Scandinavian Creators Book

[Rob Klein]

For Sigvald: I did NOT (I repeat, NOT) mean to imply that no one outside 
Scandinavia would be interested in stories by Scandinavian creators!!! Freddy 
Milton and Gorm Transgaard are two of my very best friends. I like their 
stories and artwork VERY, VERY much (Gorm is also a VERY GOOD ARTIST!).  I like 
Lars Jensen's stories very much. I find Flemming Andersens artwork very 
interesting to look at (though I don't like it or the Italian style for The 
Ducks). 

What I DO mean, is that the Scandinavian creators do NOT have a style that is 
distinguishable from the other Egmont writers.  Most of the final artwork is 
done by the "Spanish Group". Therefore, the bulk of the market for such a book 
would be National (Scandinavian) chauvanists, and a few dcml members and 
Donaldists who know of those creators.  Flemming Anderen's artwork is much 
like "The Cavazzano School". I doubt that The Danish Egmont Office would think 
such a project has enough market. It would make more sense to me, to compile 
and release album series of Flemming Andersen's best work, and to do the same 
for Gorm Transgaard's and Lars Jensen's best work.  This has already been done 
for Daan Jippes and a few other individual artists, and it has worked.  A hard-
bound, deluxe, fancy, expensive book would cost too much for the small number 
of sales it could generate.  Perhaps a small album series to compile and 
combine the best work of the various non-prolific Scandinavian writers COULD 
also be put into album form.  But, I don't see why a typical young Disney fan 
would care to have the stories segregated like that.  Most of those kids don't 
care who the writer's are.  Most of them DON'T know that most of the writers 
are NOT Scandinavians, and most don't know that most of the artists are also 
NOT. They probably never even thought about that.  Most of them want to know 
who drew Barks' and Rosa's stories, and perhaps why the pocketbook stories look 
so different from the Weekly books' stories-and that is about all.  The curious 
fans later become Donaldists and DCMLers.  But OUR knowledgeable, 
discriminating population is too small to sell special books to (especially if 
they are expensive).   
The reason a book on Italian Disney comic art sells in Northern Europe is 
because we have enjoyed their work for many years in the pocketbooks. Similar 
excellent stories that were printed in Topolino, but never came to Northern 
Europe in the pocketbooks could be put into such "prestige books" and be hotly 
desireable. I remember reading a few really nice Marco Rota stories in the 
1980s, in "Stripgoed", the monthly precursor to Dutch Donald Duck Extra.  It 
made me want to look for more of his stories. That got me started looking 
through the pocketbooks (which I had peviously avoided, as most of the art was 
not to my liking).

THAT sort of experience of the Northern European kids leads them to be 
interested in obtaining a book with the best of the Italian produced stories.  
It is NOT specifically because the creators come from Italy.  Would there be a 
Worldwide market for an expensive fancy book with stories of all Dutch 
creators? Stories only by Jan Kruse, Evart Geradts, Ruud Straatman, Frank 
Jonker,Pascal Oost, etc. with art by Daan Jippes, Sander Gulien, Mau and Bas 
Heymans, Ben Verhagen, Michel Nadorp, Mark deJonge, Jules Coenan, Dick Matena, 
Danny Wanner, etc., etc. ad infinitum. I doubt that there would be demand for 
such a book outside The Netherlands. All the stories (except post 2000 stories 
by Jippes) were produced by Dutch Disney- so THEY would produce such a book if 
they decided that it would be profitable.  The French might consider producing 
one of their own.  But really, they may feel that would be overkill, as they 
may feel they already reprint their "best" stories in their current, ongoing 
album series.


While I remember, I'd better add famous Danish cartoonist/animator Borge Ring, 
to your list of Scandanavian Disney comics artists. He drew stories for Dutch 
Disney in the 1970s (and early '80s?). 

Rob Klein


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