Keskustelujen arkisto

My personal belief is that both the 3 panel stories and the 4 panel stories have an equal set of pluses and minuses. One does not necessarily trump the other. Not all 4 panel stories make the best use of their extra space (many take it for granted) and not all 3 panel stories make the best use to really embellish the artwork (a lot can be told in 3 panels if the writer and the artist are willing to do it). It's a crapshoot either way, really.
The best stories, regardless of tiers/row count are those that really use the space they're given to their fullest.
Having said that, it's a hard balancing act determining what stories go into what books but I think you'll be happy with the selections we're choosing and the dialogue that's carefully and lovingly being given to each one no matter what its origin. Putting "Zodiac Stone" in WDCS is a calculated risk, but one that we can do now because of the extended page count. **MANY** 3 panel stories that are really good could never be printed before due to the constraints of standard American 32 page book lengths -- remember how many Scarpa stories had to be split into 3's or even 4 parts of a full book?
Also, even though ZS is a very long serial, keep in mind that A) it utilizes ALL the major duck and mouse characters as it progresses B) it is most definitely a serial which fits the WDCS criteria and C) no matter what, you'll still get the variety of characters that WDCS is known for beyond the year-long tale as well as short stories to balance it all out. That's something i can assure everyone that David is going into overdrive to ENSURE. We wanna be true to what the books are supposed to be, but at the same time we want to give new material to those who expect something new while equally respecting the old.
Other writers and creators from other countries will be featured. Just look at US#2 for example, there will be some Western Publishing stuff as well as never before seen english made S-Coded stuff that's actually really freaking hilarious, etc etc etc etc I could go on but I wont -- give it time, guys. We've only announced our first few issues, there's a method to Dave's madness and Rome was not built in a day. :)
All I can safely say beyond that is that the feedback so far has been wonderful and I hope everyone enjoys the hard work that David and Sarah and Joe and Thad and everyone else involved have been slaving many hard hours over. And if you don't like it, that's fine too. Let us know so we can keep missteps like previous runs from happening again! **WINK** ;)
The nicest thing about this era is that, as long as you guys are here to support us, there's going to be plenty of fun to be had for everyone. Disney Comics old and new are readily avilable from MULTIPLE venues which hasn't happened in YEARS. The Best is yet to come blahdeeblahdeeblahdee I'm gonna shut up now. :)

Thanks for the informative post Jonathan! It is very much appreciated!

Yes, I imagine it is next to impossible to find stories that everyone is happy with. I am with MustangRockstar in liking the Italian stories least, but just hope that whatever the case we get a great variety of types of stories. While I enjoy Scarpa Duck stories, I find that I like his *Mouse* stories even more, so hopefully some of those will be coming up in the not so distant future.

I think IDW has done a *great* job with value for your money when it comes to their Disney comics. 40 pages for $3.99 is a great deal in my opinion.

A couple of question for Jonathan (or anyone else at IDW):

One, any news on when IDW will print the first Disney Micro Comic Fun Pack?

Two, any possibilities for either A: collected TPBs or HCs of various Disney creators?
B: collected TPBs or HCs of Disney comics that are *not* first printed in the Core Four titles?

Quote from user: Baar Baar JinxI would have liked to see the unprinted William Van Horn Duck stories as the lead-off feature in WDC&S, until they're exhausted. I think they would have fit very well in that cherished slot.
I absolutely could not agree more with this. Having a nice Van Horn ten-pager or the like in Gemstone's era was always a refreshing feature for me. His stories have a simple Barksian joy and sharp wit to them that I adore, along with an entirely unique artstyle. With the apparent focus on bringing unpublished Italian works to English print I think he would provide a great balance.

Quote from user: Baar Baar JinxI have to admit that I was never excited by Vicar's art. Disney Comics used his work a lot when they published the books in the early 90s, since Bob Foster was a self-avowed fan of his work, much to my disappointment. He's okay in small doses, but somehow his art always seemed to me to lack spirit or verve. Branca has always been my personal favorite; his work is lively and dynamic, Barks' best cranked up a couple of notches. Daan Jippes impresses me with his ability to mimic several different styles, and is a close second to Branca in my book. Where I might differ from most is with respect to Rota; I've seen him feted lavishly and I think even Rosa has hailed him as the artist he admires the most, but to me he's always seemed only slightly better than Vicar; adequate but not exceptional.
I agree with you to an extent on Vicar. I've got absolutely nothing against him and I enjoyed reading a lot of his stories, but with the collection I have, mostly thanks to Bob Foster, I'm in no urgent need for much more. I like his art but I don't love it. It follows closely in Barks's style, which I like, but has always seemed decidedly inferior to the master without doing enough to differentiate itself. I, however, adore Rota's art, not so much by any particularly compelling reason but that it's simply very aesthetically pleasing to me.

In a 1962 Ludwig Von Drake comic drawn by Tony Strobl and inked by John Liggera, Donald discovered that among his ancestors were Columbust Duck, who tried to prove that the world was flat, and a stagecoach robber named Deadeye Duck. The story is The Family Tree Spree and I'd love to see it re-colored and reprinted.
My opinion of Don Rosa---which nobody asked for---is that he draws with great detail. He draws with too much detail. The first comic I ever bought was a Walt Disney's Comics & Stories, which featured a Carl Barks story...and which I still have, along with thousands of other Disney comics. Barks' ducks have more fluidity than Rosa's ducks. Even though I had a hard time getting used to William Van Horn's drawing style, he probably comes closest to the "Barks style." He even adds little bugs and background gags like Barks did. Van Horn's style would have easily lent itself to animation.
Speaking of animation, would anyone other than me be interested in seeing comic-book stories featuring the redesigned versions of Mickey and Donald and the gang? The cartoons that have been produced since 2013 really took me a long time to get used to! I wonder if Walt would have approved of his characters' new look.

To their credit, the new cartoons contain a lot of clever gags and cameo appearances by Cinderella, Belle and Beast, Chip 'n' Dale, José Carioca, Willie the Whale who wanted to sing at the Met, and others. And the new cartoons are not overly "talky" the way the 1996 Quack Pack cartoons were. Many of the cartoons---just like many of the 1940s cartoons---can be shown with the sound off and still be funny. I like Mickey Mouse Clubhouse because it's Disney, but all the colors in outdoor scenes seem to be the same tone. Nothing is really bright and nothing is really dark. And Pete is just way too nice! Also, the "Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggety dog" song which closes every episode is forever stuck in my brain, just like the it's a small world song. That's the price we pay for watching the shows!

Quote from user: Thomps2525Speaking of animation, would anyone other than me be interested in seeing comic-book stories featuring the redesigned versions of Mickey and Donald and the gang?
I'm actually surprised we haven't already seen an IDW variant cover in that style. I predict we will soon. Most likely on WDC&S.

Meanwhile, a quick Google search reveals that there have already been comics produced in that style.

http://www.comicvine.com/mickey-mouse-mickey-shorts-1-no-service-yodelberg-/4000-417151/

This is the first I've heard of them. Apparently digital comics, I can't even tell who the publisher is. Based on the description, I'm guessing they're direct adaptations of the shorts themselves, probably screengrabs in comic book panel form, but there are no sample pages, so I can't confirm that. Does anyone have any further information?

Quote from user: Thomps2525Van Horn's style would have easily lent itself to animation.
No surprise, given that Van Horn was a professional animator for many years before he started drawing comic book stories.

Oh, gosh! (Said in my best Mickey Mouse voice.) Thank you, Baar Baar, for informing us that there are Disney comics featuring the redesigned characters. So far there have been only two digital issues. The first was released on July 10 2013 and contained adaptions of four Mickey shorts. It was 25 pages. Issue #2 came out on August 14 201, contained five stories and had 31 pages. The artists are John Green, who also draws Phineas & Ferb, and Paul Rudish, who also draws the Powerpuff Girls comics which are in a style similar to the "new Mickey." Both issues are available from comiXology for US $1.99 each:
https://www.comixology.com/Mickey-Mouse-1-Mickey-Shorts/digital-comic/43473?