Globality

Fluks, H.W. (Harry) harry.fluks at tno.nl
Mon Feb 16 17:02:47 CET 2009


(This is my 3rd try. I hope you didn't get the message below 3 times.
But if you do, sorry in advance!)

For clarity: my remark last week about Americans and oranges was about
American comic *production*, not about its *publication*. It's obvious
to me that American comics must be produced in America, translated (if
not written) by Americans.
I wouldn't want my Dutch comics have a Dutch translation made by
Germans, for instance.

(Note: I am Dutch, which means I am from Holland, Europe.)


Gary:

> As for all good things coming from America, it's really been 
> quite a while since I or anyone I know has believed that.

Sometimes we (in Europe) get a different idea from TV fragments coming
from the USA.
I remember a documentary about a country&western group being completely
banned from USA radio because they had been "un-patriottic". It didn't
matter how much they disagreed with the American president, they *had*
to support him...
(Okay, this may be getting a bit too much about politics. For balance,
let me state that the prime minister of my own country is a real jerk
and I can't wait for him to be replaced.)

Apparently, these images are a result of selection, and therefore not
representative for the entire USA population.

On the other hand, I see "ymh" writing a text here on DCML that *does*
seem to show exactly my impressions:

> I don't think I've 
> enjoyed a single European story that I've read in the 
> Gemstone comics

ymh also wrote:

> It's probably not that useful for me to be speaking in such 
> generalities

Exactly. It only strengens my ideas that many Americans don't *really*
look at things, but only judge them by the fact whether or not they are
American.


Carl:

> Part of what made Barks' 
> stories so successful is that they were more than adventures; 
> they were 
> more than comedies; there was also some social satire in there.  And 
> while there are universal themes that lend themselves to 
> social satire, 
> certainly, the best and the sharpest--I would argue--come from the 
> country whose society sets the framework for the action and 
> the satire.

I remember some Italian stories which have much sharper satire on
society.
And at least one Dutch story.
But good satire is rare in all countries.

> Duckburg (to me at least) seems quintessentially American.

That may be true. Especially art-wise, I see some typical European
landscapes in Duck stories.
But since Europe is still doing its very best to look just like America,
European stories will get better at this point. :-)

> I miss the highly literate 
> translations of European stories in Gladstone Series I (as 
> well as the erudite commentary often provided)

I must admit that I hated these "translations". It was more or less like
saying "the stories are not good enough in their own right, let's add
some stuff in the translation to make them acceptable".
That didn't work for me (and for the same reason, the much-praised
German translations of Barks stories didn't work for me either).

> I haven't seen art that I enjoyed other than translations of 
> Barks, Rosa, or Strobl work.  I'm not an artist, so I don't know why 
> that is.

That's odd, indeed, since (especially) Rosa has a completely different
art style, while people like Branca come much closer to Barks, art-wise.
I wonder if your appreciation of artwork would have been different if
the stories were still un-credited. (We'll never know...)


Leo:

> It is not important for me that 
> all good things come from America

I think my remark was more in general, and I just used your text as an
example.
But it is puzzling to me that people have general feelings about
American and European authors, while they are so different,
individually.

> I admit to not liking the 
> European authors as much as Barks and Rosa and Van Horn.  But 
> I still want to see the comic books survive here in their 
> birthplace, and if only European authors are represented, so 
> be it..

Note that a lot of "European" stories are written by Americans! So
apparently, having an American writer is not enough to have a "good"
story.

The only explanation that I currently have, is that:
- there must be some level of quality in writing *and* artwork;
- writer and artist must be the same person.

That would explain why Barks, Rosa and Van Horn are regarded better than
other people, because outside the USA, stories written and drawn by the
same person are rare.

I myself have no preference that writer and artist must be the same.
Daan Jippes, for instance (one of my favourites), is a very good artist
but he's not good at writing stories.
Kari Korhonen is a very good writer, but not a good artist.

--Harry.
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