As someone who loved the shit out of Don Rosa's Donald Duck stories as a kid, reading about his treatment by Disney- though in this case it was more the publishers with the publishing rights to Disney comics- was heartbreaking :(
Basically they had no qualms about using his name and popularity to sell tons of books and merch but he saw no royalties for any of those due to the way artists were contracted- it was just one lump sum per story.
I don't think he was even compensated for all the times he was asked to fly to Europe to promote and sign books.
He quit because eventually his eyesight got so bad drawing comics became too straining for the money he was making.
He was approached by a bunch of publishers since and told he could write and draw any original comic he wanted but he was just nah, Donald Duck was the only thing I cared about and the only thing I wanted to make
Don Rosa is just a great guy, he still goes to a lot of cons an signs his artwork and stuff for free and chats with his fans. Just a guy who really loves comics and donald duck, getting exploited for his passion.
There's a bit of nuance to it. He was happy with the work for hire contract for the actual comics, that is something he signed and agreed to. He didn't agree to using his name for it, so he did trademark his name, also to be included in the quality control of how his works are published and coloured (the definitive version is the Fantagraphics Don Rosa Collection, which is an amazing publication if you're a fan.)
Also, the eyesight issue was part of it, but after his story "The prisoner of White Agony Creek" he also didn't feel he had anything left to tell with the characters.
Don Rosa is definitely an interesting character and he's quite active in his official Facebook group and he has some interesting opinions on culture and collecting. He truly hates collectors that only collect for monetary value and he's even put that concept into his version of Uncle Scrooge
Yeah, I remember the constant reissues and comic compilations being the major sticking point. Thanks for the extra info, my recollection of the whole situation is kind of fuzzy.
He truly hates collectors that only collect for monetary value and he’s even put that concept into his version of Uncle Scrooge
There was a story he did that was specifically lampooning these sorts of collectors, and he also railed against comic book collectors in the foreword to that story. Sealing comic books, things that intended to be read and enjoyed, into ziplock bags, never to be opened really stuck in his craw
As someone who loved the shit out of Don Rosa's Donald Duck stories as a kid, reading about his treatment by Disney- though in this case it was more the publishers with the publishing rights to Disney comics- was heartbreaking :(
Basically they had no qualms about using his name and popularity to sell tons of books and merch but he saw no royalties for any of those due to the way artists were contracted- it was just one lump sum per story.
I don't think he was even compensated for all the times he was asked to fly to Europe to promote and sign books.
He quit because eventually his eyesight got so bad drawing comics became too straining for the money he was making.
He was approached by a bunch of publishers since and told he could write and draw any original comic he wanted but he was just nah, Donald Duck was the only thing I cared about and the only thing I wanted to make
Don Rosa is just a great guy, he still goes to a lot of cons an signs his artwork and stuff for free and chats with his fans. Just a guy who really loves comics and donald duck, getting exploited for his passion.
There's a bit of nuance to it. He was happy with the work for hire contract for the actual comics, that is something he signed and agreed to. He didn't agree to using his name for it, so he did trademark his name, also to be included in the quality control of how his works are published and coloured (the definitive version is the Fantagraphics Don Rosa Collection, which is an amazing publication if you're a fan.)
Also, the eyesight issue was part of it, but after his story "The prisoner of White Agony Creek" he also didn't feel he had anything left to tell with the characters.
Don Rosa is definitely an interesting character and he's quite active in his official Facebook group and he has some interesting opinions on culture and collecting. He truly hates collectors that only collect for monetary value and he's even put that concept into his version of Uncle Scrooge
Yeah, I remember the constant reissues and comic compilations being the major sticking point. Thanks for the extra info, my recollection of the whole situation is kind of fuzzy.
There was a story he did that was specifically lampooning these sorts of collectors, and he also railed against comic book collectors in the foreword to that story. Sealing comic books, things that intended to be read and enjoyed, into ziplock bags, never to be opened really stuck in his craw