The Don Rosa Library Explained

Schedule:Biannual
Format:Hardcover
Genre:Funny animals
Adventure
Publisher:Fantagraphics Books
Startmo:October 4,
Startyr:2014
Endmo:
November 13,
Endyr:2018
Issues:10
Main Char Team:Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck, Huey, Dewey & Louie, Daisy Duck, Gyro Gearloose, Gladstone Gander
Writers:Don Rosa
Artists:Don Rosa
Colorists:Rich Tommaso, Kneon Transitt
Editors:David Gerstein

Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck: The Don Rosa Library is a series of books published by Fantagraphics Books, collecting all of the Scrooge McDuck and Donald Duck comic book stories written and drawn by Don Rosa,[1] originally published between 1987 and 2006. Following up Fantagraphics' Floyd Gottfredson Library and The Complete Carl Barks Disney Library, this series was launched in 2014, and completed with the tenth and last volume in late 2018.[2]

Since 2017, Fantagraphics' The Don Rosa Library is being translated and published in Russia, Brazil, Poland and Italy by editors ACT, Editora Abril, Egmont and Panini Comics respectively. In June 2020, a translated edition for the German market was released, this one having minor editorial changes and adaptations compared to the Fantagraphics original library version and its previous translations.

Background

In September 2013, Fantagraphics Books announced that they were to publish a complete library of Don Rosa's Disney comics scheduled to launch during the summer of 2014. This would not be the first time that Fantagraphics published work by Don Rosa; in 1981 they published his Don Rosa's Comics & Stories in two volumes, featuring Pertwillaby Papers and later also his Tagdenah in The Comics Journal.[3]

In the end of July 2014, the first volume of the Don Rosa Library, titled The Son of the Sun premiered at San Diego Comic-Con; it was also stated that the first volume would get a retailer release in September later the same year.[4] However, it was finally released on October 4, 2014.

Format

The Don Rosa Library volumes are 8.5 × 11 inches (216 × 279 mm), making them a little bigger than the volumes of The Complete Carl Barks Disney Library measuring 7.5 × 10.25 inches (191 × 260 mm). The library consists of 10 volumes and represents a complete chronological collection of Rosa's Disney stories. The volumes were published in chronological order starting with Don Rosa's first Disney story: "The Son of the Sun" (1987), this volume was published in 2014.

The pages are mostly colored by Scott Rockwell, Erik Rosengarten, Rich Tommaso, Kneon Transitt, and Digikore Studios under the supervision of Disney expert David Gerstein and Gary Groth, with the artistic input of Rosa.[5] Rosa has stated that he checks every page and panel offering valuable insight and assistance to the Fantagraphics team in restoring the stories as they were originally intended to be published.

The books are approximately 200 pages each containing about 160 pages of comics, with the remaining pages made up of supplementary material, which include comments on the stories by Rosa, story covers by the artist and a biography written by Rosa.[6] [7] [8] [9]

The volumes are sold separately with a suggested retail price of $30 each, but are also available in bundled sets by the pair in chronological order with a provided slipcase. The boxed sets had the suggested retail price at $50 and had therefore "a bargain price worthy of Scrooge McDuck himself!" according to the publisher.[10] From 2014 to 2018, two volumes were published yearly. The boxed sets were introduced to the market in conjunction of the release of every evenly numbered volume.

Recognition

Volumes and box sets

Volumes

Volumes
Volume & dateTitlePeriodPage countISBNInducks link
1:  2014-10-04The Son of the Sun1987–1988208DRL 1
2:  2014-11-16Return to Plain Awful1988–1990216DRL 2
3:  2015-09-06Treasure Under Glass1990–1992196DRL 3
4:  2015-11-09The Last of the Clan McDuck1992–1995196DRL 4
5:  2016-06-06The Richest Duck in the World1993–1994196DRL 5
6:  2016-10-22The Universal Solvent1994–1997212DRL 6
7:  2017-07-25The Treasure of the Ten Avatars1995–1998192DRL 7
8:  2018-01-09Escape from Forbidden Valley1997–1999208DRL 8
9:  2018-07-24The Three Caballeros Ride Again!1999–2002224DRL 9
10:  2018-11-13The Old Castle's Other Secret2002–2006224DRL 10

Box sets

Box sets
Volume & dateTitlePeriodISBN
1:  2014-11-30The Don Rosa Library Vols. 1 & 21987–1990
2:  2015-11-09The Don Rosa Library Vols. 3 & 41990–1995
3:  2016-10-25The Don Rosa Library Vols. 5 & 61993–1995
4:  2018-01-09The Don Rosa Library Vols. 7 & 81996–1999
5:  2018-11-13The Don Rosa Library Vols. 9 & 101999–2006

Related

Free Comic Book Day 2014

In December 2013 it was announced that Fantagraphics would participate in the Free Comic Book Day promotion campaign of May 2014 with a comic book issue showcasing the works of Don Rosa. The free issue was titled Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck: A Matter of Some Gravity and featured the two Rosa stories A Matter of Some Gravity and The Sign of the Triple Distelfink.[14] [15]

The Complete Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck

After all ten volumes of The Don Rosa Library had been released and the series therefore had been concluded, Fantagraphics released in 2019 the two-volume hardcover series The Complete Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, an edition collecting The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck and a few other stories which while not strictly being part of that series had a strong connection to them. The featured stories had been collected over several volumes of The Don Rosa Library (volumes 1 and 4–10) as that series was chronologically arranged.[16]

Translated versions

Brazilian version

The Brazilian version is titled Tio Patinhas e Pato Donald - Biblioteca Don Rosa and was initially published by Editora Abril starting in September 2017 with each Brazilian volume corresponding to an American volume. The price of each Brazilian volume was R$79.90. In 2018, the publication was canceled just before the 6th volume, already announced, went into publication. In November 2019, Panini Brasil Ltda resumed the collection.[17]

Volumes
VolReleasedTitlePeriodPage countPublishedISBNInducks link
12017-09 / 2021-02O Filho do Sol1987–1988212Editora Abril / Panini978-85-5579-226-7 / 978-65-5512-862-8BDR 1
22017-10 / 2021-04Volta a Quadradópolis1988–1990212Editora Abril / Panini978-85-5579-233-5 / 978-65-5512-958-8BDR 2
32017-11 / 2021-06O Tesouro na Bolha de Vidro1990–1992196Editora Abril / Panini978-85-5579-242-7 / 978-65-5982-234-8BDR 3
42017-12O Último Membro do Clã Mac Patinhas1992–1995196Editora Abril978-85-5579-244-1BDR 4
52018-02O Pato Mais Rico do Mundo1993–1994204Editora Abril978-85-6952-245-4BDR 5
62019-11O Solvente Universal1994–1995208Panini978-85-4261-695-8BDR 6
72020-01O Tesouro dos Dez Avatares1995–1996224Panini978-85-4262-858-6BDR 7
82020-04Fugindo do Vale Proibido1997–1999224Panini978-85-4263-060-2BDR 8
92020-06O Retorno dos Três Cavaleiros1999–2002230Panini978-65-5512-086-8BDR 9
102020-09Uma Carta de Casa2002–2006232Panini978-65-5512-444-6BDR 10

German version

A German version of the series published by the German Egmont Comic Collection began its publication in June 2020. Compared to previous translations of the Fantagraphics version of the series, this German edition has some layout changes such as the story articles appear just after each individual story compared to previously all of these have been collected in the end of each volume. The MSRP for a single volume is €30, while 2-volume box sets are priced at €70 .[18] [19]

Italian version

The Italian version is published by Panini Comics under the title The Don Rosa Library – Zio Paperone & Paperino. It started in November 2017 and will end in June 2019, for a total of 20 volumes, published monthly. Each American volume is divided into two Italian volumes, and the latter don't have titles. The prices of each Italian volume is €8.90.

Volumes
Volume & datePeriodPage countISSNInducks link
1:  2017-11-1019871409772532922006-70001DRLI 1
2:  2017-12-1019881169772532922006-70002DRLI 2
3:  2018-01-10[20] 1988–19891169772532922006-80003DRLI 3
4:  2018-02-101989–19901169772532922006-80004DRLI 4
5:  2018-03-101990–19911169772532922006-80005DRLI 5
6:  2018-04-101991–19921169772532922006-80006DRLI 6
7:  2018-05-101992–19951169772532922006-80007DRLI 7
8:  2018-06-1019931169772532922006-80008DRLI 8
9:  2018-07-101993–19941169772532922006-80009DRLI 9
10:  2018-08-1019941169772532922006-80010DRLI 10
11:  2018-09-101994–19971169772532922006-80011DRLI 11
12:  2018-10-1019951169772532922006-80012DRLI 12
13:  2018-11-1019961169772532922006-80013DRLI 13
14:  2018-12-101995–19981169772532922006-80014DRLI 14
15:  2019-01-101997-19981169772532922006-90015DRLI 15
16:  2019-02-1019991169772532922006-90016DRLI 16
17:  2019-03-101999-20011169772532922006-90017DRLI 17
18:  2019-04-102001-20021169772532922006-90018DRLI 18

Polish version

The polish version is published by Egmont Polska. It started in December 2019. The price of one volume is PLN 69,99.

Russian version

The Russian version is published by ACT under the title Библиотека Дона Росы - Дядюшка Скрудж и Дональд Дак. It started in February 2017, with each Russian volume corresponding to an American volume. The price of each Russian volume is RUB 750.

Volumes
Volume & dateTitlePeriodPage countISBNInducks link
1:  2017-02-07Сын Солнца1987–1988208978-5-17-100446-0DRL 1
2:  2017-05-30Возвращение в ужасную долину1988–1990216978-5-17-101751-4DRL 2
3: 2017-09-29Сокровище под стеклом1990–1992192978-5-17-102849-7DRL 3
4: 2018-01-19Последний из Клана Макдаков1992–1995192978-5-17-102850-3DRL 4
5: 2018-05-16Самый богатый селезень в мире1993–1994192978-5-17-107284-1DRL 5
6: 2018-07-25Универсальный растворитель1994–1995208978-5-17-108615-2DRL 6
7: 2018-10-02Сокровище десяти Аватар1996–1998224978-5-17-110546-4DRL 7
8: 2019-01-14Побег из Заповедной Долины1997–1999224978-5-17-112178-5DRL 8

Swedish version

Since September 2020 a Swedish translation of the work is published by Egmont Comics. A single volume is priced at 559 SEK.[21] [22]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Fantagraphics To Collect Complete Don Rosa Duck Adventures... And More. 2013-09-03. Johnston, Rich. Bleeding Cool. 2018-04-27. en-US.
  2. News: Legendary Uncle Scrooge artist Rosa builds a library in Duckburg. 2014-06-18. Dueben, Alex. ComicBookResources. 2018-04-27. en-US.
  3. Web site: Fantagraphics Confirms Don Rosa 'Donald Duck & Uncle Scrooge' Collections. Chris. Sims. ComicsAlliance. 2019-08-08.
  4. Web site: Fantagraphics Previews Don Rosa's 'The Son Of The Sun'. Matt D.. Wilson. ComicsAlliance. 2019-08-08.
  5. Web site: Rosa Talks Recoloring Classic Disney "Duck" Tales, Carl Barks & More. April 1, 2015. CBR. 2019-08-08.
  6. Web site: Fantagraphics Confirms Don Rosa 'Donald Duck & Uncle Scrooge' Collections . 2015-12-27 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20151229105218/http://comicsalliance.com/don-rosa-uncle-scrooge-donald-duck-fantagraphics-comics-reprints-disney/ . 2015-12-29 .
  7. News: Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck 'The Son of the Sun' The Don Rosa Library Vol 1. 2014-09-25. Falcone, Anthony. Comic Book Daily. 2019-01-22. en-US.
  8. Web site: In Review: The Don Rosa Library: Volume One. September 1, 2014. 2019-08-08.
  9. Web site: Review: Don Rosa's 'The Son of the Sun' Will Bring Many Smiles to Your Face. Jason. Sacks. October 20, 2014. Comics Bulletin. 2019-08-08.
  10. Web site: Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck: The Dona Rosa Library Vols. 3 and 4 Gift Box Set . 2016-02-22 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160301185147/http://www.fantagraphics.com/donrosabox2 . 2016-03-01 .
  11. Web site: 2015 Eisner Award Nominations Announced. Janelle. Asselin. ComicsAlliance. 2019-08-19.
  12. Web site: 2015 Harvey Award Nominees Announced. The Hollywood Reporter. 14 July 2015. 2019-08-19.
  13. Web site: 28th Eisner Awards: The Complete Winners and Nominees. Luke. Brown. ComicsAlliance. 2019-08-19.
  14. Web site: Free Comic Book Day 2014 GOLD - Transformers Vs GI Joe to Marc Silvestri's Magi to Future's End (UPDATE) . www.bleedingcool.com . 12 December 2013. 2020-03-07.
  15. Web site: FCBD 2014 Interview with Creators of Walt Disney Scrooge and Donald Duck Gravity Comic . www.freecomicbookday.com . 2020-03-07.
  16. Web site: The Complete Life and Times of $crooge McDuck . www.tcj.com . 2020-03-07.
  17. Web site: Panini retoma coleções da Disney canceladas pela Editora Abril. October 2019.
  18. Web site: Onkel Dagobert und Donald Duck - Don Rosa Library . comic.highlightzone.de . 31 May 2020. 2020-07-04.
  19. Web site: Don Rosa Collection | Jetzt bequem online bestellen . www.egmont-shop.de . 2020-07-04.
  20. The date on the back of the cover mistakenly says 2017 instead of 2018
  21. Web site: EGMONT COMICS heta serienyheter . www.jpsmedia.se . 14 September 2020. 2020-12-09.
  22. Web site: Åter till Ankeborg! – serietecknaren Don Rosas serier samlas än en gång mellan hårda pärmar . www.hbl.fi . 2020-12-09.