+Postage Due+Disney-comics digest #204.

[Don Rosa]

HARRY:
	I guess I don't have to tell you that Thom Roep's explanation
(which echoes the "official" explanation that all Disney editors are
told to give) that giving credits in comic books would "confuse kids" is
utter bawlderdash. Hogwash! It's foolish on the face of it. It's
reminiscent of the line in MONTY PYTHON & THE HOLY GRAIL where somebody
suggests making that rabbit fiend "so cross it will make a mistake" and
the king asks "Like WHAT?" The kids would become confused HOW? Besides,
the editors' names are given, as are the translators, as is the
publishing company's name -- isn't there a worry that THIS will "confuse
the kids"? Credits can so EASILLY be given on a page apart from the
actual stories as Gladstone does and as Egmont did for a time after
Disney told them to stop giving credits (and they thought there couldn't
be any possible reason not to hide them in the indicia) -- but not even
this is done.
	It's a plain and simple matter of these being among the world's
(if not THE world's) most widely printed and endlessly profit-making
comic books, and Disney is desperately afraid of the creators gaining
some form of legal ownership in their work. I mean, I work in the system
and allow them this arrogance and greediness -- as long as they don't
try to bullsheet me and tell me that it's to protect lil' kiddies from
confusion!

MATTIAS:
	I never said I thought that the European translators should have
known that $crooge was the maternal uncle of Donald. It would have been
impossible -- that was my whole point. We don't have any such
distinction in English. Even lifelong readers of the American editions
couldn't know this -- only us Barks fans who have seen copies of his old
Tree in fanzines. That's why I knew no one in America would have any
notion one way or the other. I never dreamed that Europeans had a system
of naming relatives that would have given them a certain idea of the
$crooge-Donlad relationship for many years.
	Also, to you or anyone else in Sweden: as usual, even though I
give them free publicity, often at my own expense, the Swedish publisher
will NEVER think to send me copies of that newspaper exploiting my work
for their benefit. I hope one of you can find me a copy of that issue of
(whatizzit?) AFTONBLADET? And mail it to me someday (hopefully with a
translation).
	Now -- Mattias, I just received a letter from Stefan Dios!!! I
could write him but here I am in daily touch with YOU. Do you live close
enough to him that a phone call is not long-distance rates? If so, it
would be very easy for me to pass some info from me to him through you,
as you will probably find the info interesting as well (I assume).
	In his letter... actually in the P.S. ... Stefan quickly
mentioned several ERRORS he thought he'd spotted in some of my stories
he recently translated. 
	1) (As Harry said) that calculus equation has a "=" where a "-"
should be! YES, IT DOES!!! I must have not been careful while inking my
pencils! I'm going to see if it's possible to catch this before it's
printed in Europe!
	2) I made a joke about "the Lone Ranger" in Lo$ part X, as
Stefan says, 30 years before the creation of that character. Yes, THIS
one was on purpose and I gave it some thought. But the gag tickled me
and I decided to treat the L.R. as if he was an actual person. 
	3) In the "Guardians of the Lost Library" I say that the Library
had info from Cathay brought by Marco Polo when the knights of the 4th
Crusade stole it in 1204. That's a mere 50 years before Polo was born
and 90 years before he could have arrived in Constantinople, dashed off
the data, and had it snatched out of his hand by a galloping Crusader. I
obviously meant for this to happen back in Italy where the Crusaders
took the books. I am currently doing rewrites and new art for the
American edition of that story, and now I must also do two new panels to
replace two while shifting some other art about in the story. This is an
easy error to fix IF it's not too late! I THANK him for catching this
error!!!!!!
	It doesn't bother me that I make errors like this as much as it
bothers me that I TRY SO DAMNED HARD NOT TO!!! With as carefully as I
research and check my facts, I then get careless at the last instant and
screw it all up! Perhaps I have so MANY facts floating around loose in
those stories that it's only natural to get a few wrong? NOPE -- there's
NO excuse!!!
	Anyway, tell Stefan thanks! Or tell me that you're not in touch.