There's been some interest in Don Rosa's work here on the site, and I thought I'd point anyone interested towards this epilogue that he wrote for a 9-book prestige collection of his work.
Not hard to guess what his number one reason for quitting was, after half a lifetime devoted to $crooge and co.
Naturally Disney refused at the last minute to print the piece and he's put it up on the internet for all to read.
He's quite a guy, with quite a career. It's definitely worth a read.
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I read that a week or so, Figs, and it is a great read. Even for someone like me who is a "company man" he was treated rather shabbily when you compare to how other employees of Disney are treated in regards to royalties and such. Quite a bit of it I knew already from other interviews and having met him at Dragon*Con back in 2011.
He couldn't have been a nicer guy too. I brought one book to get signed to that con, his The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, plus I had him do a Scrooge McDuck sketch in my sketchbook which he refused to be paid for, so I bought one his prints and gave it to my cousin who I was staying with. There are many nice guys in comics, and he is at the top of the list. I think his good nature is probably what had him be walked all over by his overlords for so long. Quite a shame really.
Something for Marvel's writers and artists to think about.
Maybe there'll now be a pressure to treat the Disney creators like the Marvel creators? That's the moral direction, anyway, and morality sometimes is a factor.
I didn't know much about Rosa before reading that piece. What a fine fellow. I hope he enjoys his well-earned retirement.
Luckily corporations are a 100% shield against shame, so no-one who actually makes money off his selfless devotion to their brand for all those years need feel bad about their treatment of him.
Thanks for posting this link, Figs. I remember when Don Rosa worked on the fanzines and first started working on the Ducks professionally. Unfortunately his story about lack of royalties is not unique, but it seems like an even more extreme case than most. I wish him contentment and, if possible, better visual health.