Wahington Times article about WDC&S le-launch

[Ole R Nielsen]

Directly from the pages of washingtontimes.com:
http://www.washtimes.com/arts/20030614-120935-2989r.htm

Thanks to 'Cliff' for the URL.

-- Ole

Quote-->

Arts:

Uncle Scrooge, pals return as Disney classics are revived

    Starting in 1939 and continuing more than half a century, the Disney
comic book became a staple in American popular culture.
    Thanks to the efforts of Western Publishing under the imprints of Dell,
Gold Key and Whitman, and to Gladstone Publishing, along with famed creators
including Floyd Gottfredson, Don Rosa, Daan Jippes, William Van Horn, Noel
Van Horn, Patrick Block and the legendary Carl Barks, series such as Walt
Disney's Comics and Stories and Four Color introduced readers to Uncle
Scrooge McDuck, Gyro Gearloose and Li'l Bad Wolf.
    The Disney sequential-art magic stopped in February of 1999 with the
closing of Gladstone, and it finally took the man with the coolest toys and
best comic-book collection to revive the legacy.
    Steve Geppi, owner of Diamond Comic Distributors and president and chief
executive officer of Gemstone Publishing, officially brings the Disney gang
back to comic books beginning in two weeks with the release of Uncle Scrooge
No. 319, featuring Don Rosa's duck epic, "The Dutchman's Secret."
    Mr. Geppi's admiration of the 'toons has been well-known for years in
industry circles, and his love of the medium has always been the battle cry
for taking over the production of Disney comics.
    "I love [Disney Comics], and I am a die-hard Carl Barks fan, and I
consider it a great honor and privilege to follow the footsteps of previous
licensees," Mr. Geppi says from his Timonium, Md., office.
    His carefully crafted strategy began this May with the release first of
a reprint of a very collectible 1947 shoe-store giveaway, the Boys and Girls
March of Comics No. 4, featuring Carl Barks' Maharaja Donald. (An original
version of the comic in mint condition can go for up to $7,000 today.) The
giveaway on Free Comic Book Day put an estimated 168,000 copies of the
reprint in children's hands.
    Next, Mr. Geppi found a trio of key personnel from the defunct Gladstone
Publishing, Editor in Chief John Clark, Production Manager Susan
Daigle-Leach and Art Director Gary Leach, moved them to Maryland and armed
them with computers, brushes and a budget.
    Their first goal was to concentrate on the repackaging of comics
material that already has been seen in Europe through Scandinavian publisher
Egmont Group.
    This involves Mr. Leach scanning finished and line-art pages into the
computer and Miss Daigle-Leach taking on the demanding role of reference
colorist; she must carefully fill in the hues of each panel used to give the
printers and digital coloring experts a key to how the art should finally
look.
    "We get the line art in from [the European publishers]. They do have
color available in their books, but it isn't really similar to what we do,"
she says. "They have different colors for characters and use a much more
limited palette."
    Overall, the staff handles the digital coloring and separations of
mostly covers in-house while outsourcing the interior pages, thus the need
of sending along Miss Daigle-Leach's color guide.
    After the backlog of stories from overseas, the staff also hopes to
start producing brand-new stories for American and worldwide audiences.
    Expect books with new cover art from Don Rosa and William Van Horn,
available at $6.95 for 64 color pages, to continue hitting store shelves and
even school libraries in the near future.
    The line will include classic series such as Uncle Scrooge Adventures,
Donald Duck Adventures and Walt Disney Comics and Stories. Gemstone
Publishing also will introduce two monthly comics starting in the summer and
add two more monthlies later in the year.
    As to the eventual success of the line, Mr. Geppi can only comment on
the current climate of sequential art available in mass-market locations.
    "Timing is everything, and with the advent of the bookstore market
embracing the graphic novel format, I think our timing is just perfect. I am
also hopeful to get the Disney comics into the school systems, as they are
universally embraced as wholesome and there should be no barriers in using
them in the educational side of literacy."

    Zadzooks! wants to know you exist. Call 202/636-3016, fax 202/269-1853;
e-mail jszadkowski at washingtontimes.com or write to Joseph Szadkowski/The
Washington Times, 3600 New York Ave. NE, Washington D.C. 20002.


<--Quote