Anders to Daniel about Rosa and Barks in the Netherlands

H.W.Fluks@telecom.tno.nl H.W.Fluks at telecom.tno.nl
Mon Aug 4 17:15:10 CEST 2003


Anders wrote:

> i would like to meet them so we could clear up this
> long-time misunderstandment, as it probably is.

I don't see how a meeting would clear up any "misunderstandment".
You make it sound like it's something between the Dutch editors and you personally, which only a personal meeting can solve. (And after such a meeting, the Dutch will do as you please?)

> There's nothing much wrong with 
> the extra, when you look at it as itself (heck, ours is even worse!)
> 
> But when one can compare it looks strange to see a nice magazine - 
> but with covers made by another atist, or maybe just traced by 
> another artist.

FYI: many of the covers are drawn by Michel Nadorp, one of the best currently active cover artists in the world.
The word "traced" does not give justice to the quality of the covers (maybe with one or two exceptions in the past 20 years).

> The story inside is printed in one part - but 
> the version 
> that is meant for publishing in several issues is printed. 
> Those two things are the only things I see wrong with the 
> printing of Rosa
> in the extra - it's not much, but it's there. 
> But all that doesn't mean that the editors can't be big Rosa-fans - 
> I wouldn't know, I have no contact with them.

But you *do* mention elsewhere that they are *not* big Rosa-fans.
You can't know that either, since you have no contact with them.

The Dutch editors are a bunch of individuals; every individual having his own opinions and tastes.
There are some freelance artists who expressed their dislike of Rosa's artwork in public (Janssens, Heymans).
There are others who think the artwork is OK, but too different from the "mainstream" Disney style.
And there are others who like Rosa's artwork.

95 per cent of the Dutch editors (and writers and artists) that I have met *do* like Rosa's story-telling a lot.

And one more thing: the Dutch editors don't treat any writer or artist different from another. Rosa is a good writer. And (for instance) Korhonen is a good writer. There's no reason to treat Rosa's work differently from Korhonen's.

> > They redraw Barks's covers.
> > Maybe this means they're not much of a Barks fan, either?
> I again can't know about that before I meat them.

8-)
You "meat" them would mean you "make meat out of them"...

> But you dutch people have told me before they have this tradition of
> redrawng 
> covers and other things - Only the first couple of albums with
> barks-stories had Barks-
> covers in Netherland, then it was stopped - Why is that?

Only the first BESTE VERHALEN album had a cover that was made out of Barks artwork. All others have covers by Jippes and (a few) Nadorp.

The reason for that (as I've been told by the editors) is that the Barks covers are not good enough! Barks was a great writer and story artist, but not a great cover artist. So even if they use a Barks cover, they re-ink it to make it look better.
After all, the cover of a comic book (or album) is the first thing a buyer looks at. So it better be good.

And personally, I agree. Jippes has made some outstanding comic book covers. I'd even suggest that part of the success of Gladstone's first comic book run (1986-1989) was due to the many excellent Jippes covers!

> There sure isn't anything more in my criticism than the fact that 
> *I* think they could put a little more effort into some of 
> these things.

Yes, I have the feeling you're blaming them for being very good, but not perfect.

--Harry.


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