The Synopsis

 

In this month issue of "Donald Duck (and friends)" (issue number 363) it's published new Barks, Lustig and Jippes Somewhere beyond Nowhere.

Obviously, I've read it and I like it too, it's a bit different from the previous one; for example, we don't see Uncle Scrooge and Hamalot McSwine becomes Hamfits McSwine and we also can admire old Huey, Dewey and Louie's mate from Barks, Herbert (Hog).

I let you read it and I don't want to spoiler - in fact - I'd like to tell you about an important document, found with the help of our friend John Lustig, also the story writer and great American comics writer (we can remember his "Last Kiss" strips).

Thanks to him, I have got his original synopsis of "Somewhere in Nowhere", the previous story of which "Somewhere beyond Nowhere" is the remake or - as someone says - the official version.

Somewhere in Nowhere

September 1, 1996
John Lustig

Synopsis for: Donald Duck
Length: 16-24 Pages?

Possible story titles:
LOST IN THE GREAT NOWHERE
TO NOWHERE--AND BACK!
IS SOMEONE EVER SOMEWHERE IN NOWHERE?

Donald is wearing a drab, shabby uniform as he crouches over--peering at the sidewalk through a magnifying glass. He's a "sidewalk superintendent, junior-assistant fourth class" for the McDuck Crackless Cement Company and he has to inspect every inch of sidewalk in Duckburg to make sure it's crack-free. Donald moans that he has the most boring, useless job in the world and that his career is going "nowhere fast!"

(During this time we'll see Scrooge McDuck's name on various company signs and logos as Donald passes them.)

Donald is so bored that he can't wait for people to move out of the way. He uses a board to pry up a very fat--and very surprised--woman who's sitting on a curb eating ice cream. Next he comes up behind what appears to be another woman--this time wearing a fur coat--who's also sitting on the curb. Switching angles in the next panel we can see that the "woman" is really a large, fierce-looking dog. When Donald tries to move it, the dog growls and chases him up a tree. (Donald shares a branch with a cat that has also been treed.)

For Donald, this is the last straw. After the dog finally leaves, Donald gets down and marches into Scrooge's office. Donald demands a better, more important and more exciting job. Scrooge refuses--saying that's the only job Donald is qualified for. They argue. Donald insists that he can't find a better job because Scrooge won't give him a chance--and Scrooge owns all the businesses in Duckburg. In fact, Scrooge owns all the businesses everywhere, moans Donald.

Scrooge fumes and has a clerk find someplace in the world that Scrooge doesn't have a business or own any land. A computer search turns up "Bearflanks, Alaska." Scrooge offers to send Donald to Bearflanks. If Donald can make a success of himself there then Scrooge will pay for Donald's return trip and give him a more important job. However, if Donald fails, then Donald goes back to work as a sidewalk superintendent and pays Scrooge back--out of his wages--for the cost of the trip.

At 30 cents an hour that'll take forever--give or take 60 years or so. Donald gulps, but he accepts the bet.

We cut to Donald in the plane to Bearflanks. He's brimming with hope and dreams of success. As the plane lands he's thinking that at last he's going someplace with real opportunities. A place where one man doesn't own everything. As he exits the plane, he's flabbergasted to find that one man does own almost everything in Bearflanks--Hamalot McSwine.

McSwine's name and likeness are plastered everywhere from the seedy McSwine National Bank to the McSwine Hotel. (McSwine even has his name and face plastered on the inside of every McSwine manufactured garbage can in town.)

The model of a giant popsicle sits on top of a building--the McSwine Blubbersicle Factory. On the side of the building there's a mural that shows McSwine stuffing his face with a blubbersicle. ("Hot-Peppered Blubbersicles! A whale of a treat!" "You know they're fine! They're made by McSwine!") A large man--his face obscured by his hat and muffler--is in front of the mural studying it. Donald walks over and looks at the mural as well.

"Wiltin' wallflowers!" says Donald. "This guy's got his name and mug on more walls than a politician with a staple gun! Ye gads! What a face!"

The muffled figure responds, "Yes, he is handsome--isn't he? But he's more than just a pretty face! Hamalot McSwine is Bearflank's leading citizen! The blubber king of the frozen north! The genius who invented blubbersicles! The hero who rescued this town from economic monotony! The man I admire more than anyone else in the world!"

"In other words, duck, he is...me!" by now the muffled figure has unwrapped his face and we see that the man is, indeed, McSwine.

©2005 Disney Enterprises, Inc.

Donald and McSwine soon get into a fight. McSwine jams all three flavors of blubbersicles (Unbearably Hot; Even Hotter; and Volcanic Eruption) into Donald's mouth at the same time. Then he gives Donald the boot and vows to make sure Donald will never get a job in Bearflanks.

Sure enough all of McSwine's businesses in Bearflank kick Donald out when he goes job hunting.

Weary and discouraged, Donald ends up in the only place in town that isn't owned by McSwine--the combination general store/post office run by Sourdough Sally. She tells Donald that the town is broke and McSwine has been buying up all the businesses. Sally's store is the only hold out--but she's deeply in debt and she's going to lose the store to McSwine at the end of the week! Then McSwine will own everything and he'll be able to charge everybody whatever he likes!

The only other thing that Sally owns is a vast tract of land north of town. But the land is so wild, barren and unbelievably cold that it's considered uninhabitable. In fact, the area is called "The Great Nowhere"--because it's nowhere that anyone would ever want to go.

So Sally doesn't have much hope of selling the land. In fact, it'd take a miracle!

Just then a heavily-bearded man walks in and says he's interested in Sally's property up north. Sally's eyes light up as she eagerly asks, "You want to buy 'Nowhere?' "

"Yes!" says the man as he hands Sally an envelope. "And here's my offer! I figure it's exactly what it's worth!"

Donald looks on as Sally eagerly opens the envelope and finds...

"Nothing!" gasps Sally.

"That's right!" laughs the man as he tears off his beard and reveals himself as McSwine. "Nothing for Nowhere! No way! No how!"

McSwine chortles that Sally hasn't got a chance of selling her land! She might as well just give up and let him have the store now. He's going to end up with the store AND the land once she goes broke.

In fact, McSwine plans to eventually own all the land around here. And he's got big plans for it too. He plans to turn one of the mountains into a Mt. Rushmore-like giant sculpture of himself. It'll be the eighth wonder of the world. Tourists will flock to see it and he'll sell them a zillion blubbersicles!

This is more than Donald can stand. Before McSwine can describe this awful fantasy in more detail Donald beans McSwine with a box of blubbersicles and drives him off.

Sally is impressed and grateful. She tells Donald that she does know of one job that's available--and it's a mighty important one too--delivering mail. Nobody will take the job, though, because it's so dangerous. In addition to delivering mail in town, the mail carrier has to deliver to all those hardy loners living in the perilous wilderness around Bearflanks.

Donald takes the job and succeeds in delivering all the mail by dog sled through a combination of ingenuity, ignorance and sheer luck. (Among other things: he takes a shortcut across an untested natural ice bridge and gets across only seconds before it collapses. He rides over snowdrifts too soft to support a dog team by putting snowshoes on each dog. To save even more time he uses a slingshot to shoot packages across a crevasse to one customer on his route. He takes a shortcut through Avalanche Pass and just barely makes it out in time. Etc.)

Each day Donald's gets more reckless and makes his deliveries faster. And each day McSwine gets more upset seeing Donald being regarded as a hero as he takes mail to those people too independent to live in town and work for McSwine. In addition, many of the customers on Donald's wilderness route are giving Donald orders and checks for goods from Sally's store. If this keeps up Sally might just have enough money to pay her debt to McSwine. On the third day Donald breaks a post office record for delivering mail swiftly. Clearly, Donald is a success--but how long can he keep it up?

Meanwhile, back in Duckburg, Uncle Scrooge has begun worrying about Donald. That boy has a talent for disaster and that's mighty harsh country up there, thinks Scrooge. Can Donald survive Bearflanks? For that matter can Bearflanks survive Donald? Scrooge orders one of his clerks to check--via a McDuck weather satellite--to see if Bearflanks still exists or whether Donald has burned it down or blown it up yet.

The clerk comes back all excited. Not only do the satellite pictures show that Bearflanks is still around--it shows a large crack in the ice fields north of the town. A crack that almost always indicates pressure from a vast oil and gas reserve beneath the surface.

Scrooge finds out who owns the property (Sourdough Sally) and phones her and offers to lease the mineral rights for "The Great Nowhere" for $10 an acre. Donald is there when Sally gets the call--but never realizes that the caller is Scrooge because Sally never mentions the caller's name. Besides, Sally thinks it's really McSwine on the phone playing another cruel trick on her. Deciding to play along--and also see if the offer is for real, Sally tells her caller (Scrooge) that he'll have to pay $100 an acre and have it to her by the end of the week. An instant later, Sally hangs up the phone and looks at Donald with a look of disgust.

"Now, I know that call was a fake!" says Sally. "He agreed to pay $100 an acre for that worthless land!"

McSwine, however, is just outside Sally's window and overhears the call. Realizing that the call must be for real, he resolves to stop the check from arriving--no matter what it takes.

Meanwhile, Scrooge has ordered his clerk to send a certified check to Sally by Special Delivery. Shortly after that Scrooge asks the clerk to check the satellite to see if it can spot anymore oil deposits. The clerk comes back a moment later all red-faced. According to the satellite pictures there are oil deposits everywhere the satellite looked.

"That's impossible!" says Scrooge.

"Yes, sir!" gulps the clerk. "There must be a crack in the satellite's camera lens!"

Scrooge is aghast. This means that the picture showing a crack near Bearflanks is probably wrong too. There's probably no oil there, either. Scrooge tries to get the certified check back, but the mail's already gone out. In fact it's being loaded right now on the next flight to Alaska. Scrooge gets a ticket and boards the plane. Scrooge figures he'll somehow get the check when the plane lands and the mail is unloaded. The only problem is that this plane doesn't land in Bearflanks. It just drops the mail by parachute. Scrooge parachutes down after the mail. Instead of landing, however, Scrooge's chute gets hung up on the giant blubbersicle on top of the blubblersicle factory and he's left dangling helplessly above the street.

A moment later Donald shows up and retrieves the mail which has landed nearby. Scrooge calls out and orders Donald to get him down and give him the mail. (Scrooge refuses to explain why he wants the mail, however.) Donald refuses. The mail is a sacred trust and must be delivered. Suspicious that Scrooge may have come all the way to Bearflanks just to sabotage his chance at success, Donald leaves him hanging for now and goes back to Sally's store.

McSwine, however, has overheard everything and realizes that Scrooge is the one who wants to buy The Great Nowhere and that his check must be in the mailbag Donald has just picked up.

Quickly donning a disguise, McSwine wraps a package and enters the post office. He demands that his package be delivered "Posthaste, Extra-Special Delivery!" Sally gasps. Nobody in the entire history of the U.S. Mail has ever been willing to pay that rate. The postage is $500 and according to postal regulations it has to be delivered before any other mail. Donald protests that he's got a Special Delivery letter here from Duckburg that'll just take two seconds to deliver.

But Sally won't listen. Rules are rules--and she always follows the rules. Donald must deliver this package first. He'll have to take the rest of the mail with him, sort it on the way and deliver it on the way back if he can. To make matters worse Donald won't have time to deliver any goods from Sally's store and so she won't get the money she needs to pay her debt. McSwine will get her store.

Where is the package going anyway, asks Donald. They look and both gasp at the address:

Sumbody B. Anybody

Third Cave From the Right

Somewhere in Nowhere

They figure it must be off in the Great Nowhere. It's hopeless, but Donald has to try and deliver it anyway.

Meanwhile McSwine has secretly replaced Donald's lead sled dog with a Nodding Nap Hound which sleeps 20 hours a day and is impossible to wake up. Donald's in such a hurry that he doesn't even notice the switch as he takes off.

McSwine chortles as Donald leaves. He's sure Donald will get lost and stranded in the wilderness. Even if Donald does survive he'll never make it back in time to deliver the check.

By now Scrooge has cut himself free and has learned where Donald and the mail are headed. He rents a dog team and sets off after Donald. McSwine misinterprets this and thinks Scrooge is going off to aid Donald. So McSwine takes off in a snowmobile to stop and sabotage both of them.

Halfway through a mountain pass the Nodding Nap Hound conks out. Unable to wake the mutt, Donald puts him in the sled and gamely struggles on.

(NOTE: I haven't worked out all the gags for this part of the story. If we're just running 16 pages then there won't be as much room for gags in which Scrooge and McSwine try to stop Donald and/or steal the mail. Carl, as you suggested in your synopsis , they can try to slow down Donald "with a series of detours and tricks such as sand in the snow." If we're going 24 pages then there will have to be more gags. I can come up with the gags, but if you have any suggestions I'd like to hear them.)

In any event, Scrooge and McSwine both try to stop Donald and steal the mail along the way, but nothing works. McSwine is also trying to stop Scrooge. Scrooge finally figures out that someone else is out there besides Donald, but he doesn't know it's McSwine or what he's up to.

At one point Scrooge and McSwine both plant dynamite to blow up an ice bridge and widen a chasm so Donald can't get across. Between the two of them they use so much dynamite that it creates a giant crack. To the surprise of both Scrooge and McSwine oil gushes up from the crack. (The air's so cold, though, that the oil freezes in mid-gusher.)

Now that he knows there's really oil here Scrooge realizes he's got to help Donald get back and deliver that check.

Meanwhile McSwine's sled has been wrecked in the explosion and so he steals Scrooge's dog team and sled. McSwine takes off chortling evilly. He figures that Donald's overworked dog team can't go on much longer. Donald and Scrooge will be stranded.

Scrooge wants to help Donald get back to Bearflanks, but Donald stubbornly refuses to turn back until he finds someone he can deliver the package to. "There must be somebody somewhere in Nowhere!" insists Donald.

Finally, they spot a cave. Blurry-eyed from cold and exhaustion Donald stumbles into the cave. In the dark he doesn't realize that the cave's inhabitant isn't a fur-coated hermit, but a bear. The curious bear sniffs the package and eats it. Unfortunately, McSwine put Hot-Peppered Blubbersicles in the package. Enraged by the spicy hot taste the bear angrily runs off to get Donald. Meanwhile Donald has had time to get back to the sled. He and Scrooge have put the Nodding Nap Hound back into harness and are trying to wake him up. Yells of "Mush" fail to stir him. Finally Donald gives one more determined try--yelling "Mush" louder than ever before. The Nap Hound's only response is to lazily flicker one eye open. At this moment the bear comes charging into view and the Hound takes off--pulling the sled at record speed as Donald and Scrooge desperately try to hang on.

The Hound jumps a chasm--leaving the bear behind--and keeps going and going. Eventually the Hound and the other dogs are exhausted. Donald and Scrooge load them into the sled and pull it themselves. Scrooge is a tough old bird, but he can't keep up the pace and eventually it's left to Donald to pull all of them along.

Finally Donald pulls the sled to the crest of the steep mountain that overlooks Bearflanks. Too exhausted to go on, he collapses. The sled tips forward and slides with ever-increasing speed down the slope. (Donald is in front of the sled and is scooped up into the sled by its momentum.) The sled ends up crashing into Sally's store just seconds before Sally's debt deadline. McSwine--who was in the store ready to take possession--is knocked off his feet by the crash and ends up wedged into a barrel.

Donald delivers the check to Sally and she's overjoyed. She's got enough money now to build a whole shopping center if she wants. And Scrooge's oil fields will provide plenty of work for people. Bearflanks is saved. And since McSwine tried to tamper with the U.S. Mail she's going to have him arrested.

"And as for you, Donald," she adds as Donald smiles broadly awaiting the lavish praise that he knows is coming, "you're fired!"

Sally says she's sorry, but rules are rules. In addition to destroying U.S. Postal property during the crash, Donald set a new record for being late delivering the mail. (NOTE: Carl, I can easily put in that nice gag you suggested about the Widow Dish not getting her TV Guide and missing the final episode of her soap opera. And I can also show other residents complaining about not getting their mail. I'm a little concerned though that if we show Dish and the others complaining that it'll draw out the story's conclusion too much. Let me know what you think.)

Donald can't believe it. After all this...he's still a failure.

Scrooge says never mind. Donald's a success to him and he's going to give Donald a great new job. Rather than depend on high-tech gadgets to find oil and other resources, Scrooge is going to make Donald his new President and Senior Field Operative in Charge of Exploration and Development. Donald will be traveling to the most remote corners of the world looking for oil and other resources that Scrooge can exploit. It'll be dangerous, glamorous and exciting--just the kind of job Donald told him he wanted.

Donald's response, however, is that "there's only one job" he wants right now!

We cut back to Duckburg where Donald is once again inspecting sidewalks. Elevated to the rank of "first class inspector" instead of being a mere "junior-assistant fourth class," Donald now wears a snazzy uniform and smiles as he inspects the sidewalk. "Phooey to danger and glamour!" says Donald. "This job's perfect for me now and I've got all the excitement I want right here!"

Just then Donald comes across the same vicious dog that chased him at the beginning of the story. The dog growls. Donald glares and screams, "Mush!" at the startled dog. In the next panel we see the dog up a tree--and the cat from the start of the story looking up at him--as Donald happily inspects the sidewalk below. "Of course," says Donald smugly, "learning a trick or two does help!"

THE END

When I asked John to comment it, he told me:

<< I want to make it clear, though, that this version of the story is similar in many ways to the first version of "Somewhere", but contains more plot elements and would have been even longer than the 28-page story: "Somewhere in Nowhere."

It bears little resemblance to the new, 12-page version of the story: "Somewhere Beyond Nowhere." >>

Images are © Disney and Lustig (Last Kiss one)

Somewhere beyond Nowhere

 La novità del mese è "Somewhere beyond Nowhere", ma, cos'è "Somewhere beyond Nowhere"?

È presto detto! Essa è una nuova versione della storia scritta da John Lustig su soggetto del grande Carl Barks negli anni '90. La storia sarebbe dovuta essere stata disegnata da Daan Jippes, l'autore olandese che ha disegnato molte sceneggiature di Barks dopo Kay Wright e Tony Strobl; purtroppo, Jippes era impegnato e la storia fu disegnata dal buon autore americano Patrick "Pat" Block. Mentre Barks la intendeva come una ten-page o, al massimo, come una "twelve-page", il suo studio (non lui in persona!) scelse di allungarla, stravolgendo anche alcune idee e, sotto i testi dell'americano John Lustig, la storia esordì nel novembre del 2000 in Italia*, in una doppia versione (in italiano ed in inglese).

Barks riuscì a ricevere una copia dei Tesori prima della loro uscita, ma Lustig, non contento del risultato, proporrà nel 2008 alla Egmont una nuova versione della storia, completamente differente, che rispettasse le idee barksiane. Così, con i disegni questa volta di Jippes, la 12-page esordisce in Danimarca nel 2010, per essere pubblicata dalla Boom, in America, nel febbraio del 2011, sul numero 363 di Donald Duck (and friends), storica testata statunitense.

Vi propongo qui qualche vignetta della storia (per ingrandire le immagini, click destro).

* La storia fu acquistata un po' prima del 1998 da The Walt Disney Company Italia (in pratica mentre Block la stava disegnando).

Grazie a Luca Boschi per le correzioni riguardanti l'acquisto della storia e la lettura di essa di Barks.

I copyright delle immagini sono (C) Disney

Interview with Stephen DeStefano

Today I propose you an interesting interview with the comic and cartoon author Stephen DeStefano.

Hi Stephen! Have you ever read a Disney comic? If yes, do you remember what was the first Disney comic you've ever read?

Hi Simone! I don't remember the first Disney comic I ever read, but I'm pretty sure it was a Paul Murry MICKEY MOUSE comic book. I remember being fascinated by the colors. I loved that Mickey's pants were magenta, instead of a true red.

How did you find job in Disney? How did you collaborate with them?

I was contacted by an editor named David Seidman, who was part of the new DISNEY COMICS publishing group. This had to be around 1990 or so. He was looking for new artists to draw the Disney characters, and I lobbied hard to draw Mickey, because I love the character so.

Could you name your favorite Disney artists?

I love Floyd Gottfredson's MICKEY MOUSE, but I also adore Carl Bark's DONALD and SCROOGE comics. I really, really like Romano Scarpa's and Daan Jippes' work as well.

The first Disney stories you drew were also the first of another author I had the honor to interview, Michael Gilbert. Do you know him personally? How was working with this author?


I did not know Michael personally, and have never met him. He was enjoyable to work with though. His stories were extremely fanciful.

In a few stories, you've drawn the professors Ecks, Doublex. What do you think about these characters?

I love those characters, if only because they were created by the great Floyd Gottfredson! It was a pleasure drawing them, although I think in one of the stories I drew them in, they were combined into one single character with two different heads!


Always about “The Perils of Mickey”, in this story you've drawn Mickey and co. Into a 1930s style : was it difficult to draw that way?


Not difficult at all. It was a pleasure to draw Mickey in that style. My favorite look for Mickey is probably the style Gottfredson was drawing him in post World War II, but I think the "pie-eyed" Mickey is terrific as well. Perhaps the best of the Mickey continuities were during the "pie-eye"
phase.

In your “A Phantom Blot Bedtime Story” and in another one, it appears The Phantom Brat, Blot's daughter.
Could you explain this character, which some authors would call “apocriphal”?

I wasn't in on the creation of the Blot's daughter, other than designing her look for that issue. I only recall being handed a script for that issue, and being thrilled to get to draw the Phantom Blot, who's one of my favorite comics characters.

In “The Sorcerer's Apprentice”, you've re-drawn a part of famous Fantasia. How did it happen? Did you watch the movie many times?

I don't recall watching the movie many many times, as I'm not sure it was even released on video at that point. I do recall listening to the soundtrack over and over, to establish a sense of rhythm and drama in my story. I loved that job! One of my proudest moments at Disney Comics.

There is a story, called “Mickey Mouse – Mobster?”, that you appear to have drawn, but it hasn't been published yet. Michael Gilbert, the story writer, told me that “Basically Mickey gets framed for a bank robbery by Pete, winds up in jail, escapes and clears his name.”, would you like to add something? About drawings?

That was the very first Mickey story I ever drew, intended for the first issue of Disney Comics' MICKEY MOUSE COMICS #1. Actually, it never was inked, it only exists in pencil form. And frankly, I'm glad it was never published, as it gave me an opportunity to learn to the draw the character (and get paid for it) without having some very bad and embarrassing drawing published, and in the eye of the public!

It exists a giveaway called "The Perils of Mickey”, published by Nabisco, that contained three old Gottfredson stories drawn in 2 pages. Have you drawn those? Could you please explain your relation with “The Perils of Mickey” campaign?

A good friend of mine named John Loter was the lead character artist for Disney Merchandise back around the time I was drawing Mickey comics, and he asked me to get involved in the creation of a licensing style guide called "The Perils of Mickey". I submitted some ideas and concepts, and many of them were used, although none as final art. And I didn't do any comics for Nabisco, although I did draw a "Perils of Mickey" comic book story, originally printed in DISNEY DIGEST, here in the United States.


What do you think about the Disney (classic and modern) animation?

I'm a huge fan of classic Disney animation. Some of my favorite feature films were made by Disney. I'm not a big fan of the modern Disney animation, although I haven't seen very much of it, to be fair.


If I am not wrong, you now work as animator. Would you mind saying something about your animation works?

Shortly after drawing 12 issues of MICKEY MOUSE COMICS, I was offered a job working on the REN AND STIMPY SHOW, in Los Angeles. That was the first job I ever had in animation. Since then, I've worked on such diverse shows as BATMAN, SUPERMAN and THE VENTURE BROTHERS.

What do you think about “The Runaway Brain” cartoon? Did you work on it?

"Runaway Brain" is great! Very handsome, exciting cartoon. I only drew development sketches for it, I never actually worked on the production. An extremely talented director named Chris Bailey asked me to work on the short, based on the work I'd done on Mickey Mouse Comics.


What are you working on now?

I'm currently working on storyboards for Disney TV Animation, on a show called KICK BUTTOWSKI. I'm also drawing SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS comic books, as well as drawing the second volume of my graphic novel (Volume one was published this past September) called LUCKY IN LOVE.


Where do you work? (home, office...)

I work in my home, in an office I have for myself.

What instruments do you use to work?

I mainly work on computer these days, on a Wacom Cintiq. However, when I draw my graphic novel, I am working on paper with pencil, pen and ink.


What is, in you opinion, the situation of the comics in America now and what will it be by 20 years?

There's some very good comics work currently being published in the United States, by terrific talents like Dan Clowes and David Mazzucchelli. I can't tell where the business or artform will be in 20 years, but I hope I'm still part of it!

Lars Bylund, Floyd Gottfredson e... VADEMECUM

Chi è Lars Bylund? Cos'è VADEMECUM? Cosa centra Floyd Gottfredson con questi nomi?

Queste sono le tre domande che, chi segue il blog da tempo (agli altri suggerisco questo articolo), si
potrebbe fare leggendo il titolo.

Bene, Lars Bylund fu un disegnatore svedese affiliato allo studio Ateljé Dekoratör di Stoccolma e, negli anni '30, disegnò alcune strisce e tavole a caratteri disneyani (a destra un esempio).

Alcune delle strisce a noi note di Bylund (quelle che prenderò in esame) avevano lo scopo di promuovere il dentifricio "VADEMECUM", venivano pubblicate settimanalmente sul quotidiano "Hufvudstadsbladet", il giornale svedese più diffuso in Finlandia, e sono state ristampate nel 2009 su Ankkalinnan Pamaus, un'interessantissima fanzine avente una tiratura dalle 250 alle 300 copie (€ 4 al numero), curata dall'esperto collezionista Timo Ronkainen (timoro sul DCF).

Sempre Ronkainen ci ha fornito alcune strisce; dapprima le si credeva indipendenti l'una dall'altra, ma, la traduzione (in inglese) di esse, fornitaci anch'essa da Ronkainen, ci ha fatto comprendere che si trattava di una storia unica.

Qui pubblichiamo per la prima volta in Italia e nella maggior parte del mondo la storia completa con le traduzioni in Italiano.

I disegni di questa storia sono degli scopiazzamenti (non ricalchi) dalla Gottffredsoniana "Mickey Mouse Sails for Treasure Island"; in un prossimo articolo mostrerò il confronto con gli originali.

Buona Lettura!





Esistono altre due tavole di Bylund per il VADEMECUM, ma ho deciso di non pubblicarle qui, le si possono comunque trovare sull'INDUCKS (http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=XSC+VMC+1 ; http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=XSC+VMC+2)


Ecco a voi la traduzione:

1a striscia

Topolino e Minni fanno le valigie per partire. Minni dice: "Siamo di fretta, ma dobbiamo avere abbastanza vestiti con noi!"

Topolino è un po' irritato, perché Minni ha messo troppa roba nella valigia. "Oh, Non ci sono così tanti vestiti qui. La valigia sembrava più grossa."

Mi: "Oh cielo... Abbiamo dimenticato la cosa più importante! Pensi che la drogheria sia ancora aperta? Corri, va' a prendere del dentifricio, senza di esso non andrei da nessuna parte! Ma ricorda: deve essere VADEMECUM!"

To: "Non preoccuparti, Minni! La valigia è piena perché l'ho riempita con tubetti di Vademecum! Ne ho anche spedita un'intera cassa alla nostra nave!

2a striscia

I nostri amici sono stati in mare per settimane, ma ora, una violenta tempesta li ha colti! La loro nave è nel bel mezzo di un uragano! Stanno annegando!

To: "Hey, Minni! Va' tutto bene! la ciurma ha preso le scialuppe e noi possiamo attacarci a quest'asse e portare a riva questa cassa di tubetti VADEMECUM!"

To: "Terra! Terra! Non preoccuparti, Minni! Presto saremo sulla terraferma e potremo mettere qualcosa sotto i denti!"

To: "Guarda Minnie, Non è magnifico!? Tutti questi fiori e questi frutti! - Un Paradiso naturale!"

3a striscia

Servo: "Maestà! Guardare cosa Dei offrire ! Io scommetere essere molto tenerissimo e delizioso!"

Mi: "Vi prego, Vostra Altezza! Non c'è niente da mangiare in Topolino! Salvate la sua vita ed io vi insegnerò a lavarvi i denti!"

Re: "Molto bellissimo scambio!! Mio nonno usare questo dentifricio, ma le riserve essere da tempo finite ed io essere, per molti anni, senza VADEMECUM vissuto! Quanti voi avere?"

4a striscia

Re: "Isolani! Io chiedere a voi di ascoltare! Topolino e Minni essere ora persone molto onoratissime! Noi stare per mandare loro tanti di quei VADEMECUM per tnere i denti e la bocca molto pulitissimi!"

To: "Ecco a voi! Qui ci sono un sacco di dentifrici! Spazzolate bene due volte al giorno; a mattina ed a sera! Vi manderemo presto più VADEMECUM dalla Finlandia!"

To: "Oh cielo! Come sono ricchi questi selvaggi, Minni! Per tutti questi gioielli gli possiamo dare qualche migliaio di tubetti!"

5a striscia

Topolino e Minni tornano in patria...

Pi: "Hai sentito, Lupo?! Topolino ha portato a casa così tanto oro che per trasportarlo ha bisogno di quattro persone! Penso che potremo accontentarci! AHR! AHR! AHR!"

Mi: "Topolino! Stai dormendo?! Ci sono i ladri! Hanno preso il tesoro di re Kokonut (*) e la scatola di VADEMECUM, che gli stavamo per spedire! Ho tanta paura!"

To: "A me non importa molto dei soldi, ma dei VADEMECUM!"

To: "Mi hanno fatto veramente arrabiare"
----------
(*) In realtà Kokonut è il nome del re in una serie di figurine, il testo originale lo appella "Re dei n***i".

© Disney per le immagini pubblicate.

Interview with Pat McGreal: A Trip to Shambor

Today, I want to propose you the interview I made with Patrick "Pat" McGreal, Disney writer since '90s, with his wife Carol. Patrick has written some well-known fantasy stories as Shambor and Mythos Island, reprinted all over the World.

THE AUTHOR

Patrick McGreal was born on 9th May 1953.

Between 1991 and 1993, he scripted stories for Disney's The Little Mermaid, since then, he wrote stories starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck for the Danish group Egmont, coadiuvated by his wife Carol since 1996.

THE INTERVIEW

"I have to start off by saying that some of these stories were written quite a few years ago.

Although I’ll try to be as precise as possible, I can’t guarantee that my memory is 100% accurate.” (P. McGreal)

You have used Professor Dustibones in some stories and you have invented his rival Wagstaff and other characters close to him, as Buck Calhoun and Sal, how were these ideas born? how have you invented these characters?

These characters were first used in a story called THE FOSSIL HUNTERS. The movie “Jurrasic Park” was coming out and I thought it would be fun to have Mickey tangle with raptor dinosaurs.

 

The twist would be that these genetically resurrected carnivorous prehistoric beasties had their DNA altered so that they were harmless and friendly vegetarians. In North America, many dinosaur fossils are found in Montana and Western Canada. During the 1980s, I had participated on dino fossil digs in the badlands east of Calgary with the crew from the Edmonton Natural History Museum. This crew and their leader, Phillip Currie, went on to found the Tyrell Museum in Drumheller. The Tyrell is a world-class paleontology museum devoted entirely to the age of dinosaurs. If you ever find yourself in that part of the world, treat yourself to a visit. You won’t be sorry.

They say write about what you know, so I set the story somewhere in the North American badlands, full of hoodoos and other strange rock formations. I needed someone in a position of authority to lead my fictional fossil dig. I believe editor Byron Erickson suggested Professor Dustibones and he sent me reference from some of the classic Gottfredson strips. I m pretty sure it was the first time I ever used Dustibones.

This allowed Mickey to be on hand, helping out his old pal with the excavations. Next, I realized I needed a rival scientist to be competing with Dustibones, a character who would inject some sinister mystery into the story. So I created Professor Wagstaff. I took inspiration from an early ‘30s Marx Brothers movie called “Horse Feathers”. Groucho plays the dean of Huxley College (rival of Darwin College) and his name in the film is… what else?… Professor Wagstaff. Great film. Really funny. Watch it.

In my story, it turns out that Wagstaff isn’t really sinister and he ends up as Dustibones’ collaborator. I also found it necessary to establish the owner of the property where the action took place, so I invented rancher Buck Calhoun and his trusty horse, Sal. Buck was a real western cowpoke and Sal was probably smarter than anyone else in the tale. I used them again and more significantly in two sequels: HOLE IN THE WALL AT HOODOOYADOO and OUR DINOSAURS ARE MISSING. Both Dustibones and Wagstaff also appear in those stories.

The magnificent Cesar Ferioli illustrated all of the above and he did (as usual) amazing work. Ferioli drew the first Mickey story I ever wrote – BIO-DOME MOUSE – and we’ve collaborated a lot through the years. He drew the otherworldly SHAMBOR fantasy adventures, the MYTHOS ISLAND series, a number of episodes of the MILLENIUM epic and – a personal favorite - the Mickey and Donald ON THE ROAD stories, inspired by the old Bob Hope & Bing Crosby “Road” films.

There was a fourth dinosaur story, REVERTING RAPTORS, featuring Buck Calhoun (I’m not sure about his steed, Sal). Dustibones and Wagstaff definitely weren’t in it. A 10 page Mickey yarn dealing with a advertising photo shoot and a lost little girl in California’s coastal redwood forest.

Noel Van Horn, a powerhouse in his own right, drew it.

You also invented, with your wife Carol, Blotman, Rodent, Goofus D. Dawg and Doc. Stat. Could you please talk about them? How were these ideas born?

For the record, my lovely wife Carol had been kicking in ideas all along. In 1997, she became official as far as Egmont was concerned, sharing credit and writing chores. Our collaborative efforts usually work like this: we plot out a story together; Carol writes the synopsis; I polish the synopsis and we submit it to Egmont.

Once the synopsis is approved, I break it down into script form and write the dialog. Carol then sweeps up behind me, filling in the panel descriptions. I do a final polish and send the sucker in. I say we usually work like this because nothing is fixed in stone. Sometimes Carol tackles the dialog and I fill in the panel descriptions. The aim is to deliver the best script possible.

As far as the Blotman stories go… I grew up reading DC and Marvel superhero comics. In the ‘60s, DC introduced the whole alternate universe concept.

We thought it would be neat to apply this line of thinking to the Disney characters. What if the Phantom Blot – an odiously evil character in Mickey’s world - was a heroic crime fighter in a parallel reality?

We obviously designed Blotman as a parody of Batman… complete with a Blot Cave and Blot Signal.

Since, in this topsy-turvy universe, the odious Phantom Blot was the heroic Blotman, it made sense that the most unlikely Disney character should be his rich playboy alter ego. Who else but Goofy?

Thus he became Goofus D. Dawg, a sophisticated millionaire whose opulent mansion sits atop the Blot Cave.

Doc Static sent Mickey into this parallel universe in pursuit of our Phantom Blot.

We needed a super criminal mastermind for the Phantom Blot to team up with, so we created the wicked Doc Stat. In the sequel, the bad Doc Stat comes to our universe and – unknown to Mickey and Goofy - takes the place of our good Doc Static!

The most fun was inventing a parallel universe doppelganger for Mickey. We made this funhouse mirror-image mouse an irritable, irresponsible, slovenly little twerp named Rodent. He eventually becomes Blotman’s crime-fighting sidekick.

What kind of stories do you prefer writing? Why?

We like writing all kinds of stories, from small domestic situation comedies to big sprawling epic adventures. Variety keeps things fresh.

That being said, I loved having the opportunity to write the six or seven lengthy ON THE ROAD stories featuring Mickey and Donald in their “early days”, when they were footloose and fancy free, supposedly before Pluto, the nephews, Minnie or Daisy had entered their lives. These yarns gave us a chance to take the mouse and duck to different exotic locales around the globe and cast their relationship in a new, humorous light.

What Disney character do you like the most?

Donald. That can't be much of a surprise. He's vain, arrogant, temperamental, selfish and cowardly.

But on occasion he’s also humble, self-sacrificing, witty and wise. He’s full of contradictions and flaws. Those qualities in a character make for rich story telling.

In your Little Gyro In Quarkland, Gyro goes to “Quarkland”, could you please talk about how this idea was born?

LITTLE GYRO IN QUARKLAND was the very first story I wrote for Egmont. Funny you should ask about it. I’m not sure, but maybe Byron Erickson wanted to test me out by having me write a short story featuring a second string character. Or maybe I just had an idea for a Gyro tale and went with it. I really can’t remember…

Anyway, Gyro invents a shrinking ray that gets turned on him while he’s on his bed. Both he and the bed begin to diminish in size until he finds himself in a surreal landscape of molecules and atoms and subatomic quarks. The title and the fact that Gyro rides through this strange adventure on his bed is a reference to the great Winsor McKay’s incredible “Little Nemo In Slumberland” newspaper strips from the early part of the 20th Century.

The psychedelic conceit of this story is that Gyro continues shrinking until he finds himself in the Milky Way Galaxy, our own solar system and, finally, back in his workshop. A nod to the concept that wherever you go in the universe – up and out or down and in – you will find yourself a minuscule part of an endless, infinite cycle.

Could you please share your vision of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck?

Well, we’ve kind of covered this. Donald is full of flaws so he’s fun to write. Mickey is more of a straight arrow, so you’ve got to dig to make him more interesting.

Under Byron Erickson’s guidance, we strove to give the mouse more personality foibles. But I’m afraid some readers still find him boring.

Once again, those ON THE ROAD stories allowed us to make Mick a bit more of a scoundrel, consistently manipulating Donald so that the duck always drew the short straw, good naturedly outmaneuvering his pal for the attention of the girl or the promise of wealth. I like that chemistry.

How would you define Goofy and Fethry?

I’ve never written a story featuring Fethry and really know very little about him.

Goofy is a true-blue friend, a bit simple and disorganized but always trustworthy.

He’s a great foil for gags and slapstick comedy. Sometimes he can unintentionally impart a nugget of wisdom that affects the outcome of a tale. There’s a bit of the Buddha to our Goof.

In your The Calisota Cup, you use the name “Calisota” to define the state in which Donald lives. Could you please talk about your idea of Calisota (size, popolation, cities...)?

I had nothing to do with this. Back in the early ‘90s, I was given an assignment to write an Olympics themed story to coincide with the upcoming international games. The script was titled “THE DUCKBALL OLYMPICS”.

In it, Donald and his team played a crazy local sport called ‘Duckball’. Gyro had invented an unpredictable sphere that would fly in any direction once contact was made.

The object was to wrangle the wayward ball and score a goal!

The thrust of the story was Don trying to get the sport introduced into the Olympics and the resulting chaos the game caused. For some reason, the script got sidelined.

Months later, editor Unn Printz-Pahlson stumbled upon the script and liked it.

She renamed it THE CALISOTA CUP and, without much further tinkering, it was drawn and published. You’ll have to ask her what the ‘Calisota’ thing was all about. I think it had something to do with a Carl Barks reference, but I’m not sure…

I’ll always be grateful for Unn’s intervention because I think it’s a funny story.

Your last published story is A Familiar Complaint. Could you please say something about it?

Really? That’s our last published story? We’ve written a lot more since then.

It’s a cute, clever little tale. A Magica de Spell assignment. In traditional lore, sorcerers often have animal assistants, called ‘familiars’. Magica’s is her raven, Ratface. In this tale, Ratface and other familiars meet in secret to discuss their working conditions. It’s a take on the nature of unions and management, a bit socialist (anathema in the U.S. these days) in its leanings, and full of irony.

The questions have come to an end, if you want to tell us something about your biography or about your career, you're absolutely free...

Check out some of the things I’ve done that aren’t Disney related. I’ve written three graphic novels that were published by DC Comics’ Vertigo imprint: I PAPARAZZI, VEILS and CHIAROSCURO: THE PRIVATE LIVES OF LEONARDO DA VINCI.

They are light years away from the adventures of our favorite mouse and duck. I’ve also written some stories recently for Simpsons Comics and that’s a lot of fun.

Interview with Kari Korhonen

Oggi è la volta del grande autore di fumetti europeo Kari Korhonen.

Kari nasce l'8 ottobre 1973 a Espoo, in Finlandia, è un artista di storyboard per le pubblicità tra il '94 e il '98 e, dal '93, scrive e disegna storie di paperi per la casa editrice Egmont.

When did you read your first Disney comic? At what age? Do you remember what comic it was?

At around 4 years old. It was Barks' "You Can't Guess" (Christmas Parade). It was read to me by my dear Father.

Do you prefer writing or drawing stories?

I actually prefer writing. Drawing is hard work, whereas story-construction comes easy to me. Barks once told me that drawing can be taught, story-telling is more difficult. I'm not saying I am good at either, but I believe he was right.

What kind of story do you prefer writing? 

Comedy is King. The classic ten-page story is a challenge. The smaller the story, the harder it is. I don't write action well.

Do you have a favorite story?

Don't know, honestly. Too many to choose from. Not one of mine, to be sure.

For the drawing, have you ever been helped by someone or are you self-taught? Which artists are you inspired by the most?

I am such a fan of so many people. Barks of course, Branca, Scarpa, Vicar, Jippes. Tardi, Uderzo and Walt Kelly. I could go on and on. All old-school, though.

I inked all my own stuff till 2005. Since then I've been working with an inker, Ferran Rodriguez.

In your "Can You Spare A Pot Of Gold", Donald, Gladstone and Scrooge join a contest to win a pot of Gold...

In order to win, they have to find one of the three leprechauns (HDL); Scrooge and Gladstone find them, but Donald finds a real leprechaun, the same who had been caught by Cornelius Coot after the Big Fire of Duckburg...

How was this idea is born? Could you please say something about?

Goodness! That is a golden oldie! That was the second of the 8 stories I was privileged to do with Daniel Branca (bless his ever-loving heart)!

I can't recall the story that well, but I was just back from a tour of Ireland and was, as I am still, fascinated with all things Irish. Somehow the story just came about. That was 15 years ago, so excuse my forgetfulness. Branca at his best, though. I need to dig up our sketches!

In one of your first Disney stories, "Can I Bring You Anything?", you have used Barks' Clerkly... In Italy, he isn't that know, and author Rodolfo Cimino invented another butler called "Battista" ("Quackmore" in America).

Starting from that, what do you think about Italian Disney characters? (Battista, Brigitta McBridge,
Jubal Pomp...)

The story was one of the first long stories I drew, but I'd been skeching and writing for years. Yeah, Clerkly is still my favourite of Scrooge's lackeys. He played a minor role in Barks' "So Far and No Safari". He seemed like an architype of 50's office worker. Somehow that appealed to me. Quackmore is much more of a blatant cartoon character. Also, Clerkly is a spitting image of Byron Erickson, the editor-in-chief who gave me my first job, so that endeared me to him. I did a story in 2006 called "Mr. Clerkly's Christmas" which gives a bit of a back story to the character.

I do love many of the Italian characters. Brigitta (and all Scarpa creations for that matter) was a permanent fixture in my childhood. I never did understand Scrooge, though. I always hoped some girl would be THAT interested in me.

Still about Italian characters, in 2000s, you have written "Donny Duck", an European version of the italian "Paperino Paperotto", what was that about?

The German publishers published two of the great Italian Paperinos in Mickey Mouse in 1998 and they were a hit. Hence, ECN asked me to write new stories for Egmont. At first I wasn't all that excited - the idea of showing beloved characters in earlier years is almost always a mistake. I mean, "Young Flintstones" is no one's favourite cartoon, is it? But then, once I started thinking of Quackville as a separate universe, I really got into it. So far, I've written some 50 stories and hope for more to come.

What do you think about William Van Horn and “his” Rumpus McFowl?

I've been the biggest fan of Bill since he started. A genius as an artist. Rumpus as a character? A bit empty. I could take him or leave him.

What do you think about Huey, Dewey, Louie and the Junior Woodchucks?

A good way from Barks to turn the tables on Donald and the boys. Donald became the child. Worked well. Yet sometimes the kids seem a bit know-it-all.

Which is your vision of Mickey Mouse?

Well, I've done very little Mickey. Some covers and one-pagers. In the fifties Mickey moved to the suburbs and started dressing like Bing Crosby - with the loose-fitting slacks. Not very interesting.

How would you define Goofy and Donald's cousin Fethry?

Dear old Goofy. We all have friends like that, don't we? A Captain Haddock to Mickey's Tintin. Love him dearly. Fethry I've never got a handle on. Nor have many writers. I suppose you had to live through the hippie-years for that.

The questions have come to an end, if you want to say something about your biography or about your career, you're absolutely free...

Unlike the long ramblings in my answers would let you to believe, I usually have very little to say about myself. So if you don't mind, I'll leave it at this. It's been a pleasure, though. Thank you!