Lots of things!

[Larry Gerstein]

        Hi, Folks!

        At last I have a (however brief) chance to tell you about my recent
experiences.  I've been writing a lot and working hard on a variety of
projects, many of which you'll be interested in.

        First, the long-awaited Scarpa story "Colossus of the Nile" has
been received by Gladstone and will appear in late 1995.  They just got the
proofs in recently.

        I've just completed the script for a Duck story done directly for
Gladstone: the "Pirate Gold" sequel "Return to Morgan's Island," which will
be a 26-pager.  Then, for Egmont, I completed a new Donald 10-pager -- "The
Sheepish Rancher" is about Donald having an overseer job at a sheep ranch
and attempting to rout a wolf seen nearby with chaotic results.  And I'm
doing a 15-page adventure for them now, of which you'll hear more soon.

        At the San Diego Comic Convention I bought WDC&S 16, 19, 23, and 38
-- all of which aren't in our database.  Well, they are now -- I'll send
Harry the data on them in moments!

        MATTIAS:  Is all okay with my NAFSK article?  I'm excited to see
it!  When will the magazine be published?  (Forgive my excitement!)

        Pat Block and Ron Fernandez had a great visit with me over dinner
at the Convention.  They have shown me artwork from their second Duck tale.
 "No Time for Christmas" is to appear in DDA #30 (a double-sized issue with
Barks' original Shacktown tale filling up the second half).  The art is
MUCH better in this story -- and Witch Hazel returns, too.  Then their
THIRD story -- "The Secret of the Dragon's Den" -- will show up in March. 
In this last tale, the dialogue is much better than before, and the
lettering is identical to Barks'.  In short, these two are getting much
better each time, and I'm excited to tell you of the good things they have
coming.

        Someone (I'm sorry, I forgot who) mentioned the publication of the
Erickson/Ferioli story in which Mickey wore his shorts.  That's right --
it's called "Fantasy Island" in English.  And did you notice Pegleg Pete
has his peg leg back?  I'll see if I can do that when I use Pete... and I
plan to, next year.  I have to admit that I find Ferioli's art quite
inconsistent -- great at times, but quite simplistic and flat at others. 
But it's sure better than a lot of poor Mouse work that we've seen, and in
English with a good script (as in the upcoming DM #27) I think the result
will be good.

        Well, folks, I'm off for now.  I'm interested to hear about
Hard-haid Moe the Hillbilly having a name in English, and particularly
about the 6-page hog-calling story.  MAYBE -- just maybe, I can get John
Clark to track it down.  We'll see.  I can think of a better name for the
Hillbilly -- Phineas Agle ("Phin Agle" for short), but if you guys prefer
his Australian name, I can still go with that if I have a chance to use the
character.

        All the best,

        David
        <gerstein at math.ucsb.edu>

gerstein at math.ucsb.edu