Redistributing comics

A couple of weeks ago I was visiting Germany, and as I usually do on my travels I bought a few Disney comics as souvenirs. This time I picked up a couple of plastic bag type of things.

Mickey Mouse Wundertüte #18 and a Donald Duck Doppel Pack

One was #18 of something called "Micky Maus Wundertüte", and the other one was a "Donald Duck Doppel Pack". The Donald Duck bag looks more generic in design with no numbering and had Die tollsten Geschichten von Donald Duck Sonderheft #384 and Lustiges Taschenbuch #474 inside. The other copies at the same store had the same comics in the bag, and I found a picture of the same one online too. I guess the content is not random then and if you are a hardcore completionist you could collect these double-packs. But the bags are not listed on inducks and such.

Two Micky Maus comics from inside the Wundertüte bag, including free gifts (= useless plastic junk)

Inside the Micky Maus Wundertüte I found Micky Maus #19/2018 (with an attached DuckTales comic) and Micky Maus #14/2018. Doing some searching online I found a guy on YouTube opening three of the same packaging, but with different comics inside, so in this bag I guess the content is random back issues of Micky Maus.

In both cases I suspect these comics are unsold back issues that are redistributed at a discount price. This way of redistributing comics is not normal where I live, but I tried to remember if I could think of any other examples of the same. Doing some digging in my archive I found a double-pack from Finland I bought years ago, and a couple from Italy too.

Double-packs with comics from Finland and Italy

The Finnish one I'm pretty sure is an official redistribution bag with two issues of Roope-Setä. The two Italian ones I'm not so sure about. I got them at a regular newsstand/kiosk and not from any used comics book shop. But the shrink-wrap looks more home made, and while one of the two books inside looks new and unread, the other one is clearly a used one.

Here in Norway I don't see much of any redistribution anymore, but in the past it was common for comics in album and pocket format. But the way it was done here was to add a redistribution sticker on the comics with updated information about the price and return week.

Norwegian Donald Pocket with redistribution stickers

Above is an example from two issues of the Norwegian Donald Pocket. While it is common for the most serious collectors here to collect different editions and printings, comics with stickers like this is not something that is collected and registered in databases and price guides. As you can see from another example below, the stickers often fade over time too.

Norwegian albums, original and with redistribution sticker

Another way to redistribute unsold comics is to make a completely new comic book out of them! That's what happened with some American comics in Australia in the late 70’s/early 80’s.

The comics pictured above where all sold in Australia, but inside they have American comics from Western Publishing (under the Gold Key/Whitman brand). The original covers are removed and the rest of the comics glued together with edges cut to make a new paperback comic.

American comic reused in an Australian paperback

My copy numbered WD 614 has Donald Duck #204, Donald Duck #206, Super Goof #60, Winnie-the-Pooh #20 and Donald Duck #207 inside. But the fun thing is that if you find another copy of WD 614 with the same cover, the content will most likely be different. There's no point trying to index these comics as the content vary, and they are not added to the inducks database. But you can find a listing of the different covers that exist here.

Another example where almost the same was done is the Gladstone leather bound collection of albums.

These books were made as limited-edition collectors' books and hand numbered.

But they basically just contain old stock issues of the Gladstone Comic Album Series bound together as a hardcover. When writing this I noticed that the books actually have later printings of the albums. This can easily be spotted on the very first albums where the ring around the number differ from the first and second printing.

First printing of album #1 and a later printing used in the leather bound book.

Edit Feb. 24, 2020

After writing this blogpost I discovered another example of old stock comics being redistributed. In Sweden they are putting old issues of Kalle Ankas Pocket back in sale in 2-packs, with a paper binding around.

 

Front

Back

The most interesting thing however is that the paper around the old comics is numbered "Kalle Ankas Bäste" (= "Best of Donald Duck") #1, 2020. The two-pack even got its own series name different from the books you actually buy…

Restored version of a Barks one-pager from Uncle Scrooge #22

In late December last year, a small collection of original art panels was sold on Heritage Auctions. The panels were from various Disney artist including Paul Murry, Al Hubbard, Tony Strobl and one single panel by Carl Barks. And the Barks panel turned out to be a panel cut from a one-pager he did for Uncle Scrooge #22, and never before seen on print!
 

Newly discovered panel by Carl Barks

It didn't take long for a restored version of the one-pager to get published, and we saw the newly discovered panel on print for the first time this February in the Swedish Kalle Anka Extra.
 

Swedish Kalle Anka Extra #1/2019

Under is a comparison of the page as originally printed in Uncle Scrooge #22 and the restored page in Kalle Anka Extra #1/2019.
 

Uncle Scrooge #22 (left), Kalle Anka Extra 1/2019 (right)

As you can see, the panel got cut to make space for the "Dell pledge to parents" in US #22. Also, it looks like the last panel was slightly extended for the original print (probably by another artist than Barks), and that panel had to be cropped a bit for the restored layout. I tried to look closely at the last panel as printed in the Carl Barks library from Another Rainbow (in black and white), and it's hard to tell exactly what part of the panel has been extended. But I guess the Swedish restoration is pretty close to the original as drawn by Carl Barks.
 

Original layout (top), restored panel (bottom)

Checking a couple of other reprints of the page, the Dell pledge got replaced by Scrooge's head in Uncle Scrooge Adventures #3, while an early British reprint simply adjusted the pledge to their own name…

Gladstone's Uncle Scrooge Adventures #3 (left), British "World Distributors" #52 (right)

Original pledge (left), British adjusted pledge (right)

***

The Swedish issue might not be that easy to obtain around the world, but rumor has it that the restored page will be printed in Fantagraphics' book The Mines of King Solomon that will be on sale in comic shops next week.

Fantagraphics' book that (supposedly) will include the restored page

Uncle Scrooge 445 & 446

After a few months hiatus while the "Uncle Scrooge: My First Millions" mini-series was published, the regular Uncle Scrooge title is now back continuing the old numbering.

IDW's Uncle Scrooge #41 (445) and #42 (446)

 
New this time is that the logo is changed again.

Uncle Scrooge logo changed from #41 (445)

But the logo is not completely new, it's the same one as used by Walt Disney Publications in the early 90's when they published the Uncle Scrooge title from #243 to #280.

Same logo used by Walt Disney Publications in 1990

I don't have any opinion about which one is best, both look fine to me. I'm just glad the regular ongoing title is back again.

In Uncle Scrooge #445 we got "The Time Vortex" (or is it "The Vortex of Time" like the table of contents say?); a story with Magica going back in time to Scrooge's Klondike days. We get to see both Soapy Slick and Goldie and there's several other references to Barks and Don Rosa stories.

The famous shoe shining secene in The Invisible Intruder (top left), The Last of the Clan McDuck (top right) and The Time Vortex (bottom)

White Agoney Valley in The Argonaut Of White Agony Creek (top) and The Time Vortex (bottom)

 
The next panel after the shoe shining scene and where Magica say "Yeah, I was there…" is a reference to "Of Ducks and Dimes and Destinies".

Magica watching Scrooge in "Of Ducks and Dimes and Destinies" (top) and panel from The Time Vortex (bottom)

But according to writer Carlo Panaro, he hadn't read that story before writing The Time Vortex, so I wonder if this got added in translation. A nice reference either way.

In Uncle Scrooge #456 we have The World of Ideas, a story with Scrooge taking advantage of Gyro's latest invention to make more money. But things might not go exactly like planned. It's a nice little story but not too memorable.

 
Both new issues of Uncle Scrooge only have one long story, and no backup stories at the end. Checking the Previews catalog it looks like they planned to have "Et Tu, Deja Vu?" in #445 and "Fast Food Duck" in #446 – but that didn't happen.

From the Previews catalog

From the Previews catalog

The two new issues also have a few pages less that we used to have (36 pages with 30 comic pages in #445 and 32 pages with 26 comic pages in #446).

"Disney Afternoon Giant" and versions of "Rightful Owners"

First three issues of IDW's Disney Afternoon Giant

When IDW changed the lineup of Disney comics at the end of last year, one of the new series we saw was "Disney Afternoon Giant". I am a bit surprised IDW would do this series, not really because of the title, but more of the content. A lot of people growing up in the 90's loved the Disney Afternoon animated series on TV and I guess this can (could have been) be a nostalgic series for those. Kids these days probably have no idea what "Disney Afternoon" is all about, but people growing up with the TV-series might have kids of their own now, and could see something they once loved and pick it up for their kids.

But the new series is just a reprint of stories from the last time we saw Disney Afternoon comics in the shop. They were originally published by BOOM! In 2010/2011, and I guess most people being a Disney Afternoon fan now, was a fan back then too. So there's nothing new or exciting about the new series - it's simply a reprint of not-so-old material.

The first issues of the new IDW series have the DuckTales serial Rightful Owners and Worldwide Rescue with Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers. The early solicitation text in the Previews catalog mentioned Darkwing Duck too, but we have yet to see any stories with him in the new series.

***

The 3rd issue from IDW is on sale right now and have the 3rd part of "Rightful Owners" that got a lot of attention the first time it was published. The series was printed in four parts by BOOM! (under the name "kaboom!" for a little while) in 2011, and later collected in a TPB.
 

Original comics with "Rightful Owners"

TPB collecting "Rightful Owners"

BOOM!'s issue #3 got rushed out and had an unfinished version of the story printed, where one page was not properly colored and another just had a bunch of clip-and-paste art to replace unfinished artwork! Other pages had arguably very bad artwork too. This didn't get by unnoticed by fans and we had blogs and forum discussions telling how bad things were.

In the trade paperback however, the coloring was finished and the clip-and-paste art got replaced by a properly drawn page. See the comparison below.

From BOOM!'s DuckTales #3 (left) and the TPB (right)

From BOOM!'s DuckTales #3 (left) and the TPB (right)

 
And now for the big question, how does the same pages look in the IDW print? Well, you can see for yourself blow.

From BOOM!'s DuckTales #3 (left) and IDW's Disney Afternoon Giant (right)

From BOOM!'s DuckTales #3 (left) and IDW's Disney Afternoon Giant (right)

For some reason IDW actually used the unfinished version of the story as printed in BOOM!'s DuckTales #3! If they plan on doing a trade collecting the story, I hope someone tells the editors about this so they can track down the proper version.

Edit Feb 23, 2019:

From the comments on this post I was made aware of changes to the first part of "Rightful Owners" too, and did some comparisons. You can see more examples on squeakyboots13's twitter.

Black and blue eyes

Blue clothes changed to green

The two examples above are both from the first part of the story, and as you can see the in the first one BOOM!'s TPB and IDW's version have the same coloring, while in the second both BOOM! prints have the same coloring while the IDW one is different. So there's three different color edits for the first part.

In the prints where Webby's eyes are blue, this is not the case for the whole story just in a few panels – so I guess this is an error and not intentional.

In the TPB we also have a panel with the nephew's clothes colored black. But they are not in the rest of the story, so this is also an error. But it's a bit strange that we didn't see the same error in the first print.

In IDW's digital edition the entire page with this panel is missing the dialogue. This tells us that the story is created with the speech balloons as a different layer above the artwork, and not as part of the art. This makes it easier to make adjustments when translating the story.

The dialogue also has minor changes in all parts.

Above we can see the soda names are changed in IDW's version. The native's language is also changed to proper English, probably to not sound offensive.

I also have a Norwegian print of the same story. I'm not going to bother with a detailed comparison with that edition, but the Norwegian print did use the page with finished artwork not used by IDW – and it shouldn't be too hard to get hold of.

Norwegian print with the finihed artwork in part 3.