Some of my recent stories

[DAVID.A.GERSTEIN]

(A letter originally intended for Digest #500, but denied appearance 
there by a computer error only Per understands)

      Dear Folks,

      I'm guessing there's going to be a while's wait before 
"Pork-Barrel Politics" is published.  I was shipped the art for "Two 
in One" in March 1993, and it was October by the time it was 
published.  By that same timetable, it could even be April when 
"Pork-Barrel Politics" gets published.  But on the other hand, Don 
Rosa had that 60th-birthday story published almost immediately after 
he drew it, so who knows what will happen?  My story is 11 pages 
long, so I'm guessing it will indeed be the first story in the issue 
where it appears.

      I actually haven't done THAT many original stories, mainly due 
to Egmont downscaling its production for 1994 (since too many stories 
were made, by accident, in 1993, when no one was keeping tabs on what 
was going on!).  My 1994 slate ended as three Donald stories (a 
12-pager, a 10-pager, and a 15-pager) and three Mickey stories (all 8 
pages long).
      The ten-pager, "The Sheepish Rancher" is about DD's new job as 
overseer on a sheep ranch.  When the appearance of a wolf nearby 
coincides with some sheep vanishing, Donald assumes the worst and 
begins a series of escalating attempts to capture the wolf, 
concluding with something I hope none of you will expect.
      "Mickey Mouse's Unjust Dessert" involves Mickey trying his hand 
at being a chef, to help Uncle Mortimer wine and dine a European 
cattleman named Friedrich Schmecktgut.  Mickey lets his enthusiasm 
run away with him as he puts together a fancy meal like you've never 
seen before, and hopefully will never see again.
      I think I've told you about the other stories already.  The summer 
was also consumed by that "Pirate Gold" sequel, which has been 
edited to Disney's taste now and will soon go off to an artist friend 
of mine.  (AT LAST!!!)  This 26-pager was written for Gladstone.

      My conception of Mickey Mouse doesn't owe it all to old stories.  
He is, in fact, the "disney-comics at minsk.docs.uu.se" version of 
Mickey.  We discussed Mickey's character months ago.  It was the 
voices of many of you, talking about how Mickey should create his 
own situations and have more mouse-like curiosity and 
impetuousness, that helped me in developing a way to use FG's 
late-1930s Mickey in non-adventure stories.  
      Of course, FG did do great gag stories.  But being in the 
Sunday strip, their continuity was limited by the need to make each 
episode into a gag on its own.  (For example, if "Helpless Helpers" 
(1936) had been a comic-book story, it would have built to a climactic 
catastrophe.  As it stands, it has many climaxes.)  I needed to 
rework this format a bit when it came to gag stories with Mickey for 
comic books, and all of you helped me do that.  Thanks!

      That doesn't mean I'm not going to ignore adventure tales OR 
the occasional story when Mickey is caught in adventure that isn't of 
his own making.  After all Donald, too, often just stumbled into an 
adventure, you know -- only by chance did he get involved in them.  
It's Scrooge who causes about everything that he gets involved in.

      That's about all for now, folks.  I'll be back soon.  Best,

      David Gerstein
      <9475609 at arran.sms.ed.ac.uk>
      "The only way for anyone to get ahead of Mickey Mouse, is to 
run in front of him!"