David Gerstein's "Mickey and the Gang"

[magadizer]

I just received this book from UPS tonight, and have just had a chance to look at it.

Although I had read some reviews, none had prepared me for just how great this book looks, and for the fantastic quality and variety of material presented within. Most of the reviews I had read pointed out the focus on the Good Housekeeping magazine pages that are reprinted. This sounded interesting to me, but frankly not quite attractive enough for me to buy the book when it first came out. While these form the backbone of the book, they only scratch the surface of the material provided. In addition to the commentary and annotation provided by the author (which I look forward to reading at a leisurely pace!) there are reprints of vintage "novelizations" of famous Disney cartoons, of course with their accompanying illustrations. There are lots and lots of full color and black and white reprints of newspaper, comic book, and magazine comics from the Silly Symphonies, Mickey, and Donald lines among others, coming from around the world.

The reproductions are truly beautiful and of very high quality.

I must say, that I recall Jerry Beck and others praising this book at the time of its release, and I still delayed in getting it. But I am VERY glad I finally took the plunge. If you have any interest in Disney cartoons of the 1934-44 decade, this book is indispensible. (And I haven't even read it yet!!!) That it can be purchased for under $20 is frankly astounding -- the best bargain purchase of a book I have made in a long time.

Great work David!!!! I can't praise this book enthusiastically enough!

Josh:goof:

[Thad]

I agree wholeheartedly. This book sets a standard for 'visual guide' that has never been topped (and will probably never be matched).

THAD

[Tom Stathes]

If you knew David personally, his endless dedication, fandom, and the fact that he spends countless hours of research makes his work no surprise- and of course highly recommended by yours truly. :mickey: :minnie: :donald: :goof: :scrooge: :fethry:

[FleischerFan]

Let me add another voice to the praise for this book. It is simply one of the best pieces of Disney memorabilia ever published.

Magadizer is quite correct. It is best savored in small doses over a long period of time.

I had looked longingly at many of Good Housekeeping pages at antique and collectible shows over the years, but never wanted to spend the money for what is, essentialy, a single page of illustration.

To have them all so lavishly reproduced and then, to top that by including a cornucopia of other rarely scene vintage Disney material - well, this book definitely exceeded my wildest expectations.

[David Gerstein]

It's a pleasure to know you enjoyed the book so much! One important—and usually unspoken—reason for its level of depth was that it had Gemstone's unflinching corporate support behind it. Most cartoon researchers have to moonlight on their books after working an unrelated day job; I had the good fortune of the book being my day job, allowing me to give it my full concentration for an extended period of time. Gemstone also funded my travel to various archives and allowed me to scan numerous materials from company staffers' private collections.
In developing the book, I had an unspoken rule that with only a few exceptions, all items pictured/reprinted could not have been reproduced in any published book over the last twenty-five years, thus ensuring that as much material as possible would be new to our readers. But... I'd never have been able to stick to that rule without a lot of help!
Look at the acknowledgements to see how much aid I got from collectors, Disney employees, and the Gemstone staff as a whole. In particular Sue Kolberg and Travis Seitler at Gemstone, Ken Shue, David R. Smith, Iliana Lopez, Brian Hoffman, and Ed Squair at Disney, and private cartoon researcher Tom Andrae deserve a thousand thanks. And that was only after the elaborate license for the project was meticulously worked out by other invaluable people, not least of whom were Gemstone's Steve Geppi, John Snyder, and John Clark.

We're planning some exciting future books at Gemstone right now, including a few projects I've looked forward to since childhood. But for sheer variety of content, I'm not sure we'll ever beat MICKEY AND THE GANG.

[Duck Dodgers]

We're planning some exciting future books at Gemstone right now, including a few projects I've looked forward to since childhood.


Like????:D

[David Gerstein]

Let's not get nosy, bub! (-:

http://hobbylobby.wordpress.com/files/2006/12/mickeypolishgun2_sm.jpg

[magadizer]

David,

As I said, I haven't read the whole book yet, so perhaps this is covered in the text somewhere. (IOW, forgive me if this is an obvious question!)

Your book covers the period of 1934-44. Did the GH pages stop at that time, or did they continue to go forward in the post war years?

It would sure be amazing if there were the possibility of a "sequel" of sorts...even if not based around the GH material, but a sort of summary of other print tie-ins and adaptations like contained in "Mickey and the Gang," from the next Decade or so of Disney history.

Josh

[Duck Dodgers]

Let's not get nosy, bub! (-:

http://hobbylobby.wordpress.com/files/2006/12/mickeypolishgun2_sm.jpg


:( :( :(

[David Gerstein]

Your book covers the period of 1934-44. Did the GH pages stop at that time, or did they continue to go forward in the post war years?They stopped at that time. Since the time of MICKEY AND THE GANG's publication, we've learned that the decision to stop was very abrupt—more GH pages were evidently in preparation, and the "New Tales From Old Mother Goose" series was to have been followed by some THREE CABALLEROS-themed material. But this never actually took place.It would sure be amazing if there were the possibility of a "sequel" of sorts...even if not based around the GH material, but a sort of summary of other print tie-ins and adaptations like contained in "Mickey and the Gang," from the next Decade or so of Disney history.Me, I'd like a "prequel" ...with material from 1927-1933! But as of right now, the book will remain a standalone.

[David Gerstein]

:( :( :(I hope you know I was kidding around with my wisecrack!
In truth, I'd like to tell you our plans—but I'm not allowed to reveal them yet, because they may not take shape in exactly the way we presently think they will.
I'll break the news as soon as I know something more concrete... probably in a couple of months.

[Duck Dodgers]

I hope you know I was kidding around with my wisecrack!

I just wanted to do "tit for that" and kid you!:p :p ;)

And I know, my friend, that your releases will sure be great!;)