Answers to DCML digest, Vol 1 #744 and questions

Harald Havas Harald.Havas at blackbox.net
Thu Nov 22 17:07:31 CET 2001


Hi,
I don't know if there's still anybody here who remembers me. I was a quite
active member of this list, well, 5 or so years in the past...
I'm a journalist, author and comic-writer from Austria, and did f.e. the
Barks-in-Munich-Interview that's to be found somewhere on the list's
Homepage, if I'm not mistaken. Well. Now on to my "reappearance".
The last time I was here, I was working on a book about some early Disney
comics creators. A four-way biography about Disney (as intro), Gottfredson,
Taliaferro (the main piece) and Barks. Unfortunately this book didn't see
printing then.
But - tadaa! - now someone got interested in the theme and "Micky, Donald
und ihre Väter" (working title, = "Mickey, Donald and their fathers") will
be published in April 2002.
Basically it's the same book, with heavy material on Taliaferro that my
co-author got directly from his widow. Such as originals or facsimiles of
inter-office communications at the Disney-Studios etc. Centerpiece is a bill
proving that Al Taliaferro is the original creator of Huey, Lewie and Dewie.

So, for the publication I'd like to update all infos - and add some! Who
better to ask than the knowing crowd around here? Here's what I'd like to
know, answers (or link-tips) to the list or my mail, please:

- Barks: what was important between his trip to Europe 1994 and his death?
Any more paintings? Any more stories written? Something else - like a series
of Donald drawings(?) he did at the time when he officially became a "Disney
Legend". Private stuff (end of his affiliation with his former management).
Who knows about this? Where can I find a up-to-date biography that includes
these details?

- other artists: we'd like to include a (short) chapter showing the
unknowing public what happened to Disney-Comics after Taliaferro,
Gottfredson and Barks. I mean: GREAT creators that followed their footsteps.
Like Rosa or Rota. Now:
Who would you include? (4-5 names) Where would I find informations on their
individual biographies and bibliographies?

That's it, thanks in advance for your help!

Now, two "answers" to the last digest:

1. Bad English
There's a trick! Write your mail in Word (or a similar program) turn on
"English" as language and the program shows you all your misspellings - and
can edit them! ;-)

2. "Snow White in Donald-land"
Well... of course Mickey and Donald seem to live in quite a "real" world.
That's something that evolved over years. But IMHO it's not the basic of the
Disney-universe. The basic is a fable, a fairy tale. Donald came out of one
directly ("The Wise Little Hen") and Mickey and friends were talking farm
animals like in so many fables. I my book I traced the origins of all the
main characters - and they all point to a farm (which was later described as
being owned by Minnie's father). So, Mickey, Donald and all the others seem
to live in a Fantasy-world that just looks and feels like our own - for the
most part! What about the Wild West coexisting in early Mickey adventures?
What about trips to Atlantis or Trala-La? What about Magicka de Spell?
To me it seems, the Disney-Universe is somewhat like Disneyland: each part
exists according to it's own rules (Main Street USA), but it's only one
small step to another land (a medieval castle) existing according to it's
own rules in the _same_ continuum.
That's my two (Euro-) cents ;-)

Harald Havas


http://comics.orf.at
New Comic Strips made in Austria - every day!






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