Disney-comics digest #293.

Don Rosa 72260.2635 at CompuServe.COM
Fri Apr 8 06:20:07 CEST 1994


HARRY:
	I'm still not sure if you understand what I've been saying or
what is going on.
	The fact that Gladstone pays me to do covers and write text
pieces proves they are willing to "reward" me? How do you figure it's a
reward? I do them a cover and they pay me. I'm not getting paid for
nothing. I get paid no extra because I'm "me"... and I do it just to
help Gladstone out and make the publication of my stories in my own
country look (?) better -- I would make more $ if I spent that time
working for Egmont, so again, I'm losing money instead of gaining it as
is what normally is supposed to happen when somebody's work is deemed
"popular". And what Gladstone pays for those text pieces -- believe me,
they are GIFTS. I wrote a one page intro for Disney's "Rosa album" and
they paid about $300; those "Lo$" texts for Gladstone pay 1/10th that
much. I do those just for the opportunity to explain my thoughts to the
readers.
	And I was trying to explain about those trips to Europe. I DO
pay for those trips by losing a week of work, and making my wife spend a
week alone at home way out in the lonely country. And these are not
trips where I am given an opportunity to do any sightseeing. They would
be strictly "work", though I do enjoy that work. I wouldn't pay a week's
wages to take trips to Europe -- not because it's not WORTH a week's
wages, but because I don't get paid enough to be able to afford losing 3
or 4 week's wages per year taking these trips. Yet, how can I refuse?
Perhaps Egmont's only interest in me is as a publicity source, so I'd
better cooperate with them. As I said, I don't make them money in extra
sales.
	And you can't compare the fact that I am not reimbursed fairly
to the fact that those folks in those art-studios who do Ducks and
other comics are not reimbursed. They are not creating their work by
themselves start to finish. And they are not being called on to skip
paychecks for publicity tours. They are parts of teams. And yet, those
studios ARE paid more than I am per page, because the heads of those
studios must be able to hire the workers and still have some $$ left
for himself (Vicar, Diaz, etc.). Egmont pays them more because THAT
work is the backbone of their comics. Egmont couldn't exist with out
those studios. They'd never miss my work.

MATTIAS:
	I'm sure I'm not reading you correctly, since I know you know
your stuff. But you're not suggesting that there's any question that
"Speedy" was originally Donald, right? You knew that he was Donald until
Barks was told to redraw the art, right?
	And you are quite wrong in assuming that the low-selling
American comics do not (as logic would suggest) result in low profits
for the publishers and creators. Someone, was it Torsten, started to
explain to you how well some single issues of American comics sell --
bit that's only a few very rare cases. Most American super-hero comics
sell pathetically bad per capita as compared to comics anywhere else in
the world. But it's HOW they are sold in America that explains the
windfall profits!!! The magazine distribution system is by-passed for
one thing. For another, no comic is printed until AFTER all the buyers
have ordered their copies -- if 137,549 issues are ordered, that's how
many are printed, thereby eliminating the incredible waste inherent in
normal magazine distribution and non-American comic publishing, where
something like twice as many issues are published than will ever be
sold, due to the losses incurred in national distribution. And yet, even
though having eliminated national distribution and waste from the
equation, American comics would turn handsome profits at any price, they
are sold for prices ranging from $2-$5, simply because the collectors
will pay it and still buy 20 copies of each issue. 
	Seriously! The American comic book market is an absolute DREAM
for making money off a tiny cult of buyers! It's a modern miracle! Like
printing money. That's why so many people are getting rich off such low
sales. And this is the system that I must exist in, even if the system I
work in is the one from 40 years ago.

	The first word I heard about my Swedish trip was from Daniel
Atterbom, not anyone at Egmont. Can you guess that this is one MORE bit
of irritation... that Egmont was so sure I'd come that they were
announcing it before they even asked me?!?! That's how it sounds.
Originally, the trip was to be just for the weekend of October 29/30 at
Goteborg (sic?). Next Norway decided to save a plane fare and have me
go visit them for some publicity after Goteborg. Then Daniel asked if
I'd hang around an extra week to go to the Stockholm show. Then
Egmont-Sweden, when they finally got around to calling me, said they
wanted me starting Oct. 26 for more publicity. With flight time, this is
now a full 2 week trip. I can't see how I can afford this, and I'm still
waiting to hear from Egmont again. We'll see what happens.

JAMES WILLIAMS:
	I LIKE how you think. Judging by your idea of what happened in
$crooge's life -- what his life was like pre-Bear Mountain, and what
meeting DD & HDL meant for him -- you're gonna LOVE part 12 of the
"Lo$". That's PRECISELY how I tell it. 





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