Gladstone sleeze

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

OK, maybe that isn't the proper word, but it's about as close as my 
feeling towards Bruce Hamilton comes right now.

I understood the "temporary changes" in formats of the various Duck 
titles.  All companies are tinkering with that in the US now, due to 
increased paper costs.

I've put up with the occassional off-register colors.

I stopped writing letters when they stopped running letters columns in 
the books.  (If they're not important enough to run, they're not 
important enough to bother writing.)

But this Walt Disney Giant #2 issue really has my dander up.

I wasn't the only one who found the reprint of The Cold-Blooded Penguin a 
little bit odd.  I had a private e-mail or two expressing 
dissatisfaction.  Others publicly questioned its inclusion.  I was 
sickened to find it was included only so Bruce Hamilton could sell the 
original art from it.

I wrote my first letter to Gladstone in a while and dropped it.

HOWEVER, I got my new Comics Buyers Guide in the mail last week.  And on 
the back page is an ad offering, in big bold-faced type, "Original Art 
For Sale From the First Walt Disney Little Golden Book!"  Yep, same stuff.

Listen to some of the ad copy:

"Anyone who does not have a copy of the catalog - reproduced, _in full_ 
in _Walt Disney Giant_ 2, available now in many comic shops and on 
newsstands - may order one to be mailed immediately, first class for 
$3.00."  [Emphasis, by the way, THEIRS, and not mine.]

There are several objections I have to this, most notably:

(1) It is now obvious Bruce Hamilton is no longer interested in 
publishing comic books but, rather, "catalog"s, which is what WDG #2 
serves as.

(2) And if anyone wants to actually buy some of this original art (OK, 
everyone raise your hands!  Nobody?  Quelle suprise.), you have to order a 
comic through Hamilton, instead of picking it up at a comics shop.  (Yes, 
I realize that's an option IF your local comics shop has sold out, but 
then why didn't he just overprint it?  That might have actually HELPED the 
Duck books.  Every comics shop I go into sells out of what few Disney 
issues they get in.)

A letter now will be going to the Comics Buyers Guide.  Too bad, too, as 
I enjoyed WDC&S #600 and Lo$ XI.

-Augie, off to use mouthwash to get this bad taste out of my mouth
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