Very sorry for the uncharacteristic and prolonged absence from Blogging, but I'll bet everyone's lives have had periods that are just like Donald's in this great William Van Horn cover -- and this has been one of mine!
My usual designation of "Horrifically Busy" doesn't begin to describe it, but know it's nothing personally horrible or injurious... just busy.
The "day job" has totally dominated the last several weeks, there have been things to write for IDW and Fantagraphics (that's the GOOD part of being "Horrifically Busy"), and even domestic and personal obligations have run at a much higher pitch than normal as of late.
I haven't even been to the comics shop for more than a month, so most of you are caught up on comics I still have not seen, much less written about.
But, I *do* expect to finally go this evening, when DONALD DUCK # 12, with my dialogued "Vicious Cycles" is out - even if I have to force the time to do so.
There are unpublished comments that I will also get to soon, but don't let that stop you from sending more. Indeed, they will cheer me up and help get me back into the groove.
Anyway, I hope to have a post on DONALD DUCK # 12 soon - if, for no better reason than I've ALREADY read it, and that'll save me some time!
Oh, and look for a cameo by two unexpected characters in "Vicious Cycles", and we'll see you soon!
UPDATE: Wednesday evening, I did go to the comic shop and picked up a month-plus of comics - including DONALD DUCK # 12.
Then, I did a rare thing! It was a PERFECT day in New York, and so, rather than go straight home, I pulled into a McDonald's, ordered some food, that included some perfectly hot and fresh fries, sat in my car with all the windows open and read "Vicious Cycles" while eating those perfect fries and some small burgers!
It was wonderful, and exactly what I needed to help shake off the "Horrifically Busy Blues"!
I'd also like to thank everyone who has welcomed me back, and know that I will get all the backlog of comments published, with my usual responses, over the next 2-3 days.
...Then, we'll be caught up and can move forward again! Thank you all for your patience!
21 comments:
never seen chicken soup that thick. Don't know if I'd eat that!
KKM:
Maybe it’s very thick concentrate, and requires a LOT of water!
…Or, maybe not.
It's good to have you back! I'm sorry to hear of the extent of your overwhelmedment. May the Chicken Soup Apocalypse not in fact materialize!
So, have you heard that the four-part limited series "Star Trek: Manifest Destiny" (IDW) will also be issued in an edition *entirely translated into Klingon*? If you hadn't heard (given the news blackout occasioned by the looming Chicken Soup Apocalypse), I thought this was something you needed to know.
Looking forward to your post on "Vicious Cycles"...as I look forward to picking up and reading my own copy, tomorrow!
Elaine:
It’s great to be back, even in a (hopefully temporary) limited form!
Another aspect of this unprecedented (…all together now) “Horrifically Busy Period” that I just realized is that it’s now April 21, and I have yet to watch a single baseball game on TV – much less attend one! That has NEVER happened before!
Going by the rules of the “Zombie Apocalypse” (so popularized by THE WALKING DEAD – which I HAVE managed to make the time to continue watching, at the regrettable expense of baseball) where Zombies “eat” you… I’d imagine that, in a “Chicken Soup Apocalypse”, the Chicken Soup also eats YOU! Talk about the (dinner) tables being turned! …I wonder if it uses a proper spoon, or just “slurps you down”. I’m betting on the latter!
Considering that so much of the IDW Disney material is translated from Italian and other languages, there’s an oddly satisfying symmetry to one of their STAR TREK series being translated into Klingon!
And finally, speaking of translation, the great (…and I mean GREAT!!!) Casty story we’re calling “Night of the Living Text” will appear in WDC&S # 733! Anyone who enjoyed Casty’s “Plan Dine from Outer Space” in MICKEY MOUSE # 6 will REALLY love this! Casty is an amazing talent – all the more so when he draws his own stories as with this one, and I’m proud to have had this story be one of the many, many reasons that I’ve been (…all together now) “Horrifically Busy”!
Joe:
Looking forward to the Casty story!
What's your opinion on Mickey's Craziest Adventure?
I remember that William Van Horn story! Someone needs to create a William Van Horn Library so we can get all of his great DuckTales and Donald Duck Adventures stories back in print. He is up there with Don Rosa and Jippes and Milton as the heirs to the Barks legacy.
I'm looking forward to the newest issue of Donald Duck, as Donald's title has long been a favorite of mine. As much as I like Uncle Scrooge, Donald and Mickey have a bit more freedom in the types of stories you can put them in. That said, Uncle Scrooge #13 starts a four part story that looks to be EPIC! (I don't want to spoil it if you haven't read it yet...but Rockerduck, Glomgold, the Beagle Boys and Magica are all in it!). Casty and Scarpa have become my favorite non-Gottfredson Mickey creators of late, so anything by them is good by me. There is also a new Mickey Mouse graphic novel out from Papercutz, X-Mickey that is worth picking up, which puts Mickey in some supernatural mysteries with a werewolf version of Goofy as his sidekick.
Original Disney comics by IDW?
http://www.newsarama.com/28732-new-mickey-mouse-title-at-idw.html
Hey, Joe.
Well, after a long hiatus, I'm back -- for now, anyway. You see, I'm in the middle of my own (... all together now) "Horrifically Busy Period," and this period will continue until at least September (as a certain famous duck -- one not discussed much 'round these parts -- might say, grad school can be despicable)!! Let's just hope I don't face my own version of the "Chicken Soup Apocalypse"!!
Anyway, I'm commenting on this post because I thought you might like to know that I finally lost my virginity!! Yes, that's right -- I have now read an IDW Disney comic!! It was a trade paperback -- the one I told you my school's Comic Book Club purchased. And your description of it from some months ago was indeed accurate. As you had calculated, there were no stories by you in it... :(
But there were many great stories nonetheless, including Thad Komorowski's "The Bigger Operator"!! :)
The three stories I most enjoyed were "The Grand Canyon Conquest" (written and drawn by Miquel Pujol; translated and dialogued by Gary Leach), "The Bigger Operator" (written by Giorgio Pezzin; drawn by Marco Rota; translated and dialogued by Thad Komorowski), and "Exit the Dragon" (written by Frank Jonker and Paul Hoogma; translated and dialogued by Jonathan H. Gray).
In "The Grand Canyon Conquest," I particularly enjoyed the myriad inside jokes. For example, when the ducks find themselves at Disneyland, we see Goofy and Mickey walk-around characters, with one of the nephews remarking, "We've been here loads of times with Unca Mickey!" And, of course, a plush Mickey toy performs a key function in the plot. All of this suggests that in the comics universe, the classic Disney characters are not just "real" but also famous!!
I also got a kick out of the tense relationship between Scrooge and Donald, especially when Donald, complaining about the high prices at Scrooge's resort, whines to Scrooge, "I had to eat toast and sardines!" This is several pages (and, therefore, presumably quite a while) after Donald had first complained about having to eat toast and sardines. I laughed at loud at how Donald was so angry over something as trivial as a disappointing meal so long after eating it.
Why are Donald and his nephews so dedicated to Scrooge, anyway? Is just because they hope to inherit his fortune one day, or would you say there is a legitimate love-hate element to their relationship?
And I also caught another reference. An artist our heroes encounter is named Mercedes Pujol, and she is planning to exhibit one of her paintings in Barcelona. For sure, a clever reference to Miquel Pujol, the original writer and artist of the story, and to SPAIN, his country.
Regarding "The Bigger Operator", I got a kick out of the jokes Thad came up with. For instance, after Scrooge passes out, one nephew remarks, "Gyro Gearloose's compressed dollar-hydrogen mix is the only thing that can revive Unca Scrooge from devastation!"
Other dialogue gems:
Detective: "So you apply with this new identity and false criminal record we cooked up for you!"
Donald: "What -- my OWN isn't enough?"
Donald: "You gave me the McDuck Guarantee these mitts and boots wouldn't fall off the wall!"
Scrooge: "And the guarantee held true! You failed because the wall fell off the building!"
Donald: "[Grunt!]"
Beyond Thad's dialogue, I particularly appreciated undercover agent Donald's angry reaction to Antoine Montebank making him wash his dishes. I remember a story in an old Gladstone issue I own in which Donald makes his hatred of washing dishes unambiguously clear, so I "got" the reference! (Or maybe it's not so much a reference to a specific story but rather a running gag... I don't know...)
Finally, I loved the idea of Scrooge having a viking ancestor in "Exit the Dragon." Why? Because when I was in elementary school (I forget what grade), there was in my classroom a book about vikings and a book about DuckTales. I remember using these two books to draw a picture of Uncle Scrooge as a viking! I probably still have that picture somewhere. So this story brought back happy memories...
My favorite bit of dialogue from this story is when one of Drago Drakesen's victims shouts, "Brigand! Varlet! Politician! Those treasures are mine!" Yes, sir, most people would surely agree that "politician" is indeed synonymous with "brigand" and with "varlet"!!
Another good one:
Random Dude: "YOU AGAIN?! Get LOST, Herringbone! I haven't recovered from your LAST attack!"
Drakesen: "Really? It was a whole WEEK ago."
Let me leave you with a technical question: What exactly is the difference (if any) between translating and dialoging? I've been meaning to ask you this for a while.
That's all I have for now. I'm glad to hear that, when it comes to your (... all together now) "Horrifically Busy Period," you're now seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. As for myself, no such luck... but I'll try to keep up with your blog, and I look forward to reading more IDW Disney comics... someday.
Let’s take the comments in order…
Clapton:
*I* cannot wait for the Casty "Living Text" story, too! Believe me, it’s amazing!
As for “Mickey’s Craziest Adventures”, I have nothing to go on beyond that awesome looking cover illustration – and the fact that it dates back to 1965! On the basis of that alone, I expect to enjoy it. We’ll see soon enough…
Deb:
Despite the fact that there is no “William Van Horn Library”, this is still a wonderful time to be an American Disney comics fan! So much great material available now, and from so many different sources! Just imagine were closing in on completing the Gottfredson continuities! (I never thought that was possible!) …And, just remember how badly we all felt in the months (and years) following the end of Boom!
I did not read UNCLE SCROOGE yet. I guess I don’t have to say why. Oh, here are the initials “H-B-P”! But I can’t wait to do so. Same with the last Mickey! It’s really difficult to pick a favorite IDW title, but I have to go with MICKEY MOUSE. With most of it dominated by Scarpa, Casty, and Cavazzano, and the two issues by Bill Wright and Paul Murry, there has not yet been an issue I have not thoroughly enjoyed!
Anon:
If you mean “Original Disney comics [ACTUALLY PRODUCED] by IDW?”, I would tend to think not. I suspect these would be from some other source – perhaps Disney itself. But, then again, I never claim any insider knowledge on anything beyond that which I personally work on – and I am not involved with these. The fact that no familiar “IDW Names” appear to be involved is probably a tip-off.
HERE is Anon’s link, for your reading pleasure.
Sergio:
I am sorry but I am going to have to respond to your great comments later this weekend!
The same goes for any comments sent to previous posts – of which they are a few.
I will be back to “do it all” but, for now, “Horrifically Busy” still rules the day!
But, please keep the comments coming! I always enjoy them!
Anon:
It would depend on what you classify as original material. The comics are adaptions not original stories.
Joe:
Are saying the 1965 thing tounge-in-check cause the story's actually from last year but apparently part of it's plot envolves it being a lost story from "1965".
Deb:
I would like a Van Horn Library to!
And speaking of Horns rumor has it that Trevor (Video Killed The Radio Star) Horn is gonna join Yes live for the first time since 1980! Not comic-related but still exciting!
@Joe
"If you mean “Original Disney comics [ACTUALLY PRODUCED] by IDW?”, I would tend to think not. I suspect these would be from some other source – perhaps Disney itself": I don't know, the source seems to talk about original stories istead of reprints, and it clearly mentions IDW as the publisher. Well, we just have to wait and we'll find out.
And since the topic of translations hasn't been brought up by anyone recently despite being a cyclical topic, I think what Sergio Goncalves wrote could raise an interesting question. He wrote: "But there were many great stories nonetheless, including Thad Komorowski's "The Bigger Operator"!! :)" The question is: as good as it is that translators are not uncredited anymore, is it correct to identify the translator as basically the only author of a story? Nothing against Sergio, of course, it's the circumstances that made him wrote this and other people have been writing like this before him.
Vicious Cycles was a lot of fun. It was a very fast-paced comedy that seemed to build on the idea of Donald being out of shape and Two-Wheel McHeel as the great athelete in a way similar to Carl Barks' boxing 10-pager Bubbleweight Champ. The lively artwork in this one had a lot of squash and stretch and really helped to put the gags over. Your script really added a lot of life to an already lively story. I think this is one of the funniest stories in the Donald Duck book so far this year. The backup about Donald's nephews running away to live with Garvey Gull was a good story as well. Not only was it funny, but you could really relate to both Donald and the boys' in this one.
Are you the translator/scripter for Vicious Cycles ? Because if you are, well you ought to read Disney Comics Randomness's thoughts: http://disneycomicsrandomness.blogspot.fr/2016/04/idws-donald-duck-12.html
You see, it appears that the characters Baldo Muscolo, translated as "Two-Wheel McHeel" here, is actually the Italian name of Boldan True from Barks's "The Bubble-weight Champion". McHeel's drinking what was translated as "wild goat milk" was probably a callback, in Italian, to Boldan's drinking yak milk in Barks.
Well, I have two copies of DD12 now. Went to my local comic shop and got the regular cover, as they seem to now be ordering only one copy of each. Today, though, I went to a comic shop in Savannah as my family is on vacation and found the Artist Appreciation Van Gogh style cover and had to get it. I hadn't even realized they were doing one for Donald Duck, although I had already gotten the Norman Rockwell one for BTTF.
Anyway, the entire point of my comic here was simply that I like that cover, as I haven't actually read the issue yet. I've got some FCBD stuff to work through now too, including my long-delayed sampling of the new Archie, not to mention that WDC&S and Uncle Scrooge *both* arrived this week.
Are we still here now? ;)
Huwey:
Please see the next post!
Hi, Anon.
The reason I wrote "Thad Komorowski's 'The Bigger Operator'" is because this blog is mainly about IDW comics and the people who work on them, and Thad is Joe's colleague at IDW.
Your point is well-taken. I agree that one should not identify the translator as the only author of a story. I think Joe does a great job giving the original writers their due, though, and, if you look again at my comment, you'll see that I do credit the original writer and illustrator of "The Bigger Operator" elsewhere.
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