Disney-comics digest #415.

[Don Rosa]

MATTIAS:
	No fair complaining about something I drew into a story 2 years
ago. I have no memory of where I got the reference for those Crusaders,
but rest assured I would never draw such a scene without doing research.
I go to preposterous lengths to make as sure as possible that even tiny
background details are accurate to time and place. I recall copying
those horsemen directly out of some book on the Crusades, but at this
late date I can't recall what book it was in order to shift the blame.
	By the way, I am currently doing a combined sequel to both "The
Guardians of the Lost Library" and "The Golden Helmet", titled (maybe?)
"The Lost Charts of Columbus" or "Secret Maps of Columbus" or something
like that. I'd been asked by publishers for sequels to both, so I
thought it would be ideal to combine them. I'm afraid I can't do them
much justice, however -- this 24-pages-in-three-8-page-chapters format
is VERY limiting to plot development! The only reason I was allowed 28
pages for "tGotLL" was that it was a special project for Norway.

DAVID:
	What you tell me about Daan Jippes disappoints me, though I'll
bet you didn't expect it would. Naturally I wouldn't expect him to
dislike my work or me... why should he? But he is willing to cooperate
with Grandey and tell him to simply leave him out of whatever Grandey
wants to say about me. The expression that comes to mind is "with
friends like that, who needs enemies?" The reason Grandey thinks he can
slander or libel me is that he uses Barks as his shield, and people like
Dana Gabbard and Joe Torcivia and Daan Jippes will still kiss up to him
regardless of how he conducts himself or his business. He counts on
this. If Grandey libeled any of these three, and had never uttered a
word about me, I would be nearly as mad as I am now, and would have
nothing to do with him, no matter what he might be able to do for me
per$onally. That's just the sort of righteous and intolerant #@^&* I
am, and I'm proud of it.
	Now that you've mentioned it, what brought up that subject with
Jippes? What does he know of this, or that famous FAX? If he is in
touch with Grandey, as I'd suspected, it explains the quote of Jippes'
in the Danish CARL BARKS AND CO. where he said that I was furious that
Van Horn was illustrating Barks' new story rather than me, when in
truth I had been very careful never to have made ANY statement about
the matter (and frankly wouldn't have wanted to draw the story myself).
When I wrote to Jippes to ask him why he'd make such a comment like
that, he replied that he was told that by someone who had reason to
bear me a grudge. NO ONE has a reason to bear me a grudge, except
Grandey, and then simply as a perceived threat to his future income. Or
maybe Jippes offered a guess to you as to what Grandey is up to? Or what
else Jippes was told?
	Also -- when you say you sent Heidi MacDonald an invitation to
the panel, do you mean over this Digest, or by regular mail? I'd like to
make sure she knows she was NOT slighted since that's how she seems to
feel.

FABIO:
	Doggonnit, fella, where do you keep disappearing to? I'd like to
make sure you received the looooong answer I sent to your previous
message, but we can't seem to maintain contact on here.

FRANCE:
	(Is there anyone on here who's in France?)