Disney-comics digest #747.

[Mike Pohjola]

ALL:
    As I have posted, I'm making some scripts for Disney comics because it
was said that the Dutch editor has a lack of stories. Now I begun wondering
if I could send the scripts to Egmont/Gladstone/some other as well. What
are the differences between those companies? Do they pay differently? What
good artists do each have? In what countries do they publish the stories?
    I would never have believed that making story-lines into scripts could
be this much trouble. Now I understand why all you writers complain about
the pay...
 
DON:
    The following article was published in Editor's Page at last Aku Ankka
issue of 1991:
 
    [...]
    And to leave the best for last, we saved a pile of praise letters which
flowed to editors to cheer the dullness of the polar night. Among others,
Tommi from Tampere and Ullastiina and Mikko from Turku got into praising
"War of the Wendigos", which was published in issues 45-47/91. Behind the
long story lies the old fox Don Rosa - who else, and the story was translated
to Finnish by Jukka Lindfors. The largeness of the translator's work can be
described by saying that the Pygmi Indians spoke with trochaic tetrameter.
[I don't know if I translated that strange word correctly, but the speech was
very Kalevalian, imho equal to 'Longfellowian', the term you used]
    This is how Mikko writes: "I'd like to bring out my thanks for the story
"War of the Wendigos". Ah, what harmonic dance of picture and word. I, by no
means, wish to downplay the fully dedicated translator who well reached the
atmosphere of the story. The high-quality language in Aku Ankka is well-known
and appreciated all-over Finland, but the decoration of all that and the
icing on the cake was the ticklingly wonderful translation of the disgressing
speech of the Indians. WOW!"

	And not reaching the same enthusiastic tone, here's a letter which
I'm planning to send to the Editor's Page. I'd like you (and everybody else)
to check the facts and statements I say. If there's something you'd like to
add or remove to the letter, let me know and I'll do it.

---
    Don Rosa recently won the famous Eisner Award at San Diego Comics
Convention for the best continuing series. This award was given to Don's
work "Life of $crooge", which of ten last episodes have been seen in Finland,
too. Why are you holding the too first? Why was Jake McDuck translated "Ewan"
even if he was "Jack" in Christmas to Shacktown? And speaking of relatives,
although Don didn't put Ludwig Von Drake to the family tree, because of Barks
dislike towards the character, he personally likes to think Ludwig to be husband
of Matilda McDuck. And both, Pintail Duck and Malcolm McDuck took part in Barks
story called [enter name of that story]. In this story Pintail was used a
different name than in the translation of the family tree and the coloring was
different, now making his coat look like Donald's. And adding Fethry Duck to the
family tree Rosa regretted almost immediately after doing it.
    This was because he thinks his stories take place in 1955, when hippies
were never heard of. The reason he chose that time to make the stories take
place at was because the Barks stories which inspired him most were also
published at that time and thus he got the opportunity to think his stories
as 're-prints' of the stories he read when he was a kid.
    And although many of Don Rosa's stories are based on Barks' stories, it
doesn't mean they would be in any way easier for him or short-cuts. Just the
opposite. In some stories he has had to spend days thinking about how to make
the story to work with Barks norms and still appear new and entertaining. By
the way, Don Rosa can be reached via Internet, as well. His e-mail address is
donrosa at iglou.com. Do the editors of Aku Ankka have an address in the Net?
[ok, so that sounds like guruing..]
    Let us know about Don's schedule during his future trip to Finland.
 
    Mikko Pohjola, Naantali
---

	Here to the end of the letter I'm going to write that all the things
written here have the approval of Don Rosa himself. (it would make me look
cool in the eyes of the other Finnish Duck fans ;)

--

	Mike - The Finnish Trekkie