Updates for the US Index

[Torsten Wesley Adair]

On Sun, 20 Feb 1994, David A Gerstein wrote:
> 	Dear Folks,
> 	A few interesting things.  A lot of the Scrooge long
> adventures have been reprinted four times as of now (prior to the
> beginning of CBLUSA albums next fall), not counting the Celestial Arts
> book or the older, hardback CBLs.  One has actually been heaved onto
> the press FIVE times -- yes, "The Midas Touch."
> 
> 	According to Gladstone, the next two years will see many of
> the Carl Barks long adventures that previously were in "old" Gladstone
> albums reprinted again in issues of USA and DDA.  They will appear
> again not long afterwards in CBLUSA and CBLDDA albums.  What does
> everyone here think?  I'm tired of those stories myself, but I ALSO
> realize that the albums had low circulation and that many people who
> didn't get them will be glad to own these coming comics.  On the other
> hand, I think that while people may buy a 10-pager in a comic and
> then again in an album (where it comes with four other stories, which
> the reader might not own), they may be less likely to do the same with
> a long story.  Most albums in the CBL series will have 2 long
> adventures, I'm thinking.  People will be able to get those adventures
> without buying the CBL albums, simply by buying 2, not 5, regular
> comics.  I'm worried this may hurt the sales of the new albums...

I  recently posted the Gladstone/Disney listing from Diamond Previews.  . 
If you look at it, you will discover that one story in the DC&S albums
also appears in one of the comicbooks as well. 

> 	But what alternative is there to printing long Barks stories
> in USA and DDA?  How many foreign stories out there are shorter than
> Italian 70-pagers and also very good?  Are there many long Dutch
> and Danish stories which are much better than, say, DDAD 33's very
> unexciting "Sobbing Serpent" story?

	How about stories by Rosa and Van Horn?
 
> 	(That's not to say that no Italian stories will be used -- in
> fact some are scheduled by Gladstone now, but they can't be used too
> often since they take up a lot of space and must be serialized)

	Gladstone should do what Disney does with their movies.  That is,
rotate the stories, so that a new generation (yes, their are actually
children in the U.S. reading Disney Comics) discovers them.  Disney uses a
seven year or so rotation, and I am confident that Gladstone could find
enough stories to fill seven years (the Barks WDC&S series will go 51
volumes, which is four years, three months).

	I purchase both the albums and the comicbooks.  I purchase the
albums because they are larger, have better paper, include essays not
usually found in the comicbooks,, and because they are in chronological
order, and therefore easier to find.  I buy the comicbooks because there
are a lot of U.S. Disney stories I haven't read, plus a lot  of foreign
stories as well.  Even if I have read the story, it has been a while, and
I usually have forgotten parts of it .  Besides, even if I have read it
before, it's still fun to read it again.  

	 I think the albums and the comicbooks are two different markets. 
First, albums are sold mostly via specialty stores, whereas the comicbooks
are sold via stores and newsstands.  Comicbooks are more disposable than
the albums, and cheaper.  

Torsten Adair	torsten at cwis.unomaha.edu	Omaha, NE, USA (via NZ)