Disney-comics digest #213.

[David A Gerstein]

	Dear Folks,

	Several things to bring up today.


	RoC's Barks quotes on Rosa and Van Horn
	=======================================

	"I do like the works of both of them. William's art resembles
me of my own art, while Rosa stuffs the panels full of details - 
sometimes even too much. By the way, I am now making a plot for a new 
Scrooge adventure, and the art will be done by William."

	This sounds like Barks as *I* spoke to him, that one time in
1987... he told me he liked your work, Don, but that it was too "busy"
in places.  As I have mentioned before, I believe that Barks' recent
treatment of and/or publicized reactions to you were induced by other
hands.


	The JWW emblem
	==============

	Don, this was MISSING in the recent "Lillehammer" story!  It
was particularly noticeable in the close-ups of the Woodchuck flag --
that flag had a big, blank, white circle on it!  Was the letterer
supposed to have added it, or was this your accidental omission?  I
particularly note how you drew it in yourself in "War of the Wendigo,"
as in the German printing -- tho' the Woodchucks were referred to
throughout as the Fahnlein Feiselschweif -- the JWW emblem was very
noticeable!
	While I'm at it with "Lillehammer," let me say that I have
seen NO good copies of this comic.  Every single one I've seen has had
very bad mismatches of color to ink lines, the result being that the
color of Don's bill starts about 2 mm in from the left outline, and
stops about 2 mm to the right of the right outline, and so forth... In
fact, so many of the colors were so far off that I think that it was
the BLACK ink that was misprinted.  All the Gladstone copies AND all
the Marvel copies I've seen have been this way.

	
	Disney's double-standard:  Rosa vs. the others
	==============================================

	"Disney has told Gladstone (or warned them?) that they allow
many things in my stories that they'd never allow in any other Disney 
tales since they feel that my stories are aimed more at older readers
anyway.  This is nice to know, and it shows an encouraging attitude on
Disney's part that they are willing to understand and allow the idea 
that Disney comic books can and should have different sorts of stories
for different sorts of readers, and not just shoot at the lowest
common denominator."

	Before you praise this, Don, please let me remind you...

	A)  It hasn't changed any minds about "War of the Wendigo,"
has it?  Or is there something I don't know?
	B)  It's thanks to this that there is not a Floyd Gottfredson
Library.  Someone refuses to believe that Gottfredson fans are as
mature as Barks fans and that they can handle stories that aren't
allowed in the regular comics.  If you have special leverage, Don, or feel
you do, maybe you, if anyone, could convince Disney to allow a
Gottfredson Library.  Many at Gladstone have told me that it would
still happen if permission was granted...


	Gary Leach on "The Foreign Legion"
	==================================

	""Foreign Legion" was about to be published, with brand new
covers by Daan Jippes (future associate, if not boss, of Bob Foster), 
when Disney pulled our plug on that one. Time may have changed 
perceptions a bit at Disney since, but my impression so far is that 
"Foreign Legion" would be even less acceptable now."

	I have a list made up of changes that could be made in the
TEXT of "Foreign Legion" which might very well make it acceptable to
Disney.  Someone (Dave Seidman??  I dunno) at Disney once told me that
it was things in the text of the story, not the art (which could be
retouched) that banned this one.


	The debut strip for HD&L
	========================

	"was deemed too violent in its reference to the nephews
blowing up their father. No one will be seeing that strip in an 
American Disney comic until a true seachange in social attitudes
occurs."

	Are you absolutely adverse to censoring Della's letter:  "[The
nephews are sent to you] while their father is in the hospital.  A
giant firecracker exploded under his chair... the little darlings are
so playful" ---> "...while their father is away visiting a famous
pyschiatrist.  He hasn't been feeling very well lately... the little
darlings are so playful."

	So they haven't blown him up, but it's implied that they're
certainly more than one poor duck can stand.

	If you're willing to make the change, perhaps the strip could
be stuck into the 60th Anniversary special.

	And when Gary Gabner responds to the angry letters about that
strip not appearing, he might refer those readers to your old WDC&S
522, in which Gladstone did print it.


	Gladstone's position on re-reprinting Mickey
	============================================

	"That material lost us the most money of any when we 
originally published it, so we're trying to lessen the economic blow 
by giving them a fresh presentation in our new line."

	Gladstone's MM comic had the highest cost of ANY of its
comics, and this was entirely due to *reformatting* the stories.
What's the problem with printing new stories in sideways format?  None
of those extra costs -- only the recoloring cost, just as with the 
stories Gladstone's now RE-using.
	Running things sideways was the way *Disney* avoided
unfeasible costs when they used Gottfredson stories.  I was told this
many times.

	Furthermore, If Gladstone was able to arrange to have their
comics sold in supermarkets at checkout counters -- just as DISNEY
ADVENTURES is -- not only would everything sell about three times as
well, but a MM title would be feasible, even as the least successful
of the line.  I'm not just recommending this method to save MM, but to
help the Ducks too... I'm sure it would!

	But my guess is that there's a good explanation as to why the
Gladstones AREN'T sold like DISNEY ADVENTURES.  Is there something
going on I just don't know?

	Yours,

	David Gerstein
	<David.A.Gerstein at Williams.edu>