Disney-comics digest #572.

[DAVID.A.GERSTEIN]

      Dear Folks,

      Don't worry.  In light of the "Lydia" controversy I am NOT 
foolish enough to duplicate a song exactly in one of my stories!  
The story is a Fred Milton 10-pager about DD and Daisy acting in a 
stage musical.  I have Daisy singing:
      "OOOOOOklahoma
      Where the wind comes breezing o'er the sod!
      Seated on a bough, we'll watch a sow
      Pacing lazy circles in the clods!"
      By the way, don't wait for this one from Gladstone.  I actually 
don't have John's approval to do it yet, but I was just itching to do 
the first page in advance, so I did.

      US 291:  Superb work, Don.  I haven't read everything yet so 
you'll hear my more complete views when I've soaked it all up.
      My own dialog in "A Case of Too Much Money" is almost exactly 
as I originally wrote it.  Why does Disney leave all the dark political 
allegories (particularly that money from a Communist country was 
colored red!) in this one and pick out harmless things to jettison in 
"A Car-Gone Conclusion?"  Why?  They're Disney, that's why.
      Well, okay, there were two minor changes.  One Beagle Boy was 
shouting the Carrollian "Oh, frabjous day!" which became "Oh, 
fabulous day!"  Then, on page 2 the sign in the last panel originally 
had the subtext "A Place That's All It's Quacked Up To Be".  Disney 
blew the whistle on THEMSELVES that time.  That was the Calisota 
motto from the Walt Disney World Duckburg display!

      WDC&S 596:  William Van Horn's story in this issue is a real 
cut above what he's lately been producing.  Also, Romano Scarpa's 
Filo Sganga story makes an appearance in it for some reason.  An 
English name of Jubal Cock was given in a Scarpa article c. 1989 
(even though the character's stories have never appeared in English) 
but here he's called J. Frostfeathers Pomp.
      "Monarch of Medioka" is out swinging with one climax after 
another.  The most exciting part of the story is under way now.  I 
love this story.
      And in the back of the issue, an announcement from Bruce 
Hamilton appears.  None other than STEVE GEPPI (you hear that one, 
Don?) recently bought the newly-discovered pencil concept art for the 
first Mickey cartoon, "Plane Crazy" -- all by Ub Iwerks.  And it's 
going to see print in WDC&S 598 as a six-page story!  Nobody is going 
to keep THIS Mouse fan away.

      Oh, yeah.  A new "preview" catalog also showed up at the shop 
today.  DD 291 has the Barks story "Fearsome Flowers" from WDC 21x, 
illustrated on the cover by... well, Cavazzano, it looks like.  (?!)  
DM contains the end (thank God) of "Goofy King Arthur."  The big news 
for the month is USA 33, which contains "Horsing Around with 
History" and "Only a Poor Old Man" (first time with airbrushed color, 
folks) under a Van Horn PAINTED cover.  I have to say that Barks' 
1952 story will put the new one to shame, even if ("Horsing Around") 
does have its moments.

      That's all for today, gang.

      Best, David
      <9475609 at arran.sms.ed.ac.uk>