> making them smaller and expanding the art a bit (it sure needs it,eh?).
That's a good idea. Perhaps one of the reasons for those
over-large balloons is that the Finnish balloons aren't hand-lettered (or
even try to look like that), but use a much smaller font, Ariel Bold 9 or
sumpin'. I think having to add an entire line to each balloon is really
too much - 10% should do the trick just fine.
> Go ahead and ask! I made sure that his head and feet were above the acid
Oh, darn :) There's got to be something you didn't think about...
How about his eye-holes when he was moving through the walls? (I should
write the Nit-Pickers' Guide to Don Rosa ;)
> But... what's the problem with him breathing? There were slots in his helmet
I kind of thought that the Universal Solvent (tm) would also
absorb air. It's not established as to how far it can absorb, but I
figured the 'gravity' of the Solvent would bridge the slots. And even if
this weren't the case, shouldn't the air in front of the slots rush to the
suck of the Solvent. In fact, shouldn't the wind be blowing towards the
Black Knight at all times? (Yes, I'll be a second year science student
this fall. Kind of shows, eh?)
Making this less sci-fi and more on-topic, I notice you had
The Black Knight destroy the old cannon Scrooge got from the Bour War. I
think you in a way crossed the line there. That cannon was a Barks item
which has been seen in many stories. You kind of broke the status-quo
there and I think that's bad. (Although I agree that using the cannon was
just logical.) Perhaps this is the same thing some people object about the
Life of $crooge epic. I don't know. I just think it was a bit like melting
the Old Number One - although not, of course, of such drastic proportions.
I hope I'm not hurting your feelings here, this is all IMHO and meant to
sound much more gentlemanly than my English permits.
Mike - The Finnish Trekkie
PS. Don't worry about your collection; old Finnish books and papers smell
just as good as those of any other country.
[about your use of dialogue in your stories]
> too wordy? Well, wait and see what the original was, and then judge.
The problem may well be that your dialogue are so very... American
English. I don't think the translators always remember to localise the
style before translating. Sometimes this would be very hard indeed as your
stories are so very tempo-spato-cognitive (I hope I got that right) - so
very set in the Western Coast of USA in the 1950's. Somehow this was
especially apparent in this story where heavy accent was used.
> But look at all the blank area in those Finnish balloons! And I'm told to
> make those balloons too big JUST for Finland. I really think I'll start
> making them smaller and expanding the art a bit (it sure needs it,eh?).
That's a good idea. Perhaps one of the reasons for those
over-large balloons is that the Finnish balloons aren't hand-lettered (or
even try to look like that), but use a much smaller font, Ariel Bold 9 or
sumpin'. I think having to add an entire line to each balloon is really
too much - 10% should do the trick just fine.
> Go ahead and ask! I made sure that his head and feet were above the acid
Oh, darn :) There's got to be something you didn't think about...
How about his eye-holes when he was moving through the walls? (I should
write the Nit-Pickers' Guide to Don Rosa ;)
> But... what's the problem with him breathing? There were slots in his helmet
I kind of thought that the Universal Solvent (tm) would also
absorb air. It's not established as to how far it can absorb, but I
figured the 'gravity' of the Solvent would bridge the slots. And even if
this weren't the case, shouldn't the air in front of the slots rush to the
suck of the Solvent. In fact, shouldn't the wind be blowing towards the
Black Knight at all times? (Yes, I'll be a second year science student
this fall. Kind of shows, eh?)
Making this less sci-fi and more on-topic, I notice you had
The Black Knight destroy the old cannon Scrooge got from the Bour War. I
think you in a way crossed the line there. That cannon was a Barks item
which has been seen in many stories. You kind of broke the status-quo
there and I think that's bad. (Although I agree that using the cannon was
just logical.) Perhaps this is the same thing some people object about the
Life of $crooge epic. I don't know. I just think it was a bit like melting
the Old Number One - although not, of course, of such drastic proportions.
I hope I'm not hurting your feelings here, this is all IMHO and meant to
sound much more gentlemanly than my English permits.
Mike - The Finnish Trekkie
PS. Don't worry about your collection; old Finnish books and papers smell
just as good as those of any other country.
Per-Erik Malmström
A French Butcher...
Message 22 -
1998-07-05 at 20:04:00
Hi!
Yesterday I received a copy of the latest issue of PICSOU, and...and...
someone had used a scissor very frequently in that issue. Barks, Rosa,
Branca--no one made it. The first tier of every story is gone!!!
Does anyone know WHY the staff at PICSOU have done this unnecessary and
stupid interference? Leaving room for a HUGE title is not a good excuse.
Best,
Per-Erik
Yesterday I received a copy of the latest issue of PICSOU, and...and...
someone had used a scissor very frequently in that issue. Barks, Rosa,
Branca--no one made it. The first tier of every story is gone!!!
Does anyone know WHY the staff at PICSOU have done this unnecessary and
stupid interference? Leaving room for a HUGE title is not a good excuse.
Best,
Per-Erik
Vidar Svendsen
Marco Rota
Message 23 -
1998-07-05 at 22:06:02
To all Norwegians:
There was an article about Marco Rota in Dagbladet
on the 27.
It can be found at http://www.dagbladet.no/kultur/1998/06/27/118233.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vidar Svendsen http://home.sol.no/~vidasven
And he said all those numbers
made him numb,
which (he thinks) is why
they're called numbers
There was an article about Marco Rota in Dagbladet
on the 27.
It can be found at http://www.dagbladet.no/kultur/1998/06/27/118233.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vidar Svendsen http://home.sol.no/~vidasven
And he said all those numbers
made him numb,
which (he thinks) is why
they're called numbers
Michael Mankus
HD&L's Father?
Message 24 -
1998-07-06 at 00:40:55
Hey Don Rosa, or anyone else that may know, I was looking over the Family
Tree from WDC&S 600 and I remembered that HD&L's father was missing. Don
said he would reveal who it was when we least expected it. Hopefully my
bringing it up doesn't mean we have to wait another four years for us to
least expect it again. Anybody know when Don's going to clue us in on this
mystery duck?
Michael
Tree from WDC&S 600 and I remembered that HD&L's father was missing. Don
said he would reveal who it was when we least expected it. Hopefully my
bringing it up doesn't mean we have to wait another four years for us to
least expect it again. Anybody know when Don's going to clue us in on this
mystery duck?
Michael
Gerstein, David DK - ECN
Disney comics Digest V98 #157
Message 25 -
1998-07-06 at 16:38:02
JUSSI:
>The new issue of Aku Ankka (the Finnish duck mag) just came out and had
>a nice story written by David G. and drawn by Marco Rota.
First of all, glad you liked this! It's my first, and to date
only, collaboration with Rota. But hey, it wasn't only written by me;
it's my plot, but Rota did the pencil script from my page breakdowns, so
very importantly, the *pacing* of the story within each page is *his*.
Meanwhile, the other Rota story you remembered (and yes, it is
indeed Rota's artwork!) is "My Life in an Eggshell" from 1984. I believe
Rota drew it as well as writing it. It was published as a joint venture
by the Italians and Egmont in the mid-1980s, although perhaps it had an
Italian-only publication first (I don't know).
DON:
Happy birthday! Hoping you, your family, and your dogs are
enjoying the best and happiest returns of the day.
David Gerstein
<(Email removed)>
>The new issue of Aku Ankka (the Finnish duck mag) just came out and had
>a nice story written by David G. and drawn by Marco Rota.
First of all, glad you liked this! It's my first, and to date
only, collaboration with Rota. But hey, it wasn't only written by me;
it's my plot, but Rota did the pencil script from my page breakdowns, so
very importantly, the *pacing* of the story within each page is *his*.
Meanwhile, the other Rota story you remembered (and yes, it is
indeed Rota's artwork!) is "My Life in an Eggshell" from 1984. I believe
Rota drew it as well as writing it. It was published as a joint venture
by the Italians and Egmont in the mid-1980s, although perhaps it had an
Italian-only publication first (I don't know).
DON:
Happy birthday! Hoping you, your family, and your dogs are
enjoying the best and happiest returns of the day.
David Gerstein
<(Email removed)>
Don Rosa
Digest #157
Message 26 -
1998-07-06 at 16:43:53
From: Francois
>>>>>well shut my mouth, looks like Don's story ON A SILVER PLATTER has
>appeared not only once in english, but TWICE!
>>The first page of this story was partly (re)drawn by Mau Heymans. This
may explain some of the differences you noticed.
??? Who told you that? It's not true.
They sent me somebody's (Heyman's?) redrawn versions of that page before I
inked, and I changed my pencils somewhat to match how they wanted the Duck
faces to look. But I didn't change too much. The redrawn pencils were
clearly better art than mine, but the faces seemed to lose their
expressiveness... so I sorta aimed in between their pencils and my pencils
when I inked. But the inks were all mine.
Are you saying that there was a difference between any published version of
this story and some other? If so, tell me which. This is, naturally,
possible... but I missed it -- I'd like to see for myself.
>>>>>well shut my mouth, looks like Don's story ON A SILVER PLATTER has
>appeared not only once in english, but TWICE!
>>The first page of this story was partly (re)drawn by Mau Heymans. This
may explain some of the differences you noticed.
??? Who told you that? It's not true.
They sent me somebody's (Heyman's?) redrawn versions of that page before I
inked, and I changed my pencils somewhat to match how they wanted the Duck
faces to look. But I didn't change too much. The redrawn pencils were
clearly better art than mine, but the faces seemed to lose their
expressiveness... so I sorta aimed in between their pencils and my pencils
when I inked. But the inks were all mine.
Are you saying that there was a difference between any published version of
this story and some other? If so, tell me which. This is, naturally,
possible... but I missed it -- I'd like to see for myself.
Michael Lobel
Follow-up to my original posting
Message 27 -
1998-07-06 at 16:47:05
I posted a message last week about help with an image of Mickey and
Donald that Roy Lichtenstein used for an early-1960s Pop painting.
Unfortunately, soon after the posting my school's e-mail server went down
for about 2 days. If anyone tried to contact me (which I'm hoping was the
case!) and couldn't get through, I'd appreciate if you'd contact me again
- the server's back on-line.
Thanks!
Michael Lobel
(Email removed)
Donald that Roy Lichtenstein used for an early-1960s Pop painting.
Unfortunately, soon after the posting my school's e-mail server went down
for about 2 days. If anyone tried to contact me (which I'm hoping was the
case!) and couldn't get through, I'd appreciate if you'd contact me again
- the server's back on-line.
Thanks!
Michael Lobel
(Email removed)
Fluks, H.W.
On a silver platter
Message 28 -
1998-07-06 at 18:37:13
(retrying to send a message from last Friday)
Matthew:
> I know absolutely zero
> french, but I believe the title is something about a SILVER PLATTER
> [...] the backgrounds don't seem as visually "crowded"
> (and I use that as a good term) as most of your work I'm familiar with.
Francois replied that Mau Heymans "(re)drew" some pages. Actually, Mau
pencilled the first page (and two heads on other pages), which Don then
inked. But apart from that, the Dutch editors retouched the final inked
version, removing some of the background details, and/or what they
thought was too dark shading.
--Harry.
Matthew:
> I know absolutely zero
> french, but I believe the title is something about a SILVER PLATTER
> [...] the backgrounds don't seem as visually "crowded"
> (and I use that as a good term) as most of your work I'm familiar with.
Francois replied that Mau Heymans "(re)drew" some pages. Actually, Mau
pencilled the first page (and two heads on other pages), which Don then
inked. But apart from that, the Dutch editors retouched the final inked
version, removing some of the background details, and/or what they
thought was too dark shading.
--Harry.
Cebarat
Disney comics Digest V98 #157
Message 29 -
1998-07-06 at 18:37:25
KATIE SULLIVAN gave DON ROSA a "normal distribution curve" as a way of wishing
him Happy Birthday.
Get the hint, Don? When are we going to see that Duck story revolving around
mathematics? ;-)
In any event, Don, Happy Birthday.
ROBERT KASS wrote a letter to Gladstone about "The Icebox Robbers," the
mid-40's story reprinted in WDC&S 627:
<<Carl Barks's "The Icebox Robbers", reprinted in WDC&S 627, reminded me of
a disturbing fact that I first noticed earlier this year, when I started to
collect Barks's reprints. "Lovable" Donald Duck was a terribly abusive
"parent"! Especially in the Barks's ten-pagers, Donald *frequently*
threatens
the nephews with a switch,very often because of his own frustration over a
mishap caused accidentally. Such stories could be used for education against
child abuse, but although Donald often ends up embarassed at the end of the
story, he never seem to learn good parenting skills. Such scenes actually
spoil the enjoyment of the stories for me.
I wonder if Donald's behavior was a reflection of common attitudes in
the 1940's. Was there any criticism at the time these stories were written.
Was anyone paying attention to these "simple comic book stories" at all back
then?>>
As far as I can tell, the criticism over Donald's "parenting skills" began
coming in the 1950's -- and then, it had more to do with Donald's language
(telling the boys to "shut up" and the like). The "Silent Night" and
"Milkman" stories were banned, but not
because Donald was overly mean to the nephews.
"The Icebox Robbers" has more to do with Donald's stubbornness than it does
with his willingness to whip HD&L. He can't conceive of any explanation for
the missing food other than that the boys took it. Similarly, in a lot of
other stories in which Donald whips the boys, it is pretty clearly displayed
as being an overreaction and a result of Donald's temper and willingness to
jump to conclusions. It very rarely works as a deterrent for very long.
I've no doubt that Barks felt that a good, old-fashioned whipping could be an
appropriate means of discipline; else he would never have done the "Pulpheart
Clabberhead" story, with its implicit attack on the Dr. Spock theory of child-
raising. But the way he presented these scenes emphasized their ultimate
ineffectiveness as a means of disciplining kids. In Barks' universe, kids are
usually able to circumvent
such tactics.
Christopher E. Barat
(Email removed)
http://members.aol.com/cebarat/home.htm
him Happy Birthday.
Get the hint, Don? When are we going to see that Duck story revolving around
mathematics? ;-)
In any event, Don, Happy Birthday.
ROBERT KASS wrote a letter to Gladstone about "The Icebox Robbers," the
mid-40's story reprinted in WDC&S 627:
<<Carl Barks's "The Icebox Robbers", reprinted in WDC&S 627, reminded me of
a disturbing fact that I first noticed earlier this year, when I started to
collect Barks's reprints. "Lovable" Donald Duck was a terribly abusive
"parent"! Especially in the Barks's ten-pagers, Donald *frequently*
threatens
the nephews with a switch,very often because of his own frustration over a
mishap caused accidentally. Such stories could be used for education against
child abuse, but although Donald often ends up embarassed at the end of the
story, he never seem to learn good parenting skills. Such scenes actually
spoil the enjoyment of the stories for me.
I wonder if Donald's behavior was a reflection of common attitudes in
the 1940's. Was there any criticism at the time these stories were written.
Was anyone paying attention to these "simple comic book stories" at all back
then?>>
As far as I can tell, the criticism over Donald's "parenting skills" began
coming in the 1950's -- and then, it had more to do with Donald's language
(telling the boys to "shut up" and the like). The "Silent Night" and
"Milkman" stories were banned, but not
because Donald was overly mean to the nephews.
"The Icebox Robbers" has more to do with Donald's stubbornness than it does
with his willingness to whip HD&L. He can't conceive of any explanation for
the missing food other than that the boys took it. Similarly, in a lot of
other stories in which Donald whips the boys, it is pretty clearly displayed
as being an overreaction and a result of Donald's temper and willingness to
jump to conclusions. It very rarely works as a deterrent for very long.
I've no doubt that Barks felt that a good, old-fashioned whipping could be an
appropriate means of discipline; else he would never have done the "Pulpheart
Clabberhead" story, with its implicit attack on the Dr. Spock theory of child-
raising. But the way he presented these scenes emphasized their ultimate
ineffectiveness as a means of disciplining kids. In Barks' universe, kids are
usually able to circumvent
such tactics.
Christopher E. Barat
(Email removed)
http://members.aol.com/cebarat/home.htm
Fluks, H.W.
Mailing list trip
Message 30 -
1998-07-06 at 18:39:39
(Retry from last Friday)
Hi all! I've just returned from a short trip to several mailing list
members in Denmark, Sweden and Germany. This mail is a short report of
my trip, so you can use the "down" button to skip it...
I left my parents' home in Groningen by car on Tuesday last week, and I
was surprised how short a trip it was to Ole R. Nielsen in Langaa. Only
7 hours! Denmark is just a small country...
Ole has a really BIG collection of comic books. Not only from Denmark,
but also from Holland, Germany, etc.! And in the beautiful (?) city of
Aarhus we found even more interesting comics. I exchanged my pile of
double comics with Ole's. Ole: your comics have found their way to the
various Danes/Americans, Swedes, and Germans!
Ole and I were discussing a story that had the code "RYDAHL 289". It
turns out that Rydahl is the name of an artist who did a lot of
(re)drawing for Egmont in the 60s and 70s. It's quite rare to see the
name of an artist as a "story code" in the story!
After a "resting" day in Odense and Naestved, I visited David Gerstein
in Copenhagen. We had lunch, I had a brief meeting with Byron Erickson
(he was very busy), and after working time we had a drink, with Stefan
and Unn Printz-Pahlson. The day concluded with a late Indian dinner with
Kim Syberg. And all the time we were talking about Disney comics, Disney
comics, and Disney comics...
On Saturday we visited the most important parts of Copenhagen: the comic
shops (the Cigars of the Pharaoh, and Fantask). There I got me (at last)
the Danish "Life of Scrooge" album. This albums looks VERY good! I never
planned to buy it, but with this quality I simply couldn't resist.
After that, we took a ferry to Malmo (Sweden), to visit Stefan Dios,
Sweden's number 1 Disney comics fan (actually, he's number 314...).
Apart from meeting Stefan himself, it was also a pleasure to see his
comic collection, both in his room and in the attic.
Sunday, after an excellent dinner at David's, with Christian Hojsteen,
it was time to leave Denmark. The next day I met Brix Lichtenberg in
Germany. We went to the library of the German Donaldist society in
Eutin. There is only one shelf there, but with SO many information, that
I think I would need a week to go through it all! We had to make a
selection, and we made photocopies of some of the most important things.
At Brix' home, I started wondering who has the biggest Disney comics
collection. I'm not sure, but all the people I visited are somewhere on
top of the list!
The last day of my short holiday, I visited Hamburg. I didn't find the
comic shop there ("Wahnsinn"), but by coincidence I ran into a shop
where they sold original Barks artwork and Barks lithographs. Very
interesting to see, though I wouldn't buy anything at those prices...
I could have told a lot more, but that would be even more boring than
this mail already is...
A big THANKS to everyone!
(that is: Ole, Alis, Henning, David, Byron, Stefan, Unn, Soeren,
Anne-Marie, Anne, Kim, Stefan, Christian, Brix, and Simone [?], and
probably some people I forgot...)
--Harry.
Hi all! I've just returned from a short trip to several mailing list
members in Denmark, Sweden and Germany. This mail is a short report of
my trip, so you can use the "down" button to skip it...
I left my parents' home in Groningen by car on Tuesday last week, and I
was surprised how short a trip it was to Ole R. Nielsen in Langaa. Only
7 hours! Denmark is just a small country...
Ole has a really BIG collection of comic books. Not only from Denmark,
but also from Holland, Germany, etc.! And in the beautiful (?) city of
Aarhus we found even more interesting comics. I exchanged my pile of
double comics with Ole's. Ole: your comics have found their way to the
various Danes/Americans, Swedes, and Germans!
Ole and I were discussing a story that had the code "RYDAHL 289". It
turns out that Rydahl is the name of an artist who did a lot of
(re)drawing for Egmont in the 60s and 70s. It's quite rare to see the
name of an artist as a "story code" in the story!
After a "resting" day in Odense and Naestved, I visited David Gerstein
in Copenhagen. We had lunch, I had a brief meeting with Byron Erickson
(he was very busy), and after working time we had a drink, with Stefan
and Unn Printz-Pahlson. The day concluded with a late Indian dinner with
Kim Syberg. And all the time we were talking about Disney comics, Disney
comics, and Disney comics...
On Saturday we visited the most important parts of Copenhagen: the comic
shops (the Cigars of the Pharaoh, and Fantask). There I got me (at last)
the Danish "Life of Scrooge" album. This albums looks VERY good! I never
planned to buy it, but with this quality I simply couldn't resist.
After that, we took a ferry to Malmo (Sweden), to visit Stefan Dios,
Sweden's number 1 Disney comics fan (actually, he's number 314...).
Apart from meeting Stefan himself, it was also a pleasure to see his
comic collection, both in his room and in the attic.
Sunday, after an excellent dinner at David's, with Christian Hojsteen,
it was time to leave Denmark. The next day I met Brix Lichtenberg in
Germany. We went to the library of the German Donaldist society in
Eutin. There is only one shelf there, but with SO many information, that
I think I would need a week to go through it all! We had to make a
selection, and we made photocopies of some of the most important things.
At Brix' home, I started wondering who has the biggest Disney comics
collection. I'm not sure, but all the people I visited are somewhere on
top of the list!
The last day of my short holiday, I visited Hamburg. I didn't find the
comic shop there ("Wahnsinn"), but by coincidence I ran into a shop
where they sold original Barks artwork and Barks lithographs. Very
interesting to see, though I wouldn't buy anything at those prices...
I could have told a lot more, but that would be even more boring than
this mail already is...
A big THANKS to everyone!
(that is: Ole, Alis, Henning, David, Byron, Stefan, Unn, Soeren,
Anne-Marie, Anne, Kim, Stefan, Christian, Brix, and Simone [?], and
probably some people I forgot...)
--Harry.