Post by That Duckfan on Dec 7, 2020 21:42:46 GMT
When we talk about American talent of recent decades, by far the most attention goes out to Don Rosa and William Van Horn. That's all fine and dandy, but the other artists of the period tend to a be a bit snowed under. So today I wanted to highlight one (or two) of Gladstone's other talents: the husband and wife team Pat and Shelly Block.
The Blocks' Disney career began in 1994, when Ron Fernandez penned four full-length adventure stories for Gladstone's Donald Duck Adventures title. The first of these was The Mystery of Widow's Gap. Block's artwork clearly takes a page from Barks, but where most Barks-inspired artists tend to be a little flat and unadventurous, Block's artwork tries hard to be evocative, gothic, and a little bit vintage (being one of the few recent artists to invest in pie-hole eyes). I think it really works: these are some stand-out stories, and it's a shame the American tradition struggled to develop further. Mystery was followed up by Too Late for Christmas (1994), The Secret of the Dragon's Den (1995), and The Poorest Duck in Duckburg (1995).
After Fernandez, the couple began to write stories of their own, starting with Three Little Cupids (1996). But Gladstone wasn't long for this world, and their next story, Queen of the Ant Farm (1997), would prove to be Gladstone's last. The Blocks found work at Egmont, but it came at the expense of their art, which was handled primarily by Spanish artists from Tello Art. The only stories they drew were the Barks-inspired Somewhere in Nowhere (2000) and the lone Drive-In Duck (2003). When Gemstone Publishing received the license, they returned to US stories with Duck of the Deep (2005). However, their next outing would once again mark the end of a publisher. The Case of the Missing Mummy (2007) proved to be their last contribution to Disney comics. A shame, as that one's been a favorite of mine since it came out.
The Blocks have been working on a project of their own since 2014, an epic fantasy comic called Frostlings, but it seems to have turned into a Kickstarter drama...
The Blocks' Disney career began in 1994, when Ron Fernandez penned four full-length adventure stories for Gladstone's Donald Duck Adventures title. The first of these was The Mystery of Widow's Gap. Block's artwork clearly takes a page from Barks, but where most Barks-inspired artists tend to be a little flat and unadventurous, Block's artwork tries hard to be evocative, gothic, and a little bit vintage (being one of the few recent artists to invest in pie-hole eyes). I think it really works: these are some stand-out stories, and it's a shame the American tradition struggled to develop further. Mystery was followed up by Too Late for Christmas (1994), The Secret of the Dragon's Den (1995), and The Poorest Duck in Duckburg (1995).
After Fernandez, the couple began to write stories of their own, starting with Three Little Cupids (1996). But Gladstone wasn't long for this world, and their next story, Queen of the Ant Farm (1997), would prove to be Gladstone's last. The Blocks found work at Egmont, but it came at the expense of their art, which was handled primarily by Spanish artists from Tello Art. The only stories they drew were the Barks-inspired Somewhere in Nowhere (2000) and the lone Drive-In Duck (2003). When Gemstone Publishing received the license, they returned to US stories with Duck of the Deep (2005). However, their next outing would once again mark the end of a publisher. The Case of the Missing Mummy (2007) proved to be their last contribution to Disney comics. A shame, as that one's been a favorite of mine since it came out.
The Blocks have been working on a project of their own since 2014, an epic fantasy comic called Frostlings, but it seems to have turned into a Kickstarter drama...
