DCML digest #672

Don Rosa donrosa at iglou.com
Tue Sep 18 14:29:10 CEST 2001


From: "Fluks, H.W." <H.W.Fluks at kpn.com>
>>>>Subject: Don's Panama story
>>>>This story will be published in Holland in December, in Donald Duck
Extra #13.

Hm. This is a surprise to me, as usual. I wish that story would go through
Egmont first, so I could know that there has been a proper script and
coloring guide created. I have NO idea about how the French publisher sends
out the art, the script, or the coloring/signage notes. That is vital to
the proper presentation of a story, and this is not an operation the PICSOU
staff has performed very often. First off, this was a 28 page story (or
thereabouts, I'd needta check), and was NOT produced with chapter breaks --
the DD EXTRA #13 will present it all in one piece? Next, the French version
had some problems with the script... most importantly, the French changed
the entire idea of the ending. Their version of the text in the final panel
is *opposite* in meaning from my original... so I must now assume that the
Dutch version will be the same. Not a small difference, making the ending
of a story the total opposite of what the author intended, eh? But if the
Dutch use the French coloring, that will be wonderful! The French did a
magnificent coloring job on that story, light years ahead of an Egmont
style. However, if they colored it themselves, I have no idea if they will
be given my coloring notes. If not, I can only hope they will look at the
excellent PICSOU version as their coloring guide. Otherwise... well, I'm
sure some of you have noticed that certain companies' colorists are not
given instructions and do not read the stories they are coloring... so
they can seriously change the appeal and the very *meaning* of the story
with guesswork-coloring. That Panama story had *lots* of coloring notes!
These worries would be avoided if the Dutch publisher was not the only
Disney publisher who seems to avoid having any contact with me, and has
always ignored all of my overtures to help them free of charge when they do
not have or do not know if they have the correct material for the
presentation of my stories. I've been hoping they would change this
attitude, but it's been 10 years now and they still won't return any of my
messages. Well, I did finally establish contact with one very nice
editor-fella there about 5 years ago, but he quit his job soon thereafter
and all contact was again cut off at their end. (Not to mention that Harry
is the only one who sends me copies of the Dutch comics or albums that use
my stories. Thanks, H.F.!)

"In other news": Obviously I could not make it to the Book Fair in Sweden
last weekend due to the American airports being closed and all of my
flights cancelled. Were any ML members there? Did the Egmont booth sell the
expanded poster-versions of Dan Shane's Money Bin blueprints? I hope Dan
and I can someday get some copies of that poster for ourselves...







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