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[David A Gerstein]

	Dear Folks,

	Here I am back in Williamstown again!  Times are tough (huh,
bud?) and I don't have access to a comic shop, only a drug store which
gets comics about 3 weeks after the direct market, and hardly gets any
fanzines let alone something that would dare discuss *Disney*.

	So if the person who used to type in CBG Gladstone ads could
do that again if something interesting appears, I'd be *very*
thankful.

	Also, while I'm at it, if whoever supplied data on WDC&S #4 to
wdc.index was willing to send me Xeroxes of Mickey Mouse "In Search of
Jungle Treasure" Part 1 was willing to send me a Xerox, I can send
them something in return.  What that something is can be decided by
whoever has the comic.  I have extra copies of Uncensored Mouse #1, if
it's early Mickey that gives you a kick (like me!).

	The recent discussion of why Carl Barks is the way he is was
very interesting to me... strangely, no one commented on my own
speculations a few days before.  I remain somewhat puzzled, though:
is Barks really *worried* about his fame?  In this country, he isn't
well-known simply because your average comic collector prefers some
ugly mutant (or *is* an ugly mutant :-).  But to those who are in the
know, Barks is a legend, and will remain so, no matter how popular any
more recent duck artists may become.

	Also... does he like his stories or hate them?  He's obviously
tired of ducks and feels exploited by Disney, but his stories show (at
least through the late '50s) that he must have enjoyed what he was
doing.  His pessimism, obvious especially in the 1948-51 period,
doesn't seem to be in conflict with the duck genre at all.  He wants
fame -- and obviously has no idea how beloved he is, due to living in
a money culture that grows to exploit as opposed to Europe -- but
doesn't believe that he has it.  I just can't figure it out...

	My fellow Gottfredson fans might be interested by the CAV
laser disc boxed set coming in November, "Mickey Mouse:  The Original
Black-and-White Cartoons."  It includes about 1/2 the entries from
that period (a second set will finish them off next year) including
"Two-Gun Mickey" (which inspired "The Bat Bandit"), "The Mad Doctor"
(which inspired "Blaggard Castle"), "Plane Crazy" (which inspired
"Lost on a Desert Island"), "Camping Out" ("Dr. Oofgay's Secret
Serum") and many others.  These are my personal favorite animated
cartoons, and I think anyone who hasn't seen them is missing a trove
of treasure suitable for Scrooge McDuck's money bin.

	Some folks requested code numbers for the European stories
I've dialogued.  I have a scattered few, but not all, available right
now.  Some are for stories that have been scheduled;  others haven't
been, yet.  But all of the following have been BOUGHT, so we'll see
them all in time.

	D7238:  "E. A. T."  The Beagle Boys steal a metal-eating
alien, called a Venut, from Gyro Gearloose and, in disguise, enter the
bin as tourists on a special "open house" day the Duckburg city
council has elected Scrooge to host.  They leave the alien in the bin,
and the havoc can only be imagined!  Art by Daniel Branca.

	D8942:  "In and Out."  Scrooge accidentally hires the
disguised Beagle Boys to count his fortune using a massive machine
(reminiscent of the electronic brain in WDC&S 199) which they've
stolen, but eventually undoes these blackguards' scheme.  Art by
Daniel Branca.
	*** This has been tentatively scheduled for US 285. ***

	D9904:  "His Master's Voice."  Donald's furiously trying to
get Scrooge to take advantage of his wealth just a little more, when
suddenly a fellow Scrooge once knew years before -- and owed money to
at compound interest -- comes to his door.  Desperate to avoid a debt,
Scrooge professes that he's now poor and has taken a job as Donald's
BUTLER!!  Donald takes advantage of this by treating Scrooge in just
this manner on a day's adventure (with creditor in tow) that includes
a tour of Duckburg, lunch at the Gilded Derby delicatessen
(including dishes of anchovy filets and pickled owls' eggs) and a
dinner cooked by Scrooge.  This is my favorite European story, and is
fittingly drawn by Daniel Branca.
	*** This has been scheduled tentatively for US 285. ***

	D10140:  "No Dime for Stardom"  Uncle Scrooge is in the
Klondike after being promised a massive salary for helping to film a
documentary about his gold rush days.  Magica de Spell disguises
herself as a double for Glittering Goldie, horning in on the
production and causing all manner of havoc as she tries to glom Ol'
Number One (which due to fine print on the contract, is being used as
a prop in the film).  Art by Daniel Branca.

	D88141:  "Sea Struck."  Donald takes a job as first mate on a
ship sailing to Cape Quack, and quickly works his way down to cook,
then deck-hand, and finally causes a massive disaster reminiscent of
Barks' 1949-50 work.  Art by Daniel Branca.

	D90029:  "A Case of Too Much Money."  Scrooge's bin is
bursting with excess cash, so he decides to remove an enormous
boatload of now-worthless Castrovian Rubleniks (as in US 36's "Money
Bag Goat").  No matter what he tries, Scrooge can't get rid of them,
so he finally tricks the Beagles into breaking into the bin to steal
them!  It would work, *except*...  Art by Vicar.

	D90192:  "Catman Vs. The Masked Marauder."  "Modern comic
books are turning my nephews' minds into pasta salad," snorts watchful
parent Donald.  After burning the nephews' collection of "Catman"
comics, Donald disguises himself as "Gridlock, the Masked Marauder" to
teach them how susceptible they've become.  But Duckburg's pop-culture
scene is dominated by Catman to such an extent that both local police
and a Cockney burglar mistake Donald for the "real" Gridlock.  Art by
Scalabroni. 

	D90218:  "For School the Bell Tolls."  Dr. Wagstaff, principal
of Cornelius Coot Elementary School, rehires Donald as truant officer
after a look at his old report cards proves him to have been a
reknowned truant himself.  If Donald 'thinks like a truant', he can
not only regain his former prestige (see WDC&S 100), but revolutionize
schooling in general... or so thinks Dr. Wagstaff.  Art by Vicar...
his best, if you ask me!
	*** This is tentatively scheduled for WDC&S 591. ***

	H83120:  "A Car-Gone Conclusion."  (With art by Ben Verhagen.)
When Donald gets fed up polishing Scrooge's coins and requests a new job,
his uncle "promotes" him to running his used-car business in Pizen
Bluff with the promise that if Donald sells a car in the next month,
the business will be his (Scrooge in fact hopes to get rid of it,
since it'll be a big tax write-off for him).  After a series of
attempts to refurbish and sell the archaic cars fails, Donald gets an
unsuspected success when a collector of autos buys the lot from him.

	H86201:  "The Clock Watcher."  (With art by Fred Milton.)
Donald gets a job guarding magician Emil von Ferkel's collection of
rare clocks, which is also a prime target of the Beagle Boys.

	I hope you'll enjoy these stories when they appear in the
United States.  I have also worked on many others which I didn't have
the code numbers for available just now.  I wonder if you'll think
they're anything special in the foreign versions?  Something about
them really made them seem above average.

	Well, that's all for now.  My future messages won't be near
this long, but there was a lot to say, and I hope it'll help you guys!
Also, I promise no more of my personal want-ads in the foreseeable
future!!

	Your friend,


	David Gerstein

	"Hi-Lee, Hi-Lo, the north-winds blow, the waves are rising
high!"  (Captain Churchmouse sang that in "Mickey Mouse Sails for
Treasure Island," and Taliaferro often had Donald sing it early on.
Is it the sailor suit?)