Gemstone's Disney Comics -- Who's Buying 'Em?

[Texcap]

After a brief search here at the forums I was a little surprised at how little I was able to turn up on Disney comics themselves, including Gemstone's excellent line of Disney comics & reprints currently available. That said, perhaps I'll stumble on more the more time I'm able to devote to looking.

So, curiously, are you picking any titles up? If so, which ones?

What do you think of them?

.......

For what it's worth, Gemstone's (Eisner Winning) Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck and Friends are among the best books/comics I have the priviledge of reading each month, as have been the compilations and collections such as: The Life and Times of Uncle Scrooge and Mickey And The Gang: Classic Stories In Verse, among others.

Both of these would rank among the best Collections of 2005 in my mind, and I'd literally place them as the best [2] TPB's to see release in recent memory where comic collections go. This isn't hyperbole I tell ya, they're good enough that I feel almost obligated to bring them up -- particularly at their very low price points, with all of the content you get in it's wake.

More information on each can be obtained at the links provided:

The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1888472065/ref=nosim/104-4656502-6669501?n=283155

(The "Life and Times" Companion TPB, featuring additional chapters in Scrooge's Life, will be released in Sep. '06)

Mickey and the Gang: Classic Stories In Verse
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1888472065/ref=pd_rvi_gw_1/104-4656502-6669501?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=283155



Anyhow, thanks for humoring me by reading all of that!

[Lars Vermundsberget]

I bought the complete hardcover "Carl Barks Library" some years ago. Since then I guess I've felt that I have all the Disney comics that I need. But maybe I'll reconsider some day.

[Aladdin from Agrabah]

I do have many issues from the titles you mentioned, but I'm an international collector also. I buy the french "Picsou", the german "LustigesTaschenbuch", the Italian "Topolino", "Raperinik", "I Grandi Classici", "Principesse" , "Witch", "Disney Fairies" and of course the Greek "Komix", which among Disney Comics Collectors -as for the European ones at least- is the best because it offers Carl Barks' timeless stories in the best quality and also includes other great Disney cartoonists like the excellent Don Rosa.

So...yes, I do buy them!

[JiminyCrick91]

I will get the WDT trade paperbacks but other than that I only have a Christmas one and all the Free Comic Book Day ones.

[JEANYLASER]

i love disney comics and i have the first comics in my room. And i can't wait for the another of Mickey Mouse adventures.:edna:

[jebsdad]

I used to buy all the Disney Comics years ago and also bought the complete set of the Carl Barks Library many years ago.

But, after rereading the Carl Barks Library several times, and rereading the numerous Disney Comics, I'm just not that interested in reading new adventures.

I sold most of my Disney comics and would probably sell my Carl Barks Library if I was able to get an offer to just get my money back on it.

Disney comics (especially the Duck comics) have given me decades of enjoyment - just not that interested in them now.

[Edge]

The timing on this thread made me laugh.

I had read the comics when I was younger and always had a big interest in them, however finding them in the states wasn't always easy and becoming a teenager lead to a world of other distractions as well.

As a kid I had always enjoyed them, but obviously didn't have the money to pay for the offerings of a "Serious collector".

However over the last fews, being out of college and an adult I've been getting back into them. I'm finally at a point now where my wife is finishing up school and we can afford to do my hobby the way I'd want. In the last few weeks I've been scouring Ebay and starting up my collection/adding to it. I still don't have the subscriptions (shooting for about August/September with those) but I've catching up on back issues and some great deals that have REALLY jump started my collection. As such I've been heavily reading/researching the hobby in the last 8 weeks which makes this thread's timing ironic.

I've started collection all the big names: Mickey, Goofy, Donald, Scrooge though my favorites are by far and away the Disney Ducks. I admit that I enjoy them a lot and just genuinly feel better. I work in PR so sometimes it's nice to just come home and let the imagination be entertained. As such, the quality on the comics is second to none. The print quality is exellent and the size is worth the price as well. I don't feel cheated by the stories, like I have with certain other comics (Star Wars comes to mind, tried getting into that before realizing that the comics are eye candy and nothing more) and I just find them to be a better fit for my personality and style than superpowers and comics that have so much continuity to be aware of that they end up painting themselves into a corner.

Most importantly I like that they can be tongue in cheek and not take themself to seriously. For me, comics should be entertaining not so wrapped in drama that I end up feeling like I'm watching a soap opera.

So in the end I'm slowly building my collection. Starting with back issues, getting caught up and the plunging into the subscriptions in a few weeks. I'm not really a "Collector" in the sense that I need all beyond mint editions that I handle with kit gloves. I am happy that they are in (in my opinion) nice condition and that I can store them safely and take pride in my collection. Eventually I'll see how far I can take it (I'd love to order the comic albums on the Bruce Hamilton website) but all in good time. It wouldn't be any fun if I just got anything I wanted and the nice thing is that here in the states the fanbase isn't as rabid as other comics so I've found I can get reasonable prices and not have to deal with too many auctions that spiral out of control.

[jebsdad]

I've started collection all the big names: Mickey, Goofy, Donald, Scrooge though my favorites are by far and away the Disney Ducks. I admit that I enjoy them a lot and just genuinly feel better. I work in PR so sometimes it's nice to just come home and let the imagination be entertained. As such, the quality on the comics is second to none. The print quality is exellent and the size is worth the price as well. I don't feel cheated by the stories, like I have with certain other comics (Star Wars comes to mind, tried getting into that before realizing that the comics are eye candy and nothing more) and I just find them to be a better fit for my personality and style than superpowers and comics that have so much continuity to be aware of that they end up painting themselves into a corner.

Most importantly I like that they can be tongue in cheek and not take themself to seriously. For me, comics should be entertaining not so wrapped in drama that I end up feeling like I'm watching a soap opera.

So in the end I'm slowly building my collection. Starting with back issues, getting caught up and the plunging into the subscriptions in a few weeks. I'm not really a "Collector" in the sense that I need all beyond mint editions that I handle with kit gloves. I am happy that they are in (in my opinion) nice condition and that I can store them safely and take pride in my collection. Eventually I'll see how far I can take it (I'd love to order the comic albums on the Bruce Hamilton website) but all in good time. It wouldn't be any fun if I just got anything I wanted and the nice thing is that here in the states the fanbase isn't as rabid as other comics so I've found I can get reasonable prices and not have to deal with too many auctions that spiral out of control.

Best of luck in building your Disney comics collection. I've been a comic book fan for decades and the Disney Comics have given me much pleasure during that time. I agree with you on the reasons why I enjoyed the Disney Comics so much - especially the Duck comics.

[Lars Vermundsberget]

I've been a comic book fan for decades and the Disney Comics have given me much pleasure during that time. I agree with you on the reasons why I enjoyed the Disney Comics so much - especially the Duck comics.

The interested reader is pretty much able to find out by himself - but the Carl Barks Library includes a lot of articles that can make the reading of these most-classic Duck comics even more interesting.

[Edge]

I'm somewhat envious of the European fans, the hobby is HUGE over there.

There's such a backlog of stories that Gemstone is only now starting to dive into.

But I guess on the flipside if fans over here were as rabid, the prices would go through the roof.

Can't have it both ways I guess.

[Lars Vermundsberget]

Well, the complete Carl Barks set was an American project, and it is my impression that some of the earliest and most "hard-core" Duck fans were Americans.

But there probably are way more Duck fans "over here" in Europe, and there is a considerable Disney comics industry here, so I'm sure lots of stories have stayed exclusively European so far.

[Edge]

My understanding is that it's far more main stream there than here where it's kind of a cult following.

I mean in the last 25 years the distribution has gone through no less than 5 companies (including twice with Gladstone) and had breaks where the Disney comics weren't produced at all.

I know I can't even find them in a comic shop here in Las Vegas, Nevada.

There's years and years of European material that American fans are only now begining to see with Gemstone.

[Edge]

My understanding is that it's far more main stream there than here where it's kind of a cult following.

I mean in the last 25 years the distribution has gone through no less than 5 companies (including twice with Gladstone) and had breaks where the Disney comics weren't produced at all.

I know I can't even find them in a comic shop here in Las Vegas, Nevada.

There's years and years of European material that American fans are only now begining to see with Gemstone.

[Aladdin from Agrabah]

But there probably are way more Duck fans "over here" in Europe, and there is a considerable Disney comics industry here, so I'm sure lots of stories have stayed exclusively European so far.

And, because we're far too general by using the word "Europe", let me say that every self-respected Disney Comics collector knows that the most important industry is Italy. The hugest school of Disney Comics in Europe. Italy's comics are of the best quality, and they're A LOT.

[Lars Vermundsberget]

Yes, there's no doubt a LOT of Disney comics material coming from Italy - I stopped buying that kind of thing years ago. Disney comics is very much "mainstream" here - so much so, that, in my experience, there's way too much Disney comics material on the market... Americans who'd like to catch up sure have a LOT of catching up to do!

I'd say generations of European kids have grown up to "know" Disney characters (Mickey, Donald and the "gang") that are quite a bit different, further developed, perhaps, compared to the originals from the animated shorts of the 30s, 40s and 50s.

[Edge]

I am still trying to catch up in the north American comics personally.

But I'm not that kind of "completest" collector. In other words I'm not going to buy comics in a language I cannot read.

I'm hopeful Gemstone keeps up the good work of reprinting the various languages in English. Does anyone know how well the comics have been selling? I'd imagine fairly well if they've been able to keep churning out special compilations and expand the titles they produce.

My biggest fear is that they'll disappear again once someone has a contract dispute. It's happened too many times in the past two decades to not be a concern.

[Lars Vermundsberget]

Well, the Italian Disney comics aren't exclusively in Italian language (not all of them, at least). I'm not sure about the Disney comics market in Great Britain, but if it's anything like in several other European countries, I guess that could be of interest to American collectors if the American Disney comics business dries up again.

[Edge]

Australia and The UK are my only hopes if anything goes sour in North America, though obviously if I can get them here, and in the nice format they are currently in that'd be ideal.

I just can't get into superhero's nowadays. Too much drama, sex and violence. I read comics to escape, not to feel like I'm living the life of the unluckiest people in my own home town.

So I guess of those who do collect, I'd have to ask who their favorite comics person is within Disney.

Rosa is hit or miss for me. I love his drawing style and when he's on he's great, but sometimes I feel like he tries to rationalize every little detail too much and it takes away some of the fantasy. From what I've gathered, Barks wasn't too fond of it either. Just something about Rosa that always seemed....cynical to me.

I enjoy William Van Horn a lot, except his Scrooge drawings. The side feathers on Scrooge's face just seem too awkward for my taste.

[Aladdin from Agrabah]

So I guess of those who do collect, I'd have to ask who their favorite comics person is within Disney.

Dona Rosa is great, not only because I love his style- I enjoy exploring the images to find out that, while the main story is going on, other crazy, funny things happen in the space behind- but I also die out laughing with his cynical humor...the face expressions sometimes are also very funny! And I like the fact that he's drawing with so many details.
I absolutely love Carl Barks because he's the one. The teacher. The master. He's ,IMO, for comics, what Walt Disney was for movies. He's simplistic style is not impressive but it captures his spirit in a unique way.I respect him very much- don't forget also that many TV episodes from "DuckTales" were inspired by his stories!
But my favourite is Romano Scarpa. He made the characters crazier, funnier, more enjoyable and more beautiful IMO. He was the "father" of many Disney comic characters, probably unknown to the US, such as Brigitte (the lovesick duck who's always after Scrooge), Gadget the crow, the superheroic alter egos of Donald and Daisy (I don't know their names in English but in their "father's" language they're called Paperinik and Paperinika) and so many others! He's the one I grew up with!

[Edge]

To me I can't even put Carl Barks on anyone else's level, he's on a level all his own.

Rosa I would a little more if he didn't try to put everything in a chronological order. (Birth, death, etc.). Shows like Batman and Ducktales have shown that you can create an ambiguous time period that has elements from several eras.

I like Ben Verhagen, Marco Rota and Vicar. I like their old school style.

I think my preference is usually bad on the characters themselves. I don't like it when they look too rubbery and over animated.