Disney-comics digest #294.

[Don Rosa]

MATTIAS:
	Oh!!! Absotively! Posilutely! Daniel Atterbom is a prince of a
fellow!!! He understands my "problem" completely!!! Yes, he is trying to
get me to name a fee of some sort to appear at the Stockholm show, but I
just won't hear of it! How GREEDY that would make me seem! If anyone
should pay a fee, it's the Egmont branches!
	My immediate editor, Byron, constantly tells me to charge those
branches a fee, but I just can't bring myself to do it. Even THAT would
feel greedy, as I am treated so nicely and enjoy myself so much. This is
all still like my HOBBY which is what it was all my life until 1987 --
being paid to do the Duck stories is one thing, but being paid to "be a
Duck fan" at the Egmont booth or at the Stockholm show or any places
like those -- I'd feel beastly!
	Am I griping about a "problem" and then refusing to accept
solutions? YES! If it was a simple matter for me to demand pay for these
lovely trips, where would my problem be? But that's the whole reason I
brought it up. I want someone to wave a wand and hit on the secret
answer. I see the problem but I can't get myself to accept the solution
as it involves being paid for "nuthin", which I've got some
philosophical problem with. When I got married, I "eloped", because I
can't tolerate the idea of friends and relatives lavishing me with
expensive gifts -- the way American couples treat their wedding
presents as booty they richly deserve and which they coordinate with
stores to make certain each gift is different and exactly right...to me
it's quite despicable. Fortunately, I've gotten through life thus far
without a dead relative willing me valuables -- I probably would not
accept such stuff, I dunno.
	Anyway, there, that's the problem. I'm waiting for Egmont to
offer me pay -- but I will NOT demand it. We'll see what happens.

UNCLE $CROOGE #286:
	I hope folks here will be nice enough to discuss, along with
that singing flea, this new American edition of "Master of the
Mississippi" (Lo$ #2) which just came out in U$#286; I, as always, want
to know how my fellow Barks fans feel about what I'm doing in this
series (though it's rather late to CHANGE anything, I guess).
	I just got my copy yesterday by driving into town and buying
one. At first glance-through, I'm STILL greatly disturbed by seeing the
Ducks with all that brown hair, but I trust that will END with this
chapter! I was somewhat disappointed in a few panels where many shots of
riverboats or figures are all colored a blanket yellow or blue... maybe
I wore the colorist out with all the other detail? The color "glows"
they achieve with their modern methods are quite nice... though I
really still dislike the modern GARISH coloring in these new comics,
with the coloring overpowering the art so much; I like the old PALE
Dell coloring. And I was disturbed by many of the sound effects which,
though they were nicely lettered, were MUCH too big and loud!
	But my first glance through always shows me all the things I
DIDN'T like. Gladstone's version is, of course, THE version of these
stories. I'm very pleased and flattered with all the care they've taken
to produce and color and letter it. All the background lettering is
very nice, all in the proper 1880s style. And, I've checked carefully,
and, good or bad, you can be ASSURED that every word of dialogue is my
original version -- not a syllabubble has been changed.
	When you see the story, tell me what you think of those "loud"
sound effects and the yellow-blanket-coloring. Do these only look bad
to me since I'm too unobjective about it all?