Launchpad

[David Gerstein]

    Jonathan, Daniel, and others,

> [Launchpad] has so much potential and its a shame to see a character such as
> his wasted 
    [snip]
> I'd be THRILLED BEYOND BELIEF if just one of  the modern day Duck
> artists/writers took it upon themselves to remedy that situation and
> "officially" introduce him.

    Unfortunately (or fortunately), it's not always a matter of artists and
writers taking it on themselves to remedy a given situation. Publishing
houses are involved in the comic production process, too. And they make
decisions that story creators and editors have to obey.

    In the case of Launchpad McQuack, Egmont's affiliate publishers surveyed
reader reaction around 1997 and came to the decision that Launchpad was
unpopular. The publishers asked Egmont Creative A/S to stop using Launchpad
in new duck stories, and so we duly had to ask our writers and artists to
stop using him.
    Whether you like this decision, of course, hangs on what you think of
Launchpad. Some writers/artists/editors/readers (myself included) were fond
of him, while others were glad to see him go.

    Egmont (and for that matter, the F- and S-coded creators) did produce a
*lot* of Launchpad stories, though‹ enough that if, say, American readers
wanted to see some, there's quite a large supply out there.

    David