Keskustelujen arkisto

My congratulations to Rosa and the U$ title. (Even if it is the
"younger audiences" title.) Maybe if Scrooge showed a li'l more
skin/feather, U$ will get nominated for the big-boy title. :P Yeah,
the lack of Disney nominations does continue to set a bad precedent for
Disney Comics in the USA and elsewhere. The *for youngsters* stigma has
been choking Disney for quite some time and will continue in the
future. Sadly...

Maybe Steve Geppi and Gemstone could come up with a campaign to bring
in more readers. It will of course have to be a targeted campaign to
either attract kids or adults. (Or both if they could afford it.)
Gemstone could most likely take advantage the newly acquired "younger
audiences" title and push Disney comics as a family friendly affair.
Maybe even throw in another new Disney franchise that consists of a
movie, TV series, and comic book series published by Gemstone.
(Ducktales is good example.) Plug Gemstone Comics every other
commercial break during ABC kids (saturday mornings), ABC family, Toon
Disney, and the Disney Channel. Then buy time on other networks such as
Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, etc. "So how the heck would you plug a
comic book on TV?" Well, some examples for possible TV spots can be
found at Egmont Ehapa Verlag's Lustiges-Taschenbuch site.
<http://www.lustiges-taschenbuch.de/content/rundumltb/tvspots.html>
Last but not least, have a graphic/ad on Disney's many websites,
prominently displayed that links to the official site. (Gemstone's or
the comic's). Disney's Danish site has an easy to find link to the
Anders And & Co. site, I don't see why Disney couldn't do the same for
Gemstone.

For Adults, Gemstone could either create a prestigious format
adult-title or retool U$ as an adult oriented title. (Basically a
title with stories written at an adult level, nothing sleazy.) Start an
ad campaign in magazines and or radio that have readers that could
possibly be pulled in to the local bookstores or online shops and buy
a comic book that won't shame them. Push it as an
adventure/suspence/mystery book. (Okay, it doesn't have to be all
three, if you don't want.) Of course the cover will have to have a
more adult look, how ever you define that. :P Inside the bookstore,
have a prominent display at the front. Make it the first thing you see.
This would be good for book stores located in malls like Walden's and
B. Dalton's. Rosa and Rota would be prefect for starters and maybe
Gemstone could buy work from Disney Italy. They've done some more
adult-oriented material in the past. Or even take the risk of
commissioning new material. This could all be orchestrated under the
Gemstone imprint or a new one just for that title or other books that
could be pushed to adults. I've seen that Gemstone or a sister company
now publishes the EC titles. (or at least sells them.)

Not bad for 6 in the morning. :P But these are just some long-term
possibilities to bring in readers and renew and expand readership,
weather Gemstone embraces the stigma or not.

Cord:

"Or what do you think: Are there really kids (ages 8-15) out there who
buy "Uncle Scrooge" on their own?"

When I was in that age group, I was enough of a freak to buy U$ and
other Disney books on my own. But I lacked the money to buy them on a
monthly basis. But I think today's kids at that age are more likely to
buy a pack of pok?mon cards or a DVD.

Chris

Chris Hilbig made some interesting suggestions how Disney comics could
be promoted in the U.S.

One questions remains to be addressed though. I will put it here in all
bluntness:

Are Disney comics outdated?

Are we here on this list just a bunch of old fools reveling in
nostalgia, trying to recapture the vanished wonders of our youth?

If this is true, then a marketing campaign to attract new readers
(children or grown-ups) will have a snowball's chance in hell.

How many children read the current Gemstone Disneys? And how many
actually buy them on their own (instead of receiving them as a gift from
adults)? This may not be as pronounced here in Europe, but the trend
seems to indicate that we are on the same downhill slope: High-priced
editions for adults are selling rather well, while print-runs of the
lower-priced entry-level editions are constantly declining.

A small detour: If you have children, watch how they react to the old
classic Disney cartoons: Do they love it? Do they ask for more? Or are
they easily distracted and clamoring for new material (Dragon Ball Z
et.al.)

And how many of the copies Gemstone sells to grown-ups are just stashed
away, feeling "this is a good thing to support - I will read them as
soon as I have time" - and then patiently wait in their boxes - unread
und forgotten?

Please don't misunderstand me: I love Disney comics and will keep on
reading them probably until my deathbed. But then I also love old silent
movies. And I would never expect them to become a financial success in
today's marketplace or ask any film studio to shoot new silent movies.

Maybe there is a time to let go and to admit, that time went on? Disney
comics (expecially those by Barks, Gottfredson, Taliaferro) are classics
today and will probably always be available and read by a small audience
in the future.

Cord

Cord,

> Or what do you think: Are there really kids (ages 8-15) out there who
buy "Uncle Scrooge" on their own?

Yes. I know because I've met some; and a few are presently active on
the Toon Zone message boards (forums.toonzone.net), where Scrooge and
WDC&S in particular are discussed now and again.
It seems to be high schoolers who are already Disney/cartoon fans who
gravitate to the books, but that's no big surprise. One had a Fethry
buddy icon last week; seeing it, I suggested he join the DCML, so maybe
we'll get some new blood around here.

David

A little late, but I've only gotten around to mailing this off now...

Chris Hilbig wrote:

>> [Il Gatto] seems like a standard "journalist with no morals" to me.
>> Is it just a coincidence that he hasn't been used much the last many
>> decades?
>
> This most likely will ruffle a few feathers, but in this
> politically-correct world of ours, it absolutely doesn't surprise me
> that our friend Il Gatto hasn't been used too often. I'll have to
> admit that I haven't ever read a story with Il Gatto, but from what
> I've read from this list, he sound like a [...] Joseph Gerbils of the
> New York Times, Dan Rather, or a Peter Jennings. (Just to name a few.)
> Essentially they'll [...] ball-face lie, spin, or stretch the truth
> [...]

Oops. Let me clarify: By "standard 'journalist with no morals'" I meant
"as seen in popular fiction". Just like there's the standard "crooked
lawyer", "greedy money lender", "rich snob" etc. I wasn't implying that
real-life journalists generally have no morals.

And I honestly don't think political correctness has anything to do with
Il Gatto's absence. Except for a cover in '47 and a cameo in '94, the
guy hasn't been used since 1940. Decades before anybody thought there
might be something wrong in stereotyping groups of people. It's more
likely the Italians just didn't have any story ideas that involved an
unethical journalist. Or disliked the design. Or forgot about the
character. Or had some other non-political reason for not using him.

> [...] the anti-war/American stories that have been pushed from the
> thirteen months before the war in Iraq to today.

Chris, please don't bring this stuff up here. If you want to discuss the
Iraq, uh, situation, there's an off-topic forum called DCML-talk at
http://www.dcml-talk.org/list.php?f=1 .

> most artist and writers don't believe in the value of morality,
> individualism, and smaller government.

In my experience, most artists and writers *do* believe in morality and
individualism -- although the definitions of those two concepts may not
be the same from person to person. As for "smaller government"... I
don't see how that fits in with the other two. It's like saying one
believes in truth, justice and strawberry-flavored ice cream.

Anyway, again, that's something that's suitable for the off-topic forum.

> my theory is that most writers in this business would be too
> uncomfortable with using Il Gatto, unless he is placed in some type of
> heroic role, which wouldn't fit the character.

I honestly think you're way off here, Chris. The story potential of a
crooked, lying, immoral jerk of a journalist is immense, and that's the
kind of character any writer would love to get his or her hands on.
You're a left-winger? Use the character to show how rich media barons
distort the truth to promote their own interests. You're a right-winger?
Use the character to show how leftist journalists distort the truth to
promote their own world view. You don't want to put your own political
leanings into your stories? Use the character to show how some people
distort the truth to promote themselves. I could rattle off a number of
story possibilities here, but I think I'm gonna keep them to myself...

Lars

Mickey wrote:

> it's a "problem" worldwide for Disney Comics. They are considered for
> a young audience.

Maybe that's because most of the traditional Disney comics (Ducks, Mice,
Wolves etc.) are *made* for a young audience?

>> But if nothing else, when Todd Klein again wins his award for "Best
>> Letterer" in next year's Eisners
>
> I found this funny and unfair at the same time.
> Klein is the best in what he does, but he prevents other talented
> collegues to win, with all the consequences of a victory.
> They should give him an "endless award".
> It's like Mozart competing year after year at the same music
> contest...

Using that logic, Lance Armstrong should be banned from Tour de France
and Michael Schumacher from Formula 1. I'm not especially competitive
myself, but surely the point in having any kind of competition is to
determine who is the best at something. (However "best" is defined.)
Imagine somebody winning an Eisner award in lettering with everybody
knowing that Todd Klein is *so much better* than the winner, he wasn't
even allowed to be nominated. The win would be meaningless.

I've seen Todd Klein's lettering in a number of comic books. It's good.
Yeah, there are other letterers that are good, too, but I can't really
argue against Todd Klein getting Eisner awards for his work. He wins
these things because he's good. If others were better than him, *they*
would win.

Congrats with the award, Todd.

Lars

Lars Jensen wrote:
> I just read this at http://www.comicon.com/thebeat/ :
>>The Carl Barks Library is coming back! Danish publisher Egmont will
>>release it first, but Gladstone will release the American edition.

Gladstone?

Stefan

Would Gladstone or Gemstone add new additions to CBL. I looked at the German version Egmont asked Daan Jippes to ink Bark"s unpublished stories when he was retiring. For example there is Officer For A Day,Pawns Of The Loup garou, and Day in a ducks Life.the Juniorwoodchuck stories would they be prinited in english.
 
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