Self-promotion of Keno Don Rosa

[Dan Rosenberg]

Hear hear! I'm personally getting sick of the Rosa blasting myself. To add
my own "humble" opinion to a whole string of opinions: I think Don Rosa is
the best Duck artist out there today. Now, I can hear the groans and moans
from across the Atlantic, but I cannot deny the fact that I get more
pleasure from reading his stories than I do from reading stories by most of
his contemporaries and I've been reading Disney stories since I was a child
(As many of you here have as well, I know). This is not to say they are bad
artists, I simply like Rosa's style of art and storytelling and, honestly,
most stories coming out of Europe don't really move me at all. I often find
the art to be boring and generic and the storytelling, well, let's not get
into that. I believe as a storyteller, one should always ask themselves
"What am I doing that is so special? Why would anyone want to read this
stuff?" Rosa, I believe, asks himself these questions and it shows in the
quality of his work. It goes well beyond cranking out a passable product in
order to beat the deadlines. I think Rosa has contributed a vast amount to
the quality of today's Disney comics, and I dare say, if it weren't for him,
we would have far fewer readers of Disney comics in the US.
Barks left some pretty big shoes to fill, and it is to Don's credit that he
has had the bravery to attempt to fill those shoes. Whether he did so
successfully is, was and shall be for all time a matter of opinion. But I'll
leave you with this thought: Are musicians who are influenced by previous
generations of popular musicians simply "trying to get attention"? Of course
they are! You think The Beatles or the Rolling Stones didn't harvest ideas
from their predecessors and tried to expand on those themes? Is Mozart any
less of an artist for doing this? Picasso? Van Gogh? Perhaps I'm using grand
comparisons here, but the point remains: Artists are influenced by their
elders. This has always been so and always WILL BE so. Thanks for indulging
me. 

Dan Rosenberg

Rodney writes:

>So....let me get this straight....Don bases his stories on one of his favorite
>fictional writers of all time (supposedly one of the favorite fictional writers
>of all of us), and he gets blasted for it.

>Don takes time out from an extremely busy schedule to answer the questions of
>his readers...and he gets blasted for it.

>He attempts to explain himself in a clear articulate manner (thereby granting
>more time than such messages deserve) and he gets blasted for it.

>What exactly do you want from him?  I may not like Geoffery Blum's stories, but
>at least I can come up with reasons about why I don't like them, and express
>that clearly and have a civil discussion about it.  You Rosa detracters can't
>even seem to do that.