Abstract

A piece of work that requires the interplay of at least two different codes, e.g. written text and elements of design, is a multimodal text (Serafini 2011, 342). These include short or feature films, video games and comic books. The focus of this paper is comics, the non-interactive texts that, nevertheless, need a reader to be vivified (McCloud 1994, 36-37); a flexible platform for new ways of expression which often provides formidable challenges upon translation. Comic books, often referred to as graphic novels, have become a respected literary form often compared to novels rather than pulp fiction which they used to be classified as. Their growing cultural relevance and increasing recognition shift the gravity of choices made by translators working with these texts. Comics often take on much-debated themes, such as gender, feminism or postcolonial issues; that adds to the importance of comics in a current pop-cultural discourse. Nonetheless, the most unique aspect of these texts is their form, which incorporates static visual images organised “in deliberate sequence” (ibid., 7-9) and text. Even though there are instances of comics with no text, it usually is present; without the imagery, however, it makes little or no sense and vice versa. Moreover, the connection between text and image as well as between the images themselves may be intricate and multilayered, making it even more challenging for translators to tackle. Drawing on examples from classics such as Maus , V for Vendetta , Peanuts and the Asterix series, this paper expands on the aforementioned translation issues and underlines the cultural significance of comic books and graphic novels.

Highlights

  • Drawing on examples from classics such as Maus, V for Vendetta, Peanuts and the Asterix series, this paper expands on how the multimodal characteristics of the medium influence the reception and translation of comic books and graphic novels

  • These texts can be divided into two general groups: one combines visual and textual modes in print, i.e. in children’s picture books, graphic novels, comic books, and manga; the other integrates visual, textual and aural modes in audiovisual form, for example, in film or video games

  • This paper focuses on comics, which is its oldest representative

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Summary

Introduction

The most unique aspect of comic books is the form, which incorporates static visual images organised “in deliberate sequence” (ibid., 7-9) and text. Drawing on examples from classics such as Maus, V for Vendetta, Peanuts and the Asterix series, this paper expands on how the multimodal characteristics of the medium influence the reception and translation of comic books and graphic novels.

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