https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9535-6306
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ABSTRACT
One of the best Western comic book series in the field of Franco-Belgian comics, the Blueberry series is widely acclaimed and has generated considerable symbolic capital. Mirroring its success in France and Belgium, this series has also been extensively (re)translated and (re)printed in several countries, such as Spain and Italy. In Anglophone countries, however, this editorial success has not been replicated. The Blueberry series has never been published in its entirety in English, nor has it acquired the symbolic capital that it enjoys in the Franco-Belgian comics field. This article focuses on the American editions of the Blueberry series. By adopting a translational framework based on Jean-Marc Gouanvic’s works on the sociology of translation, this paper shifts the traditional focus of Translation Studies from the texts to the critical and often overlooked role of translators and other agents in the international circulation of (graphic) narratives. Based primarily on the analysis of interviews with the American translators and editors of the Blueberry series, coupled with close paratextual examination of selected comics samples, this article investigates the context behind the reception of this iconic Western series in the field of American comic books.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 Jean Giraud/Moebius’ prolific production includes graphic narratives inscribed in diverse genres such as the Western, science-fiction, or superheroes, with characters such as Blueberry, John Difool, or the Silver Surfer (in collaboration with Charlier, Chilean-French author Alejandro Jodorowsky, or American comic book writer Stan Lee, respectively).
2 Jean-Marc Gouanvic has adapted in his works Bourdieu’s sociology of culture for the discipline of Translation Studies, applying this framework to dissect the networks behind the production, distribution and reception of the French translations of a selection of American popular fiction works. According to Gouanvic’s theories, translators are key agents that are entrusted with the power to bestow symbolic value on literary works, thus contributing to shaping the target culture’s literary field.
3 Genette (Citation1997, p. 16) defines the publisher’s peritext as ‘the whole zone of the peritext that is the direct and principal (but not exclusive) responsibility of the publisher […] that is, the zone that exists merely by the fact that a book is published and possibly republished and offered to the public in one or several more or less varied presentations.’
4 In Klaus Kaindl’s theoretical model of translation strategies relevant to the analysis of comics in translation (Citation1999), which derives from Delabastita (Citation1989), deletio refers ‘to the removal of [source] text or pictures’ (p. 277), and adiectio corresponds to ‘linguistic/pictorial material which was not there in the original [and] is added in the translation to replace or supplement the source material’ (p. 278).
5 Scanlation is defined by Fabbretti (Citation2014, p. 1) as ‘the process of translation and adaptation of visual narrative texts […] carried out by an online network of fans.’
6 Bourdieu (Citation1987, p. 138) cited in Beaty and Woo (Citation2016, pp. 115–116), defines allodoxia as ‘a kind of misapprehension resulting from the transposition of knowledge or dispositions from one field to another’.
7 Personal communication from Jean-Marc Lofficier (e-mail, 13 November 2017).
8 Personal communication from Jean-Marc Lofficier (e-mail, 2 April 2019).
9 For a comparative account of the intricacies of American and European Francophone comics industries, see, for instance, Bartual (Citation2013, pp. 103–116).
10 From personal communications with Marie Javins (e-mail, 11 September and 31 October 2018).
11 From a personal communication with Jean-Marc Lofficier (e-mail, 13 November 2017).
12 Personal communication from Numa Sadoul (e-mail, 3 April 2019).
13 Personal communication from Marie Javins (e-mail, 31 October 2018).
14 This praxis is not internationally homogeneous, however, and in some countries the name of the translator is still not mentioned. Recent Italian translations of Blueberry, for example, do not include any reference to the translator(s). The situation tends to be different for graphic novels, memoirs, or (auto)biographies; this can perhaps be explained by the different status and symbolic capital that is still granted to graphic novels and comic books.
15 Personal communication from Jean-Marc Lofficier (e-mail, 13 November 2017 and 7 May 2019).
16 Personal communication from Marie Javins (e-mail, 11 September 2018).
17 Personal communication from Bob Chapman (e-mail, 20 October 2018).
18 Personal communication from Bob Chapman (e-mail, 20 October 2018).
19 Personal communication (e-mail, 11 September 2018).
20 Personal communication from Jean-Marc Lofficier (e-mail, 13 November 2017).
21 Personal communication from Marie Javins (e-mail, 11 September 2018).
22 Personal communication from Jean-Marc Lofficier (e-mail, 22 July 2019).
23 Personal communication (e-mail, 11 September 2018).
24 Personal communications (e-mail, 13 November 2017 and 2 April 2019).
25 Personal communication (e-mail, 11 September 2018).
26 Personal communication from Numa Sadoul (e-mail, 3 April 2019).
27 In an interview with French critic Numa Sadoul (Citation2015, p. 64) Giraud tells the story of his visit to the Marvel studios, where none of the staff seemed to acknowledge his presence when introduced as Jean Giraud, yet he instantly captured everyone’s undivided attention when referred to as Moebius.
28 Personal communication (e-mail, 11 September 2018).
29 Personal communication (e-mail, 2 April 2019).
30 Personal communication (e-mail, 3 April 2019).
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Nicolas Martinez
Nicolas Martinez holds a Ph.D. in Languages and Translation Studies from Cardiff University, UK. His work focuses on the sociology of translation and adaptation, applied linguistics, visual studies, comics and graphic narratives, intermediality, and transnational censorship. He is a member of the International Association for Translation and Intercultural Studies (IATIS) and the International Association of Word and Image Studies (IAWIS), and a founding member of the Comics Studies Society (CSS). His publications include contributions to the volume Comics Memory: Archives and Styles (Palgrave Macmillan) and to the journals European Comic Art and Studies in Comics.