Germany

One of the most successful paperbacks in the world comes out with its 400th issue this month. Since Lustiges Taschenbuch was first published in October 1967, Ehapa Verlag in Germany has published over 215 million copies of this popular Disney comic. The 250-page books are published 13 times per year with a print-run of approximately 400,000 copies. Over the years several spin-off series have been added, including Christmas and Easter specials, a Ducks-only edition, a Mini version and even an English edition.

The 400th issue comes out on March 9th. To celebrate this milestone, Ehapa is also releasing a four-volume special edition presenting a selection of some of the best stories by the best artists. The four books will be released one per week in the month of March.

Did you know that in the United States you can subscribe to several European weekly and monthly Disney comics through Amazon.com? You can get Micky Maus from Germany, Kalle Anka from Sweden or Picsou Magazine from France. Here’s an overview of the Disney periodicals that I found. These titles can be shipped only within the U.S. and the prices listed here include shipping costs.

• Micky Maus (Germany)
  Price: $180 for 52 issues / 12 months
   
• Lustiges Taschenbuch (Germany)
  Price: $90 for 12 issues / 12 months
   
• Kalle Anka & Co (Sweden)
  Price: $194.99 for 52 issues / 12 months
   
• Musse Pigg & Co (Sweden)
  Price: $25.17 for 52 issues / 12 months
   
• Le Journal de Mickey (France)
  Price: $197.98 for 52 issues / 12 months
   
• Witch Magazine (France)
  Price: $90.23 for 12 issues / 12 months
   
• Picsou Magazine (France)
  Price: $88.78 for 12 issues / 12 months
   
• Super Picsou Geant (France)
  Price: $47.86 for 6 issues / 12 months
   
• Mickey Parade Geant (France)
  Price: $45.48 for 6 issues / 12 months
   
• Anders And (Denmark)
  Price: $331.81 for 52 issues / 12 months
   
• Disney Adventures (Australia)
  Price: $52.36 for 12 issues / 12 months
   

Last month I wrote about the new English-language version of Lustiges Taschenbuch that Ehapa Verlag in Germany plans to launch on July 1st. I had read reports at the time that the 276-page comic would be available outside Germany, but it seems that this is not the case, at least for now.

I received an email from someone at the communication department at Ehapa who wrote that, for the time being, the English edition of Lustiges Taschenbuch will not be available to order outside Germany. However, I was not the first one to express interest in getting the books and they are actually thinking about alternative ways to distribute the new title through channels such as Amazon.

The main reason for publishing the new English-language Disney comic in Germany is not to enter the international market, but rather to bring local children in contact with the English language at an early age as English becomes ever more important as the world’s lingua franca. Editor-in-chief Peter Höpfner commented that they are publishing the new English edition of Lustiges Taschenbuch because English is becoming more and more important as it gets taught as early as pre-school and elementary school and secondly, because access to learning another language becomes easier in comic books when words and images are combined.

This weekend’s The Wall Street Journal has an article about the popularity of Disney comics in Germany, and in particular Donald Duck. The article talks about Dr. Erika Fuchs, Micky Maus‘ first editor-in-chief, who became famous in Germany for her quality translations of Carl Barks stories and set a very high standard for the language used in the German Disney comics. More »

Ehapa Verlag in Germany has released the cover of their new English Disney comics series: Lustiges Taschenbuch English Edition. The first issue will come out on July 1st and will feature stories previously printed in the popular German pocket books. I can’t find any information yet on how to order these books from outside Germany. If you have any more details about this exciting title please let me know or leave a comment below.

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Ehapa, publisher of Disney comics in Germany, has recently announced that it is planning to launch an English version of its hugely popular Lustiges Taschenbuch. The 256-page books feature 3-tier Italian and Danish Disney comic stories starring Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse. Not much is known about the new English title, but the chief editor wrote in a German forum this week that the English version of the pocket books will launch on July 1st and will contain only stories that have already previously been published in Germany. More »

On January 22nd, Ehapa Verlag, publisher of Disney comics in Germany, is launching a new soccer Disney magazine titled Donaldo. The bi-monthly magazine will feature football-themed comic stories as well as news reports from the Champions League and Bundlesliga soccer championships, posters and activities.

The 52-page magazine is targeted at 7 to 10-year-old kids and will sell for €2,80. The first issue will have a print-run of 110,000 copies.

Ehapa Verlag, publisher of Disney comics in Germany, is reprinting the first 50 issues of the popular Donald Duck Sonderheft in five unique collector’s sets with a limited print-run of only 4,444.

The original 50 issues came out between 1965 and 1977 and the first 40 have never been reprinted since. They contain many classic stories by legendary artist Carl Barks and translated to German by much-praised Dr. Erika Fuchs, who was Micky Maus’ first editor-in-chief. The high-quality sets can be ordered for EUR89.95 ($140) each at entlich-da.de and are available to Disney fans in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The first box is out now.

No other book in Germany has had such a large print run for so many years. The first issue of Lustiges Taschenbuch came out on October 1st, 1947. This month, 40 years years later, the 260-page monthly pocket book celebrates its anniversary with 4 special issues. The first issue will be reprinted and made available again, and next month’s issue #369 will have a special gold/silver cover and contain 40 extra pages! Each year 13 new issues of Lustiges Taschenbuch are published. If you put all issues on a bookshelf you’ll need a shelf of 5 1/2 meters (18 feet) long to store the more than 360 books that have published so far. That’s nearly 100,000 pages of Disney comic stories!

Visit the LTB official website and see the TV commercial for the 4 special issues on the homepage. Here’s the cover of the first special issue that came out on 19 September.

September 29th 2007 | 2:18 pm CET | 1 Comment »