Quite honestly, even *I'M* not sure where I'm going with this, so please forgive the humble author of this "Blogger-torial" (I'm a BLOGGER, not an EDITOR, hence the term) should it ramble a bit!
But, in this case, it's imperative that we BEGIN with what has become my Standard Disclaimer:
Just remember, I do not speak for IDW or anyone in its employ, any specific team of creative and editorial colleagues, or the copyright holders of any intellectual property mentioned here. I speak strictly for myself as both a long-time fan and as a dialogue creator – and those opinions are strictly my own.
Having gotten that important bit of business out of the way, let's begin!
"Riddle me this, all you Caped Crusaders out there... When is a FIRST also a LAST?"
Need I spell it out?
Okay... When "My FIRST Millions" becomes the LAST "Fresh and Modern" comic I will purchase from the revised IDW line!
For anyone who does not get the reference, it is from the text of the solicitations for the new incarnation of the IDW Disney comic books: "...featuring brand-new content for U.S. audiences with fresh and modern translations!"
Changing creative hands on a series is one thing - comic book publishers do it all the time, and it's "just part of the game" - but the needlessly gratuitous slam at the efforts of the previous "Translation and Dialogue Team" just sounds SO WRONG! Especially when it's not part of an ordinary conversation, or merely an expression of one's personal preference - but part of a publisher-sanctioned mass advertising effort!
And, it is all the more so, once I read the actual comics being so advertised!
To be perfectly honest, I have read the first two issues of this "series within a series" and if this is any indication of how my favorite comics are going to read going forward... they are "going forward" without me!
It truly PAINS me to say this, as my association with the American Disney comic book dates back to the waning days of DELL COMICS...
(I still have my original copy of this comic - and an upgrade acquired later!)
Through GOLD KEY...
(Still have this one too - and an upgrade as well!)
...And over EVERY PUBLISHER thru IDW!
(I have purchased MULTIPLE COPIES of this great story by Casty! And proudly given them out to new readers - all of whom have loved it!)
However, due to a number of publisher's internal workings - very few of which I actually understand the reasons behind, this "FIRST" will be my "LAST"!
This is not a decision I make lightly. Nor is it one that some might presumably regard as a reaction to my no longer being involved. No... It is primarily because I cannot bear to see these lifelong favorites READ (with a "Long-E") so blandly and so badly!
A prime component of the Disney tradition, beyond that of superior animation, impeccable character design, and compelling stories, is the use of lively dialogue to both advance and enhance a comics narrative!
Snappy patter and intriguingly unfamiliar words have been with us since Floyd Gottfredson and Carl Barks...
...Right though modern productions such as House of Mouse and New Ducktales!
So why was a decision made, somewhere, somehow, to inexplicably REMOVE such a defining aspect, that has persisted over generations and different forms of media, in the contemporary IDW comic books?
Let's shoo the "elephant" out of the "room" right away... Yes, I was part of a team that delivered intelligent, entertaining - and well-received - American English scripts for publication in the IDW comics! I'm very proud of the work our team did from 2015 through the first half of 2018... And hope we have future opportunities at IDW to put words in the mouths of the creations of Mr. Disney, Mr. Gottfredson, Mr. Barks, and so many others around the world.
BUT, having been steeped in the aforementioned tradition of lively and entertaining speech balloons for these beloved characters, it pains me to see work as bland as this!
And those who know me KNOW WELL that I would feel this way whether or not I'd ever been given the honor of working with some of the best characters ever to appear in comic books!
Previously, I'd advised everyone to try these "new direction" issues, and make up their own minds. Well, I've done exactly that, experiencing the first two issues of "Uncle Scrooge My First Millions"!
For the record, I STILL recommend that my readers do so, and come to their own decisions as to future purchases - uninfluenced by these comments.
But, after reading the second issue, I remain unconvinced, after seeing things like this!
When Scrooge gets bad financial news, it always takes the form of a joke, like this!
Even if Scrooge is intended to be "younger and less volatile" than Carl Barks would have him later be, you can still "snap 'n' crackle" more than that!
When Scrooge finds himself in a situation against an overpowering individual, the best he can say is... "You Bet!"? Really? Not even an awkwardly apologetic self-effacing line?
He doesn't even STAMMER, fer cryin' out loud!
And, when caught red-handed, having done something he clearly should not have done, there is no "humorously lame excuse" - just "Gasp! I've been caught!"
Um, we KNOW he's been "caught"! And, is "GASP!" the appropriate reaction for something you ALREADY KNOW THAT YOU DID and were busted? I THINK NOT!
I'd like to believe that the original author(s) didn't intend for their work to come across THIS INAPPROPRIATELY BLAND, given that they are working with the greatest creations of Mr. Disney, Mr. Gottfredson, and Mr. Barks - and are following a LONG LINE of "creative ancestors" from America and around the world!
I know from experience that not all humor properly translates from one language to another - but the conventions of this uniquely wonderful art form are clear, regardless of one's native tongue!
And, when we get something like this...
Or, this...
...Those conventions - the conventions that the American comics audience have come to live by - are no longer being followed! And, worst of all, it would appear to be "by design" in the packaging of these stories for that very same American audience!
So, to make a long story just a tad shorter, for the first time ever, I am officially giving up on what has been my life-long favorite group of comic book titles - unless or until a translator is engaged that shows more of that Disney Comics Spirit than one Erin Brady, who is apparently the de-facto American English dialogue source for all of these comics!
Please bear in mind that I am NOT saying that translator must be "me", or anyone I've previously worked with! Just that (for MY continued enjoyment, as an individual consumer) it should not be Ms. Brady, because the work she's demonstrated thus far - in the FAIR CHANCE I've given that work - is not worth the cover price of the issues! Note that this is strictly an ordinary "consumers' choice" on my part! Nothing more! ...I would never call for anyone's job, and I'm NOT doing so here! Indeed, I wish Ms. Brady great success, with NO ill will whatsoever. And, if her work is as successful as her backers hope, my personal purchases will never be missed! If more such comics can be sold, the readership expanded - and I save some money and additional storage space in the process - that's a good outcome for everyone involved! Win/Win/Win!
Also, as this is "just the opinion of one reader, who also happens to be an oft-read Blogger in the Disney comics community", I will be very fair to the New Direction issues, and those who have brought them into being... AND NOT REVIEW ANY OF THESE ISSUES going forward!
This Blog is brimming with praise for IDW Disney comic books circa 2015 - mid 2018! Since I clearly cannot continue to discuss them with the same level of enthusiasm, I WILL SIMPLY NOT DISCUSS THEM AT ALL!
That way, no one can accuse me of sitting back in my den and lobbing grenades! That is not - and never will be - my way!
My desire for good comic books featuring these beloved characters will have to be satisfied by looking backward at older issues! Issues that were FUN to read!
Such delights can come from unexpected places, such as this wonderful tale by Vic Lockman and the great Harvey Eisenberg, that I recently read as a reprint in Gold Key's CHIP 'N' DALE # 2 (1968)!
How's this for a rarity? A Chip 'n' Dale story that does not find them being pests, defending against an attacker or invader, stumbling upon something they do not understand, or having something put their friendship to the test! This is simply a uniquely-plotted, finely-drawn, eight-page masterpiece!
If I can this easily find such a story for Chip 'n' Dale, just imagine the wonders I can unearth for other characters!
And I *will* discuss those older comics at this Blog! There are so many of them, often available at lower secondary market prices than the new "Fresh and Modern" comics, that you cannot go wrong!
You don't need to be "Fresh and Modern", if you are "Clever and Funny"!
This was a VERY DIFFICULT post to prepare! But, we've all gotten through it now!
There are so many wonderful things in life for me to enjoy, like the aforementioned older comics and new comics that reflect the sensibilities I prefer, like this one...
...Classic and new Blu-ray sets...
...Pizza, spring days, good music, good friends... and best of all granddaughter Averi who can now stand!
In these terms, you must admit, the absence of something like this becomes truly inconsequential! Those who like it can have it with my blessings! If things get better, do let me know and I'll be back with my usual brand of unbridled enthusiasm!
But for now, please continue to join me right here for (MANY) more "Adventures in Comic-Boxing" and "Separated at Mirth" posts, comics reviews and other stuff.
I promise to make it... um, what'd I say above? Oh, yeah! "CLEVER AND FUNNY"!
...And, even if it isn't, it'll come out very quick! Why, there's probably a New Comics Review directly above this very post! ...Hope you enjoy it!
Images used in the post are for review purposes only!
...Except for those of Averi! They are mine and Esther's forever!
Last look at the disclaimer, lest anyone take offense, or make any incorrect assumptions!
Just remember, I do not speak for IDW or anyone in its employ, any specific team of creative and editorial colleagues, or the copyright holders of any intellectual property mentioned here. I speak strictly for myself as both a long-time fan and as a dialogue creator – and those opinions are strictly my own.
And, having expressed said opinions in good faith, I trust that the powers that guide the future destinies of these comics will "understand where this opinion piece comes from", and that no future unpleasant feelings on anyone's part will result from its being published.
43 comments:
A completely understandable decision — though one dares hope it will not apply to the consistently-great Disney Masters, which have, at this point, become the real place to get new, good Disney comics in the U.S.A., I believe. The duties of a Wikimaster demand that I continue reading the works of Ms Brady, if only to cover their existence on the Wiki, and besides, I have, I think, a somewhat higher tolerance than you for bad writing (I got through all the ComiXology X-Mickeys for the sake of the art, even if the dialogue is of about the same level as… this). But I am, in spirit, with you.
Perhaps the one argument against this choice is that, well, not all of the Fresh And New issues' contents are translations. Disney Comics and Stories #1 may have suffered inexplicable Walt-amputation, and the Italian story that makes up its first half is another painful Brady translation in the same mould as My First Millions, but the second story was a perfectly witty tale by Byron Erickson. As long as the dialogue was inc English to begin with, New-IDW fortunately doesn't try to muck with it. Meaning that as long as they maintain a supply of non-Italian stories, half of their output will be perfectly legible. That's… something…
And don't worry, I, and others, will inform you if IDW steps up their game to actually entertaining levels again. I mean, at some point they'll have to realize what they're doing wrong… one hopes.
Also, Averi is once again an immensely more appealing sight than anything Ms Brady has thrown at us so far. But of, course, you knew that already.
Achille:
I intend to be part of the wonderful “Disney Masters” collection from Fantagraphics, until someone tells me that I’m not! Your praise of that series is well-warranted!
Yes, Byron Erickson’s story was the highlight of the New Direction issues I’ve read thus far! And, ironically, it was not “Fresh and Modern” but “Strictly Old School” which, given his background as a founding member of Gladstone Series One, is exactly what you’d expect from an old pro like him!
Still, the promise of some occasional nuggets is not enough, when I can concentrate my resources on back issues that are more to my taste! Besides, Esther says I have too many comics already… and I might as well make her happy in some small way, for all she puts up with! …Don’t tell her I’ll “come back” if the quality improves sufficiently! Ya know like “MAJORLY sufficiently!”
If you so choose, I’d be happy to have you act as my “coal mine canary” regarding the quality of future issues! Despite the current state of things, I *would* like to return someday – but only if I can do so with my characteristic enthusiasm reset to maximum!
And Averi is so amazing that I had to end what was a very unpleasant post to write with something wonderful! Thank you for your thoughts on her! She’s just one-year-old now!
Just from the screenshots I’ve seen here and in other places I’m giving these new fakes er takes a big pass. I will buy their DuckTales stuff and finish buying the stuff you folks worked so well on. Most of my comic money these days goes to Fantagraphics wonderful Disney HC’s, LOA’s Disney comic strip books, and Disney back issues. I recently acquired the first appearance of Moby Duck and 20 issues of Gemstone’s WDC&S 64 page giants for $1 each.
Oh and of course I love the wonderful Scooby-Doo Team-Up which I am buying as TPB’s. This is in my opinion currently the best comic on the market today. Did you watch the Batman Brave and the Bold cartoon series when it was on and the more recent team-up movie with Scooby-Doo? I can’t recommend it enough. I also tried the new Jonny Quest comic from DC. I really enjoy the cartoon series and the Comico series but I’m undecided on this. Have you read it?
I can’t be a canary for you but as long as you’re talking old issues and even new I’ll be right back here to read your thoughts.
Honesty is always appreciated, Joe. Dark Horse published Artibani & Mottura's adaptation of "Moby Duck" with Scrooge as Ahab and Donald as Ishmael, which I recall was highly-anticipated...but with "English translation" by you-know-who, though the art and storytelling style lends some gravitas that keeps it readable. I'm looking for the upcoming "Don Quixote" book with Goofy, but the dialogue will be flat.
Over the course of 30 years, I've noticed that whatever happens to Disney comic books in the U.S. is part of a ripple effect in the comic book publishing "industry" in the U.S., usually when there's a shuffling of the deck and there's an assumption that the books sell themselves amidst speculation about currying favor from an unpredictable target demographic. In the 1990's, they wanted to appeal to businessmen who shopped at the comic book store after work and carried out their purchases in attaches. In the early 2000's it was all about keeping the polarizing Wizard Magazine/Brooklyn Bizzaro convention vulture crowd. It's all a matter of knowing when to..take a conservative break and savor the good stuff that comes out in the meantime.
I feel like we’re losing something of value by replacing thoughtfully scripted Disney comics with merely translated stories, some of which feels like micro-management, replacing many scripters with just one who translates it and sends it through. The books May keep a schedule better, but they feel mechanical, like they’re cranked out by one of Gyro’s machines.
That’s a great way to put it, Deb!
There’s a job done “Mechanically”, and there’s the same job done with “Heart and Soul”!
Our team did it with “Heart and Soul”. Presently, the job is being done “Mechanically”. And readers are just now SEEING THE DIFFERENCE and expressing their opinions!
So, yes… Absolutely, we have “lost something”! And I hope, someday, somehow, we can get it back!
As to the matter of scheduling that you mention… Yes, there were vast and inexcusable gaps in our team’s last several issues. And, perhaps as you say, the “Mechanical” approach is better suited to maintaining monthly releases.
But, having been part of the process, I can state unequivocally that, whatever unknown reason caused those delays, it was not due to any actions, or lack thereof, by the former “Translation and Dialoguing” team!
Speaking strictly for myself (…as I SO OFTEN find myself doing, of late), I turned in good professional-quality work that was well received by its audience – and never failed to do so BEFORE IT WAS DUE! Given this, I clearly had no hand in the delays that persisted – and am left to ponder why someone as adept and reliable as I have proved myself to be – over several licensed publishers – is currently excluded from this particular enterprise!
Anyone who might have an actual answer to this mystery is welcome to comment here!
‘Rehab:
“Honesty” is what we’ve ALWAYS been about here!
You’ve been with us for a long while, and you may (or may not) have noticed that, if I don’t like something, I tend to IGNORE IT, rather than give I what I believe to be “someone’s honest effort” a bad review just because it’s not to my taste.
This is true of anything I discuss here… comics, DVDs, movies, TV shows, etc. I’d much rather say good things about something I like (and, hopefully, make it “just that more successful” for my efforts), than run down something that may have some value to persons other than myself. …Ya know, like so much of the REST of the Internet!
So it was with the 2015- mid-2018 IDW Disney comics, superior DC Comics in a similar vein like SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP and BATMAN ‘66, older Warner Archive DVD’s, many of the better animation DVD releases, and so on.
The “honest” (there’s that word again) fact of the matter is that I DO NOT LIKE THE FLAT, UNINSPIRED, AND MECHANICAL (Thank you, Deb!) WAY THESE COMICS READ!
So, rather than run them down just for being something I don’t like (…Ya know, like so much of the REST of the Internet), I will simply not review them going forward! One might even consider that a “class move” on my part, given what has happened, and how it happened!
Of course, it’s also difficult to review something you will no longer purchase, but I digress!
SHIFTING GEARS: I believe that the ‘90s Period-of-Excess-Falsehoods-and-Bad-Behavior on the part of Marvel, Image, and their “in-bed-co-conspirator” Wizard, was the WORST THING TO EVER HAPPEN TO THE COMIC BOOK INDUSTRY!
It was when STORIES (the thing comic books were ALWAYS about) became irrelevant, and people began purchasing – not based on quality – but on the promise of future riches! I believe we STILL suffer for that today!
Jim B:
I can’t thank you enough for those comments, as they so echo my own feelings on the matter! (…While disagreement with your humble host is always welcome here, agreement is much more… um, “agreeable”!)
Unofficially, if anything, this move seems to have drawn more support and rallying around the Fantagraphics books and that is not merely “a good thing”, but “a GREAT thing”! Hopefully, the powers that be will see this, and allow them to go on indefinitely “as-is”!
As for that “echoing thing”, your activity in back issues (of what are still some of the greatest comics of all, regardless of the form they may currently take) is exactly what I mean!
Again, it is a “consumer’s choice” on my part to stop “dropping dimes” (okay, 3.99 – 5.99) on something that has changed to the point that I no longer enjoy it.
For what it’s worth, it’s hardly specific to IDW Disney, as most mainstream DC Comics now look more like Image Comics (which I despise – see my comment above) than what my (pardon the expression) “image” of a DC Comic should be! I’ve dropped many of them in response to less-than-palatable changes as well. But, I’m guessing that DC’s changes have been more successful with an audience that came out of the period I described in that last comment… or younger consumers who never knew a comics industry that functioned any other way! So, with certain titles excepted, DC seems to be doing well without me – as IDW Disney will, hopefully, do as well.
Breaking the comment, because Google tells me so!
Resuming the comment...
Even from here, I take great delight in your back issue score! You got TWENTY great, classic, and fun-to-read “Giant” Disney comics for the price of LESS THEN FOUR copies of “Uncle Scrooge My First Millions” # 3 (at 5.99, I’m told)! Who really came out on top in that scenario? Oh, waitaminnit… It’s YOU!
And, for a DOLLAR MORE, the first appearance of Moby Duck? How do you beat that? YOU DON’T! Was it MOBY DUCK # 1, or the actual first appearance in DONALD DUCK # 112? Either way, you’re in for some good stuff! I bought both of them originally off the newsstand and, needless to say, still have ‘em!
The 1968 CHIP ‘N’ DALE I cite in the post came in at 1.60 as well! So, this is not “the end of something”! Far from it! It’s only the beginning of so many great Disney comic books to enjoy – from the 1940s onward!
The “contemporary itch” will have to be scratched by the superb SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP and a scant few other titles in that vein. Funny thing is that, two days ago, I read SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP # 44 (the current issue with Dick Dastardly) and, if you ever miss the way the former team wrote the Disney comics, then you've got to read what SDTU’s brilliant writer Sholly Fisch does with this! It reads just as I would have done! Good gags and character bits, wordplay, etc.! No ego intended, just truth!
Time and the usual obligations permitting, I hope to review both SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP # 44 and the DEATHSTROKE / YOGI BEAR SPECIAL from DC soon! The latter, though decidedly unconventional, is far more clever and funny than I could ever have hoped it to be! And, as I’ve come to say… You don’t need to be “Fresh and Modern”, if you’re “Clever and Funny” tm !” …Rallying cry, anyone?
Have I seen BATMAN THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD? Just click on the “Batman” or “DVD Reviews” labels, and you’ll find several glowing reviews of this great series! Given my usually (…all together now) “Horrifically Busy” life, it became futile to even try to watch it on TV. So, as I often do, I wait for it on DVD and watch it at my so-called leisure! It was an amazing series that combines Silver Age Comic Book sensibilities with contemporary-styled humor – and gave us an fabulous array of DC characters, and even Space Ghost and Scooby-Doo! Naturally, I got the recent Batman/Scooby-Doo DVD team-up!
When either THE SIMPSONS or FAMILY GUY reach their eventual “final episode”, they should both take a page from the magnificent final episode of BATMAN THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD!
Don’t be a “canary”… There are a lot of “puddy tats” out there! But, please do be a regular around here, because we're gonna discuss a LOT of great old comics!
The “Adventures in Comic-Boxing” and “Separated at Mirth” posts are the result of my now undergoing the ultimate effort of organizing my collection once and for all! And I find things almost daily to share with you in this way!
It is also my intention to up the number of Comics Reviews, interspersing with “Adventures in Comic-Boxing” and “Separated at Mirth”, to keep it interesting… and “Clever and Funny” tm !
I look forward to having you along for all of it!
To clarify, my comments about micromanaging and deadlines are purely speculative, as I am not in the production of IDW or Disney’s comics (except perhaps as a customer), and the purpose of my post is not to accuse anyone of anything. (Whew! I’ve got my disclaimer mojo working!)
Of course, Deb!
NONE of us here speak for ANYONE BUT THEMSELVES!
I never saw it any other way!
In the post-World War II days, there was a pretty definite demographic of comic book buyers--and I'm guessing it was mainly preteens and teens, plus a few "young at heart" adults--or parents who would buy comics for their kids and later sneak a peek themselves. Comics were written at a certain level of sophistication which suggested that the targeted audiences were definitely beyond the toddler and early reader stage. To judge by the output of publishers such as Dell or National Comics (later DC), there was a pretty steady market. This clearly defined market existed up into the mid-70's and possibly into the 80's before getting supplanted by new technology, such as video games and personal computers. After that original time period, the demographic shifted as comics buyers grew older and fewer younger readers were jumping on board. So emerged an era of gimmicks and gags, both internal and external, to draw in the young readers and expand the existing fan bases. Today, we have reached a point where there are so many choices--TV channels, phone apps, social media--that comics audiences have become extremely specialized. We can't say that comics are "for kids" any more, because "kids" for the most part no longer read comics--with some rare exceptions, of course.
Had to continue this for reasons already noted earlier.
So the question I'm building up to is this, and one that I have asked before. Who exactly do the folks at Disney think are buying their comics? Do they really think that young teens and preteens are hanging out at comic book shops eagerly awaiting the latest adventures in print of characters they can bring up on their phones at a moment's notice? Do they believe that by changing up the game and making the dialogue bland and insipid that this is going to bring in scores of eager young readers?
And where exactly do they expect to sell these "new, fresh" comics? They are, as I have observed before, not sold at the Disney Stores, nor are they sold in the theme parks. They are also no longer to be found at supermarkets, drug stores, gas stations, or even Barnes & Noble stores. The only places that I am aware of that regularly sell comic books these days are specialty comic book shops or online comic book dealers. And how do the PTB at Disney expect to lure potential new young readers into these comic book shops? Or get them to shop online?
There have been so many societal shifts in every area that comics buying is surely in a state of flux. But I continually wonder why Disney consistently alienates its most devoted fans. How do they hope to profit? Just asking.
Ah, Joe, you are indeed a class act. You have always spent your energy accenting the positive and ignoring the negative, but you get kudos from me for continuing to do that even in a situation where your own work was replaced by work of much lower quality. (As for the translator: she may well be a fine translator, she's just not a fine translator of American Disney comics.)
I have sadly come to the same conclusion you have reached, and Uncle Scrooge 41, with the lead story dialogued by Thad, will be my last regular American Disney comic book for the foreseeable future. As Achille notes, the backup story in U$ or [W]DCS will sometimes be one originally written in English, but that's not enough to get me to spend the cover price, nor to support by my purchase the current path taken by IDW Disney comics. This is a big deal, because I've bought every American issue of Uncle Scrooge, Donald Duck and WDCS from Gladstone's second issue on. (And in childhood, was hooked on Scrooge by reading the Dell and Gold Key comics my older siblings had accumulated, and bought some on my own.) Also, I have successfully recruited three children over the years to the ranks of Disney Duckfans by buying comics for them. Even when the quality was sub-par (*ahem* BOOM for a while there...), I felt I should support New American Disney Duck Comics. Not now.
I bought the Dark Horse Disney Classics Moby Dick, because I already knew from reading the French publication of that story that I love the art, and even with a lackluster translation, it's worth it to me to have the story on good paper in English. But I don't know how many of those Disney Classics I'll end up buying.
Yes, as Achille said, the Fantagraphics Disney Masters books are now the go-to for me for great Disney comics in English. I'll certainly get the mostly-Duck books, whether the stories are new to me (Bottaro) or not (Milton/Jippes). I'm crossing my fingers, hoping for a Rota volume or two!
The other comics I buy: Unbeatable Squirrel Girl is my favorite, though I'm sad about the change in artist. Ms Marvel. The new Shuri comic. Scooby-Do Team-Up, if the characters they're teaming up with are ones I'm familiar with. Mystery Science Theater 3000: they insert the MST3K characters, with commentary, into old public domain comics. Plus the comics I buy to give to young friends (and get to read first!): Lumberjanes, Dynamite's Nancy Drew, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Unstoppable Wasp, Star Wars Adventures (the IDW all-ages one). But for new Disney Duck comic books, I'll have to go back to getting them from abroad, as I did when none were being published in the USA.
@scarecrow:
You know, I had never thought about this — how do most people get their comics in the States? Here in France, they can, of course, usually be found in newspaper stands/shops or supermarkets, but I (and, I think, most readers, whether young or old) am simply subscribed to the books and will receive my shiny new Scrooge issue every month in the mail. Is this not done in America? Or at least, not as much?
Oh, and selling them in the Parks might be the single most obviously brilliant marketing idea that Disney's executives have missed. If they want to get new, younger readers in, advertising the comics at the Park would absolutely be the way to go.
Scarecrow:
I shouldn’t ask this, because you leave so many great comments, and make so many fine points, on MY Blog… but when are you going to start a Blog of your own? You have so much of interest to say, and say it from such great perspective that I know we’d all go there regularly!
For instance: “Who exactly do the folks at Disney think are buying their comics? Do they really think that young teens and preteens are hanging out at comic book shops eagerly awaiting the latest adventures in print of characters they can bring up on their phones at a moment's notice?”.
No! Young teens and preteens are NOT hanging out at comic shops eagerly awaiting the latest adventures of Disney characters… unless you expand your definition of “Disney characters” to include Spider-Man and Wolverine!
“Do they believe that by changing up the game and making the dialogue bland and insipid that this is going to bring in scores of eager young readers?”
They MUST BELIEVE it, but it won’t be so. Because “eager young readers?” are NOT the audience for these comics in the USA. They probably haven’t been since the end of the 1970s!
Oh, that’s not to say that a parent might not see Mickey Mouse on the cover of a comic book and buy it for a child. That’s exactly what my Grandma Millie did for me in 1959-1960! But, since I have never seen an individual IDW Disney comic book that could be impulse-purchased anywhere outside of a comic book specialty shop, the odds of this become less and less.
Sure, Amazon and other online retailers may carry the trade-paperback or hardcover collections of such comics – but I don’t think those packages are going to garner very many “parent-impulse” buys. I’d say mostly just purchases from the already-existing adult fanbase… which it appears that they have further alienated – as you note in this next quote!
“There have been so many societal shifts in every area that comics buying is surely in a state of flux. But I continually wonder why Disney consistently alienates its most devoted fans. How do they hope to profit? Just asking.”
I wish I knew the answer to that, but I don’t! And it has finally cost them one very longtime, very loyal and dedicated purchaser in yours truly! Again, I hope they “get to where they want to go” without me and, presumably, others like me. But, in a business as relatively small and tight as the American comic book market, sending the core of your consumers away hardly seems the way to go.
Quite honestly, if the Powers-That-Be (be they publisher or copyright holder) really want some insight into this truly unique niche market, they should consider reading the comments on this Blog (from their ACTUAL audience), or those at GeoX’s Duck Comics Revue!
It’s free market research, folks! Come and get it!
Elaine:
You write: “ Ah, Joe, you are indeed a class act. You have always spent your energy accenting the positive and ignoring the negative, but you get kudos from me for continuing to do that even in a situation where your own work was replaced by work of much lower quality. (As for the translator: she may well be a fine translator, she's just not a fine translator of American Disney comics.) ”
I can’t thank you enough for those kind words!
I try, believe me *I TRY* (very earnestly) to not be like a great deal of the rest of the Internet – and words like yours (and other similarly echoed sentiments) are what makes me feel I have succeeded! And, all the more so in view of the present set of circumstances – which, alas, appear to be of far greater importance to the consumers, than to the producers.
I’d also like to thank you for your expressed view of “the translator”, vs. “the end product”. Ms. Brady may (not that I’d have any way of knowing) be a great translator of articles on Disney and the like (and more power – and my compliments – to her, if she is), but she is NOT a good “dialogue provider” for stories like this, that have a decades-old tradition of applicable rules! This is certainly so in the United States.
My criticisms, such as they are, are not unfounded, as I provide ample examples of such shortcomings in this very post. I’d never simply be “critical”, without showing cause! I don’t like the work, but have made sure that you Blog readers, the Powers-That-Be (be they publisher or copyright holder), and even Ms. Brady herself, will UNDERSTAND why I don’t like the work! Perhaps improvements will be made, perhaps not. But, I’m never contrary only for the sake of being a contrarian.
To do this job right, you need more than linguistic and grammatical skills. You need a “depth of knowledge” in these very unique comics and, if you will, a “depth of soul”! There is a very long and healthy list of such persons, beginning with “The Godfather of American Translation and Dialoging” Geoffrey Blum – and on through Byron Erickson, John Clark, Gary Leach, Bob Foster, Dwight Decker, David Gerstein, Jonathan Gray, Thad Komorowski, and (humbly submitted last) Yours Truly!
I have no doubt there are some American fans would also know this stuff well enough to do a superb job. Even our own French friend “Achille Talon”, with his magnificent knowledge and use of English and knowledge of and love for these comics, would do a wonderful job!
That’s my view on the subject and if you, Elaine, regard that as being a “Class Act”, I’ll accept that particular mantle – proudly!
I passed on the Dark Horse books for the same reason I’m opting-out of IDW. Everyone’s different, but I value WRITING more than art. Even Kay Wright, an artist whose work I make no bones about disliking, has drawn some very enjoyable stories that were WELL WRITTEN – some of those were even written by Carl Barks! So, no matter the art, I’m passing on these as well. (…More of that free Market Research, for your analyzing pleasure, folks!)
It may also interest all of you to know that, in the “Early Days of Boom!” I was also inches away from opting-out! That was REALLY the first time I ever considered, what was for me, such a drastic step!
But, I was assured that “things were going to change”… And change they did – much for the better! It was too little and too late, but those later Boom! issues (especially those last four months) became exactly what I had hoped for!
I certainly intend to stay with the wonderful line of Fantagraphics books – and invest more of my time and funds in back issues that I will continue to enjoy!
PS: Buy *every issue* of SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP! I have nothing invested in it, save my fannish-devotion, but it is the BEST such comic book available now!
Achille:
I won’t speak for Scarecrow, but most folks here in the USA get their comic books from comic book retail specialty shops and online sources such as “Mile High Comics” or “Lone Star Comics aka Mycomicsshop.com”.
I have an excellent retail shop, and also use and recommend the two online sources I’ve mentioned above. The online providers are well-stocked in both new and back issues!
Mail subscriptions were very big when I was a kid. Probably not so much anymore.
We’ve been talking about selling Disney comics in the parks since the 1980s. …That we’re STILL talking, must tell you something!
Additional note to Elaine:
I’ve since learned that Thad will have a story in UNCLE SCROOGE # 42! So that will be where it ends for me. Just making sure you know about # 42.
Kids are reading comics...but not traditional "monthly magazine" comics. Scholastic Books and other publishers have very successful lines of paperback "graphic novels" aimed specifically at younger readers that usually sell at about $9.99 a book, dealing with subjects that are relatable to pre-teen readers. Also, manga (Japanese comics) have a big pre-teen through 20s readership.
Deb:
Oh, I'm certain that's all true - and, as Averi grows older, I expect to see lots of it up close - but we also know what they're NOT reading! And, I seriously doubt that flat translation and dialogue (...truly my only beef with all this) is going to change that!
"And, when caught red-handed, having done something he clearly should not have done, there is no "humorously lame excuse" - just "Gasp! I've been caught!" "
Neither is there in the German version, but he does say "Oops, now it's getting embarrassing" or something to that effect (been a while since I read the story). I'll have to dig out my eight years old LTB to compare the rest of the dialogue (fresh and modern stories, eh!)...
Did the Donald Trump reference survive at least?
I wouldn't be surprised to see IDW packing it in soon. This change of teams seems to be a desperate last attempt to make any money with Disney comics. I do get the impression that re-colouring every story has been pricey, and with issues usually containing very few comics, appeal is probably limited, unless they go the European route and change to digest pocketbooks - which is cheaper but much, much more cost effective and more likely to be successful. Of course, I'm also just speculating and looking at how the market has evolved in my home country.
Spectrus:
The German version is STILL superior to our uninspired version, because Scrooge at least shows some EMBARRASSMENT at having been caught! Here, the response (as shown) is both inappropriate AND illogical!
Remarkably, especially given the current set of real-world political circumstances, the “Donald Trump reference” was left intact! These “Fresh and Modern” translations must not be as fastidiously monitored as our “Old Fashioned” ones were, because that would have NEVER stood. I would have been forced by editorial decree to create a different “parody-name” of “some well-known rich guy”… and some o’ those “fussy-forum-folks” would decry my diverging from “The Original”, for my troubles! (Sigh!)
The “digest pocketbook” format has never been successful in the USA. Save for Archie, who distributes theirs under a different system than other publishers. Gold Key and DC have tried it without any long-term success, and later, the same applied to Gladstone Series One, and Gemstone.
I, personally, would hate to see the IDW Disney comics become relegated to such a format… but, since I’m no longer purchasing them, it matters not.
Looking up the other scene, Scrooge says "Er... can't you just believe me?" after being asked "How are you going to convince me that such a long railway track is feasible?"
And indeed, in the "looking at graphs" scene, there IS a pun in German, but it's hard to translate ("my sales of oranges and mangos have dropped by a juicy amount" would be an approximation). But yeah, I certainly see the flaws here. Something better could be done. You can even see the blank space in the speech bubbles now! I assume Fausto Vitaliano is happy that his stories are hitting the US market and won't be complaining about the translation - but I'm sure he'd be happier if all twenty episodes of the series were imported!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The reason I mention the pocketbook format is because it's IMO the best suited format for most 3-tiered stories. It makes a big difference if a horrible story such as "The Colossal Coin of Cashdownia" is stuck in the middle of a 200+-pages book like in Germany (surrounded by better comics, so you don't feel so bad about spending your money) or released in an issue that barely contains anything else to justify its existence. Topolino, while not as thick as the "Lustige Taschenbücher", also always contains several stories across roughly 100 pages.
Actually the two formats could peacefully co-exist if IDW would relegate older, more "dated-looking" stories to the digests and focus on modern stuff (that doesn't need visual retouching) for the magazine lines. That would also be a "best of both worlds" scenario, as there is so much vintage material that could be released without taking away the precious place for newer stories or having to be modernized in any way.
Actually, the guy confronting Scrooge is a far better example of the quality divide - in the German version he says "Unlikely. What do we have here? Ah, the copy of a message that you never sent." Now I'm starting to nod my head in agreement...
Spectrus:
So, in view of your latest comments above, the German version REMAINS superior to our uninspired version!
The actions/reactions of the various characters are far better conveyed in your version, than in the "Fresh and Modern" version we got! The standard conventions of this type of storytelling are also more closely adhered to (as with the "juicy" pun)!
I feel we should ALL "nod [our respective heads] in agreement"!
It's as I've said elsewhere... No matter how talented an individual might be in other forms of translation, this is a specialty into which you cannot "just plug anyone"!
Excuse the late reply Joe, but since you pointed me at this blog entry, I have to weigh in with my opinion.
I am getting the impression in looking at the more recent Disney Comics that more of the job of delivering a "total package" is being taken over by Disney Publishing Worldwide (which officially revived "Disney Comics" as an imprint back in 2014), so maybe they are selecting the translator (in this case Erin Brady) too -- that applies to recent Disney Comics from both IDW and Dark Horse. I would suspect if the in-house Editor of record at both companies were selecting the translator, Dark Horse would employ a different one than IDW. Or maybe that only applies to stories generated in-house (by mostly Italian writers and artists) by Disney Publishing Worldwide. Not having people to essentially "polish" the final script may simply be trying to hold the production costs down.
While I definitely feel it is a very nice thing to have, in addition to the raw translation, a "script adaptation" by a writer who brings an extra layer to the dialogue (and captions), I still view it as an "extra" (which is not to say "extraneous", because it always feels nice to see the basic story "Plus"-ed). But unless the script adapter or translator is actually working against the original (Italian in this case) writer's intent, he or she is not altering the basic story. It's the BASIC story as it already existed (not in English) that I'm mainly responding to -- the setting, plot, characters and characterization that inherent in the story that was there when it was first created. All the PLUSing in the world is not going to "make" a story that wasn't that great to begin with, nor is a flat translation going to totally ruin it. It may not help it, but if the story's so borderline as originally written that a script adapter can either destroy it or breath life into it where it didn't exist before, then there's something wrong with the stories being selected by the editor. Just my two cents.
Having said that, I find that the general direction of story selection has become over the years (since BOOM took over license) much more progressively a mixed bag. It seemed to improve at first for some years after IDW took over, but then slowly started drifting more into a mixed bag again -- I am excluding of course, the older stories reprinted from US comics. That is not in any way disparaging what the previous translation/adaptation team was doing, which was fine work. It's probably unfair for example, to hold up Carl Barks as a yardstick for comparison as a writer, because nothing published by Western Publishing after he retired could hold a candle to his work. Few things before that, if truth be told.
There have been many Disney Comics titles over the last decade or so that I didn't think much of: KINGDOM HEARTS (TokyoPop/Yen Press), WIZARDS OF MICKEY (Boom), Disney Hero Squad ULTRAHEROES (Boom), DUCK AVENGER (IDW), DUCKTALES (IDW, from the newer animated series) and UNCLE $CROOGE MY FIRST MILLIONS are some of the titles that spring to mind, plus things from Papercutz like X-MICKEY and MINNIE & DAISY. On the other hand I quite enjoyed the miniseries MICKEY MOUSE SHORTS (IDW), and wished that could have continued for a while, so it's not a case of anything breaking the status-quo being bad.
Dennis:
I’ll “excuse your late reply”, only if you “excuse my much later one”!
I tend to agree with your assessment of Disney Publishing Worldwide moving into areas heretofore handled by the various individual licensed publishers – and that’s apparently what must have happened at IDW. Everything that happened, and the “way and when” it happened, would point to that. Yet, not even a brief (even terse) indication of such ever reached me.
The work just stopped coming in, there was a long pause in publishing the books (perhaps you remember that), and then they magically (“Disney magic-ally”?) reappeared under the translation-stylings of Ms. Brady. There was a “little more” to it than that, as the pause-period unfolded… but nothing I can say publicly, or even privately.
Happily, at least for the moment, Fantagraphics remains a shiny exception to that (presumed) rule, and the fact that they are still publishing, while the others seem to have cut back or ceased should be considered in any possible future situations.
By the way, it’s not merely a matter of “having people to essentially ‘polish’ the final script [and therefore] hold the production costs down.” We get our stories in the published Italian (or Dutch, etc.), and are the only non-editor-level hands to process them. So, having Ms. Brady do an ordinary translation, or having me do a full-blown golly-whopper, would involve the SAME number of individuals processing the original finished Italian story!
The only way this could result in cost reductions would be if “Translator A” were less expensive than “Translator B”. And, speaking as “Translator B”, for that to be true my counterpart would almost have to be a volunteer – or be completely costed to some other bookkeeping entry unrelated to the comic books themselves! If “Translator A” is not an American, perhaps there is some “exchange rate advantage”. Who knows…
I could NOT disagree with you more on the value of what you call “PLUSing”! This Blog and other such forums are filled with support for our efforts, and the defections from what followed. I’ve seen some absolutely dreadful stories that were saved by a good script. (Remember, I see them in RAW FORM!) If your argument is “Select better stories in the first place!”, I’m with you there… I’d say we all are!
But, in the case of “My First Millions” (or at least the first two issues I read before bailing)… Well, it wasn’t Don Rosa’s “Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck” by any stretch! But, with the proper amount of "polish" (to use your word) geared toward the American audience, I think it might have made a decent companion piece, with more emphasis on “Scrooge telling the tall tale to his at-times-skeptical-kin”. I know *I* would have worked to get that across, while preserving the original author’s intent.
As I say in the post…
“I’d like to believe that the original author(s) didn’t intend for their work to come across THIS INAPPROPRIATELY BLAND, given that they are working with the greatest creations of Mr. Disney, Mr. Gottfredson, and Mr. Barks” – and are following a LONG LINE of ‘creative ancestors’ from America and around the world!
I may be but the tiniest dust-mote atop the smallest cog in that great creative machine – but I am PROUD of the place I occupy! And anyone equally privileged should NEVER give less than their best! …And, if that was “their best”, I’ll take vanilla! …And take my leave!
RED LIGHT! GOOGLE SAYS "STOP HERE"!
GREEN LIGHT! GOOGLE SAYS "GO NOW"!
Boom!’s story selection was dreadful as first, dominated by “Ultraheroes” and “Wizards of Mickey” – and badly translated to boot. But you’ll notice none of us were involved at the time. That came later, along with a significant increase in quality over those last few months. Sadly, it was too little and too late, as the defections of the Gemstone audience had their effect.
I felt IDW was almost always great… until that “unfortunate changeover thing”, that is. Duck Avenger was a definite misstep (and a manifestation of too much misguided modernity polluting the core of those comics), but the rest 2015-2018 worked as well as could possibly be!
I can’t comment on the other non-IDW, non-Boom! things you cite, as I steered clear of them – traditionalist that I am!
Okay, so it took a long time for me to get this out, but ya gotta admit it was worth the wait! :-)
Joe, I suspect we are not so much in disagreement as you seem to think about what I call "PLUSing". Essentially you are adding levels to the dialogue that can only be appreciated by discriminating readers. Here's an example from a story you translated (and it's one of the ones I read in a Disney Masters or IDW TP release, I can't remember which...) where Donald, in a fit of anger, says "WHY ME? Don't I have THE SWEETEST DISPOSITION?" Now that's something that an older reader/collector can truly appreciate, and it made me smile. I was almost waiting for the other shoe to drop and read another balloon where Donald is saying "Who gets stuck with all the bad luck? NO ONE but Donald Duck!", but circumstances took the original story in other directions. But of course the older reader/collectors from the heyday of Gladstone/Disney Comics/Gladstone/Gemstone are not there making up the mainstream of the direct market in the same way they were 20 or 30 years ago.
As has been alluded to in some of the above comments, the direct comics market is changing, and that affects all publishers from Marvel, DC, and Archie Comics to Disney Comics published by IDW and Dark Horse (and anyone else, like TokyoPop or Papercutz). You and I and other older readers prefer the *traditional*, the *classic* versions of iconic characters that have been around forever, but the publishers are chasing a younger market as the traditional direct-market consumer grows older and grayer (and becomes more selective, buying less) or is even dying off.
Now let's consider what might be going on from Disney Publishing Worldwide's POV. They publish a lot of books, marketed to a target audience in several different age groups -- but one of those groups is NOT "50+ comic book collectors". I think that Disney Publishing Worldwide is viewing the target audience for classic Disney comic characters (Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Scrooge etc.) as the SAME audience as for The Little Mermaid, the Incredibles, Minions, or any merchandise based on more recent animated films. As opposed to the audience for Fantagraphics Disney collections -- the exact opposite end of the spectrum.
It might be easier for Marvel and DC to keep their classic collections of Golden Age, Silver Age, and Bronze Age stories (for the bookstore market) separated from the kind of floppy comics (and trade collections generated from them) they're publishing NOW for a largely different audience in the direct market. With Disney things are kind of more confused because DPW is looking at it from a global perspective that doesn't match with the direct market that has dominated U.S. comics publishing for 40 years or so -- the market for classic DISNEY comics that has developed worldwide. They want to make sure the comics they publish are primarily accessible to, and appealing to, a MUCH younger demographic.
I am in no way saying that Erin Brady's translations are just as good or just as acceptable for US (that is, you, me, and older readers like US) as your team's. BUT I think they are viewed by Disney Publishing Worldwide as acceptable to the audience that they are AIMING at -- in other words, younger readers. In this particular case MUCH younger readers. Not at all the same readers Fantagraphics is aiming at. It is what it is. Sadly that is the way the market these days goes for floppy comic books.
Google says I've written too many words, so I'll continue after this break...
One further thought worthy of consideration is that Disney Publishing Worldwide may have its eye fixed on the future, on the total migration of DPW to the digital realm. By having English translations of stories (already vetted and approved by DPW) archived for future use, they could control the digital distribution of their comics, magazines and books from a central website. Go to the site, choose your country location, and you get the sub-version of the site with all Disney publications in English... or German, Dutch, or Italian.
Now to continue...
It is disconcerting to me, and a lot of other longtime reader-collectors (whom you are probably among) to see the direction the direct-market publishers have been pursuing in the last couple of decades, and most especially in the last decade. DC in particular with its line-wide reboot New 52 comics in 2011, followed by Archie Comics rebooting Archie in 2015 (and horror comics based on the classic Archie characters). At any rate there's no doubt they're chasing a younger consumer... an audience that may or may not actually be there. You may add the "new direction" of Disney Comics to that list.
BUT we can be thankful that there is still a market for US (you, me, the people on your blog) in high-end products from Fantagraphics, Hermes Press, and Library of American Comics. We can be thankful that the complete Floyd Gottfredson MICKEY MOUSE was collected in hardcover, The Complete DON ROSA Library, and 20 volumes (out of approximately 30 or so hardcover color collections from The Complete CARL BARKS Library. Will I live to see it completed? I hope so! Lots of Golden Age reprints from DC and Marvel too in this century, which had never been available before. TRULY we are (or at least WERE) living in the Golden Age of Reprint Comics, but it's starting to slow down now. LOAC and Fantagraphics are already through with a lot of stuff they'd been reprinting. The economics of numbers are a bit different than in floppy comics publishing and the trade collections generated by those.
I should note that I personally stopped collecting the floppy-type Disney comics from the beginning of IDW's run when it became clear that they'd all in due course wind up in TP collections. Since that time, I've only gotten the trade paperback and hardcover collections of Disney Comics. Apart from Fantagraphics' Disney Masters and the remainder of The Carl Barks Library, it's clear that things have slowed to a trickle with only DISNEY COMICS AND STORIES and UNCLE SCROOGE left to feed IDW's Disney TP program. Even IDW/LOAC's Disney HC strip reprint program appears to be over now, but at least we got a goodly number of volumes out of that: Donald Duck Dailies and Sundays, Silly Symphonies, Walt Disney's Treasury of Classic Tales, and even one collection of Disney Christmas comics.
Believe me, the change was noticeable to me when it happened, but the choice was and is whether to choose to read fewer foreign Disney comics (and there are few enough new-to-the-US stories now as it is) or just the ones that the Disney Masters series chooses to collect. I simply have to hope that the quality of the stories as they were originally created rises above a perfunctory translation... sometimes it does, other times not -- or maybe they just should have chosen better stories. It may be the case that the COVID situation kills the market for any kind of Disney floppy comics anyway. I can't even contemplate trying to collect old Dell and Gold Key Disney comics at this point; I've always relied on the reprints since the days of Gladstone. Apart from DUCKTALES, I always more or less ignored the kid-aimed ones anyway: TAILSPIN, DARKWING DUCK, CHIP & DALE'S RESCUE RANGERS. Yet I understand why Disney feels the need to do these new spins on classic characters. Mystifying to me is why there was never a comic series based on HOUSE OF MOUSE -- I would have eaten that one up. In the meantime, I have time to catch up on (or in some cases re-read) those piles of hardcovers and trade paperbacks I've amassed over the last decade, which is quite substantial.
Thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings.
PS -- Re: Your comments on Sholly Fisch's SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP. That title (now discontinued... of course) was absolutely brilliant. As opposed to the regular SCOOBY-DOO comic, which Fisch did not write. BUT only "certain people" can apprehend the brilliance of SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP... unfortunately, all TOO few -- as is proven by its cancellation. Quality does not always equal "best-selling". In fact quality is often not appreciated until after something is gone.
Dennis:
Regarding "WHY ME? Don't I have THE SWEETEST DISPOSITION?"… Thank you! That is exactly what it is I try to accomplish every time out!
Something that could put a smile on your face, yet not puzzle a reader who has never heard the Donald Duck animated shorts theme song. It’s a fine line to walk at times, and requires more effort than an ordinary translation would (there’s no bonus-pay for being clever), but it is always worth it in the end.
That’s the way all four of us felt – and continue to feel with the Fantagraphics work we still have! I won’t speak for the others but I take my approach directly from Carl Barks, who once said something to the effect that he would always try to write a story “that he wouldn’t mind buying himself”. …And, whatever actual audience remained for this stuff clearly seemed to appreciate that!
To just pick another example out of the air… I’ll assume you remember well that period in the ‘90s when Mickey’s most enduring foe was referred to as “Big Bad Pete”! Well, in the story I’m about to turn in, I find a use for that name that (A) is perfectly in synch with the art and original author’s intent (B) guaranteed to put a similar smile on your face – IF you are steeped in that period, and (C) is not going to “throw” anyone who is not! …Look for it much later in the year. ...Unless it's editorially-excised, that is.
DPW simply lacks an understanding of the totality of the American comic book audience! With characters like this, one-size-does-NOT-fit-all! The same audience is not going to buy both The Phantom Blot and The Little Mermaid! They are two very separate and distinct constituencies! …And both deserve separate and distinct products that best serve each group! This is why “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” AND Mickey Mouse the Detective should co-exist – and be produced in something resembling equal measure, rather than skew more toward the former.
Perhaps they DO understand it to the degree that the Fantagraphics books are allowed to roll along, despite the IDW Affair. I’ll give them that benefit of the doubt.
Still, this is what comes (quite naturally, and through no fault of their own) from marketing people with no comics background. This mentality has begun infiltrating DC and Marvel as well… but, for the longest time, those institutions were run by COMICS people… who had an understanding of their audience!
The translations in question fly in the face of everything that has made these comics great in the first place! But it takes a COMICS person to see, much less understand, that! It’s not a pair of shoes! It’s not a can of beans! It’s something that, for decades, has had a beloved “heart and soul” – which the most recent American English translations have done away with!
Okay, I see the possibilities, if not an actual NEED, for ready-made translations tied to digital media… but they can still be GOOD ones, can’t they? All our team’s scripts are “vetted and approved” anyway… so why be generic, when you can be entertaining?
I’LL BREAK IT HERE…
AND RESUME HERE…
Your summation of the Direct Market is exactly why I am down to purchasing only ONE current title… SCOOBY-DOO, and even that is bi-monthly, and is half-reprint to boot! But, as many of the new stories are written by Sholly Fisch (offering a correction to your SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP comment), I hang in there. I also have the title reserved for indexing at GCD… so it’s my solemn duty to uphold. :-)
In the ‘90s, I was at 15-20 titles per WEEK, vs. today’s 6 per YEAR! That certainly says something. But new comics’ loss is back issues’ gain! The situation has allowed me to concentrate on seeking, acquiring, reading… and ENJOYING lots of the back issues I was still missing! And, to me, nothing being published today could even come close to the enjoyment new back issues have been providing!
Once I had a feel for what the “new” (or “Fresh and Modern”, if you will) IDW comics were going to be, I decided my time and money was much better spent on back issues! …And I was right!
Just curious… Why can’t you “even contemplate trying to collect old Dell and Gold Key Disney comics at this point”? What’s to stop you, especially if the new product is no longer to your taste? That should free-up some available funds, just as it did for me. There are a few people who read this Blog who did (or are presently doing) just that!
Finally, SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP was initially conceived as a three-issue mini-series, covering just the first three Batman-related team-ups. It was immediately extended and promoted to a bi-monthly, and later a monthly. I’m told it was the ever-changing “young-readers business model” at DC, concentrating on original graphic novels, that was responsible for its demotion and eventual cancelation.
Particularly ironic, given that the new SCOOBY-DOO AND GUESS WHO series is just SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP animated! All they needed to do is retitle the book, and reset it to issue #1. Just saw the Flash team-up episode last night. It was wonderful!
But, whatever the reason… “quality”, once again, bit the dust!
It is a strange dichotomy that the things we consider perfect in comics are not appreciated by an audience of readers that is much younger than us. And they do need that demographic of consumers to continue publishing -- unless you price the product on the high end and market it only to older, discriminating and educated (in panelology) readers with lots of disposable income, like Fantagraphics does.
I think you are distorting some meaningless hype from the anonymous IDW solicitation text about "fresh and modern" and taking it personally as a back-handed slap, when in actuality it's really nothing more than standard marketing lingo. What are they going to say, "stale and dated" translations? If you want a rough translation of those buzz-words, it goes something like: "If you have not tried Disney comics before, give these a try. They're not your parents' Disney Comics... or your grandparents". In all likelihood that text was written by someone who hasn't even read the comics (yours or the newer ones).
It was interesting for me to discover (via I.N.D.U.C.K.S.) that ALL of those Disney Comics sub-series from both Boom and IDW that I disliked (Ultraheroes, Wizards of Mickey, DoubleDuck, Duck Avenger, Donald Quest, My First Millions, Young Donald) and the ones from Papercutz (X-Mickey, Minnie & Daisy) had their origins as digital-first miniseries, along with a number of other Disney-owned properties not related to the classic characters. That certainly seems to be telling me something. Mickey Mouse Shorts also originated as a digital-first series (although obviously based on the animated series), even though I liked that one. But clearly those comics are not being aimed at the same people who read the Gladstone/Gemstone Disney comics for years. Did you know that there's a digital-only series of comics called WEIRD WEST MICKEY? Neither did I -- discovered it totally by accident.
What they are thinking is that there are not enough consumers like US. And WE get finickier and more perfectionist in our tastes (as consumers) the older we get. Consider the irony: the availability of Barks, Rosa and original Disney newspaper strips in deluxe hardcover collections has decimated the ranks of the former consumers of the floppy and paperback Disney Comics. Clearly they (both Disney Publishing Worldwide and IDW) need to market a product to a consumer that doesn't want to pay $30 and up per book to read Disney Comics. Those economics are workable for Fantagraphics, but not for IDW selling copies at cheaper cover prices.
When did Sholly Fisch start writing the regular Scooby-Doo comic? He certainly wasn't writing it at the time I was sampling issues (during the run of S-D TEAM-UP), and finding them wanting by comparison. Or is he writing it only on an inconsistent basis, swapping off with other writers?
I wasn't even aware of any SCOOBY-DOO AND GUESS WHO animated series... but then I don't really watch television (or go to movies) any more... it's just less time for reading comics, y'know? New OR old (although for me the ratio of new-to-old keeps growing smaller). I've been realizing lately how much time is becoming an ever-more limited thing for me. Can I read all the comics I've never read but WANT to read in the next couple of decades? Maybe I'll catch up with SCOOBY-DOO & GUESS WHO if it manages to reach DVD. I'll see if I can check out some clips on YouTube. But I refuse to become one of those former comics consumers who stops reading comics and just watches the same characters on TV and in movies. I certainly don't consider the media adaptations (on average) to be any better than the current state of the comics industry. I guess there could be rare exceptions, like with the Mickey Shorts. Cartoons were a lot better in the 1990s, for the most part. At least the WB ones.
Dennis:
It's not just in comics where "the things we consider perfect are not appreciated by an audience that is much younger than us."
...It's pretty much in everything!
Music, movies, TV, physical media vs. streaming... But, the continued existence - and availability - of those things can lead to a younger person "getting into them" as time passes and tastes evolve. In my teens and early 20s, for instance, you couldn't get me to listen to Frank Sinatra, or watch Cagney and Bogart movies (that was my parents' stuff)... Now, I love them!
…I’d imagine certain members of every generation have similar stories.
As for the "fresh and modern" thing, you may be right, with regard to the degree of my reaction. But it seemed SO needless and gratuitous, especially after the way we were treated for years of turning-in good and reliably timely work.
It happens in comics all the time, but the outgoing creative team is not directly kicked-in-the-butt on the way out the door. And I like to play-it-up for that reason. Some of it is in-fun… *Some* of it…
After all we’ve been through comics-wise (let alone the dreadful state of real-world matters) I just don't think I'm a brave enough soul to sample a digital product called WEIRD WEST MICKEY! :-)
"Consider the irony: the availability of Barks, Rosa and original Disney newspaper strips in deluxe hardcover collections has decimated the ranks of the former consumers of the floppy and paperback Disney Comics. Clearly they (both Disney Publishing Worldwide and IDW) need to market a product to a consumer that doesn't want to pay $30 and up per book to read Disney Comics. Those economics are workable for Fantagraphics, but not for IDW selling copies at cheaper cover prices."
But the two markets can and do coexist. The material you cite is all older, already-printed-and-collected-in-the-USA... Barks, Rosa, Gottfredson, some of Murry. Anyone who's been at this for any length of time (...which we *would* have been, simply because we're "older") has all of this... some of it in multiple iterations!
If I want to read something new, that I have not read before... sometimes Disney Masters can scratch that itch, but mostly it was IDW and its "floppy-mongering predecessors"! …And that was the primary importance of IDW as it had been before the changeover. As a consumer, I would have delightedly stuck with them indefinitely – and I bought copies of everything, whether or not I received any comps. But, alas…
Sholly Fisch had been writing the regular Scooby-Doo comic for quite some time - and before SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP. It was his work on SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP that brought him to my attention! As you figured, he was writing it only on "an inconsistent basis, swapping off with other writers". You may have simply been the victim of unfortunate timing.
SCOOBY-DOO AND GUESS WHO, like anything else, can be hit-and-miss. But the hit-and-miss for me has almost everything to do with the guest star. The ones with timeless fictional characters like Sherlock Holmes, Batman, and The Flash are all GREAT (with capital letters), and the ones with current celebrities that I either don't know, or have no interest in, are not. Though Ricky Gervais (who I have no interest in) still made for a good episode.
WEIRD WEST MICKEY (which I've skimmed through without actually having read) doesn't actually look that bad. I'm glad I did at least look at it before dismissing it out-of-hand. Mickey and Goofy have been cast in westerns before -- Gottfredson did it in "Bat Bandit of Inferno Gulch", and there's also the series of stories featuring Six-Shot Goofy and Mickey the Kid. So the western is not traditionally anathema as a setting for those characters. Here the stories have been tweaked with more of a "Scooby-Doo mysteries" twist, except that they don't appear to be beholden to any formula rip-off-the-mask "It was the old caretaker all along!" resolution. In these stories they're cast as "Buffalo Goofy" and "Mickey Colt", along with various other counterparts like Horace Scoop and Colonel O'Hara. There are only five stories in the series, four of them 30-pagers, and two 15-pagers. Not enough to wear out the idea. Just add them to the many other ancestors and relatives of Goofy. The artwork conforms more or less to the traditional style, although the creators vary from story to story.
Your situation reminds me of what happened with the classic Archie creators after the 2015 reboot of ARCHIE. All of the classic creators (except for Dan Parent, who continued to write and draw 5-page stories for the digests and some one-shots and miniseries, as well as covers) suddenly found themselves with no assignments (and with no forewarning). Fernando Ruiz (who had worked for the company at that point for some 25 years) was very bitter about it, and to this day has not done any further work for Archie Comic Publications. The other creators (after a few years) were eventually called back, as Dan Parent reduced his workload for ACP to concentrate on a creator-owned Kickstarter project with Ruiz (DIE KITTY DIE!, a hilarious sendup of the comic industry, and ACP in particular). Dan Parent continues to work for ACP, although his page output is drastically reduced from what it was years earlier. In many cases he's just writing stories for the other artists to draw, but apparently Fernando Ruiz burned his bridges behind him.
Dennis:
…Where HAS this past month gone?! :-)
Why it seems like only 28 days ago that you submitted these last comments – and about 28 days later that I’m responding to them! Hmmm… wonder what happened to all that time in between?
Well, if you’ll forgive my compulsive pun-making, let’s make up for… um, “lost time”!
When I said “I just don't think I'm a brave enough soul to sample a digital product called WEIRD WEST MICKEY!”, it stems from a couple of things… my natural resistance to digital-only series, as a traditionalist. Even when I knew that SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP was published digitally first and later floppy, I still opted strictly for the latter even knowing I could have seen it earlier via digital. Add to that my general distrust of (and distaste for) some of the current product emerging from “that marketing-driven factory”, and it would not be an easy sell!
Now, I *could* be too hasty on this because Mickey and westerns have always gone-together… “Death Valley”, “Bat Bandit”, “Bar None Ranch” (Gottfredson AND Murry versions), and several others by Murry including even PHANTOM BLOT #2. Mickey and company have also been cast in random historical periods, sometimes with but usually without explanations. Those from the classic era all worked, except when ill-conceived and badly-handled like the (modern) “Wizards of Mickey”!
To me, it would come down to (surprise, surprise) “How well does it read?” It doesn’t have to read like “me”. It just has to feel right or “authentic”. The Murry serials didn’t have clever dialogue… but they had SUITABLE dialogue! Nothing robotic. We all have our annoyances… Nothing stands out for me like generic dialogue and uncomfortable-looking lettering. Even bad art can be saved by a “good read”.
A friend and colleague of mine worked at ACP a few years ago, and I wish I could share the horror stories he told, before his eventual firing. But, no… Not even privately! Let’s just say I absolutely believe you – and then some!
Finally, get THE BATMAN & SCOOBY-DOO MYSTERIES! Here’s my index at GCD! This took me totally by surprise, since I’m largely disconnected from new comics. It’s very much in the vein of SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP!
Well THE BATMAN & SCOOBY-DOO MYSTERIES is.. so far... not as good as SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP, even as written by Sholly Fisch. But then, neither were Sholly's stories in the regular SCOOBY-DOO comic as good as his stories for SDTU. But there have only been 2 issues so far, so I can hope TB&SDM gets better as it goes along. Unfortunately or not, Sholly Fisch and Dario Brizuela set a pretty high bar on Scooby-Doo Team-Up to surpass.
As for the first issue time-travel story by Ivan Cohen, I was confused about the appearance of the "year one" Bruce Wayne (who doesn't appear to be of sound mind in the story), and then a few panels later the appearance of "Detective #27" Batman. It's kind of mixing metaphors to reference the 1939 Batman from "The Case of the Chemical Syndicate" with the Miller/Mazzuchelli "Year One" in the same story. There's some weird thing Batman's doing with his gloves (Skritch, skritch) as Batman catches up to Velma and Shaggy that I didn't catch the significance of.
Dennis:
As you know by now, I was pleasantly surprised to see Sholly Fisch write the second issue. My guess is they are going to alternate for the duration of the series. Don't know if they are going to remain paired with the same artists, but Randy Elliott was a veteran of the main "Scooby-Doo" series, and I'm fine with him.
To your questions... "...the appearance of the 'year one' Bruce Wayne (who doesn't appear to be of sound mind in the story), and then a few panels later the appearance of 'Detective #27' Batman" can probably be written off to a "general melding" of the many different version of Batman. You can even see some vestiges of "Batman '66" such as the "Gotham City 14 Miles" sign and the explicitly-sign-labeled "Bat-Sonograph".
As for "Bruce Wayne (who doesn't appear to be of sound mind in the story),", how sound of mind would you expect a guy who dresses like a bat to go out and beat up criminals to be? Let alone, he was just starting at the time and a tad unsure.
The "Scooby-Doo Batman" (for lack of a better designation) that appeared in SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP, the SCOOBY-DOO AND BATMAN THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD 2018 DVD, and now THE BATMAN & SCOOBY-DOO MYSTERIES, would seem to be a melding of many different classic elements - including THE NEW SCOOBY-DOO MOVIES, SUPER FRIENDS, and even the 1968 Filmation BATMAN series. From that, I still always "hear" Olan Soule when I read Silver Age Batman.
The GLOVES:
I saw no obvious reason for the "Skritch, skritch" either. Perhaps it was to show the gloves as clumsy or uncomfortable, to bolster Alfred saying "...you've never really liked them anyway".
Anyway, everyone – YES, ALL OF YOU – get, read, and enjoy THE BATMAN & SCOOBY-DOO MYSTERIES!
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