Monday, February 17, 2014

Translations

Sometimes, I like to make English versions of vintage Italian stories.  It very much looks as though we're never again going to have a Disney comics publisher in the US, and I'm a fan who badly wants there to be new stories in English nonetheless, so here we are.  Of course, it's not totally selfless--to me, the feeling of putting words in these characters' mouths is just indescribable, and there's a certain narcissism to feeling like people are reading dialogue that I'VE written.  But regardless of motive, I hope you will enjoy my work.

"The Strange Tragedy of Doctor Donaldus Faustus" (Inducks, DCR)--a Disney version of the Faust story.  The plot isn't very focused, but Luciano Bottaro's art is gorgeous.  This was my first translation ever, and it was very amateurish, but I completely redid it and now it's a lot better.

"Being a Chronicle of the Peregrinations of Master Scrooge McDucato, his Nephew Naldo, their Faithful Donkey Tillino through Tuscany & its Divers Environs, & the Many Interesting & Instructional Encounters they had along the way, as recorded by the Renown'd Scribes Gionvan Battista Carpi & Guido Martina, & Translated into English by Yr Humble Servant, Geoffrey Moses" (Inducks, DCR)--Yes, the stupidly long title is all mine.  Out of all the stories I've done, this is by FAR the least likely to ever see official localization; it's an incredibly weird (and lengthy!) travelogue in which Scrooge and Donald's fictive ancestors wander around Tuscany having adventure and learning allegedly-Fun Facts about the region.  In seven chapters!








"A Christmas Carol" (Inducks, DCR)--A pretty straightforward telling of Dickens' story.  The art's kinda bad, but the story's okay in spite of that, and it's better now that I've jammed as much of Dickens' original text in as I could.

"The Fantastic Adventures of Marco Polo" (Inducks, DCR)--A nicely evocative picaresque with very good art from Romano Scarpa.

"Donald and the Treasure of Saturnin Farandoul" (Inducks, DCR)--An interesting story based on an obscure French novel that's a Jules Verne pastiche.

"Donald Meets Baron Munchausen" (Inducks, DCR)--A favorite of mine; delightfully zany.

"Donald Fracas" (Inducks, DCR)--This one just kicks ass.  Guido Martina at his very best; all his good traits and none of his bad ones.  Don't let the presence of Disney-movie characters put you off--this one is very much worth reading.

"The Legend of Donald of the Woods" (Inducks, DCR)--One of my very favorites from Romano Scarpa.

"From Egg to Duck" (Inducks, DCR)--Somewhat famous as a biography of Donald.  Not actually all that good, but historically significant, and Marco Rota's art is fantastic as always.

"The Voluntary Castaway" (inducks, DCR)--My last translation?  May be [update: no, as it transpires]!  It's a rather goofy Bottaro/Chendi job.  You might like it; I do, though I must concede that it's not in the upper tier of the stories I've translated.

"The Seven Dwarfs and the Enchanted Faerie" (inducks, DCR)--What the heck?!?  A Seven Dwarfs story?!?  Yup, a break from the norm, but if you read it, I'll think you'll see why.  It's...pretty amazing.

"Captain Donaldo, the Black Corsair" (inducks, DCR)--Hmm...an ol' pirate story.  I realized while translating it that it wasn't that, well, good, but you could still find it modestly entertaining if you don't set your hopes too high.

"Nightmare on Webfoot Walk" (inducks, DCR)--Not technically a Halloween story, but appropriate for the season nonetheless!  May not add up to much, but has a lot of fun Marco Rota thrills'n'chills.

"Christmas Down the Centuries" (inducks, DCR)--An EXTREMELY unusual Christmas story, by Disney standards.  Definitely worth boggling at.

BONUS!  A pair of gorgeous and brilliant stories by Giovan Battista Carpi; I didn't translate them myself, but I DID scan them from rare British printings:

"That Missing Candelabra" (Inducks, DCR)

"War and Peace" (Inducks, DCR)