DCML Digest Issue 4

[Don Rosa]

From: S?ren Krarup Olesen<raptus at stofanet.dk>
Subject: AC, DvE and DR
>>>Don, you once wrote to me in private, that you "pity me" for not liking
your stories (in fact I do but apparently you ignored that in your eager to
promote yourself).Well, I pity you for not liking the Disney comics
universe! And that message applies to all your disciples.

Good lord! I'm downloading e-mails while on a camping trip in Olympic
National Park... and I belatedly catch this crack.What is this!?!??! What a
foul lie!!!!!!!!
I challenge you to produce any message where I said any such thing or
ever attempted to "promote myself" in the least way. I don't think that in
the past 15 years I've ever done or said one thing that could be construed
as "self promotion". Editors complain that the texts I write about my work
are too self-deprecating. List members bemoan the fact that I never discuss
my current projects or convention visits unless I am specifically asked
about them. I purposely choose not to have my own website, and, when
frequently asked, I even decline to contribute even a simple
guestbook comment to any of the many Rosa fansites because I feel it might
look even *vaguely* like self-promotion to some cruel observer. I  go around
telling people that I already get *too much* attention and they should ease
off. As you should know if you were paying attention, self promotion would
do me no good whatsoever... if I could do or say something that succeeded in
selling an extra TRILLION of my own comics, it would not put one extra penny
in MY pocket... it would only make more $ for the publisher or for Disney. I
can't even imagine what I could have said that you could have misconstrued
as meaning this, or what I could have written concerning this "pity"
business such that you could pull it out of context to imply a meaning other
than was intended!

But, moreover, even if someone DID write something to you in a PRIVATE
e-mail, what right do you have to publish a public announcement of that
private conversation?! You can get yourself sued in a very nasty way for
this sort of reckless, sneaky and libelous activity!

And while we're at it, why do you suddenly address me directly in the midst
of an argument that I was not even part of, implying that I have some secret
involvement? I write/draw my stories, the publishers print them, then
*whatever* reaction comes from the readers is completely their own creation.
I have no control over what is said or not said, written or not written, by
my fans or detractors... and I resent your implication that I do by your
insinuating use of the word "disciples". I neither encourage nor discourage
anything written pro or con about my work. And if you think I am constantly
pleased by *every* syllable that is written or said by the Rosa fans around
the world, you're sadly mistaken. But they are on their own... I am not
their leader. I am not a "secret master" of every Rosa site on the WWW. I'll
thank you not to attempt to drag me into your squabbles just because you
resentfully want to blame me *personally* for every word written by a
professed fan of my work.
What happened? Did you just write that entire e-mail in a moment of
INCREDIBLY poor judgment?!
Let's have a retraction of your statement and an apology.