The 4-tiered format certainly is "truer" to the Barks and Murry tradition. But the 3-tiered format is also true to something, namely the US newspaper strips, as they were serialized on Topolino and whose rhythm influenced the Italian stories for decades.
Both Barks and Murry drew 3-tier stories during the early, and early-mid 1940s, before Western/K.K./Dell changed from mainly 3-tier to mainly 4-tier stories. But Barks also drew some 3-Tier stories as late as 1957-1960. So, for ME, BOTH 3-Tier and 4-tier comics stories are representative of Barks' and Murry's best work, and important to me.
It not about the format itself. It's just that most 3-tier comics are ones produced in Italy and are nowhere near as Barksian as most comics produced in the Netherlands or Scandiavia, which are mostly 4-tier comics. When I think of non-Barks 4-tier comics, I think of the Barksian comics of William Van Horn, Marco Rota, Daan Jippes, Don Rosa. When I think of non-Barks 3-tier comics, I think of Duck Avenger, Brigitta MacBridge, Albert Quackmore, a colorful Money Bin with a silly shape. None of them Barksian.
Also worth noting that Egmont, which produces both 3 and 4 tier comics, are clearly deliberately trying to do their 3 tier ones in an Italian "style" when it comes to presentation and storytelling, while their 4 tier ones are more Barksian.
Both Barks and Murry drew 3-tier stories during the early, and early-mid 1940s, before Western/K.K./Dell changed from mainly 3-tier to mainly 4-tier stories. But Barks also drew some 3-Tier stories as late as 1957-1960. So, for ME, BOTH 3-Tier and 4-tier comics stories are representative of Barks' and Murry's best work, and important to me.
I remember now. Were those 3-tiered comics in a smaller format than the 4-tiered ones? Because I think that is the main factor that differentiates Topolino and the magazine comics (be they American, Dutch or Danish). You tend to organize space in a different manner. Italy used to have the Almanacco Topolino, which was larger, and you can see designers that excelled in the smaller format slightly lost as to what they were to do with the larger pages. Vice versa, Paco Rodriguez never convinced me in the pocketbooks, whereas he is good in the magazines.
No. The 3-tier format was used in USA from comic books' start in 1933 through early 1944 by Western Publishing, and to about 1954 for some other publishers, and all the way through 1958 for a few US publishers. The first 4-tier pages used by Western in early 1944 were on slightly smaller pages than they were from 1933-1939, but still in the classic full-page comic book format with somewhat similar horizontal/vertical ratios to A-4 paper (except slightly wider horizontal), mnore similar to US "letter size". In 1940 or 1941, or so, both dimensions were shortened slightly. And I think they were shortened slightly again in 1944 (but I'm not sure. I know that my late 1950s US comic books are smaller than my early 1940s books, and the late 50s and '60s books are again smaller. But ALL of them have a similar shape. The late 1960's, '70s and later" "full-sized "traditional format" comic books were again smaller, but still have the same basic much longer vertical than horizontal. The Disney (and other Dell Comics) from the mid 1950s to 1960 "retro-style 3-tier stories were in the normal Dell Giant Comics and regular series, such as "Donald Duck" (#60). There was no new comic book format used by Dell to accommodate the newly-re-installed 3-tier stories.
The 3-tier style was introduced in 1930s Italian comic books to accommodate re-printing of newspaper comics. The same was true in the new comics reading format of comic books in USA. USA Western/Dell Comics changed to 4-tier to reduce number of pages during the paper use restrictions of World War II, to avoid shutting down printing of several comic book series. Most of the other US comic book publishers shut down printing of several of their titles (series), and continued to print 3-tier stories in the few series that continued being printed, and those companies continued printing ONLY 3-tier stories until the early-to-mid 1950s, or the late 1950s for the last group of them. So, starting off with inheriting a large collection of 1940s comics from my older cousins, and doing most of my reading as a child, pre-teen, and teenager, during the late 1940s and into the very early 1960s, I probably read as many 3-tier US and Canadian 3-tier comics as 4-tier (if not more).
Both Barks and Murry drew 3-tier stories during the early, and early-mid 1940s, before Western/K.K./Dell changed from mainly 3-tier to mainly 4-tier stories. But Barks also drew some 3-Tier stories as late as 1957-1960. So, for ME, BOTH 3-Tier and 4-tier comics stories are representative of Barks' and Murry's best work, and important to me.
It not about the format itself. It's just that most 3-tier comics are ones produced in Italy and are nowhere near as Barksian as most comics produced in the Netherlands or Scandiavia, which are mostly 4-tier comics. When I think of non-Barks 4-tier comics, I think of the Barksian comics of William Van Horn, Marco Rota, Daan Jippes, Don Rosa. When I think of non-Barks 3-tier comics, I think of Duck Avenger, Brigitta MacBridge, Albert Quackmore, a colorful Money Bin with a silly shape. None of them Barksian.
A comic can be "Barksian" even without an art style inspired by Barks. Rota, Jippes and Van Horn are certainty more Barksian than any Italian/3-tier authors, to the point an untrained eye could mistake them for Barks. But they are also more "Barksian" than Rosa, whose later, hyper-detailed style is very, very far from Barks.
In their stories, writers such as Faccini, Artibani, or Cimino employed many Barksian tropes, resulting in Barksian stories, even if with a not-so-Barksian art style, with the Money Bin with a slightly different design, or with some new characters. Honestly, the only non-Barksian character you listed is the Duck Avenger. Quackmore is pretty an inoffensive background character in 99% of his stories, and Brigitta -- appreciated by Barks himself -- fills a gap in the Barksian cosmos centered around Scrooge (you have the gang of thieves, the rival tycoon, the evil sorcerer... why not the entrepreneur wannabe girlfriend?). That said, Faccini is clearly inspired by Barks even as an artist (not only as a writer), but he developed his own distinct art style.
Moreover, I think it's a fair to say that Italy was influenced by Gottfredson and Walsh works more than other European countries. Scarpa's Flying Scott has a gang-driven first part which is very Walshian, and a more Barksian second part, with even an ending lifted from Back to the Klondike.
I don't think you have to use Barks' art style, set of characters and tier numbers to be Barksian. Jeff Smith's Bone is very Barksian, and it doesn't have Ducks!
while many iconic 4-row works from the 90s, not by Barks and Rosa, are left with a mere 6.8 rating and 5 votes.
What are the iconic 4-row works you are referring to here? Not that I'm doubting you I just want to make sure I understand what you're talking about.
Oh, and additionally which mundane Italian stories are you referring to, slightly earlier in your post?
I apologize for overlooking your question earlier. The iconic and representative 4-row stories I'm referring to are those 8-16 page stories created by Egmont artists like Vicar, Branca, Daan Jippes, and others from the '80s and '90s. They covered a wide range, inheriting various aspects of the Barks universe - humor, well-rounded character personalities, and parodies and concerns about real society. However, I feel they aren't recognized enough on Inducks. If you check out this thread, you'll find that many of Vicar's iconic works nominated there have low ratings and few raters on Inducks: featherysociety.proboards.com/thread/478/favorite-vicar-stories.
As for the mundane Italian stories... I'm not referring to those 3-row stories in the top 100, but I believe a significant portion of the Italian pocketbook stories fall into this category, especially those that overly exaggerate the negative aspects of the duck characters' personalities and have excessive violence and antics. Of course, there are also many good Italian stories. But even the worst-written ones still get serious discussions on Inducks, rather than fading into obscurity.
I think the question is somehow ill-posed. Back to the Klondike is not regarded as the best Disney story ever because it has 4 rows. In fact, several readers in Italy and - I think - other European countries were first exposed to a 3-row remounted version. Likewise, Scarpa's The Flying Scot would be fondly remembered even if it had 4 rows. Never judge a story by its rows, as they say.
At the end of the days, these rankings are a glorified popularity contest, and a story popularity is directly linked to the exposure it got. Induck's Top 100 features only 6 stories by Gottfredson. Only six! Surely the Mouse Man has produced more than just six noteworthy stories in his 20-year career! But unfortunately, Gottfredon's stories were less reprinted than Barks', both in North America and Europe, and therefore fewer people were exposed to them. In Inducks Top 100 there a lot of of stories by Scarpa and Martina from the 60s and the 70s, which were reprinted several times in Italy and the rest of Europe for more than five decades -- and thus, several generations of readers were exposed to them. Carpi's stories are relatively more recent, but they are parodies of classic literature works -- such stories are often reprinted, and even used to introduce young children the original works. More recent 3-row stories in the Top 100 include several works bt Casty, The Case of the Cut-Off Calls and Scrooge's Last Adventures -- all of them are bona-fide classics, and it's hard to make a case against their inclusion.
I wouldn't call any of these stories "mundane". I wouldn't include Carpi's parodies, early Duck Avenger stories or the first episode of Martina's Storia e Gloria in a Top 100, but none of these are average run-of-mill stories. They have amazing art, cultural relevance and/or introduced iconic characters -- they are at least noteworthy.
I think there might've been a bit of misunderstanding. Sorry if I was not conveying it clearer. I wasn't trying to say that the 3-row stories in the Top 100 are mundane. As the title says, my main observation was mainly on Induck, which was just that, although both 3-row and 4-row stories have their share of mundane stories, on Inducks, 3-row stories seem to get more attention and discussion, even if they're just average. Meanwhile, many 4-row stories, even the decent ones, don't get as much chatter. I totally agree with you about the exposure part that stories that get more exposure naturally get more attention. So, I think we're actually on the same page here. So, the main reason I started this thread was to discuss the distribution and exposure of stories rather than their artistic quality itself. And while my observations are based on a specific platform (Inducks), I'm definitely open to expanding the discussion beyond that.
It not about the format itself. It's just that most 3-tier comics are ones produced in Italy and are nowhere near as Barksian as most comics produced in the Netherlands or Scandiavia, which are mostly 4-tier comics. When I think of non-Barks 4-tier comics, I think of the Barksian comics of William Van Horn, Marco Rota, Daan Jippes, Don Rosa. When I think of non-Barks 3-tier comics, I think of Duck Avenger, Brigitta MacBridge, Albert Quackmore, a colorful Money Bin with a silly shape. None of them Barksian.
A comic can be "Barksian" even without an art style inspired by Barks. Rota, Jippes and Van Horn are certainty more Barksian than any Italian/3-tier authors, to the point an untrained eye could mistake them for Barks. But they are also more "Barksian" than Rosa, whose later, hyper-detailed style is very, very far from Barks.
In their stories, writers such as Faccini, Artibani, or Cimino employed many Barksian tropes, resulting in Barksian stories, even if with a not-so-Barksian art style, with the Money Bin with a slightly different design, or with some new characters. Honestly, the only non-Barksian character you listed is the Duck Avenger. Quackmore is pretty an inoffensive background character in 99% of his stories, and Brigitta -- appreciated by Barks himself -- fills a gap in the Barksian cosmos centered around Scrooge (you have the gang of thieves, the rival tycoon, the evil sorcerer... why not the entrepreneur wannabe girlfriend?). That said, Faccini is clearly inspired by Barks even as an artist (not only as a writer), but he developed his own distinct art style.
Moreover, I think it's a fair to say that Italy was influenced by Gottfredson and Walsh works more than other European countries. Scarpa's Flying Scott has a gang-driven first part which is very Walshian, and a more Barksian second part, with even an ending lifted from Back to the Klondike.
I don't think you have to use Barks' art style, set of characters and tier numbers to be Barksian. Jeff Smith's Bone is very Barksian, and it doesn't have Ducks!
I completely agree that being 'Barksian' doesn't necessarily mean imitating his style. However, psychologically speaking, I also feel that 4-row stories tend to be more 'Barksian'. While I don't deny that Italian stories have also been heavily influenced by Barks, the subtle 'realism' typical of Barks' 10-page stories seems to be more preserved in the 4-row format. In the 10-page stories by Van Horn and Rota, you can see hints of that very 'real-world', slightly detached, playful Barksian humor. This aspect hasn't been as prevalent in Italian stories, perhaps due to their longer length, which often makes things feel too superficial and overly expressed.
What are the iconic 4-row works you are referring to here? Not that I'm doubting you I just want to make sure I understand what you're talking about.
Oh, and additionally which mundane Italian stories are you referring to, slightly earlier in your post?
I apologize for overlooking your question earlier. The iconic and representative 4-row stories I'm referring to are those 8-16 page stories created by Egmont artists like Vicar, Branca, Daan Jippes, and others from the '80s and '90s. They covered a wide range, inheriting various aspects of the Barks universe - humor, well-rounded character personalities, and parodies and concerns about real society. However, I feel they aren't recognized enough on Inducks. If you check out this thread, you'll find that many of Vicar's iconic works nominated there have low ratings and few raters on Inducks: featherysociety.proboards.com/thread/478/favorite-vicar-stories.
As for the mundane Italian stories... I'm not referring to those 3-row stories in the top 100, but I believe a significant portion of the Italian pocketbook stories fall into this category, especially those that overly exaggerate the negative aspects of the duck characters' personalities and have excessive violence and antics. Of course, there are also many good Italian stories. But even the worst-written ones still get serious discussions on Inducks, rather than fading into obscurity.
Haha, don't worry! I think part of why these stories get less recognition is due to the format, if that makes sense. I mean, these stories are rarely reprinted and are usually printed exclusively in magazines that are harder to collect. Part of it is probably also taste, people like different things. Disney Comics should not be held up to one standard; how Barksian it is. There are many good stories that are not at all Barksian and vice versa. I'd be curious to hear if you have any specific Italian stories that fall under this category. I personally really like the Italian stories, so it is possible the ones you describe as "mundane" are stories I would say are great!
As for the mundane Italian stories... I'm not referring to those 3-row stories in the top 100, but I believe a significant portion of the Italian pocketbook stories fall into this category, especially those that overly exaggerate the negative aspects of the duck characters' personalities and have excessive violence and antics. Of course, there are also many good Italian stories. But even the worst-written ones still get serious discussions on Inducks, rather than fading into obscurity.
I think there might've been a bit of misunderstanding. Sorry if I was not conveying it clearer. I wasn't trying to say that the 3-row stories in the Top 100 are mundane. As the title says, my main observation was mainly on Induck, which was just that, although both 3-row and 4-row stories have their share of mundane stories, on Inducks, 3-row stories seem to get more attention and discussion, even if they're just average. Meanwhile, many 4-row stories, even the decent ones, don't get as much chatter. I totally agree with you about the exposure part that stories that get more exposure naturally get more attention. So, I think we're actually on the same page here. So, the main reason I started this thread was to discuss the distribution and exposure of stories rather than their artistic quality itself. And while my observations are based on a specific platform (Inducks), I'm definitely open to expanding the discussion beyond that.
Thanks for clarifying! I 100% agree. Old-schools Italian stories were drawn by great artists like Scarpa or Carpi and are therefore reprinted worlwide. Too bad they were often written by mediocre writers (or writers who didn't get Disney characters, like Martina at his worst).
Then, since digest magazine usually have more pages, there were and there still are stories written just to fill pages. It is the double-edged swords of digest magazines, I think -- great artists and writers have more pages to tell long-form stories, mediocre ones have more opportunities to just get the paycheck.
For me, mediocre writers is the main problem of new 4-row stories. If we skip Van Horn and Norwegian team (from Midthun best stories), everything feels like mass soulless production. Names of Egmont's writers aren't also as recognized as Italian ones, 4-row stories are artist-centered. Also, still shrinking number of pages per story doesn't help at all.
In Italian stories, writer is as important as artist, if not more. And they have more freedom, more pages available. There are more young creators that love the universe they were raised on - there weren't any new big names in Egmont since my childhood days. When you can read stories by someone that loved same stories as you and wants to explore these things - it's more appealing to reader. Gervasioverse was the best thing ever for me, a fan of classic Martina Paperinik since age 6, Nucci feels like Rosa without canon bullWAK and in full mouse/duckverse, Stabile connects Barks/Rosa things with Cimino weirdness and it's really interesting. But it's not only fanservice and nostalgia baiting. There are stories that made me as excited as I was as a kid, because they were fresh, intriguing, revolutionary. Gothic trilogy (Enna/Celoni), Return of Phantom Blot's dignity (Nucci/Casty) and finally Gli Evaporati (Enna Cesarello) - all these stories will be remembered for years, they will be inspiration for next generations of creators. 4-row stories don't have anything like this - Barks/Rosa is everything you need, you finished reading them, you basically completed 4-row comics game, everything else doesn't feel half as good.
Imo 3-row pages also work better with visual storytelling, it's more dynamic, guides your eye to correct places and feels alive in opposition to static 4-row comics (with some exceptions like Jippes and WvH).
I apologize for overlooking your question earlier. The iconic and representative 4-row stories I'm referring to are those 8-16 page stories created by Egmont artists like Vicar, Branca, Daan Jippes, and others from the '80s and '90s. They covered a wide range, inheriting various aspects of the Barks universe - humor, well-rounded character personalities, and parodies and concerns about real society. However, I feel they aren't recognized enough on Inducks. If you check out this thread, you'll find that many of Vicar's iconic works nominated there have low ratings and few raters on Inducks: featherysociety.proboards.com/thread/478/favorite-vicar-stories.
As for the mundane Italian stories... I'm not referring to those 3-row stories in the top 100, but I believe a significant portion of the Italian pocketbook stories fall into this category, especially those that overly exaggerate the negative aspects of the duck characters' personalities and have excessive violence and antics. Of course, there are also many good Italian stories. But even the worst-written ones still get serious discussions on Inducks, rather than fading into obscurity.
Haha, don't worry! I think part of why these stories get less recognition is due to the format, if that makes sense. I mean, these stories are rarely reprinted and are usually printed exclusively in magazines that are harder to collect. Part of it is probably also taste, people like different things. Disney Comics should not be held up to one standard; how Barksian it is. There are many good stories that are not at all Barksian and vice versa. I'd be curious to hear if you have any specific Italian stories that fall under this category. I personally really like the Italian stories, so it is possible the ones you describe as "mundane" are stories I would say are great!
In fact, not all of Barks' own works are necessarily 'Barksian,' haha. I simply tend to favor stories with a stronger sense of realism. In the 4-row stories from the '80s and '90s, Duckburg felt more like a real world city, and we could see how it functioned in everyday life.
Regarding 'specific' Italian stories... I might randomly pick a few 'typical' stories that aren't the best or the worst, rather average adventure stories. They share some common shortcomings in typical Italian stories that I'm not particularly fond of: character motivations are somewhat out of the ordinary, a bit eccentric, and character traits are somewhat exaggerated, and the plots can get a bit long-winded.
Just want to make it clear - I don't dislike Italian stories at all! I enjoy them. It's just that, compared to the average Italian story, I might slightly prefer the average Egmont story (in its prime time from 80s to early 2000s), but the attention they receive on Inducks appears to be the opposite.
Haha, don't worry! I think part of why these stories get less recognition is due to the format, if that makes sense. I mean, these stories are rarely reprinted and are usually printed exclusively in magazines that are harder to collect. Part of it is probably also taste, people like different things. Disney Comics should not be held up to one standard; how Barksian it is. There are many good stories that are not at all Barksian and vice versa. I'd be curious to hear if you have any specific Italian stories that fall under this category. I personally really like the Italian stories, so it is possible the ones you describe as "mundane" are stories I would say are great!
In fact, not all of Barks' own works are necessarily 'Barksian,' haha. I simply tend to favor stories with a stronger sense of realism. In the 4-row stories from the '80s and '90s, Duckburg felt more like a real world city, and we could see how it functioned in everyday life.
Regarding 'specific' Italian stories... I might randomly pick a few 'typical' stories that aren't the best or the worst, rather average adventure stories. They share some common shortcomings in typical Italian stories that I'm not particularly fond of: character motivations are somewhat out of the ordinary, a bit eccentric, and character traits are somewhat exaggerated, and the plots can get a bit long-winded.
Just want to make it clear - I don't dislike Italian stories at all! I enjoy them. It's just that, compared to the average Italian story, I might slightly prefer the average Egmont story (in its prime time from 80s to early 2000s), but the attention they receive on Inducks appears to be the opposite.
Well of course, each to their own preferences.
I do think it's interesting that you mention these three stories, as all of them only have a 6.9 on Inducks. Meaning that they aren't praised by Inducks...? Either way I get what you mean, and what type of story you are referring to. Although I would say the stories that do get praised on Inducks are the stories that seem to hit the notes, these stories try to hit, a little more successfully. (I haven't read any of the stories you've mentioned so I couldn't tell you what I think about them!).
I think the main reason for this is merely taste. You mention that you prefer the more realistic stories, whilst I (and I assume many others) could simply not say the same. I personally find a lot of the Egmont stories you're referring to to shy away from any greatness, as I simply find them too dull. Which is basically the opposite of your experience. Neither of us are right, we just have different opinions! And of course if you want to contribute your opinions to Inducks you should just vote (which I assume you already do).
I've read La leggenda di Coniraya and yeah, it's a pretty clumsily written story where so many plot elements happen off-panel I had to count the pages in my copy just to make sure that release didn't cut anything. The plot itself is pretty old hat and mediocre too. I don't think it's fair to consider this "your typical Italian story" though.
In fact, not all of Barks' own works are necessarily 'Barksian,' haha. I simply tend to favor stories with a stronger sense of realism. In the 4-row stories from the '80s and '90s, Duckburg felt more like a real world city, and we could see how it functioned in everyday life.
Regarding 'specific' Italian stories... I might randomly pick a few 'typical' stories that aren't the best or the worst, rather average adventure stories. They share some common shortcomings in typical Italian stories that I'm not particularly fond of: character motivations are somewhat out of the ordinary, a bit eccentric, and character traits are somewhat exaggerated, and the plots can get a bit long-winded.
Just want to make it clear - I don't dislike Italian stories at all! I enjoy them. It's just that, compared to the average Italian story, I might slightly prefer the average Egmont story (in its prime time from 80s to early 2000s), but the attention they receive on Inducks appears to be the opposite.
I wouldn't say these stories are "average" Italian stories, all three are from one category that was overrepresented in pockets - second era Cimino and these that tried to write like him. These stories can be fun if there is one in the pocket, but if there are more of them - it's really boooring. It's constructed on tropes mastered by Cimino in late 60s and 70s - Scrooge has a problem, he can't be cured in normal ways or he is obsessed with treasure/something that will protect his fortune, there is room where he walks in circles making hole in the floor, he uses some alarm to get Donald and nephews to money bin, Donald doesn't want to help him, but Scrooge shows him list of debts and says something like "I will cut 3cm of this list if you help", they go to some weird place in even weirder vehicle, they meet some weird local people. Only endings are original - everything else is schematic. inducks.org/issue.php?c=pl%2FMAM+++8 this pocket has 8 second era Cimino stories and reading it felt like reading same story 8 times. Panaro stories have same vibe, but he goes even further - every character is just one dimensional main trait of this character, nothing more. His writing is a meme in Italian community. But I wouldn't say these are "typical Italian stories", it's just one type of story, "Cimino-type Scrooge's Adventure" and it's less than 5% of all stories, for me it's not representative (I absolutely understand that you don't like these stories much, me too xD, just it's like saying that Mickey stories with random Spanish artists are average Egmont story - it's too much of generalization).
I also have problem with Michelini and Marconi, their stories feel like they are written for kids only, there are some exceptions, but most of their stories are totally uninteresting. Now their stories are rare, but they were active for years and created a lot of meh comics.
Haha, don't worry! I think part of why these stories get less recognition is due to the format, if that makes sense. I mean, these stories are rarely reprinted and are usually printed exclusively in magazines that are harder to collect. Part of it is probably also taste, people like different things. Disney Comics should not be held up to one standard; how Barksian it is. There are many good stories that are not at all Barksian and vice versa. I'd be curious to hear if you have any specific Italian stories that fall under this category. I personally really like the Italian stories, so it is possible the ones you describe as "mundane" are stories I would say are great!
In fact, not all of Barks' own works are necessarily 'Barksian,' haha. I simply tend to favor stories with a stronger sense of realism. In the 4-row stories from the '80s and '90s, Duckburg felt more like a real world city, and we could see how it functioned in everyday life.
Regarding 'specific' Italian stories... I might randomly pick a few 'typical' stories that aren't the best or the worst, rather average adventure stories. They share some common shortcomings in typical Italian stories that I'm not particularly fond of: character motivations are somewhat out of the ordinary, a bit eccentric, and character traits are somewhat exaggerated, and the plots can get a bit long-winded.
Just want to make it clear - I don't dislike Italian stories at all! I enjoy them. It's just that, compared to the average Italian story, I might slightly prefer the average Egmont story (in its prime time from 80s to early 2000s), but the attention they receive on Inducks appears to be the opposite.
Those stories you picked sort of underline my point about the influence of the newspaper strips. Wacky adventures were very much Bill Walsh's thing and I think Cimino sort of carried that same spirit.
And I see your point about Egmont's 4-tiered stories being generally more realistic, but I find the characterisation, while on the surface resembling that of Barks' stories, often rather thin and flimsy. Egmont's 3-tiered stories, on the other hand, usually tried to outperform the Italian ones in terms of zaniness and just general weirdness, to the point where a pocketbook would often have some relatively "normal" Italian comics and then end with something really bizarre by Michael T. Gilbert, Stefan Petrucha, Mark & Laura Shaw or Spectrum Associates.
