Official Press Release

A towering figure in the history of American comic books is gone. Bruce

Hamilton, publisher of Gladstone Publishing, comics historian, and fan

activist, passed away at 3:00 AM on Saturday, June 18, 2005.

Known around the world for the licensed line of Disney comics he lovingly

published, Hamilton was a central figure in documenting and advancing the

detailed history of the medium. Through his involvement in fandom to the

limited edition Disney lithographs and fine, bone china figurines his

companies produced, he remained committed to gaining a wider, more serious

acceptance for comic characters in mainstream circles.

Possessed of an imposing stature, a radio announcer's voice, and a fiery

drive, Hamilton was a primal force in getting the comics industry

organized, first as a dealer in Golden Age comics, then in other diverse

collectibles such as original art, movie posters, and cartoon cels. He was

among the first to suggest that classic material be repackaged into deluxe

formats. Together with Russ Cochran, he was largely responsible for

promoting Carl Barks into the superstar he became in the 1980s and onward.

Barks' work was already known, thanks to the efforts of Malcolm Willits

and others, but Hamilton and Cochran significantly made his work

better-known.

He began a 20-year relationship with The Walt Disney Company in 1980 when

he and Cochran acquired a license to produce The Fine art of Walt Disney's

Donald Duck, a collection of all of the Carl Barks Disney-based oil

paintings to that date. The book sold out quickly and won an award for

excellence in production values from the American Bookbinders Association.

The success of that project enabled Hamilton to acquire the Disney license

to produce limited edition lithographs based upon newly-produced Barks oil

paintings. After Western Publishing dropped the license to produce the

Disney comics in the mid-1980s, he was granted the license and the

now-legendary Gladstone Publishing company was created.

"This is a bitter loss for the entire industry, and a very personal one

for me," said Steve Geppi, President and Chief Executive Officer of

Diamond Comic Distributors. "I've said publicly before that I considered

Bruce to be a mentor, as well as a friend and business associate. The

knowledge we have lost in his passing is incalculable. My thoughts,

prayers and deepest sympathies go out to his wife, Helen, his daughter,

Summer Hinton, his son-in-law, Richard Hinton, and his three grandsons."

"Bruce Hamilton recognized very early the potential that our industry had

and still has," said John K. Snyder, Jr., President of Diamond

International Galleries. "His foresight helped preserve the history of

Disney comics for future readers, and he also helped expand the frontiers

by growing past the printed page and expanding into figures, lithographs

and different areas. He made comic characters more accessible, and in

doing so left a legacy of enjoyment behind for others."

While his Disney licenses dated from the early 1980s, his enthusiasm and

vision for comics was honed well before that time. In 1971, a few months

after the first edition of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide was

published, Hamilton appeared unannounced at the Cleveland, Tennessee

doorstep of Robert Overstreet. He understood the potential importance of

the then-new book to the market and recognized the influence it could have

in the years ahead.

"Bruce was there in the beginning to help me develop the proper approach

to pricing this complex market. For years Bruce and I would discuss the

philosophy of market economics and how the guide should reflect a pricing

policy that would be fair to dealer and collector alike," Overstreet,

Publisher for Gemstone Publishing's line of price guides, said. "Whenever

the market got in trouble, Bruce was there to lead discussions with other

top people in the market to help me figure out the best position the guide

should take to steer the market in the right direction. He attended and

participated in all my meetings held in Tennessee during the formative

years of the guide's development."

Of Hamilton's long list of other accomplishments, one lesser-known is the

instrumental role he played in spear-heading the development of

independent grading certification of comics. He actively encouraged

Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) to enter the comics market, which

lead to the formation of Comics Guaranty, LLC (CGC). A year before the

first comic was certified, he told participants in the meetings that they

would remember they were there for a momentous time in the market's

history.

While many are aware of his distinct influence in the comics arena, fewer

may realize that he was a force in record collecting as well. Together

with partner and musicologist Jerry Osborne, Hamilton produced over a

dozen record price guides between 1976 and 1984.

"Appropriately, Bruce and I first met at a comic convention in Scottsdale,

Arizona, 1969. Our mutual love for the works of Carl Barks, coupled with

our radio history and love of music, cemented our friendship. He is the

only person I ever knew who can say they saw both Elvis and Buddy Holly on

the same show (January 6, 1955, Lubbock, Texas)," Osborne said. "As a

mighty close friend for exactly half of Bruce's 72 years, there are a

million memories and stories that could be told. But we'll save those for

another time. For now, I'm reminded of a line Bruce would jokingly quote

when he was so agitated he wanted to scream in frustration - one

originally written by Barks for Donald Duck: 'Now I'm more determined than

ever to force cheer onto the world.' Mission accomplished, my old friend!"

With success in records and other businesses, though, it remains comics

for which he'll be best remembered.

"I met Bruce Hamilton at a comics convention in the early 1970s, and our

mutual interests in the works of Carl Barks and in collecting original

comic art led to us becoming good friends," said Russ Cochran, now

publisher for Gemstone Publishing's Missouri office. "We formed a

partnership known as Another Rainbow Publishing and Gladstone Publishing

in 1980 to explore the possibilities of publishing the works of Carl

Barks, including his oil paintings and his comic book stories. Bruce was

an unforgettable character, full of idiosyncrasies which often made him

difficult to deal with, but his natural intelligence and life-long love of

learning made people respect him. He and I enjoyed many cross-country

motor trips together where he would talk and I would listen. He was a rare

and strange duck, and I will miss him."

After relinquishing the Disney comics license, Hamilton worked behind the

scenes to support Gemstone Publishing's acquisition of the license. John

Clark, who served as Gladstone's final Editor-in-Chief and now serves in

the same capacity for Gemstone's Disney line, knew Hamilton for 35 years.

"I first met Bruce circa 1970 when he was a DJ for radio station KBUZ in

Scottsdale, Arizona. He had just moved to Arizona and my friend, artist

Don Newton, got in touch with him through an ad Bruce had run in The

Rocket's Blast – Comic Collector fanzine. That ad contained for sale a

handful of original Grandma comic strip art and some obscure, non-super

hero Golden Age comics," Clark said. "Little did Don or I realize at that

time that Bruce would go on to be one of the truly driving forces in early

comics fandom and that his lifetime of accomplishments would have

considerable impact on collecting. Bruce's legacy in fandom will truly

live on through the ages."

A private funeral was held Monday, June 20.