Last post, we made the case for IDW's WALT DISNEY SHOWCASE # 6 being a substitute for the never-published PHANTOM BLOT # 8.
But, did you know this is not the first time "WALT DISNEY SHOWCASE" substituted for an unexpectedly canceled favorite comic book title of the 1960s?
MOBY DUCK made his debut in Gold Key's DONALD DUCK # 112 (Cover Date: March, 1967)...
...became a recurring member of Donald's supporting cast...
...and finally achieved an ongoing title of his own!
Above is MOBY DUCK # 11 (Cover Date: October, 1970). After this issue, I eagerly awaited MOBY DUCK # 12... not knowing that the title had been cancelled!
But, unlike with PHANTOM BLOT 7 in 1966...
...which was followed by nothing bearing the name "The Phantom Blot", until 2018's IDW WALT DISNEY SHOWCASE # 6...
...Something unexpected DID turn up in the fall of 1970, when MOBY DUCK # 12 was to be released!
Would you believe a GOLD KEY issue of a title called WALT DISNEY SHOWCASE?
Apparently, this was to be both the cover and contents of MOBY DUCK # 12. And, while it did help soften the blow of MOBY DUCK's abrupt cancellation, it also meant that Moby was (pardon the expression)... sunk!
On the bright side, however, there eventually WAS an actual MOBY DUCK # 12 - though it wouldn't arrive until 1973 - and in the very same month that it should have arrived in 1970! Imagine that!
This particular run of MOBY DUCK would continue until early 1978, ending with issue # 30! But, if that isn't enough to make this an "Adventure in Comic-Boxing", consider that MOBY DUCK # 30 - the final issue of the title in the USA - ended with a reprint of THIS...
Yes, the cover and lead story of "The-MOBY-DUCK-#12- That-Never-Was" became part of the regular run with its final issue!
We'll close with a small "gallery" of abruptly-cancelled titles and "The-WALT-DISNEY-SHOWCASE-Issues-That-Followed-Them"!
PHANTOM BLOT # 7 (1966) and WALT DISNEY SHOWCASE # 6 (2018)
MOBY DUCK # 11 (1970), GOLD KEY WALT DISNEY SHOWCASE # 2 (1970) and MOBY DUCK # 30 (1978)
31 comments:
I really can't say that I've read too many stories with Moby Duck. (And the few I that I have read just haven't stuck with me). There sure doesn't seem to be a shortage of characters in what I like to call "The Expanded Disney Universe". IDW's run seems to have had the goal of putting as many of the players from the Expanded Disney Universe back into the public eye, like Brigitta Mac Bridge, Belle Duck, Fethry, many of Romano Scarpa's characters like Trudy, Atomo Bleep-Bleep, Gideon McDuck, Dickie Duck and others, Princess Reginella, OK Quack, Princess Oona, and Brick Boulder. Characters like Moby Duck, Launchpad McQuack (although DuckTales, Donald Quest and Duck Avenger: New Adventures are more like "Alternate Universes"), Uncle Rumpus McFowl and John D. Rockerduck would also be in my "head canon" Expanded Disney Universe. (The Standard Disney Universe pretty much covering all of the more well-known characters like Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, Horace, Clarabelle, the Blot, Pete, etc. as well as the Duckburg main cast of characters: Donald, Daisy, Scrooge, the nephews, Bolivar, the Beagle Boys, Glomgold, Ludwig, Gladstone, Neighbor Jones, etc. (Although I'm sure a few of my "Standard Cast" would be someone else's "Expanded Cast".
That’s a nice breakdown of “Standard Cast” and “Expanded Cast”, Deb!
I’d also drop Chief O’Hara, Detective Casey, and Eega Beeva into the “Standard Cast”, just based on their number of appearances and “close association” with other members of said “Standard Cast”! …And I have no doubt your standard cast would also have included Gyro, Magica, and April, May, and June – but, no one can (nor should they) be faulted for omissions… unless they work for the census bureau!
Emil Eagle, The Beagle Brats and all other “Specialty Beagles” like Intellectual-176 and Super-Sensitive-666, pets other than Pluto (and MAYBE Bolivar, though he’s seriously “on the cusp”) like Tabby, the Beagle Boys' cat “Ratty”, and “Minnie’s version of Figaro”, Detective Humphrey Gokart, all the other witches like Madam Mim, Hazel, etc., Dr. Einmug, Professor Dustibones, Captain Churchmouse, Colonel Doberman, Sylvester Shyster, Eli Squinch, Super Goof’s own villain The Red Arrow and so many others should rightly be relegated to the “Expanded Cast”! I’d even stick Fethry in the “Expanded Cast”, but I’d expect some opposition on this!
I think you’ve just given us a fun game to play! Tailor your own “Standard and Expanded Casts”! For instance, does “Newton Gearloose” even exist? Where does “Douglas McDuck”(?) fit in? …And, for crying out loud, would SOMEONE please travel back in time and ensure that Bubba Duck never happens!
Shifting gears… Though relatively few overall, I feel my greatest failure during my tenure with IDW was my inability to obtain a revival for Moby Duck! Though, it was not for lack of lobbying!
Look at that all the characters that WERE introduced or otherwise revived during “Team Gerstein’s” stewardship with the IDW Disney comics, and you can’t help but wonder why not Moby Duck! My understanding is that there are some really great (and, I’m told, really LONG) Italian Moby Duck stories set in historical periods. But, for most of IDW’s run, there was not a suitable place to publish them due to their length.
Though, in our final months, there WAS such a place – and, oddly enough, it is the subject of our last two posts… WALT DISNEY SHOWCASE! This originally amorphous title eventually “found its footing” and evolved into an entity worthy of its name – becoming a literal “Showcase” for characters like Arizona Goof, The Beagle Boys, and, in its final issue, The Phantom Blot!
This title could easily – and fittingly – accommodate the revival of Moby Duck I had so been pushing for!
…But, oh, well… What MIGHT have been!
So then, this means our decision of IDW's 6th Showcase doubling as the last Phantom Blot has a historical precedent! Whoddaguest?
@Debbie: while the DuckTales 2017 iteration that IDW has been featuring is undoubtedly from a parallel dimension, Launchpad McQuack as such doesn't have to be. There's ample evidence that DuckTales Classic is loosely set in the comics' world to be found in (fittingly enough) the DuckTales comics, though I'll admit the original creators of the animated series may not have meant it that way.
Now what would be my standard cast, what would be my extended cast?… Bearing in mind that, being me, I consider all of these to "exist", and am just making narrative distinctions…
The main cast would be Scrooge, Donald, Mickey, the Triplets, the Beagle Boys, the Blot, Magica, Glomgold, Rockerdcuk & Jeeves, Quackmore & Quackfaster, the various Brers, Wolves and Pigs, Minnie, Daisy, Peg-Leg Pete AMJ, Brigitta, Jones, Chip'n'Dale, Jubal Pomp, José Carioca and Panchito Pistoles, Gyro & the Little Helper, Ratface, Launchpad, Chief O'Hara & Casey, Fethry, Gladstone, and, yes, Moby. I might also throw in the Dwarfs, Mim, Grimhilde, Darkwing Duck (give or take sidekicks and villains), and José's sidekicks from the Brazilian comics as "main cast of their own things" — clearly more than occasional guest-stars, but they don't seem like they belong in a get-together of all the prominent Duckburg and Mouseton cast.
An extended cast would reveal people like Arizona Goof, Dickie and friends, Morty & Ferdie, Minnie's nieces (they two of the changing names), the various superhero-identities (Red Bat, Duck Avenger old and new, Super Goof, etc.), Doctors Einmug and Static (Egmont kind of pushed, I feel, for Static to become as much of a fixture of Mouseton as Gyro is of Duckburg, but he never felt quite "right" to me), Trudy, the extended Disney Afternoon casts like DuckTales' Duckworth, Webby, etc., Goof Troop's relatives of Goofy and Pete, Rescue Rangers' Gadget and Jack, Tabby, Figaro, his fellow Pinocchio expatriates Jiminy Cricket and Foulfellow & Gideon, Witch Hazel, Dim-Witty, and probably more I'm forgetting.
I notice you speak of your team's turn at IDW comics in the past tense now — is it official then?
(Read: can I start the "hire them back, blind fools" campgain yet?)
Achille:
You write: “So then, this means our decision of IDW's 6th Showcase doubling as the last Phantom Blot has a historical precedent! Whoddaguest? ”
YEP! Unearthing historical precedents is just another of the services we provide!
“I notice you speak of your team's turn at IDW comics in the past tense now — is it official then?”
Such is not for me to say… even though I just said it! …Darn my subversive hide!
What I CAN factually say is that I have no IDW work at present, or any still ahead of me. My last regular issue will be UNCLE SCROOGE # 40. There will also be a great Casty Mickey in the 2018 edition of CHRISTMAS PARADE as well as another great Casty Mickey and Blot story in a special for Mickey’s Birthday… and that, as they say, is that – alas!
I *DO* thank IDW and David for an amazing three-and-a-half-years that went beyond fulfilling my wildest dreams – and now direct those “wildest dreams” toward the day I might once again bring whatever talents I have to bear toward a line of regular monthly Disney comic books.
I still have many pages ahead for Fantagraphics wonderful “Disney Masters” line, so all is not lost! …Not “lost”, but also “not regular”! But, I am VERY PLEASED with the material I’ve been getting – and hope I that I do such “Masters” as Scarpa, Carpi, and Bottaro proud!
“(Read: can I start the "hire them back, blind fools" campaign yet?)”
All that I will tactfully and diplomatically say is that you DO live in a “free country”!
Though take a look at what follows us. Even *I* don’t know what we’re really getting. Then, as any proud resident of a Western Democracy would do, I’d encourage you to express your honest opinions to the proper persons!
Joe:
It truly isn’t your fault that you couldn’t revive moby duck!
I don’t want to get political or anything but it’s time we unveil the TRUE IDW disney comics operation. You see David Gerstein
was never actually the editor of the line. He was only a figure head for the REAL editor; some fella named Moby. When he was tasked with reviving the MD title he DUCKED his responsibility!!!
I think this is both punny enough for this blog and fake newsy enough for the rest of the internet!
I am going to wait to write my public appreciation of the work of Team Gerstein on Feathery Society until the first issues come out with none of your names attached...I presume this will be U$: My First Millions #1 and Disney Comics and Stories #1. Unless something is announced publicly prior to that. It will be interesting to see whether the editorial page in those comics (if any) says anything about the change. Previous new production teams usually have said good things about the people they succeeded, but in those cases it involved a change of publisher. This time it's not clear whether anything will be said at all.
And along with my public appreciation, of course, I will be happy to join any campaign to agitate for the return of Team Gerstein.
Sounds like we've got three specials to look forward to which were edited/dialogued by the Good Guys and which will come out after U$ 40: the Christmas Parade and the Mickey's Birthday special you mention, plus the Halloween Hex with the last of the Artibani & Arena "Magica's Family" trilogy to appear here. Those should all be great.
I'm not shocked by the news; I've been hearing rumors and getting vibes, ever since David and Thad stopped reassuring us about the future on Feathery. But I am seriously bummed and pissed. It's been a terrific run, and I was hoping it would go on for at least another decade!
One remarkable aspect of the new "Walt Disney Showcase" run that hasn't been mentioned yet is the use of the same cover masthead/logo that graced the covers of the original Gold Key version. I have to admit that, while I would probably have purchased the new title even with a revamped logo, the use of the old one did help to corral me into buying. The covers gave the "feel" of the old title. So did the use of other-than-mainstream characters for some of the issues.
If I may take a little side excursion, the "Moby Duck" issue listed above was the second issue of the original "Walt Disney Showcase," following the premiere which had featured "The Boatniks," a comics adaptation of a live-action Disney comedy. Judging from Issue #1, it appeared that the title was going to be reserved exclusively for comics versions of the live-action Disney films. Issue #2 turned the concept on its ear by reviving a recent Disney cartoon character--yet retaining the "nautical" theme that had been established in the first one. So now the title had become a venue not only for live-action Disney but for new stories about the Duck family of characters (seagoing stories?). Then with issue #3 another aspect of the title was introduced, when a reprint issue featuring old stories of "Bongo and Lumpjaw" hit the stands. So by this time "WDS" had become a grab-bag for a) Disney live-action, b) new adventures of lesser Disney cartoon characters, and c) reprints of classic Disney stuff. Then with #4, Pluto reprints were featured, bringing the mainstream of Disney characters to the fore, and thus widening the scope of the book even further. With #5 and #6, the title returned to its original plan with comics adaptations of "Million Dollar Duck" and "Bedknobs and Broomsticks," respectively. After that, issue #7 brought back Pluto in more reprints, while #8 gave us new stories about Daisy and Donald (prior to the launch of a long-running Gold Key "Daisy and Donald" series). #9 was a reprint of "101 Dalmatians" which had been reprinted as a stand-alone book about a year earlier. (This, by the way, was the moment I officially became a "collector" because I bought the book, despite already having the earlier reprint, just to keep the continuity of all of the issues of WDS.)
To be continued...
continued from above
#10 featured the live-action "Napoleon and Samantha." #11 was, maybe not too surprisingly, another "Moby Duck" story, this time a reprint of the original "Moby Duck #1". Despite already having this issue also, I bought it to keep my WDS collection current. #12 reprinted "Dumbo" which had recently been reprinted in the pages of "Walt Disney Comics Digest," but could now be obtained in its original full-sized comic book pages. (Plus, a rarity in that economy-minded age--the Dumbo book dispensed with interior ads, including the front interior as well as the back interior and exterior, just to accommodate the entire story, which ended on the back cover in color. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately if it was a feature that one liked, the magazine contained a section of ads in the middle as a pre-Christmas gift preview--an insert which existed in most if not all the Gold Key comics printed that particular month. But the story pages themselves were still remarkably--for the time--ad-free. The ad section could have been removed from the book and the story would have been intact--and uninterrupted. Nearly unheard-of for those days.)
By this time it was clear that WDS was a title that could encompass pretty much ALL of Disney, because they had so far included the Disney Ducks, the Disney Mice, several live-action features, classic characters such as Bongo and Pluto, and animated features such as "Dalmatians" and "Dumbo." In an era when not much was going on Disney-wise, WDS brought forth a veritable cornucopia of all things Disney. As prices of comics escalated insanely, WDS continued to publish, eventually expanding to an oversized (and overpriced) book by the end of its run, and continuing to deliver quality Disney material that was a little outside the scope of the regular Disney titles. It was almost like having a comics version of "The Wonderful World of Disney" TV show.
So hooray for the old Walt Disney Showcase, and hooray for the new Walt Disney Showcase, limited though its run appears to be so far. But as they say, "it ain't over till it's over." Clearly, you can't keep a good Blot or a good seafaring duck down!
Now, I will turn to one of my main forms of self-soothing, list-making! My standard Duck cast, rooted in my childhood reading, is basically Barks plus Ludwig and Mim. Donald, HDL, Grandma Duck, Gus Goose, Uncle Scrooge, Daisy, Gladstone, Gyro, Helper, Neighbor Jones, AMJ, Clara Cluck (Barks only drew two stories with her, and by chance I had both of them in my childhood!), Bolivar, Miss Quackfaster, the identical Beagle Boys, Magica, Ratface, Glomgold, Ludwig, Mim, Mim's cat Spitfire. (In my childhood I wasn't actually aware of Bolivar, Miss Quackfaster, Neighbor Jones or Glomgold, AFAIR. But Ludwig and Mim were both integrated into the central cast.) My extended Duck cast now includes the following (I'm not including one-shot characters, even if they have firmly ensconced themselves as real in my headcanon, because that would make the list way too long; also, not including deceased/MIA relatives): Barks' one-shots picked up by others, Goldie and Rockerduck; Kinney's Fethry and Tabby, Belle Duck and Captain Annie; Rosa's Matilda McDuck and Arpin Lucène/Black Knight; José and Panchito; Dickie Duck (the only Scarpa character who makes the cut, but she makes it thanks to Stabile!), Stella Curfew, Garvey Gull, Amanda Fox, Mercedes Pujol, Yellow Beak, Minima De Spell, Granny De Spell, Rosolio, Roberta, Witch Child (whom I have given the English name "Hexina," an anglicization of her Danish name), Zantaf, and Daisy's cat Dinkie.
@Elaine: I approve of Zantaf being on this list, and I approve of "Hexina" as a name for the Witch Child (she has a pretty good French name too, for the record, but it doesn't transliterate well into English), though I wonder: which Witch Child is that? Since the characters got split an'all. Also, much as I like Yellow Beak, I don't know if he has enough appearances to qualify as "main cast" — if we remove the Neverland, Woodpecker and Dwarfs stories, as one must in a headcanon such as yours where those things don't exist, he's only appeared in the original Pirate Gold, its abridged remake, and the Italian sequel.
Clapton writes:
“…the REAL editor; some fella named Moby. When he was tasked with reviving the MD title he DUCKED his responsibility!!!”
“I think this is both punny enough for this blog and fake newsy enough for the rest of the internet!”
That said, I guess there’s no point in moaning, sobbing and WHALING about it! Since he served no PORPOISE as an editor, there just ain’t no Mo Moby! Management told him to SHIP OUT! When leaving, he didn’t even WAVE good bye! And no one shed a single SALTY tear over his departure! Moby was simply too fiery for the job, and was in need of some serious ANCHOR management!
…Around here, nothing is ever “punny enough”!
Scarecrow:
That is one incredible history of the Gold Key WALT DISNEY SHOWCASE! Thank you for offering it here!
If I may make one additional observation, looking over the entire run (…which you can see HERE), Gold Key’s version of WALT DISNEY SHOWCASE of 1970-on seemed to do – with a much smaller page-count of much larger pages – the very same thing that Gold Key’s WALT DISNEY COMICS DIGEST had been doing since early-to-mid 1968! You can view the run of WDCD HERE ! A simple perusal of the many delightful covers of WDCD will reveal exactly that!
While the DIGEST crammed-in every aspect of late-sixties to mid-seventies Disney that it could, the corresponding WALT DISNEY SHOWCASE focused on just “ONE ASPECT of that whole” per issue – and did a fine job of it. Though, by its nature, it was easier to ignore (SKIP, NOT BUY THE ISSUE) those “aspects” that held little interest for me, such as the live-action features or pretty much any “Post-Walt” feature film.
As for the IDW SHOWCASE LOGO reflecting its classic-era predecessor, I’d credit the same “incredible eye for detail and respect for tradition” that David has always shown in ANY comics he’s been involved with as the primary reason why! Just as with the classic-styled logos for both THE BEAGLE BOYS and THE PHANTOM BLOT he simultaneously acknowledges the rich past of these comics, while moving them steadily forward! …Just my opinion… THAT will be missed!
Elaine:
I think that the wise (and frankly) fair thing to do would be to get a reasonable feel for the material that follows ours. After that, anyone that might prefer our versions to what’s come after, should make that preference known to publisher and parent company.
As I do not wish to come across as self-serving, I’ll say no more! And, of course, we remain an integral part of the Fantagraphics “Disney Masters” line – so we’re not gone altogether!
I expect no “handing-off pleasantries or acknowledgements of prior efforts” to appear in the books. All the better to make the changes more seamless. And, I would agree with your cited issues as the line of demarcation for the changeover.
Shifting gears, I’d say a significant determining factor in our personally-individualized lists would certainly be the characters that influenced you in childhood! After all, they’re a very large part of why we’re still around today! I may like Jubal Pomp or Eega Beeva, for instance, but I’m here for The Phantom Blot!
Achille:
You write: “Also, much as I like Yellow Beak, I don't know if he has enough appearances to qualify as ‘main cast’ — if we remove the Neverland, Woodpecker and Dwarfs stories, as one must in a headcanon such as yours where those things don't exist, he's only appeared in the original Pirate Gold, its abridged remake, and the Italian sequel.”
Like so much in life, this is purely subjective and governed by your personal tastes, influences, and whims!
What you say about Yellow Beak is objectively true!
But, he belongs in any such “Primary List” for his historical significance! In “Donald Duck Finds Pirate Gold Again”, I acknowledged this with Yellow Beak’s initial entrance:
YELLOW BEAK: Yo-Ho! Still remember yer ol’ shipmate, eh?
DEWEY: You took us on…
HUEY: …Our first adventure!
DONALD: And, 5,941 harrowing escapes later, we meet again!
…And I’ll bet that Donald remembers each and every one of those “harrowing escapes”, too!
Given such a significant role in the VERY FIRST AMERICAN DONALD DUCK COMIC BOOK ADVENTURE (with full acknowledgments to Federico Pedrocchi for getting there first) that spawned both an industry – and countless individual creative careers, Yellow Beak compares in overall importance to his particular fantasy realm as “Peter Parker’s Aunt May”, “Thomas and Martha Wayne”, and “Jor-El and Lara of Krypton” do to their own! …And, he’s the only one of those who “didn’t die” in order to give the world a series of historically great comic books!
He may also be the only “Disney Character” ever to transcend Disney – as he did HERE! Let alone break out of the “Duck and Mouse-verse” to additionally adventure with Peter Pan and The Seven Dwarfs!
This, of course, is the basis for my having Yellow Beak refer to his former mates as “Young Peter, Sharp Woodward, and the Seagoing Seven” - for anyone still out there who hasn’t figured that one out!
Something to Ponder: Am *I* the only living American who has written for Yellow Beak? …I wonder! Certainly, I’d say, for American publication! …Assuming folks like… say, the McGreals or someone else may have written him for European publication.
The Disney characters who "transcended Disney" may be few, but Oswald the Lucky Rabbit went there first (albeit forcefully), Toby Bear and Ortensia Whiskers with him… and if that's not enough to convince you, none other than Pete continued to appear, I'm told, in the non-Disney Oswald cartoons for several years even as Disney used their redesigned version in the first few Mickey Mouses. Which means that the old sea parrot was actually beat to the punch by the one who was his archenemy in the Barks story. Enough to turn anyone's beak yellow!
Amusing how, in both cases, the "Disneyscapee" ended up appearing in Walter Lantz comics…(Here's a question: as I understand it, Disney's contract when they bought Oswald back still allows Universal to reissue their post-Disney cartoons and comics with Ozzy. But would any legal problem arise if a publisher holding the license to Woody Woodpecker comics wanted to reprint his gold-finding romp? …Not that we don't all know Disney will eventually buy out the lot of them. The question is whether Universal and Warner Bros. make a last-ditch effort at merging or are devoured separately.)
And let us Ponder the Something… : well, if the McGreals or anyone else have written for Yellow Beak as of late, INDUCKS ain't telling. But while you are now, my research indicates that you weren't the only American alive to have written Yellow Beak back when you did so; your version of Finds Pirate Gold… Again! was (by a matter of months) just in the nick of time for the great Del Connell, who had penned Yellow Beak's adventures battling Captain Hook in Peter Pan Treasure Chest, to have seen it. (The book was from May 2011, he passed away in August.)
It is also possible that the DuckTales 2017 crew may feature a rebooted, angular version of him someday. Not that they've hinted at it specifically or anything, but they're very dedicated to bringing unexpected old characters back from the depths of Disney history, and he seems like a no-brainer. Certainly, if the show goes on for as long as DuckTales Classic did, they'll work at least a nod in.
Achille:
While I was aware of the Oswald situation – and even that of Pete – Yellow Beak remains the only such character to have done so exclusively within comics… and has done so without any “studio business dealings” as the impetus for his breakout.
Now, some non-Disney characters have (inadvertently?) found themselves on the converse of this journey. Bugs Bunny for example – and what looks for all the world to be a “Scooby-Doo Team-Up” with Donald drawn decades ago by Jack Manning, that I intend to post about in the future. Don’t spoil this for the rest of the readers if you already know about it.
I will defer to David Gerstein on any questions concerning the Oswald matter, as he is one of the world’s most renowned experts on The Lucky Rabbit! …Seriously, he IS! Hopefully, he sees this and chimes in.
But, Oswald cartoons were included as part of the two Universal “Woody Woodpecker and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection” DVD sets, released in 2007 and 2008! Five Oswald cartoons in each set, for a total of TEN. So, I guess Universal still has those in its vault.
Naturally, I was aware of Del Connell, and even posted on the occasion of his passing.
But, my question was if I am the sole living American to have written for Yellow Beak – since 2011, any angularly-animated future-version notwithstanding. And I believe that I am!
Then again, I was also the individual who wrote “the last original line of dialogue for WALT DISNEY’S COMICS AND STORIES” in 2011! But one thing you can always count on is that “things change”! That held true until 2015 – and I couldn’t be happier that it changed, because we got three more years of that singularly classic title. Now, with the coming “title change”, that same honor – as it applies to a series specifically titled “WALT DISNEY’S COMICS AND STORIES” – falls deservedly to Thad Komorowski!
Oh, there will be persons writing original lines of dialogue for something called “DISNEY COMICS AND STORIES”, but it looks as if the TRUE HONOR of a meaningful final association with the one-and-only “WALT DISNEY’S COMICS AND STORIES” looks to be Thad’s forever! I’m very happy for him!
Oh, I'm not going to make any comparative comments or complaints about the change until/unless the future warrants. Fear not! I'll give the new crew a fair chance to show their stuff. It's only the appreciation of what Team Gerstein has done that I was thinking of posting on Feathery as soon as there are issues without any of your names attached.
@Achille-- re Zantaf: I love the visual design of Zantaf's mobile lair and his robots in Bottaro's first Zantaf story, but I have to say he achieved reality in my headcanon because I really like Jensen's two Zantaf stories, "All in a Daze Work" and "Home to Roost" (giant chickens invade Duckburg!). These are in fact my two favorite Jensen stories, period.
re Yellow Beak: Others on my "extended cast" list aren't far beyond one-shot status: Mercedes Pujol, Amanda Fox (and they lack Yellow Beak's historical significance!). The line of demarcation is a bit fuzzy. You could argue that others such as Miss Penny Wise or Lah Deedah could be included, if these are. Just be glad I didn't list all the one-shot characters who have achieved reality in my headcanon! (Dr. Faunisky, anyone?)
re Witch Child/Hexina: I feel totally free in shaping my own headcanon to pick and choose among and even within stories. Nowhere is that picking and choosing more evident than with regard to Witch Child. I prefer her Fletcher appearance, and I even have a wooden figure of her à la Fletcher (from a Dutch wooden puzzle, where the figures can be removed to stand on their own). However, the stories I like best are drawn by Schmitz: he drew some stories where Magica appears but not Mim. Since I do not think Magica and Mim ever hung out together, the stories that pair them in that way don't work for me. So, I think of Hexina as looking the way Fletcher drew her, but I ascribe the plots of Schmitz-drawn stories to this character. And yes, I'm aware that the two visual versions of Witch Child were even mistaken for two separate characters later on!
Elaine:
You write: “Oh, I'm not going to make any comparative comments or complaints about the change until/unless the future warrants. Fear not! I'll give the new crew a fair chance to show their stuff. It's only the appreciation of what Team Gerstein has done that I was thinking of posting on Feathery as soon as there are issues without any of your names attached.”
With this, I couldn’t agree more!
…And I appreciate the… er, “appreciation”!
Also, as long as I’m so entrenched in “Awkward Statement Mode”... Better Miss Penny Wise” than “Pennywise the Clown”!
…Dare I say that “Pennywise the Clown” is one “Pennywise you WON’T …er, Miss”!
No, I’d better not say that. It’s a joke too awkwardly constructed even for me!
If I keep doing stuff like THIS, I may find that a “new crew” has taken over my Blog as well! …At least the comments will be “fresher and more modern”! …Dad-gum it all!
Here’s an interesting thought… Try to envision how those “fresh and modern folks” will write Eli Squinch!
…Is such a thing even possible?
“Fresh and Modern” sounds like one of those organic health food stores.
…As opposed to the “tasty junk-food diet” we’ve been serving up since 2015 and before?
Say, maybe the upcoming changes are part of some grand plan to make us all healthier! …All Hail Kale!
It seems that the revival of Walt Disney Showcase joins the list of "abruptly cancelled titles" unless it was always meant to be a mini-series, like Mickey Mouse Shorts: Season One and Donald Quest were.
My understanding was that both WALT DISNEY SHOWCASE and DONALD AND MICKEY were to be ongoing series. The latter to replace the ongoing DONALD DUCK and MICKEY MOUSE titles, and the former to be “exactly as billed” – a “showcase” for other worthy characters like Arizona Goof, The Beagle Boys, and The Phantom Blot.
I’d have figured there would be future issues devoted to The Junior Woodchucks, Super Goof, more Duck Avenger, Magica DeSpell, Eega Beeva, Gyro Gearloose, Lil Bad Wolf, and the series of “Mouseton P.D.” stories that feature Detective Casey and Brick Boulder! …And, of course, I’d hoped for Moby Duck! (Sigh!)
But, if you consider that even the venerable WALT DISNEY’S COMICS AND STORIES (a title that has existed SINCE 1940!) has been technically cancelled, to be rebooted with a new (but similar-sounding) moniker… and that the 2015 run of a title called UNCLE SCROOGE has been at least suspended, if not done away with entirely, in favor of another, more specifically-focused, title – it looks to me as if EVERYTHING that was in 2015 has come to something of an end, and the new sheriff/regime/broom is sweeping into these comics on a completely clean slate.
…But, what do *I* know!
I hope you find it in your heart to forgive me this off-topic but yesterday I was at Polish comic book convention and I both "Scooby-Doo Team Up" with Penelopy Pitstop. It's the first Scooby-Doo crossover story I actualy both since I'm a BIG Penelopy Pitstop (from the Perils reincarnation version)
Well... On one hand I think it's a cute story, I like few of the in-jokes and the narrator was a nice touch as is captures the feelingof the show and I like the art for most part but...
1. Man do the recicle art gets annyoing.
2. I'm tad confuse where this is ment to take place. Are we in Willie Coyoty country? Plus at moments the randomnes of the seting just felt tad lazy.
3. Man do they didn't put to much creativity in to Claws ways to kill-of Peneleopy here. All the inventive death traps where the best part of the oryginal show... They made a running gag about the Claw being unoryginal but that's feel like defending lack of creativity.
4. The bigest problem SPOILER - Wow, did the ending felt of character for Penelopy and the series in general. I like that they unmask the Claw but Penelopy would NEVER belive Sylvester is the Claw. It would be much more in-character if he would said some random lie and she would both it 100% (Bless her heart) And even if not I mean learning that Sylvester is the claw is sort of a BIG BOMB for her her she bearly reacts to her... This just felt like almost very anti-climatic ending to the series.. BAH! I shall ignore this as anny cannon ;) Shame, idea of Claw framing the Anthill mob was an ok idea...
SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP is never “off-topic” around here, Pan!
Without spoiling too much, I liked the story a lot – as is the case with EVERY issue of SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP!
While that particular artist tends to rely WAY TOO MUCH on model sheets, rather than plying whatever talents he himself may possess, I am never let down by the clever and enjoyable writing of Sholly Fisch – who has written every issue of SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP to date!
As far as the desert setting, didn’t the original animated series have many different settings? This was just another one of them.
All of the clever references Fisch throws into his stories clearly come from his being a long-time fan of Hanna-Barbera and DC Comics properties. They never fail to delight me. There’s no laziness to what he does. It’s more like what I try to do with the Disney comics, but with (so it would seem) fewer constraints on the humor.
And, I love the way he effectively ENDED “The Perils of Penelope Pitstop” saga with this story! After all, even the most ardent fans of the series would have to admit that from 1969 until 2018 is a VERY long time to be constantly “imperiled”! I’d say that Penelope and the Ant Hill Mob deserve the rest!
Another wonderful thing about this is that both “Scooby-Doo Where Are You” and “The Perils of Penelope Pitstop” debuted as part of the same CBS Television Saturday Morning Block of programming! …50 years ago, next year.
You should give other issues of SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP a try – or at least read some of my Blog posts on this uniquely great series! You won’t be sorry!
I read in digital Flinstones/Jetsones one and I think one more and they where fantastic. Sadly they don't come out in Poland so I etheir would had to order it by Amazon (which cost a lot) but I get them at resanble price from friends who have a comic book stand that appear only on comic book convention with plenty of American stuff. I also order from them two Carl Barks phantagraphic book and Romano Scarpa Snow White book (Ah, snow white and Penelopy share so much) so I already spent a fortune that day ;) I also got the Simpsons "Tree House of Horror" issue - the one with the Ghost Busters cover.
I think the story is fine for what it is, I just wish - As you said - the artist woudn realy less on posses he already have (or at least not repeat them as much) and try more of his own expressions etc.
And yes - this story has "writen by Hanna-Barbera hardocre fan" all over :)
I love Penelopy Pitstop (in her Peril reincarnation) and the series in general - aside from "Top Cat" it's the only one I bother to buy on DVD.
I guess one can make an argument that the re-used poses is a refreness to Hanna-Barbera's re-used animation ;)
P.S.
And yes, I read your blog post :) It was one of things that made me interested in reading them :)
Pan:
You write: “ I guess one can make an argument that the re-used poses is a reference to Hanna-Barbera's re-used animation ;) ”
That is one great – and funny- observation!
I’d get a few more issues of SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP, when your situation allows. They really are great! …And there WAS one with Top Cat! Though my favorites that employ classic H-B characters were the issues with The Flintstones, and Quick Draw McGraw!
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