One page - apparently page 9 - was dropped from "The Madcap Mariner". In a March 19, 1961 letter to Joe Cowles, Barks wrote about the story: "I suppose you've noticed the heinous butchery that took place in the first ten-page story in the current Disney Comics [WDC 247]. That ad Dell is running in the middle of the book caused the editors to take one page from my story of Gyro's fish-catching for Donald, the best gag page, of course. I think the shortened story falls flat on its face. I guess the next several issues will be similarly butchered. A story man just can't win."

In a March 24, 1961 letter to Malcolm Willits, he wrote: "Just a line to let you know that one of life's grisliest catastrophes is likely to take place. I refer to the butchery which has taken place in the latest issues of Disney Comics and Uncle Scrooge. One page lifted from my story of Donald fishing for cod on the high seas, and two pages lifted from Uncle Scrooge's adventures in Valhalla [W US 34-01]. Now will come the grisliest butchery of all, I fear - a page lifted from "The Terrible Tourist" [W WDC 248-01]. It may be that the managers managed to confine their cuts to other stories in that issue. Only time will tell.

As you've noticed, (unless the new 15c price is limited to this area) Dell is running a contest and "Trading Post" stunt to stop the practice of news dealers snipping and returning the covers for the full wholesale credit, then selling the coverless comic to kids for 10c. Unless other comic books raise their scale to 15c the ducks and Beagle Boys may fade into history. I could become very ferocious about the mutilation of my stories if I didn't know it was a case of economics taking precedence over fantastics."

[No cuts were made in "Terrible Tourist".]

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