Keskustelujen arkisto

Matt-

All three of your recent posts were lost in translation because you need to turn
off your HTML format before sending to this Mailing List.

For those interested, here is what Matt sent:

Matthew Williams kingofduckburg at hotmail.com:
:Magica / Glomgold / pig villain--EVIL?
:This is my first post, so I hope that I do it correctly! I would say that
:Flintheart Glomgold is NOT evil!
:
:I base this on his second appearance in "The Money Champ.
:I don't have the comic in front of me, but I vividly remember him dealing with
:guilt in the comic. Doesn't he even say something about how he's glad that his
:mother can't see him now? I don't think someone can be 100% evil unless they are
:completely remorseless.
:
:I?m not sure how to reconcile this with his actions in ?So Far and No Safari.?
:
:I guess I like to imagine him still fiercely struggling with the tattered shreds
:of his morality between the panels!
:
:I think the pig character certainly SEEMS evil, but I think the real issue is
:that he?s just a poorly developed character.
:
:He lacks Glomgold?s depth.
:
:Is there anything that can be said for the character beyond he?s boundlessly
:selfish, ruthless, and completely only interested in his own advancement?
:
:Magica is more interesting! I?m not sure where she fits.
:
:I?m tempted to lean towards ?amoral.
:
:What do the rest of you think?
:
:DuckTales: Love It or Hate It?
:As a new member of the group, I just wanted to hear what all of you thought about
:DuckTales.
:
:I know that many Barks purists have a deep and abiding hatred of the show, but I
:still have quite a soft spot for the series.
:
:I recognize that Barks?s original comics are superior (duh), but I believe the
:show (at its best) still has merit.
:
:I know I would have never bought my first Disney comic book if I hadn?tbecome
:fascinated with Scrooge from watching the series.
:
:The show introduced the world of the Ducks to me, and I would have never
:discovered Barks without it
:
:Furthermore, I think Launchpad is an incredible creation.
:
:He?s not just a moron or a buffoon, and he?s not just a one-dimensional hero
:character either.
:Incidentally, I was curious if Launchpad ever appeared in comics outside of the
:United States

:I know William Van Horn did some interesting things with the character post-
:DuckTales, but have any writers or artists used him outside of the DuckTales and
:Darkwing Duck stories created in the late eighties and early nineties.
:
:Matt Williams

As for my own comments on your queries, I would agree that generally the
characters are not "evil", but they are of a baser naturer (though "evil" is a
convenient description none-the-less). They are greedy and self-centered, but, in
many ways, so is Scrooge, though Scrooge would not do things to intentionally hurt
others or take away from them by means of illegal measures. Scrooge tries to work
within the confines of his capitalistic views. Perhaps the worst is Argus McSwine
(the Pig-Villain).

As for DuckTales, it will go down as one of my favorite TV programs ever and I was
extremely saddened by it's demise. I wish Disney would at least consider reviving
the concept either for TV or for video specials or movies.

Thanks,

Rich Bellacera
(Email removed)

---- Msg sent via CWNet - http://cwnet.com/

heh. This is my first post as well so here goes nothing.

I've never thought Glomgold was evil, BUT I've always thought that he was
the "Anti-Scrooge" - meaning that whereas Scrooge would not resort to
devious underhanded tricks (something he did once that haunted him the rest
of his life with Foola Zoola), Glomgold would have no qualms about running
people off thier land with guns or getting money by any underhanded trick in
the book. If the Disney Comics were of a darker nature I probably think he'd
even go so much as have soimebody killed just to keep his secrets or get
more money. But luckily the Disney comics dont have to deal with that nasty
aspect. ;)

Evil is a very broad term thats thrown around WAAAAAAAAAAAAY too often to
describe any villianous character. Probably the only person who'd come
CLOSEST to that description would maybe be Magica DeSpell. I've always seen
her as being the most malicious out of all the Duck villians primarily
because her desperation would lead her to do ANYTHING to get her hands on
the Number One Dime.

As far as the Brutopian Spy/Random Pig Villian (Wasn't the primary pig
villian given the name of McSwine in a few stories?), I see him more of a
nuisance than anything else be it to Donald or Scrooge. His character has
always been the "generic one shot villian" thats udes when the big two dont
fit. I'd like to see his character developed more maybe or other villians
broiught into the picture besides the Beagle Boys myself. I have to say I've
grown rather fond of Don Rosa's Arpin Lusene though. :)

Jonathan H. Gray
The Dubba Dubba WB!!!
Now With "Amazing College Graduate" Action!

CNW & Time Trouble: My Daily Comic Strips -
http://diversions.toonzone.net/chipandwalter
The CKC Message Board -
http://diversions.toonzone.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard/ikonboard.cgi
Dub's Daily Journal - http://www.deadjournal.com/users/wb/

_________________________________________________________________
Get MSN 8 Dial-up Internet Service FREE for one month. Limited time offer--
sign up now! http://join.msn.com/?page=dept/dialup

Derek:

> One thing I've wondered is that on the 'In This Issue' page for the US
> and
> WDC comics you seemingly never see when a particularly story was
> originally
> published.... Unless it's a Carl Barks story. ...it seems kind of
> 'unfair' for Carl Barks stories to have
> that info, but not all the other stories as well.

What we cite is a story's original publication in America, if any,
irrespective of creator.

Gary

Posted by Mads Jensen:
Hi

I read the post about US 322, so I guess it's now ?! If then, why is it only
WDC 637 that has its cover shown on www.gemstonepub.com ?

Could anyone do a scan of US 322 please ?

best,Mads
------------------------------------------------

<A HREF="http://starfi.tripod.com/us_322_cover">http://starfi.tripod.com/us_322_cover</A>

I hope that link works for you. I just made a Tripod account and know very
little about making a webpage. Gotta figure out how to upload my Frontpage files
instead of using the dull Tripod-provided themes.

Posted by Gary Leach:

What we cite is a story's original publication in America, if any,
irrespective of creator.

Gary
-------------------------------------

Ah, I see now. I had just noticed the Barks stories for some reason. But my
biggest reason for bringing it up was that the stories that I knew that were
from Egmont, etc. weren't given the original publication data as well as the
Barks(I know learn all American) stories. I'm just suggesting that perhaps the
data for those stories should be done in a similiar manner.

At any rate it's a small detail that doesn't affect the quality of the books
in even a minor way, but it might be something to do at some point in the
future.

Derek Smith

Okay-I think I've solved the HTML problem. My apologies to all of you for
junking up your accounts!

I'm fascinated by the discussion of what EVIL is. I teach literature and
writing courses at a liberal arts university, and I am used to discussing
morality as something that ranges from bright white to off-white to gray to
black. I think of evil as being 100% black. I second Katie's definition of
evil meaning COMPLETELY without pity, mercy or compassion.

I've got my copy of the Gladstone comics album from the early nineties that
collects all three of Barks' Glomgold stories, and I'm fascinated by the
evolution of the character. In "The Second Richest Duck," he is basically
just a copy of Scrooge. I too LOVE that scene where the boys help him walk
home! In "The Money Champ," he sells out his integrity in his desperation
to beat Scrooge, but he really seems to be in some serious angst over it.
That line I was trying to remember earlier was this: "I've betrayed my dear
old mother's fondest hopes! I've turned myself into a scoundrel-all to win
the title of world's richest duck!" At this point, I certainly don't view
him as evil. BUT it's hard to ignore how ruthless he is in "So Far and No
Safari." I'm particularly struck by the scene where he is disguised as a
witch doctor and our heroes come to his aid. He actually thinks, "My
business is still to see that my kindly rescuer never gets to that mine
auction." Now that IS evil! Wanting to annihilate the ducks simply for
financial gain is evil alone, but to recognize someone as kind and still
want to do them great harm.well, that's rough!

Where does that leave us with the character, though? Which is the true
Flintheart? It makes me wonder about Barks and how his attitudes towards
life and the rest of the world changed from 1956 to 1958 to 1965.

Oh and Olaf-I'm not sure about the good Mr. Barks, but I assure you that
instead of referring to you as a "foreigner," I would refer to you as "a
fellow citizen of the world"!

Matt Williams

Like Jonathan, I was around seven years old when DuckTales hit
the airwaves. Unlike him, I was already very familiar with
Barks. My dad was a big fan while growing up (although like so
many of his generation he was unaware of Barks' identity for
many years, thinking of him only as "the good artist.") ;) So
naturally when I was old enough to enjoy a good story, Dad dug
out his old comics to read to me. So I was enjoying Barks
before I could even read the stories myself! When I saw
advertisements about DuckTales I was THRILLED! I loved Mickey's
Christmas Carol, but it was just Scrooge playing a part; it
wasn't our beloved obsquamatillionaire.
I still remember the first time I saw DuckTales. I was so
excited to see my favorite characters come to life on the
screen! I was quite disappointed that Donald didn't have much
of a role, but otherwise I loved the show. I thought Gyro
sounded older than I imagined him, and Magica's accent sounded
anything but Italian. o_0 Being a little girl myself, I liked
Webby, although now I must admit she's a bit nauseating in her
uber-cuteness. ;) At first I didn't like what they had done to
Flintheart Glomgold (making him Scottish and having him live in
Duckburg instead of South Africa) but in time he grew on me, and
I came to like him very much. I just sort of looked at the
DuckTales Flinty and the Barks Flinty as two seperate characters
who happened to have the same name. ;) I never did grow to
like the DuckTales Beagles very much. I understand why they had
to give them distinct personalities for the screen, but it never
seemed quite right.

I still watched the second season, with Gizmoduck/Fenton, Bubba
and Tootsie, but I never liked those new characters much.
Fenton was cute but I was baffled as to why they had to keep
introducing new characters but kept on ignoring Donald! (I
realize now merchandising and licensing considerations were at
work, but when you're eight years old you don't think about
those factors.)

I like Launchpad well enough, I guess. I don't dislike him, by
any means. I just resented him being a replacement for Donald.
I didn't see him as a necessary character when Donald already
existed to fill that sort of a role. Granted, Donald didn't
have a pilot's license, but that was about it. Like Johnathan
said, I think the episodes where Donald and Launchpad both
tagged along with Scrooge were very interesting. The interplay
between the three was cool.

And I have to feel fondly about DuckTales because it was their
adaptation of "Back to the Klondike" that first introduced me to
Glittering Goldie. My dad's collection of old comics didn't
have a copy of that particular story, so I didn't know about her
before then. As fate would have it, Gladstone published an
album version of it right after that episode aired (like, within
weeks--I don't know if this was purpose, but I doubt it.) Once
I had read the original Barks version, I loved the character
even more. Being a young girl and a hopeless romantic, it
wasn't long before I was doodling notebooks full of Scrooge and
Goldie surrounded by gaudy pink hearts. ;) (And yes, a child
CAN read the uncensored version of "Back to the Klondike" and
NOT be permanently scarred by the violence and innuendo, thank
you very much...LOL!)

Anyway, I really like Don Rosa's idea about DuckTales being an
unauthorized biographical series that $crooge (or his
descendants) would dislike and sue over. ;) I also like the
related idea that Mickey Mouse exists in the/his duck universe
as he does in ours--a cartoon character, or at least a movie
personality. ;)

The bottom line: I like DuckTales for what it is, while
recognizing the problems with it. I have many fond memories of
it, and it will always have a special place in my heart, but it
pales in comparison to Barks, Rosa and the other comics masters.

> From: "Matthew Williams" <kingofduckburg at hotmail.com>

I just noticed the e-mail address. Cute! :D

> I'm fascinated by the discussion of what EVIL is. I teach
> literature and
> writing courses at a liberal arts university, and I am used to
> discussing
> morality as something that ranges from bright white to
> off-white to gray to
> black. I think of evil as being 100% black. I second Katie's
> definition of
> evil meaning COMPLETELY without pity, mercy or compassion.

Thanks! We probably think alike because I just finished up a
five-year stint at a liberal arts university earning my
bachelor's degree in English literature! :) I recall some Jane
Austen discussions that got off on a bit of a tangent about the
nature of good and evil... Ah, the memories. I miss lit
classes.

> I've got my copy of the Gladstone comics album from the early
> nineties that
> collects all three of Barks' Glomgold stories, and I'm
> fascinated by the
> evolution of the character.

Me too! I like your exploration about this but I'm getting
sleepy so I won't comment too much on it. ;)

> Where does that leave us with the character, though? Which is
> the true
> Flintheart? It makes me wonder about Barks and how his
> attitudes towards
> life and the rest of the world changed from 1956 to 1958 to
> 1965.

Indeed. I'll have to dig around in my comic albums to see where
that article went that I referred to in my earlier mail. I know
Barks had something to say about that, once...

Don Rosa wrote:
> I have
> a Beagle Boy reading a copy that he finds on the stand in
> $crooge's private
> bathroom in the Bin. (We'll see if that detail gets into the
> upcoming
> Gemstone version.

LOL!!!! Considering $crooge's opinion of the "show" (in his
universe) I wonder if that's there for reading material or in
case the Sears catalog runs out... ;)

> Ooohhh, I'd say someone is evil if he is shown expressing his
> innermost
> thoughts about how *evil* a deed he is doing, how much it
> would "hurt his
> mother"... and then *still* does it.

LOL, well, when you put it THAT way... ;)

> But $crooge is a threat to FG's personal identity. FG wants
him to
> DIE. Cease to
> exist. He wants to kill him and grind his bones to dust.

Like I said, when you put it THAT way... ;) Seriously, though,
I see what you mean. It *is* a matter of identity, a very
personal thing.

> I love the triumvirate of evil that Barks created in these
> three -- one
> (group) wants the largest part of $crooge's wealth, the
> contents of his Bin.
> One wants the *smallest* part of $crooge's wealth, a single
> Dime. And the
> *evilest* of the three wants *nothing* that $crooge has but
> his very
> existence.

That triumvirate (love that word!) and was never shown so
clearly or brilliantly than in "A Little Something Special." I
just love how they work together, play off of each other, and
prey on each other in that. The complex interaction of the
villains is really a treat to see.
(And am I completely insane or do Flintheart and Magica make a
cute couple? o_0 Wait, don't answer that, I KNOW I'm
completely insane. And now I'm half asleep, which compounds the
problem!)

> There you go! That's the guy! And the story I'm working on
> *right now* is
> "The Black Knight GLORPS Again!".

Ooh, fun!!! :D

Okay, I'm going to shut up and get some sleep now. ;)

Katie Sullivan
http://www.sullivanet.com

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
The New Yahoo! Shopping - with improved product search
http://shopping.yahoo.com

Mademoiselle Katie Sullivan:
> I didn't see him as a necessary character when Donald already
> existed to fill that sort of a role. Granted, Donald didn't
> have a pilot's license, but that was about it.

He didn't? I don't know if Barks has used it, but I've several times seen
Donald flying an airplane. And I also remember him saying several times that he
HAS a pilot's license... and bragging that he used to fly everywhere for his
uncle Scrooge McDuck.

Monsieur Don Rosa:
> The Beagle Boys -- they are lovable and goofy, and only want $crooge's
> money. They don't hate $crooge, he is no threat to their "personal
> identity". They might even have a soft spot for him. They would never try
> to hurt (or kill!) him. If I ever show them with such a notion, it would only
> be to set up a gag or... I was careless.

Again, my terrible memory keeps me from remembering whether BARKS has used this
factor or not, but the Beagle Boys have on several occations left Scrooge
somewhere to die. To start with a really bad example, as that's a story written
by the very person I'm talking to now, Life of Scrooge part 12. There, The
Beagle Boys lock up Scrooge in a room in an abondoned building with no food or
heat. In the same series part 2, another set of Beagles lock up Scrooge with a
steam engine minutes away from exploding. (Then again, you most likely were
careless?)
The best example I can think of from Barks, is "Only a poor old man", where The
Beagle Boys try hard to destroy a dam (sorry, I really don't have my dictionary
around) when Scrooge is standing on it. Also, I think Daniel mentioned "The
Doom Diamond" as an example of something similar, but I've unfortunately never
read it.

> Magica -- same thing. $crooge is no threat to her. All she wants is his #1
> Dime. She should not wish any evil to befall $crooge (aside from losing his
> Dime to her) because, if he lost his fortune, that might even have a
> negative effect on the spell she plans to use on the Dime.

Would it? I mean... Scrooge has touched it a million times, and he was very
rich WHEN touching it. So... Does the coin lose a little of its "magic" every
time it's touched by e.g. Donald (who's not very wealthy), or does the
coin "remember" everybody that has ever touched it and draw its magical value
from their *current* wealth?

If I interpret this definition correctly, Don: When Magica melts a coin, that
coin browses through its files of everybody that has ever touched it, and sends
magical signals out into the world to figure out what their CURRENT wealth is
(instead of just remembering what their wealth was when they touched it)... and
then the magical value of the coin is defined by the average of that or
something? And if the "magical value" passes a certain amount - either with the
coin on its own or added with other coins - it makes an amulet which gives the
bearer the Midas touch? *phew*

Hmm... this made me wonder why that amulet Magica made from Croesus' first coin
never worked. After all, regardless of Croesus - what she wanted in the first
place was a coin that Scrooge had touched. And he most certainly had touched
the coin of Croesus. So... Why didn't it work just as good as the coin she
would have asked for in the first place?

> The only thing that's needed is a villain who wants nothing that $crooge
> has and is actually a really nice fella who would never steal a cent from
> anyone who can't afford it and wouldn't harm a fly. Who would that be?

Hmm... Robin Hood? :-)

> There you go! That's the guy! And the story I'm working on *right now* is
> "The Black Knight GLORPS Again!".

If I may ask... does that mean that you've finished that other story you were
working on (the one taking place in the old castle)? And that the story is
approved by Egmont so that we may get to see it in 8-10 months?

By the way, what was the final title for that... "A letter from home"?

Best,
Olaf the Blue

> From: Olaf Solstrand [mailto:olaf at andebyonline.com]
> the Beagle Boys have on several occations left Scrooge
> somewhere to die.

As I said, the necessities of a story may have caused me to have the Beagles
doing something less than healthy to $crooge, but that doesn't change my
very definite ideas of their personalities. However, none of the examples
you give would be good ones because...

> ... Life of Scrooge part 12.
> There, The
> Beagle Boys lock up Scrooge in a room in an abondoned building
> with no food or heat.

Well, that's hardly very deadly, just done to delay pursuit. They had all
sorts of ways to break down the door and did so immediately.

> In the same series part 2, another set of Beagles lock up
> Scrooge with a
> steam engine minutes away from exploding. (Then again, you most
> likely were
> careless?)

No... that was NOT the Beagle Boys I refer to. That was their parents lead
by Blackheart Beagle whom, yes, *is* murderous! He not only tried to kill
$crooge but kill everyone in Duckburg in "A Little Something Special". I'd
say Blackheart is *far* more evil than Glomgold, and I was explaining why in
that story.

> The best example I can think of from Barks, is "Only a poor old
> man", where The
> Beagle Boys try hard to destroy a dam when Scrooge is standing on it.

Why do you see that as a good example? They were aiming at the dam, not
$crooge. If $crooge wanted to preserve life and limb, all he had to do was
get off the dam. A millionaire Duck's place is in the Bin, not by a dam
site. (Don't try to figure out that incredibly obscure movie reference. If
anyone does, I'll do them a free drawing. Dan Shane not eligible!) Nothing
in that story shows any personal animosity against $crooge's well-being.

> If I interpret this definition correctly, Don: When Magica melts
> a coin, that
> coin browses through its files of everybody that has ever touched
> it, and sends
> magical signals out into the world to figure out what their
> CURRENT wealth is
> (instead of just remembering what their wealth was when they
> touched it)... and
> then the magical value of the coin is defined by the average of that or
> something?

Wow. Where did you derive that complex definition? That's even more
complicated than something I'd come up with.

> Hmm... this made me wonder why that amulet Magica made from
> Croesus' first coin never worked.

Didn't they translate that story right in Norway? The whole point of the
story, clearly stated (?), was that $crooge was richer than Croesus. But
that was only a plot device -- the real reason would be more like that
Croesus perhaps never handled the coin much. Being a king, he never carried
money on him like $crooge might have all his life.

> After all, regardless of Croesus - what she wanted
> in the first
> place was a coin that Scrooge had touched. And he most certainly
> had touched
> the coin of Croesus. So... Why didn't it work just as good as the
> coin she
> would have asked for in the first place?

Huh? No, she doesn't want a coin that $crooge or some other wealthy person
has simply touched. Barks' original story said she wants a coin that a very
wealthy man has handled *a lot*. Not only is $crooge the richest man in the
world, but that was his first coin and he carried it constantly for about 80
years! There might be other wealthy men whose old coins would do the trick
for Magica, but she'll never manage to find a richer man nor a coin that's
been handled so much by any rich man. I've always thought about doing a
story where she gives up and goes after Glomgold's first rand, and I
actually showed that happening in "A Little Something Special" though I
never showed how that turned out since it was a closing gag.

> If I may ask... does that mean that you've finished that other
> story you were
> working on (the one taking place in the old castle)? And that the
> story is
> approved by Egmont so that we may get to see it in 8-10 months?

I finished that in early August. And it never takes 8-10 months for my
stories to see print (I say "my" because those are the only stories whose
timing I am aware of)... a story will normally appear 6 months after I send
it in, but the publishers get anxious and sometimes ask for a rush process
to get my story into print in just a few months after completion. That was
initially the case on this one, but I hear they thought better of it and
went back to the normal schedule. I guess it might be seen around January?

> By the way, what was the final title for that... "A letter from home"?

I had two titles for that story -- one title didn't carry much intrigue and
the other title was too esoteric. So, as in old movie serials and Rocky and
Bullwinkle cartoons, I suggested using both titles together. I'm *sure*
Egmont won't like that idea, so the double-title might only be used by
Gemstone or other non-Egmont publishers. Anyway, my title is "A Letter from
Home ***or*** The Old Castle's OTHER Secret".