Disney-comics digest #855.

[Don Rosa]

MIKE:
        Now that you've asked me in public (!) I must say that you cannot
reproduce that drawing I did for you under any circumstances or for any
purpose. In fact, you aren't even supposed to HAVE it. Look around you to
see how much similar reproducing of such Disney images you see wherever you
might see such, judge your risk factor, and proceed accordingly. 
        And of course Marco Polo was in China! But if Frances Wood wrote a
book about Polo in China, no one would have bought it.

JAKOB:
        You seem to have gotten a wrong idea due to the way they editted a
few lines out of my text piece that accompanied my Duck Family Tree in WDC&S
#600. I had written that the only way Ludwig Von Drake could be Donald's
uncle is if he were married to Matilda... but I went on to say that various
editors and such asked me not to include Ludwig for reasons I don't recall.
So I left him out. But in my own private notes, I have Ludwig married to
Matilda McDuck. The same way that, in my private notes, Fethry Duck does NOT
exist.

TODD:
        There is another walled medieval town, wall completely intact? They
brag in Lucca that they are the only one. Hm.

        I did do quick drawings for crowds of fans while in Europe -- it's
just that at other times when there wasn't much time, I couldn't even do ONE
since that would have been very unfair and prolly might make someone sore
(as if NOT doing a single one didn't cause any irritation with someone who
couldn't appreciate the spot they were putting me in). But when I had
several hours without interviews or press conferences or such, I WOULD sit
down and do quickie drawings as fast as I could. And I have gotten to where
I can do a large Duck head with a good expression in about 30 seconds, and
that would be about a minute or so along with some autographs and
thank-yous. But with a line of several hundred Duck fans, you can see how
long that would take, and how many hours of someone's time I was wasting by
their waiting in line.
        But in Italy, I did it all three ways that I've figured out. One day
I did the quickie sketches for as many people as I could, for hours nonstop.
The next day I did sloooow full-color illustrations for 4 hours and they
were auctioned off for UNICEF. And another day I had everyone put slips into
a pot and someone drew out 35 names, so people wouldn't have to stand in
line, and I did full-figure drawings at about 10 per hour, non-stop.

        Anyway, now I'm in Finland (at least in this recap). I'm afraid that
I have to say this Finnish convention was a fraction of the size of Lucca,
as regards the number of booths... but that doesn't mean the comics fans
were any less serious, Duck fans especially. Besides, this was a free show
located in a very fancy old meeting hall in the very center of Helsinki, so
there were LOTS of folks in there from time to time. 
        It's hard for me to get used to the idea that people of different
nationalities have different personalities or behaviors. It would be
interesting to have an explanation as to why this is. For example, a typical
American character might be very open and friendly, as well as aggressive,
greedy and violent. What was so nice about the Finns was that, as a group,
they seemed very, very polite and a bit shy, and I was "warned" of that
trait by my hosts. Nice to know there are still folks like that. Whereas the
friendly but emotional Italians RUSHED my table that time, the Finns were
always very quiet and polite in their behavior. But this seems to have been
the reason that the few children who managed to get through the crowds of
adult Duck fans all were very noticeable in that I never saw one of them
smiling. The kids all seemed very serious. But they tell me this is just due
to shyness. Can you imagine a crowd of polite, quiet American kids? My wife
the teacher can't. That's why she has that facial tick when she comes home
every day.
        The main aspect of my trip to Finland was the very handsome
hardcover book of my stories that Helsinki Media published in an 18,000
first-printing at about $30 a copy, along with a limited leather-bound
edition of 100 copies (I never asked the price). I visited the major book
stores in Helsinki and another nearby city and signed copies like a reg'lar
Collin Powell. I've never seen a book store as big as the main one in
Helsinki! It was the size of a normal department store in Louisville! Three
stories tall around a central atrium. Scandanavians are serious about reading!
        But I think these bookstores were surprised by the popularity of
these Ducks over there. Each store's stock of several hundred books sold out
within 90 minutes of me arriving, and people would start bringing books from
other stores in the area. 
        Actually, that's most of what I did in Helsinki, so there's not much
more to describe. The other main aspect of the visit to Helsinki was how
well I was taken care of by my hosts, the Helsinki Media people. I've met
nice folks at the other European Disney publishers, and another nice group
of folks at Ehapa in Germany. But this "Disney Team" in Helsinki was the
nicest batch of folks so far -- or, at least, they'd give my German friends
a run for their money. They were all true fans and highly professional
folks, and their offices were like amazing lil' museums of comics and Disney
stuff. Hoping not to slight the others if they see this, but I must mention
the editor of the weekly, a guy named Markku Kivekas. He was hired many
years ago by the company JUST BECAUSE he was such a Duck fan. He also won a
TV quiz contest back in the 60s where you select your own subject... he
chose Disney animated films... and part of his prize was to meet Walt
Disney! He has photos of himself shaking Disney's hand in a private office
meeting. I'm not a hard-core Walt Disney fan... I mean I like some Disney
stuff and dislike other stuff... but there's no question that he might be
the single biggest name or icon in entertainment in the 20th century... and
to have a photo of yourself shaking such a hand is pretty special. Markku
also said that his meeting with Disney was the last such bit of
public-relations that Disney did before he died of cancer very shortly
thereafter.
        Well, there's lots more I could write about this trip, but that's a
general overview. I hope I didn't spend far too much time or space on it
here (but Todd asked!). I guess I shouldn't worry too much about that since
you always have the scroll button and the off switch on the computer, so you
can skip me altogether if you wish.