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PIPELINE COMMENTARY AND REVIEW #81
20 December 1998
by Augie De Blieck Jr.
http://www.nic.com/~augie/pipeline
WORK AND HOLIDAYS
(What a dreadful combination)
Hello, everyone. I sit down in front of this computer tonight not
having any idea what I'm about to write. I'm in a 24 hour lull
between business trips and it's killing my comics equilibrium. (I
just got back from Baltimore and am heading out to Albany, NY
tomorrow. For those of you unaware, Pipeline is headquartered in
northern New Jersey.)
THE GLADSTONE OBITUARY
Gladstone is folding up their table and going home.
Reviews of their comics have been absent from this column lately,
but Gladstone Comics deserves better than this. In two reigns over
the past 12 years or so, they've brought us the finest in
Disney-licensed comic books. They've done a masterful job of
reprinting Carl Barks' classic works, using new formats, paper
weights, and coloring processes to bring the books into modern
times. Not just that, but they introduced us to creators such as
William Van Horn and Don Rosa. And for that they will always be
remembered. Who knows if these creators would have even entered the
duck comics scene, let alone flourished as they have, without
Gladstone's initial investment into their talents. (And it's not
just those two, although they are the most-often referenced and
arguably the most popular duck creators working today. You'd also
have to take translator/writer David Gerstein into account. His work
has been integral in the development of Mickey Mouse back to his
real character.)
Alas, the trends in comics have gone against Gladstone. There
aren't as many kids reading comics these days, so Gladstone was
forced into printing their comics exclusively for the high-end comic
afficionado. And so UNCLE $CROOGE and WALT DISNEY'S COMICS AND
STORIES became all that was left of a once robust line.
Sure, they made mistakes. Plenty of them. But they were all done
for the sake of keeping the comics going. The coverless comics and
letter-column-less books were tough to pick up. They were also
tough to handle since the covers would wilt under the pressing of a
sweaty hand. The current thinking of WDC&S and U$ can only stifle
the readership of the titles. You have to be a Real Fan to shell
out $7 per month for these books. And as pretty as they are, the
stories continued over several issues were enough to drive you nuts.
I pay $7 -- I want complete stories.
But in the end, they provided us with a well-thought-out collection
of stories, with new attention to detail, a new sense of history and
scholarship, and a new respect for not just the material, but the
people behind it. (Special praise goes to Susan Daigle-Leach, whose
superbly rendered colors deserve an Eisner Award, at the least, and
who always gets my vote in the annual CBG Awards.)
I've grown up on Gladstone books. One of the first comics I ever
picked up was Don Rosa's "His Majesty McDuck." It also remains my
favorite of Rosa's stories: for its craziness, its lunacy, its
detail, its hilarity, and for the way it opened my eyes to these
comics. (Rosa has since crafted some of the most outright clever
and respectful stories, in turn, of any comic book creator whose
work I've ever been honored to read.) William Van Rosa is on the
opposite end of the art spectrum from Rosa. His work is lighter,
more cartoony, more reliant on linguistics, less obsessed with
detail and history, and often act as parables. But he is
nonetheless respectful of the past, and his lettering even resembles
that of Carl Barks'. (Or Gare Barks's lettering. Whoever did those
early stories. . . ) It's a completely different kind of duck tale,
but one just as enjoyable for its own reasons.
Now we also have a good crop of stories coming from overseas.
William Van Horn's son, Noel, does some excellent turns at the art
board. And Caesar Ferioli's Mickey Mouse stories are some of the
best-drawn Mouse stories I've ever read. David Gerstein tends to be
the writer on those, and he shows great reverence to all which came
before him, while dusting off some of the more oscure things we've
forgotten about in previous stories.
And now all of that is gone in America. We don't know for how long.
Rumors abound that Diamond's Steve Geppi bought Gladstone for $1, or
that Europe's publishing giant, Egmont, wants to take its turn in
the American market. And there are strong hints that the absence
will not be long.
Let's hope not. We need more quality comics, not less. Especially
in this market. And the best way to bring fresh blood (I was
tempted to say "young blood" - heh heh heh) is to produce comics
that not only Dad can read to his son, but can also enjoy on his
own.
FOR THOSE WHO CELEBRATE
Merry Christmas! Here's hoping there's lots of comic-themed
goodness under your tree this year. And put the new BATMAN ANIMATED
book at the head of your list -- it's possibly the finest
comics-related publication I've ever owned. Maybe I'll do a review
of it next week.
-Augie
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