digest #228

[Don Rosa]

>>>From: Jakob Soederbaum
>>>Don:
In last week's Kalle Anka & C:o appeared something I'd least expected: a
"Don Rosa school scheme" (or shall it be translated callendar?). What's the
story behind this, Don? It doesn't seem like something you would
*spontaneously* decide on doing. ;-)  Did you do the lay-out and questions
too? When did you do it, is it really new or is it somethingthat has been
lying around for a while at Egmont?

I "least expected" it myself! That's something I did a year ago for
Finland's non-Egmont publisher. They often ask me for special jobs, like
the covers to go along with the stories I do for Egmont of France, or for
texts and covers for their hardback Rosa books, or texts and cover for the
special Rosa-pin-up calendar they are doing right now. And once these texts
or art are done, they can be spotted and used by another company like
Egmont for free -- in fact, I didn't even know they were gonna do that
calendar either. Nor did I know about the special insert-comic reprinting
my old "Treasure Under Glass" story  that appeared in Egmont issues about a
month ago. It had an accompanying biographical feature saying something in
foreign gibberish (something accurate I can only assume) about me along
with a drawing I once did of myself for a Californian comicon where I was a
guest.  That self-portrait once appeared in an Egmont comic rendering it
"Disney property" as well, so that it now can turn up without my permission
or remuneration in any "Disney" licensed publication on earth. I didn't
know about the Egmont usage of my calendar art or old "Treasure..." story
until I saw my name on the cover of the issues that I received, which means
you knew about it before I did.
But if want to know about such things, I'll tell you that I just finished
24 vignette gags each using a different Duckburg character for a Christmas
Calendar that will appear this year in Egmont editions (at least in
Norway).

>>>From: john garvin
>>>Subject: gimme a break

I won't try to quote John's (I mean "john"'s) message in whole or part, but
I don't think I've read a message on this ML which I agreed with more or
made me smile as much in many a year. Thank you, J/john!

>>>From: Kriton Kyrimis <
(Me:)
> if I
> do get the correct uniform on my characters, there will probably only be
> three people on earth who will know it: me, Ruben, and whoever he calls
in
> Panama.
>>>>>I think that when this story gets published, we should all write the
publishers a letter, commending Don on his correct rendition of the
Panamanian soldiers' uniforms!

Please, don't ever do something like that! I think it would spoil some of
my fun of being so esoteric if more people knew about all these extra
efforts I take for my own amusement.

> Maybe you'll also make a list of the INaccurate details?
>>>I thought that Don included such a list in his last posting. ;-)

I was puzzled a bit by that line, myself, but I assumed it was just
supposed to sound funny. I am always quite open with my admissions of when
I make drastic fubars in my stories, always including mention of them when
I write accompanying annotated texts. After all, if I let readers know
about the blunders I make, I feel like I have thereby corrected and excused
those goofs, so I'm always more than anxious to do so!