Chase Craig

[Daniel van Eijmeren]

LUCA BOSCHI, 03-12-2000:

>> Perhaps someone can ask Chase Craig, who (I believe) was Barks
>> editor at that time. But, he is 85 years old, and probably wouldn't
>> be able to remember a single gag submitted 50 years ago

> Maybe. But it seems his memory is quite good. He remembers the most
> important issues about his job at Western. Maybe David can help us
> about?

Even though I don't know if the chance is likely that Chase Craig can
or will be interviewed, I'm thinking of questions which could be asked.

Here's a very rough brainstorm of such questions:

- Does Craig still know details about the relationship between him
  (or Western in general) with Barks?

- For "House of Haunts", Barks submitted a synopsis first. Craig asked
  Barks to tone it down. (Craig's letter has survived.) Was this synopsis
  an exception or did Barks at some point submit synopsis to Western
  first before he drew a story?

- What was Western's relation with foreign countries? Is it comparable
  with Egmont's role? For example, why did the "blinders" gag (submitted
  on 28 February 1957) show up in the Italian "Albi della Rosa" No. 201,
  1958, while Western didn't use the gag themselves?

- Does Craig have any recollection of cutting down Barks stories?
  Who did the cutting and how was it done? Does he have any recollection
  of material which has been cut?

- Does Craig have any recollection of staff people taking some cut art
  with them? I think I once read that some of the cut art survived
  because of that. (Maybe Craig can give directions in finding people
  who may have - or had - some cut art which hasn't surfaced yet?)

- Did Western have a policy of keeping unpublished covers and stories?
  Somehow Barks' previously unpublished 1957 milkman story survived,
  but his 1952 golden apples ten-pager has vanished. Is this
  coincidence or was the golden apples story intentionally destroyed
  before a certain policy in keeping unpublished art was introduced?

- I think I've read that Barks and Craig also met in private, after
  Barks retirement, for example by going out for a dinner. Does he
  have recollections how this relation started? Does Barks and Craig
  also meet in private before Barks' retirement? Where Craig and Barks
  friends, or was it only a business relationship? (After his
  retirement, Barks still worked for Western by submitting covers
  and scripts.)

- Does he still have some Barks material (art, letters, photo's, etc.)
  which still haven't surfaced in public?

- What's the history of his own career at Western? 

Please note that this is just a disorganized brainstorm in thinking of
questions. If someone would manage to contact Craig and decide to use
some of these questions, I would like to polish them by doing some
research first.

Also, if Craig will be interviewed about certain Barks works, I think
it's important that the interviewer can show copies of the mentioned
art to "refresh" his memory. 

I'm very curious if others here also have ideas for questions which
could be asked to Chase Craig.


Best wishes,

--- Daniel

(Quiz question: "Mr. Craig" is mentioned in one of Barks' comics.
Which one?)