FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2005
On Free Comic Book Day, May 7, 2005,
Gemstone Publishers re-released the Uncle Scrooge comic "Only A Poor
Old Man," pictured below:
FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2004
For Free Comic Book Day 2004, Gemstone released a special "flip cover"
Disney comic book. One side featured Mickey Mouse in "Riddle of
the Red Hat," while the reverse featured Uncle Scrooge in "The Second
Richest Duck!"
FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2003
Free Comic Book Day on May 3, 2003, saw
the long-awaited return of Disney Comic Books to the marketplace! Steve Geppi, of Gemstone Publishers in
Baltimore, successfully negotiated a new contract with The Walt Disney
Company the previous Fall to bring back the comics after Gladstone
relinquished its Disney license in 2001.
This initial offering saw Gemstone's
release of a reprint of a very famous and collectible 1947 shoe-store
giveaway, the Boys and Girls March of Comics No. 4, featuring Carl
Barks' Donald Duck tale, "Maharajah Donald." Front and back
covers of the original 1947 release are pictured below:
The 2003 re-release of "Maharajah Donald" for Free Comic Book Day
featured a new red cover (below, left), and the 1947 cover image on
the back cover (below, right).
The
"Maharajah Donald" covers in green, silver, blue and gold were
issued at other convention events during 2003:
While the original version of "Maharajah Donald" in mint
condition could command up to $7,000 today, the reprint put an
estimated 168,000 FREE copies in the hands of the young...and the
young at heart! While the Initial press run was planned for about
50,000, the demand, through preorders, forced Gemstone to
significantly increase that number!
While Gemstone is taking a significant financial risk in returning
the Disney Comic Book line to publication, Geppi has stated that
he believes that now Is the right time for the "return" of such
wholesome comic book fare, hoping to introduce a totally new
generation of kids to the comic book adventures of the Disney
Ducks, begun in the early 1940s by the legendary, Carl Barks!
Gemstone plans to reprint many of the classic Carl Barks tales as
well as publish a myriad of new stories and artwork by Don Rosa,
William Van Horn, Pat Block, and a host of European writers and
artists whose work has seldom been seen in the American market.
The new line of Disney comic books will be published in a variety
of formats. The initial title was available In comic book stores
as UNCLE SCROOGE 319 on June 25, with both the cover and lead
story, "The Dutchman's Secret", by Don Rosa!
The official website for Gemstone Disney comics is now up and
running at www.gemstonepub.com/disney. You may now visit the site
to subscribe at anytime. In addition, you may also view upcoming
covers for soon to be published titles. You can even send gift
subscriptions. You can also order directly by phone by calling
1-800-322-7978 toll-free, or look for the new Disney issues at
your favorite comic book store.
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