Still no Rota or van Horn, but the Heymans Brothers volume is at least the right direction. A second Massimo De Vita on the other hand is just ridiculous, and I don't care that this is a continuation of the first Massimo De Vita volume.
A second Massimo De Vita on the other hand is just ridiculous, and I don't care that this is a continuation of the first Massimo De Vita volume.
It was inevitable. The point is that, rather than showcasing De Vita's talents in general, Fantagraphics have chosen to use his Disney Masters volumes as a venue to release the Ice Sword series in proper English, perhaps because they couldn't let it stand that this Italian classic had only been translated in the famously substandard ComiXology format.
And frankly, I'd much sooner swallow a second De Vita, Ice Sword or otherwise, than a fifth Paul Murry.
Still no Rota or van Horn, but the Heymans Brothers volume is at least the right direction. A second Massimo De Vita on the other hand is just ridiculous, and I don't care that this is a continuation of the first Massimo De Vita volume.
I think it's better to finish the two-volume story sooner than later...besides, both Ice Sword volumes would make a nice box set. The Italian writers and artists (in my opinion) have created some very interesting stories for the Mouse that are worth collecting in hardcover books.
Still no Rota or van Horn, but the Heymans Brothers volume is at least the right direction. A second Massimo De Vita on the other hand is just ridiculous, and I don't care that this is a continuation of the first Massimo De Vita volume.
Why is a second Massimo De Vita volume ridiculous?
Still no Rota or van Horn, but the Heymans Brothers volume is at least the right direction. A second Massimo De Vita on the other hand is just ridiculous, and I don't care that this is a continuation of the first Massimo De Vita volume.
I think it's better to finish the two-volume story sooner than later...besides, both Ice Sword volumes would make a nice box set. The Italian writers and artists (in my opinion) have created some very interesting stories for the Mouse that are worth collecting in hardcover books.
Yeah, that's a good example of a box set which would make sense.
Still no Rota or van Horn, but the Heymans Brothers volume is at least the right direction. A second Massimo De Vita on the other hand is just ridiculous, and I don't care that this is a continuation of the first Massimo De Vita volume.
Why is a second Massimo De Vita volume ridiculous?
Just looked at the Disney Masters section at Fantagraphics' site and noticed a pretty huge discrepancy between the cover they have up for Vol. 8 and the cover that Amazon has up.
Please tell me that this cover (via amazon.com)...
...is the one that will be on the printed book rather than this one (via fantagraphics.com):
I'll admit it: offhand, I'm not sure if the first cover is actually drawn by Scarpa. But it at least LOOKS somewhat like his style in the mid-to-late 60s. Whereas the cover from Fantagraphics' site doesn't even remotely resemble his style. I love this book series and the whole concept of it, but I wish Fantagraphics would do covers which actually showcase artwork by the creator(s) featured inside the books. Using a drawing by Michel Nadorp on the first Scarpa volume feels really out of place for me, despite it illustrating the title story.
I'll admit it: offhand, I'm not sure if the first cover is actually drawn by Scarpa.
Unless I miss my guess, it's young Marco Rota, before he became all… Marco Rota. You know. There was some kind of shift at som epoint where he entirely stopped trying to look like everyone else, and we got the awesome chalky look we know and love. But before that his art looked basically like this. I believe IDW ran one of his early stories in this style a while back, something to do with egg plants? It wasn't that good a story. (EDIT: Ah, it's Carpi. Okay.)
The first cover with Tabby is by Carpi, for the very first reprint of the Duck Avenger story(ies) in Italy in the '70s. The second more modern cover is by Freccero, which is what'll be used. I'm of the mind that first, ancient cover sure illustrates the content and style better, but oh well.
The first cover with Tabby is by Carpi, for the very first reprint of the Duck Avenger story(ies) in Italy in the '70s. The second more modern cover is by Freccero, which is what'll be used. I'm of the mind that first, ancient cover sure illustrates the content and style better, but oh well.
Thanks for the info. And yeah, that's exactly how I feel too. While it still annoys me a little that the first cover is not drawn by Scarpa, it is at least of the era, and captures much more of the humor and style of the early Duck Avenger stories. Most of all, it's a much better drawing. The motive Fantagraphics has decided to go with feels bland and commercial.
The new Carpi volume was an interesting read. The pocket books I read growing up didn't name artists so it's nice to finally be able to make the connection. It's not a style I particularly like but it was nice to see it in a higher quality than I'm used to. Of the stories I quite liked the last one, Zio Paperone e la triplicità progressiva, whereas the first two left me cold. I especially disliked the depiction of Scrooge and Donald in Paperino e il re del fiume d'oro.
I like the width the Masters series is going for, although perhaps a few too many Italians thus far.
Apparently, the weird colouring in the Fantagraphics Barks volumes was an economic decision. It is easier, faster and therefore cheaper to copy the original colours from Dell Comics onto the new chalcographs than to create an entirely new colourisation or pay fees for one from another publisher.
Budget is definitely why the original less-than-stellar coloring is sometimes used in the Masters series. But - the Barks collections are still freshly colored, and using the original printing as a coloring guide is most definitely an aesthetic choice as well.
While I like the coloring in the pre-Disney Italy takeover IDW books better, seeing the Italian stories with (mostly) their original color gives the material a historical feel like the Carl Barks volumes aimed for. Off topic: If you want to see a book with fantastic coloring, look up Mickey Mouse: The Greatest Adventures (also by Fantagraphics).
Still no Rota or van Horn, but the Heymans Brothers volume is at least the right direction. A second Massimo De Vita on the other hand is just ridiculous, and I don't care that this is a continuation of the first Massimo De Vita volume.
Why is a second Massimo De Vita volume ridiculous?
Because he feels that William van Horn (and the Egmont/Gladstone/Gemstone tradition) is more deserving. He's not really wrong, I've always enjoyed his stories when they appeared sporadically during Gladstone II. Bill inherited the Barks legacy of the ten-pagers, while Rosa inherited the long adventure yarns.