Today's scholarly (?) commentary

David A Gerstein David.A.Gerstein at williams.edu
Tue Nov 23 06:11:15 CET 1993


	Hi, Folks!

	I'll take today's messages on one at a time.


	Jippes questions
	====== =========

	Pgs. 5 and 10 of "Darkest Africa" just don't look like
Vlottes' style -- for one thing, the ducks look just as they do in the
original (which I had a chance to see at the San Diego convention last
summer), whereas Vlottes' do not.  On Page 10, the medium and tight
shots of the ducks and McFiendy don't have the thick penline that
characterizes Vlottes' work (particularly his HD&L)... further
evidence.  Compare McFiendy on the last panel of page 10 to Jippes'
earlier art, and then to Vlottes' on the last two pages.  See how
different?  Vlottes can barely *draw* him -- I'd shudder to see what
Argus would look like were Vlottes not trying to trace Barks.

	Yep, the newspaper (or whatever) that Sylvester Shyster reads
to the Ducks on page 2 or 3 of "Race to the South Seas" certainly says
"Dagobert McDuck."  You go figure.


	Gil Milburn again said I was
	=== ======= ===== ==== = ===

	citing anti-Rosa articles when I was in fact citing anti-Van
Horn ones.  I said:  "During the Disney Comics period (1990-93) I saw 
*no* anti-Rosa letters... what I meant was that there were *droves* of
letters panning [criticizing] William Van Horn."

	Sorry, Gil... maybe I just wrote an incoherent paragraph, but
this ought to have cleared it up.  I've seen many more anti-Van-Horn
letters than anti-Rosa ones, and I don't think I ever saw an anti-Rosa
letter in a comic after 1989.


	FAQ suggestions
	=== ===========

	I say... yes, we should have a FAQ and if Harry has no time to
make it, the rest of us can at least get a start.  This FAQ should be
available from ftp, AND regularly posted to rec.arts.disney.  We can
build up Gladstone's readership that way...

	Regardez:


 (A) Introductory knowledge

	1.  What Disney comics are currently published?  Who publishes
them?  How can I get them?
	2.  Who is Carl Barks, and what has he accomplished?
	3.  Who is Don Rosa, and what has he accomplished?
	4.  Who is Al Taliaferro, and what has he accomplished?
	5.  Who are some of the others whose work appears in Duck
comics, and what have they accomplished?
	6.  Who is Floyd Gottfredson, and what has he accomplished?
	7.  Who is Romano Scarpa, and what has he accomplished?
	8.  Who is Paul Murry, and what has he accomplished?
	9.  Who are some of the others whose work appears in Mouse
comics, and what have they accomplished?
	10.  What is Egmont, and what is their role in Disney comics?
	11.  What is Oberon, and what is their role in Disney comics?
	12.  Who is Jaime Diaz, and what is his role in Disney comics?
	13.  What is Mondadori/Disney Italy, and what is their role in
Disney comics?


 (B) Historical knowledge

	1.  When were the first Disney comics made, and what were they
like?
	2.  What was the story behind Disney Comics?  What happened to
it, and what about its cancelled titles?
	3.  What stories have been censored?
	    [This would be a list of issues/titles only, with a
reference to our projected list describing specific changes in each]
	4.  What Gottfredson stories have been banned from reprint
anywhere in the United States?  Why?
	5.  What has Carl Barks done since retirement?
	6.  What was changed about the Carl Barks universe in the TV
series, "Duck Tales"?
	    [this being frequently brought up on the ranger-list]
	7.  Where were Donald Duck long adventures first created?
	    [answer:  In Britain and Italy;  Fabio and I will supply
            more info]


 (C) Editorial questions

	1.  What is the Life of $crooge, and when will it see print in
this country?  On what schedule?
	2.  What is the current status of a Mickey Mouse solo comic?
	3.  What is the current status of Gladstone comics' release
schedule?


 (D) Character secrets

	1.  How are Huey, Dewey and Louie related to other ducks?
	    [A small portion of the HD&L 'character' file]
	2.  What species is Goofy?
	    [Believe it or not, a lot of r-a-d people ask this, and
            since Dippy Dawg stories are still reprinted often, we 
            should answer it]
	3.  How is Gladstone Gander related to the others?
	    [A small portion of the GG 'character' file]
	4.  How are Morty and Ferdie related to Mickey Mouse?
	5.  What is Grandma Duck's name?
	6.  Is Sylvester Shyster a dog or a rat?
	    [This I CAN'T figure out!  When we make the FAQ I'll see
            what John Clark has to say]
	7.  What is Eega Beeva?
	    [No one seems to know!  He's the man of tomorrow,
            evolution taken to an illogical extreme, and accidentally 
            caught in a time warp while spelunking to end up in a 
            Mouseton cavern]

	* * * * *

	What about this, eh?  I could answer parts of many of these
questions, and so could a lot of us here.  And this covers most of
what people ask about Disney comics.  And we'll load the thing with
references to our ftp lists and mailing list.

	BTW:  I'm going to save this list so I don't have to type it
in again...


	New Mouse cartoons
	=== ===== ========

	Apparently Disney has announced that the Roger Rabbit cartoons
they have made for theatres are now to be supplanted by new MM short
cartoons.  I suppose they'll be "team" cartoons with MM/DD/GO, but I
have no basis for this guess...  I'd sure rather see those than
literary adaptations, tho' I still like those...  Someone on r-a-d
wrote that they hoped to see the Phantom Blot in the series, actually
mentioning Gottfredson by name (HURRAH!).  I'd like to see him, too,
but not if DD and GO also appear in the same cartoon.

	Anyway... it's about time!


	Mickey laser discs
	====== ===== =====

	I just have gotten that laser disc set, "Mickey Mouse:  The
Black-And-White Years Vol. 1".  Many of the cartoons were used by
Gottfredson as the basis for stories or parts of stories.  The prints
are beautiful, and all but one of the cartoons are uncut (the cut one
being "Steamboat Willie" and this due to an obvious SPLICE in their
NEGATIVE... the klutzes!  I've written to them so they can correct
this in future pressings).  Minor technical errors here and there in
their attempts to restore the original title frames to cartoons which
lacked them (they were re-released with different title cards, and
those prints are all that remain of many episodes).  On the whole,
though, a fantastic collection, for a most un-mouse-like $124.95.
(I've been salting away money since last spring for the set... I'd
never normally be able to afford it.)
	Just thought I'd recommend this superb product with a direct
tie-in to Gottfredson...


	In closing
	== =======

	That was one of the doggonedest LONG letters that I ever
wrote!  I haven't had so much to say in a long time, though, and I may
not again for a while (I can hear the cheering from here).

	Your friend,

	David Gerstein

	"Ah!  The languid bliss of autumn!"
	<David.A.Gerstein at Williams.edu>





















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