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Introduc(k)tion of Harry Fluks |
My family had a subscription to the Dutch DD Weekly from 1966-1972. After that, I was considered too old for that stuff. In 1977, I started to collect 2nd-hand comics myself.
The first time I learned about Carl Barks was in the foreword of the Dutch
"Beste Verhalen van Donald Duck" #4, in 1977. One year later, I read the
Dutch "Barks Boek" by Rob Stechweij. It gave a (largely erratic) index on all
Barks stories.
Since then, I tried to make my own index, which became computerised in 1983.
This eventually evolved into a Disney comics Database, with data delivered
by various people, administrated by me.
Only in 1986, when I moved from Groningen to Leidschendam (near The Hague), I found out that in the cities in this area in Holland, there were some comic specialty shops that sold American comics, like Gladstone comics.
Nowadays I try to read all my Disney material in sequence: when I'm finished with the last issue, I start again with the first. Such a cycle can take 2 or 3 years...
I have a subscription (again) to the Dutch Donald Duck, and I only buy
foreign Disney comics (German, USA) if they contain interesting stories.
Since my Barks, Jippes and Gottfredson collections are a good as complete, I
have much fun in trying to get a complete Rosa collection.
I try to collect Disney comic stories, but not at all cost: I have a sort of
maximum price per page. If a comic is considered rare and expensive, I try to
get a reprint. I'm collecting comic stories, not comic
issues.
I spend a lot of time on the so-called
Inducks,
the database of Disney comics. This started as an effort
of some fans to index their favourite comics. But more recently, various Disney
writers, artists and editors have shown interest in the information, and
have provided data.