Positive Matters / Terry & Fermy?

Olivier mouse-ducks at wanadoo.fr
Sat Aug 16 09:59:24 CEST 2003


Hello everyone!

I hope everyone is fine, after the heat wave in Europe & the NE US & Canada
blackout.


Daniël:

>>>Can you name five favourite artists?

Let's be litteral and consider art only first (in no particular order):
- Carl Barks-- late 40's & early '50s (still a long beak, but nicer, then
shorter, to climax at his best style)
- Floyd Gottfredson-- the early manner (Blaggard Castle, Seven Ghosts, ... ;
credit should also go to inkers such as Taliaferro) and that of  the Bill
Walsh era, which so perfectly fit Walsh's stories
- Al Taliaferro-- I can't pinpoint the era, though; I like the "squarer"
beak less
- Daan Jippes-- can do Barks & Gottfredson perfectly, and has a nice style
of  his own
- William Van Horn-- not model sheet grade ducks, but smooth, fluid lines &
action that make them lively; a perfect fit to his own fluid & energetic
style of  story-telling & word-jugggling

That's five, but others deserve mention as well:
- Romano Scarpa-- can't pinpoint the era either; earlier style?
- Giorgio Cavazzano-- three styles that I know of, that really look like
three different artists; I like the early ('70s?) one (longer beak, "longer"
heads, rounder bodies) and the intermediary one ('80s?); I don't like his
new, round style
- Keno Don Rosa-- I remember Don Rosa himself  saying something like "I
can't draw", and members (?) saying his characters are stiff-looking, that
the panels look like still pictures; and then, there's the unequalled amount
of  detail (in Disney comics-- as far as I know); while his style certainly
isn't as fluid as Van Horn, I like it (and I don't mind the detailed
shading); nice cinematogrpahic staging too

Let's now consider "artist" in the sense of  "story-teller" (still in no
particular order)--
- Barks-- simple & efficient tales, high adventure, humor, ...
- Gottfredson-- don't forget he's the one who came up with the plots, up
till...
- Bill Wash-- quite a change; the ghosts are now real; weird people walk the
streets, ...
- Don Rosa-- a work of  love, and it shows; finely crafted stories; I love
the science in the SF; the historical approach is as rigorous as the
scientific one; humor; not afraid of  doing melodrama (and does it well)


>>>>- What are your favourite stories by these artists?

There are too many. I'll just list those I think of  right now, knowing I'll
forget some I may like even more
- Barks adventures: Sheriff of  Bullet Valley, Only a Poor Old Man, Land
Beneath the Ground, A Christmas for Shacktown, Lost in the Andes, ...
- Barks ten-pagers: late '40s - early '50s; quiz show, nightmares, golf,
sunken yacht, insurance policy, Gladstone's secret, money crib & tornado,
coin collector, spending money, ...
- Gottfredson: The Seven Ghosts, The Syndicate of  Crime, The Moook Treasure
(I still have the French reprints of  those three from the early '80s), The
Pirate Ghost Ship, The Monarch of Medioka, The Black Crow Mystery, The House
of Mystery, ...
- Don Rosa: L&T (esp 2, 5, 6 1/2, 7, 8, 9 if  only for the ending, 11, 12),
Treasure of  the Ten Avatars, Son of the Sun, His Majesty McDuck, Space
Varmints, The Universal Solvent, The Black Knight, Quest of  The Kalevala,
...


>>>>Why do you like these stories?

I should have added a note in parentheses after each, but it would have made
it hearder to read.
All: very imaginative (Barks: Terry-Firmy; Walsh: Mook; Rosa: varmints)


>>>>What are your favourite scenes?
A few thrilling scenes--
- riding the glacier in "Last Sled to Dawson"
- I think nothing beats the finale of  "A Little Something Special"
A few melodramatic scenes--
- the death of  Scrooge's father
- Scrooge & Goldie finales in "Hearts of  the Yukon", "Last Sled to Dawson"


>>>>Which jokes did you like the most?

- Crown of the Crusader Kings: the dolls scene
- Shacktown: raising money (cowboys, ...)
There's a lot of  hilarious stuff in Barks & Rosa stories, and I can only
think of  these? :b
I'd say Barks has the most funny stories (ie, has written more stories that
are funny throughout), while Rosa has the funniest bits (side gags, mishaps,
...); both have loads of  snappy replies
- Van Horn: plenty of  visual gags, and (characteristic) fun with language
(not as much as Walt Kelly, but still a lot of  fun)

May I take this opportunity to propose a quote quiz?
I can't remember in which Barks story it, but I know it's there somewhere.
Donald leaves Scrooge's office, slamming the door; there's a sheet of paper
taped to the door:
"Merry X-Mas! Beat it!"
I lvoe that one :D


>>>>What are your favourite characters?
Regular cast:
Donald
One-shot creations:
- The Smugnsnorkle Squatty-- such a name; along with him, li'l Tagalong
(such an odd dog)
- Terries & Fermies-- great idea


>>>>Are there situations in life which remind you of things you've read in
comics?

Can't think of  any


>>>>What's the first story you ever read?

No idea, especially since I've always read them over and over and over.
The earliest one I remember: Walsh & Gottfredson's "Dr X"; it was lost a
looooooong time ago (I was really a wee lad when I read it), and I only came
to read it again a few months ago, when I finally finished reading my MM
anthology for the first time-- it was the antepenultimate story.
I remembered one scene: a very intelligent Goofy (quite a genius, in fact),
wearing a suit & glasses, sitting at a table; Mickey talking to him; the
lights went out, and Goofy disappeared; the scene was set in a tree-house.
When I read it, I found out I had mixed it up a bit with another story (the
tree-house bit).
The earliest Barks stories I still have (in Super Mickey Géant) are the
"Waltz King", the "Swimming Contest", the "Cantankerous Cat", the "Salesmen"
story




Rich:

>>> Something curious.  Yesterday while I was at work I was listening to the
>>> News when the Electricity Blackout occurred on the East Coast
[...]
>>>But that aside, at one point, during the day,
>>> the newscaster mentioned the names of two of the facilities or grids or
>>> something that provided the power and called them "Terry" and "Firmy."
>>>  I'm sure someone was a Barks fan working for the power company.

:D Surely . That's a very good instance of fan-given names.



All the best,

Olivier




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