A recent issue of "Disney Adventures"

Just in time for May 3, the April 29 edition of Disney Adventures Magazine (DA) will contain a special section informing readers of Free Comic Book Day (FCBD), as well as the availability of Gemstone Publishing's Walt Disney's Donald Duck Adventures FCBD Edition and other titles at participating specialty shops nationwide.

Disney Adventures Magazine has a circulation of 1.2 million readers, many of whom are in the 10-year-old demographic - a perfect lead-in to Free Comic Book Day and Gemstone's relaunch of the Disney Comics.

Furthermore, the article will be accompanied by Comic Shop Locator Service (CSLS) contact information and will further explain Gemstone's plans to return to stores in the coming year.

Relative to this news, the June edition of Better Homes and Gardens will feature an extensive story regarding the use of comics as a learning tool. The working title for the article is "Comics with Class." The article is scheduled to appear in the magazine's June edition, shipping in May. Better Homes and Gardens is the world's third-largest publication, with seven-million subscribers and 30-million readers.

As a service, Better Homes and Gardens will provide a recommended readers' list which will include Gemstone's initial Disney Comic titles and describe how Disney Comics can be first-rate for parents who want to encourage young readers in the home. The magazine's editors will also print the CSLS phone number (1-888-COMIC-BOOK) and web site information (http://csls.diamondcomics.com).

Both of these articles come on the heels of a gratifying amount of advance publicity for the new Gemstone Disney comics, including a good deal of internet exposure. Just last week, Gemstone President/Publisher and CEO Steve Geppi conducted a lengthy interview with internet gaming giant IGN for their online newsletter. (You can check it out in last week's Industry News).

With all this exposure, it has been speculated that a heightened demand for the Disney comic books could result, and such has already proved to be the case. The final purchase order for Walt Disney's Donald Duck Adventures FCBD Edition topped out at a whopping 152,636, easily twice the number in the Gemstone editorial staff's fondest dreams. "It's incredible," said Gemstone Disney Comics editor-in-chief John Clark. "When we first decided to do a book for FCBD, Steve [Geppi] asked me what our print run would likely be and I told him I'd be happy to see it hit 50,000."

Clark chuckles at what now seems like such a low print run. "If this is an indication of the acceptance level the regular comic books will enjoy, we're likely to see a whole renaissance of kid-friendly publications in the comic book marketplace, and this ultimately translates into good news for the entire industry."

As a matter of fact, the print run of the FCBD edition is so impressive, Gemstone has made a move designed to offer a rarer item to collectors. A special overrun of 5000 copies of the book will be set aside, to be bound with an alternate cover later on. With this low print run in a recognizably different package from the FCBD main run, fans will have a chance to pick up something with greater scarcity than the regular book.