Updates for the US Index

[David A Gerstein]

	Dear Folks,

	I downloaded the file "us" -- the index of US 1-83 -- onto my
computer, and added the Gladstone and Disney data from our other
index.  What should I do with the file now?  Do people want it?  Do
they think I should upload it, or do you feel the
Gladstone-Disney.Index is enough?  (My feeling is that we should
upload it anyway, because we already have the earlier version of the
index.)

	A few interesting things.  A lot of the Scrooge long
adventures have been reprinted four times as of now (prior to the
beginning of CBLUSA albums next fall), not counting the Celestial Arts
book or the older, hardback CBLs.  One has actually been heaved onto
the press FIVE times -- yes, "The Midas Touch."

	According to Gladstone, the next two years will see many of
the Carl Barks long adventures that previously were in "old" Gladstone
albums reprinted again in issues of USA and DDA.  They will appear
again not long afterwards in CBLUSA and CBLDDA albums.  What does
everyone here think?  I'm tired of those stories myself, but I ALSO
realize that the albums had low circulation and that many people who
didn't get them will be glad to own these coming comics.  On the other
hand, I think that while people may buy a 10-pager in a comic and
then again in an album (where it comes with four other stories, which
the reader might not own), they may be less likely to do the same with
a long story.  Most albums in the CBL series will have 2 long
adventures, I'm thinking.  People will be able to get those adventures
without buying the CBL albums, simply by buying 2, not 5, regular
comics.  I'm worried this may hurt the sales of the new albums...

	But what alternative is there to printing long Barks stories
in USA and DDA?  How many foreign stories out there are shorter than
Italian 70-pagers and also very good?  Are there many long Dutch
and Danish stories which are much better than, say, DDAD 33's very
unexciting "Sobbing Serpent" story?

	(That's not to say that no Italian stories will be used -- in
fact some are scheduled by Gladstone now, but they can't be used too
often since they take up a lot of space and must be serialized)

	Sincerely,

	David Gerstein

	"I'm the Fuller Brush Man!  I'm givin' g'way free semple!"
	<David.A.Gerstein at Williams.edu>