Status of Gemstone's Disney line?

[Captain Jim]

Gemstone is now several weeks late in their shipping of Disney titles. The guy at my LCS said the store's owner thought he remembered reading something to the effect that all their solicitations were cancelled.

I have not been able to find anything about this on the web. Has anyone else heard anything? Has Gemstone gone belly-up or lost the Disney licence?

[Hintermann]

I live in England and received WDC&S #685 and U$ #370 just over a month ago. I have not heard anything about any problems and so far assumed that the delay was due to the usual X-mas period. I'll ring them up later and check.

[shaxper]

he remembered reading something to the effect that all their solicitations were cancelled.


I think there was talk of dropping a bunch of Disney titles a few months back, wasn't there? I don't know if it's already happened or not. I only read Uncle Scrooge. Anyway, that may be all he's remembering.

[Polar Bear]

The company killed itself:

1) It put out, from day one, two $6.99 monthly titles. Who, on our budgets, can afford that?

2) The covers just don't work. They need to do a better job reflecting the actual content of the issues.

3) Rosa hasn't done anything for ages.

4) They avoided reprint projects that could have been like printing money: Barks Scrooge Archives, additional Don Rosa collections, etc.

If they did go down, it really isn't the market that's to blame. They shot themselves in the foot early. I'm surprised it's lasted this long.

Sorry to be cranky.

--E

[DubipR]

The company killed itself:

1) It put out, from day one, two $6.99 monthly titles. Who, on our budgets, can afford that?

2) The covers just don't work. They need to do a better job reflecting the actual content of the issues.

3) Rosa hasn't done anything for ages.

4) They avoided reprint projects that could have been like printing money: Barks Scrooge Archives, additional Don Rosa collections, etc.

If they did go down, it really isn't the market that's to blame. They shot themselves in the foot early. I'm surprised it's lasted this long.

Sorry to be cranky.

--E

Can't argue with that. I was upset when they dropped all their issues in favor of the prestige format comic. Made no sense for an all ages comic to go that format....retarded

[Louis Lane]

Diamond's website shows that Christmas Parade #5, Marv Wolfman's Scrooge graphic novel, Walt Disney Treasures #2, Scrooge #371, and WDC&S #686 have been received from Gemstone. They are not coming out this week, however.

Hopefully, they'll be out on Dec 19, 2007.

If you're a Disney fan, you might want to check out the Disney Comics Forum (http://dcf.outducks.org/viewforum.php?id=2).

LL

[Louis Lane]

>two $6.99 monthly titles

I haven't done the math, but the page count is double a regular comic, isn't it? Since the regular comics have been canceled, I assume the prestiege titles are the only profitable ones.

>The covers just don't work.

I can go either way on this one. I recall a recent Rosa reprint (Son of the Sun, IIRC) that featured a "gag" cover. That was a real misfire; the original cover was great!

>Rosa hasn't done anything for ages.

Like many duck fans, I find this a real disappointment. But Rosa's disdain for drawing can't be blamed on Gemstone.

>They avoided reprint projects

I'll give Gemstone the benefit of the doubt here, because surley they know collections would sell. There must be a reason they are not doing more. Sady, Scrooge's 60th anniversary will pass without the great tribute book I was anticipating. All we'll get is Walt Disney Treasures #2.

>If they did go down, it really isn't the market that's to blame.

I would guess it's the market. Geppi's no fool, and he certianly loves the ducks as much as you or I do. The American comics market is just too small these days.

LL

[Captain Jim]

Thanks for the link, Louis; I wasn't aware of that forum. I hope you're right and it's just an honest printer's delay or whatever.

PB, I have to go with Louis as far as the price of the prestige titles. I figured it up once and, per page, they're no more expensive than any other book.

About a year ago, the standard price Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck monthlies were cancelled because of poor sales (same thing with the digests). Like it or not, the only duck books that seem to be profitable in the US are the prestige books. This is the exact conclusion Gladstone came to earlier; at the end of their run that's all they had left as well. I at least give Gemstone credit for trying some other, less expensive formats again.

I'm afraid it's a "damned if you do/damned if you don't" situation. You need less expensive books to introduce the titles to new, younger readers, but you can't keep losing money in the process. The prestige titles are profitable, but you know that only the older fans are buying them.

[Hintermann]

LL is right on most counts. It is the market to blame - has been for several years. The American kids (and their parents too) seem to gave gone off comics big time - at least the real "funnies". I think it is a great pity, but I expect that the wheel will come full circle at some stage and comics will regan their popularity.

As for Don Rosa, he definitely seems to be having some sort of writer's block. He has been almost completely off the news for 2 years. The problem is that he likes to research very deeply into almost every story and will not try to produce something that he considers not upto standards. In a sense Rosa has become a victim of his own talent.

I think the covers are still good. Last year (or the one before), there was a superb new cover (actually, the old German edition cover) for what I regard as Rosa's best story Last Sled to Dawson.

There are still a lot of plot possibilities for Uncle $crooge and other to explore, both as Barks' sequels or new. I would like to see Uncle $crooge pitted against Bark's best villains to date - Azure Blue and Sylvester Sharkey.

[Captain Jim]

Diamond's website shows that Christmas Parade #5, Marv Wolfman's Scrooge graphic novel, Walt Disney Treasures #2, Scrooge #371, and WDC&S #686 have been received from Gemstone. They are not coming out this week, however.

Hopefully, they'll be out on Dec 19, 2007.

They're not down to ship on the 19th either. Seems odd that they wouldn't ship them, if they really have them.

[shaxper]

I do think the $6.99 (isn't it now $7.50) cover price is an absurd turn-off. Yes, you get twice the pages, but who needs that? I just want an inexpensive monthly Uncle $crooge fix. Isn't that the point of comics? I find that, without consistant talent on the book, the extra pages mean nothing to me anyway. I'm rarely blown away by any stories in the book that aren't Rosas. This would probably be different if I got the chance to really "know" one of these authors, but they have neither enough presence in the title nor the pull that Rosa did to make any kind of lasting impression on the book. I love Barks and Rosa because you can actually see some development in the characters throughout their stories. I don't see any continuity or history with these other writers.

So I pay $6.99 for a Ducks book and, if I'm lucky, I get a Rosa story. Even getting a Barks reprint in there means nothing to me since I already have all the original Barks stories (aside from the WDC&S stuff, but those lack the same depth). That's why, when the price jumped to $7.50, I dropped the book. It was a ludicrous amount to pay for a favorite character title when the stories themselves weren't doing much for me.

I think Gemstone needs (and needed) to make a decision:

1. Go back to affordable, regular-sized issues that will attract kids, or

2. Give the title over to one or two regular talents who would have the freedom to build continuity and make the title more appealing to adult readers.

Of course, there's always the option of finally doing everything possible to lure Rosa back to the American market, but I suppose that's too much to ask.

And, yes, it's time for better anthology editions of classic Disney stories. I'd really like to see a hardcover series compiling the Barks Four Color stories. In Gemstone's defense, though, the inexpensive Ducktales trades were a very good idea. I wonder if they sold well.

[DonEMC]

When the price jumped to $6.99 an issue, I dropped all Disney comics.
Can you imagine a parent looking at an Archie at the Wal-Mart checkout lane and seeing a $6.99 price on a comic? Most parents still think comics should be 35 cents and not $3-$7.50 and I've seen parents bristle at a $3 comic. It just seems too much for a comic book when kids can put their money to something that will babysit them longer and keep them out of their parents' hair.
Most parents don't care what occupies their kids' time these days, as long as they don't have to deal with them, but when you say comics are $3-$7.50, they look at you like you're crazy.
Disney comics are well worth the price, but, are they going to sell to the mass market or are they aimed at us?
DonEMC

[Louis Lane]

>Seems odd that they wouldn't ship them, if they really have them.

I inferred from Diamond's database (which is pretty cryptic, and does not actually give the total number in stock of any item) that they had them in stock. I now believe I was mistaken, and that Diamond has not received them. Sorry for the error.

>Go back to affordable, regular-sized issues that will attract kids, or

Unfortunately, since most drug stores, etc no longer carry comics, the regular sized issues are not feasible. The lack of sales outlets is a major drawback for the entire industry.

>build continuity and make the title more appealing to adult readers.

This is an interesting idea; certainly part of Rosa's appeal is his heavy reliance on the life story (or continuity) of Scrooge.

LL

[Hintermann]

The Rosa factor is certainly an extremely important one in continuation of the Disney comics line by Gemstone or any other publisher. You can see that by their repeated reprinting of his older stories in recent months. Barks' classics have already been reprinted in every conceivable form so often that Gemstone correctly felt that they could not get away with yet another run; so they tried the same with Rosa and managed for a few months, but the cat finally got out of the bag.

For reasons best known to himself, Don Rosa has been quiet now for over 2 years and so no new stories have energed from that corner. William van Horn was good enough to successfully fill in the gaps some years ago, but sonce 2004 there is definite evidence that he is more than running out of steam - not surprising at 68 years of age. The multitude of Euro contributors are little more than window dressing (if that) because I have never believed that the majority of them really understood what Disney characters were all about.

Therefore, it is not entirely Gemstone's fault that the situation has come to what it is. What really is required (and it is still not too late) is emergence of some new comic artist/writer talent that can produce substantial Duck & Mouse stories with new plotlines but at the same time retaining the ethos of the previous successful ones. People like Pat Block have shown promise, only to mysteriously fade into the background.

[Louis Lane]

>Barks' classics have already been reprinted in every conceivable form

Barks' body of work is extensive; Gemstone could reprint one story a month and not run out for years. Of course, this would only make sense if "Uncle Scrooge" and "WDC&S" were picking up new readers.

LL

[Polar Bear]

I do think the $6.99 (isn't it now $7.50) cover price is an absurd turn-off. Yes, you get twice the pages, but who needs that? I just want an inexpensive monthly Uncle $crooge fix. Isn't that the point of comics?

Actually, the price is now $7.99 for 64 pages.
http://www.gemstonecomics.com/product_images/5/59732/001_big.jpg
And my point, Cpt. Jim and Louis, was actually not that so much that it isn't a good deal, but that I don't have $14 extra a month crawling around to stuff into my comics budget. If they had run both titles bi-monthly, and staggered, that I could have absorbed by some judicious dropping. But as it was, to stay within my weekly budget, I had to drop two monthly titles, then also drop either WDC&S or U$ pretty frequently, cutting into Gemstone's sales. It's better for them to sell two books out of two to me than it is for them to sell two out of four.
That's why, when the price jumped to $7.50, I dropped the book.
That's when I jumped, too. I imagine others joined them when the price re-jumped. (Is that a word?)
Give the title over to one or two regular talents who would have the freedom to build continuity and make the title more appealing to adult readers.
It'd likely bring me back, assuming the talent was good. I do like the storytelling of Ferioli, for example, though I prefer him on mice.

It's sad. I'll be first in line to buy real Uncle $crooge Archives or some meaningful Rosa trades (to get my newsprint stuff onto glossy paper). I'd also love to see more new Rosa, though that's out of their hands, I suppose. As it is, though, I haven't bought a Gemstone title for months.

[shaxper]

Actually, the price is now $7.99 for 64 pages.

Holy *&#$%...

They have some nerve charging that much for reprints and b-material. I could see them waiting until they had a new Rosa story and then putting it in a special over-sized issue for $7.99, but to charge that much each month for nothing special is preposterous. Is this strategy actually working for them? Are they making more money this way??

[Captain Jim]

Well, for years, that's the only way it's been profitable to do Disney titles in the US. Earlier on, Gladstone tried every format conceivable (anybody remember the newsprint covers?) but at the end of their run, all they had left were the 64 page WDC&S & U$. Gemstone kept those in the same format, since they were proven sellers, but also tried doing conventional size titles for $2.95 and digests (I always suspected the target for these were new, younger readers and the target for the thick books were the older fans). Anyway, they finally dropped the standard size books and digests a year ago, because they were losing money on them.

There are no easy solutions to this, I fear. The market just doesn't seem to be here (in the US) for reasonably priced Disney titles

[Louis Lane]

>Gemstone...digests

I liked their "take along" books -- I suspect Gemstone was counting on bookstore sales that never developed.

>There are no easy solutions to this, I fear.

More trade paperbacks are likely the only feasible answer. It's a shame the USA can't support Disney comics, but then again, there used to be dozens of kids comics (Richie Rich, Sad Sack, Caspar, etc). They're *all* gone now - it's no surprise the Disney books are teetering on the brink of oblivion.

LL

[Polar Bear]

More trade paperbacks are likely the only feasible answer.

That's a good point. Most companies nowadays can make money twice on the same material within a few months, once on original printing and once on the trade. Marvel and DC are now experimenting with making money three times by adding "hardcover" in the middle. Gladstone, in contrast, is making money only once by producing no periodical-originated material that ends up being in a trade.

And I'd pay money for a trade that collects Ferioli Mickey stories (especially those written by the McGreals).

[Captain Jim]

When they discontinued their standard-size titles and digests a year ago, they said they would be doing more trade type collections in the future. But this gets a little pricey too, especially for people like me who are also picking up the prestige titles.

[Louis Lane]

>They have some nerve charging that much for reprints and b-material.

I don't have any insight into Gemstone's business, but I'd guess they're not making large sums of money on the comics. If they were, they would be doing more of them. As others have said, most of their titles have been canceled, presumably due to unprofitability. I don't think Gemstone is a "greedy" publisher. They love the ducks and are publishing these books because of their love for them.

>Most companies nowadays can make money twice on the same material

Well, one difference is that most (if not all) of the material Gemstone publishes is reprinted. I'd assume their costs are lower per page than what Marvel or DC pays for new material.

LL

[Hintermann]

[QUOTE=Louis Lane;6012754][B] I don't think Gemstone is a "greedy" publisher. They love the ducks and are publishing these books because of their love for them. Absolutely. Geppi-Gemstone are struggling to keep alive in the the weak US comic market so that Disney Comic books - once an American instituition, are still available in English. They are making very little profit and that's probably why many artists who make a start cannot continue to work for them.


Well, one difference is that most (if not all) of the material Gemstone publishes is reprinted. Most of it, as a matter of fact. The Disney stories, including those by Rosa, van Horn etc, are largely controlled by the Scandinavian giant Egmont who have allowed Gemstone to take scraps off their plate. Rosa once told me years ago (before Geppi-Gemstone started) that he probably would never be able to read his own comic stories after Gladstone went bust. If anyone should be called greedy in the extreme, it is definitely Egmont and to a lesser extent other Euro publications like Piscou in France, Mickey Maus in Germany and Topolino in Italy.

[Louis Lane]

Posted to the DCML.

LL

________________________

Gemstone wrote:

Disney Comics: Getting Back on Track

Through a variety of circumstances, our Disney comics got off their traditionally very dependable schedule (actually, before this it was relentlessly dependable). We wanted to wait until we had a plan to correct the situation to announce it. Now we have our plans in place and plan on initiating the following accelerated schedule. A few details are still pending, though, but we thought we'd show you how we plan to get our titles caught up:

On Sale January 2, 2008
DuckTales – Volume 3 [trade paperback]
Uncle Scrooge #371
Walt Disney’s Comics & Stories #686

On Sale January 16, 2008
Walt Disney’s Treasures – Volume 2 [trade paperback]
Uncle Scrooge #372
Walt Disney’s Comics & Stories #687

On Sale January 30, 2008
The Barks/Rosa Collection - Volume 2 [special]
Uncle Scrooge #373
Walt Disney’s Comics & Stories #688

On Sale February 13, 2008
Uncle Scrooge #374
Walt Disney’s Comics & Stories #689

On Sale February 27, 2008
Uncle Scrooge #375
Walt Disney’s Comics & Stories #690

On Sale March 12, 2008
Spring Fever #2 [special]

On Sale March 26, 2008
Uncle Scrooge #376
Walt Disney’s Comics & Stories #691

Our regular slate of monthlies and specials resumes in April 2008. As a result of this schedule change, only Christmas Parade #5 has been postponed. Retailer orders for this special will be canceled and it will be offered again in advance of the holiday season in 2008.

“We apologize to all of our loyal readers and retailers for the delays in these books. With this revised schedule, we firmly expect to be back up and running on our usual clockwork-like schedule in April,� said John Clark, Editor-in-Chief of Gemstone’s Disney comics line. “On the other hand, all of the phone calls and emails have really reminded us that a lot of people really love our comics. We’re looking forward to rewarding their patience and support with a lot of great projects in the coming months.�

[Captain Jim]

Thanks, Louis. The update is much appreciated.

I still can't help but suspect that there were some financial problems at the root of all this. (I remember when CrossGen's books first started showing up late and they blamed it on printing problems. It turned out that the "printing problem" was that they didn't have any money to pay the printers!)

On the other hand, I honestly am not very happy about their plan to "catch up". The $7.99 price tag on U$ & WDC&S is tough enough once a month. But now they want me to pick them each up three times in January alone! Holy smokes, who do they think I am, Uncle Scrooge?

[Hintermann]

I still can't help but suspect that there were some financial problems at the root of all this. You bet there were! Gemstone have to pay Egmont a huge royalty of some sort to get licence to publish Disney comics in the USA and I bet that the vultures in Copenhagen won't let a penny slip through their claws! Don't be fooled by the bleats about their "ethics" or "legacy" on the Egmont websites; they are now the comic publishers equivalent of La Cosa Nostra. I have a Danish schoolteacher friend who used to work for them years ago and resigned in protest of some of the practices. He told me quite a few interesting inside stories.

[Captain Jim]

You bet there were! Gemstone have to pay Egmont a huge royalty of some sort to get licence to publish Disney comics in the USA and I bet that the vultures in Copenhagen won't let a penny slip through their claws! Don't be fooled by the bleats about their "ethics" or "legacy" on the Egmont websites; they are now the comic publishers equivalent of La Cosa Nostra. I have a Danish schoolteacher friend who used to work for them years ago and resigned in protest of some of the practices. He told me quite a few interesting inside stories.

I could be totally wrong, but I have always been of the impression that when one licenses a character or group of characters, you only pay whoever owns them, not whoever else has produced some of the material. For example, when Dark Horse reprinted Marvel's old Star Wars material, they had to pay Lucasfilm, but not Marvel. I always thought that was one of the attractions for Gladstone and Gemstone, that they had all this European material available without further cost (other than perhaps someone translating the language). Or am I wrong?

[Hintermann]

I have been subscribing to Gladstone - Disney - Gladstone (again) - and now Gemstone comics of Disney stories since 1985 ans have every scheduled issue of every title to date, mostly VFN and above in condition. During Gladstone's second run in the early to mid 1990s, Janet Dvorak was very helpful in organising my subscription to the UK and we became quite familiar to each other over the phone. Because of this,some hints dropped by Don Rosa himself in e-mails and my aforementioned danish acquaintance, I have an idea of what went on.

Although I cannot tell you exactly how it was divided, there is no doubt that the exhorbitant payments to Egmont plus Disney company's own uncaring stance towards comic books (which they believe is a dying art) was what forced Gladstone to steeply increase marked costs of their comics, discontinue some titles and ultimately go bust. Now Geppi's Gemstone is almost certainly more involved with Egmont than Gladstone was and effectively all the stories are published under some sort of licence, to which Egmont are paid large sums. That is what is forcing Gemstone to keep prices so high and do many reprints because they simply cannot afford to keep going otherwise. But it is beginning to look like even Geppi's determination is going to fail and we are likely to soon lose English Disney comics altogether. Guys like Rosa and van Horn, though American and Canadian respectively by nationality, are not allowed to release stories directly to Gemstone becaise they are bound by their own terms to Egmont.

Disney comics are not the only ones where bloody Egmont have played this game. In my native India, they briefly exploited the popularity of Phantom comics to try and sell high-priced (comparitively speaking) "reprints" of Phantom comic stories. But what the fools did not realise was that the popularity of the Phantom in India depended entirely on the Lee Falk version of the character and not on the stupid Scandinavian versions that they published. Needless to say, the project folded up in abiut 18 months.

[shaxper]

Wow. It's nice to know they're back on track, but two new $7.99 volumes every two weeks for the next two months? I would think that would force a lot of people to decide whether or not it's worth trying to keep up. It would cost $128 to keep up with Uncle Scrooge and Walt Disney Comics and Stories over the next two months :(

[Louis Lane]

>It would cost $128 to keep up...

Gemstone overprints both Scrooge and WDC&S, so fans won't have to buy them all immediately; they'll be available for reorder. But I understand your comments - I'll be spending even more than $128, since I get their trades as well. (I'm really looking forward to the "new" graphic novel, Scrooge's Quest.)

LL

[Louis Lane]

Gemstone has slightly delayed their relaunch. Here's the latest schedule from Diamond's Scoop newsletter (http://scoop.diamondgalleries.com/public/default.asp?t=1&m=1&c=34&s=259&ai=65026).

LL

Shipping Date January 9, 2008
DuckTales – Volume 3 [trade paperback]

Shipping Date January 16, 2008
Uncle Scrooge #371
Walt Disney’s Comics & Stories #686

Shipping Date January 30, 2008
Walt Disney’s Treasures – Volume 2 [trade paperback]
Uncle Scrooge #372
Walt Disney’s Comics & Stories #687

Shipping Date February 13, 2008
The Barks/Rosa Collection - Volume 2 [special]
Uncle Scrooge #373
Walt Disney’s Comics & Stories #688

Shipping Date February 27, 2008
Uncle Scrooge #374
Walt Disney’s Comics & Stories #689

Shipping Date March 5, 2008
Uncle Scrooge #375
Walt Disney’s Comics & Stories #690

Shipping Date March 19, 2008
Spring Fever #2 [special]
Uncle Scrooge #376
Walt Disney’s Comics & Stories #691