Strobl; Murry vs. Gottfredson

[David A Gerstein]

	Dear Harry Fluks (who started this topic) & Co.

	Although I generally loathe the stories of Strobl, Bradbury,
etc. I will admit that the Scottish caber toss and "Wee Angus" made
for perhaps the only Strobl story I ever liked.  Before I discovered
European Duck material with the Gladstone Renaissance, that was my
favorite non-Barks Duck story.  Over all these years, I'd forgotten
it.  Okay, it's still not a total loss, although I can only imagine
what it would look like with Daniel Branca's artwork.  In fact,
Egmont had Branca redraw a few Strobls in the 1970s, two of which
Gladstone printed.  Gladstone didn't know, however, that they were
redrawn Strobls, so had them dialogued like any other new story.  One
being "The Mountless Mountie" in DDA 13, the other being "Trail of the
Lonesome Pine" (orig. "Backwards Woodsman") in some DD issue.

	One reason I prefer the "Barks School" (Rosa, Scarpa,
Rota, Milton, Jippes, Branca, Van Horn and Vicar) to Strobl and 
Bradbury is the seriousness with which the characters are treated.
Even in Van Horn's wildest stories, the characters' impulses strike me
as being essentially true to Barks' Ducks.  But with Strobl you have
stories like "Santa's Unexpected Visit," in which Scrooge not only
believes in Santa but spends time trying to butter him up, like a
seven-year-old.  ("Letter to Santa" may present Santa as existing in
Barks' world, but this story is completely off in depicting Scrooge's
personality.)  You have thousands of stories set in foreign countries
that are completely nonsensical and unrealistic, such as nations of
live TOYS ("The Robot who Wasn't There," a story I remember by title
only because it was SO bad!).  Strobl also gives every female character
half-open eyes, which is supposed to suggest flirtatiousness
maybe, but just gives Daisy (and Minnie, in these artists' usually
poor Mouse stories) a 'dopey' expression befitting Gus Goose.

	As for Murry as opposed to Gottfredson... no matter how much
you may enjoy or remember some of Fallberg's plots, don't you agree that
Mickey had no outstanding personality in them?  Okay, he was
honorable, smart and often kind of panicked, but really had no real
outstanding features.  In fact, he acts essentially just like the
comic-book versions of Andy Panda and Porky Pig.  Gottfredson's Mickey
is far more unique, with real enthusiasm and also a fair share of
character flaws (in "Circus Roustabout," he has as much trouble with
his job as Donald, and is demoted from one to another!  His heroism in
the climax of that story exists in a vacuum!)

	Of course, Gottfredson had his share of clinkers now and then.
But the Western MM stories tend to blur together in my mind, with
Fallberg's slightly better than the others but still marred by an
unexciting version of Mickey.  The Gottfredson stories, aside from
having an outright villain more often than Barks, are anything but
formulaic.  Murry's stories, in fact, show their formulas by having
the phrase "Mystery of..." or "Case of..." in many titles, just like
Hardy Boys mysteries.  No wonder Mickey gets so DULL in them.

	It is this cypherish characterization of Mickey that causes so
many Duck fans around here to feel ALL mice are equally dull.
Strangely, no comic has ever combined Ducks from Barks or the "Barks
School" with classic 1930s Gottfredson adventures as a regular format.
There have been plenty of books (WDC&S, Mickey and Donald) that have
paired Barks with post-Gottfredson Mickey, but almost never has Mickey
in his prime been paired with the best Ducks.  Is is any wonder that,
with that being all "Duck-Only" buyers purchase, they have never had
much experience in getting to know Gottfredson?  Occasional issues
(M&D 18, WDC&S 585) have made the essential combination, but most do
not.  In fact, with _Mickey and Donald_ Gladstone seemed to be trying
to sell the poorer Mickey material on the strength of Barks in most
cases (Bill Walsh's Mouse being somewhat better than the others, but
used very infrequently).  Although this may have sold it, it also gave
Duck-Only fans the feeling that they weren't missing much in MM.

	And there is the root of the problem.

	Your friend,


	David Gerstein

	"Head or no head, this body beautiful is takin' the count!"
		-- HDL via Barks, "The Old Castle's Secret"