Editors note: It was roughly a year and a half ago that I first came into contact with Gustavo. He had
been browsing my Photobucket image files of foreign comic books and asked if I could tell him the
numbers on a few issues of Titanes Planetarios. I was more than happy to oblige. Since then we’ve
kept in contact, occasionally conversing through email and the Collector’s Society message boards.
He’s been an invaluable source of information about the creative process that went into the translation of American comics into Spanish for the Mexican market. My impression of him is that he’s a
true gentlemen and truly loves this hobby. He’s gracious, generous and one of the most interesting
creators I’ve had the pleasure of talking to in the last 30 years. LSComics
Continued from page 3
was to grab a thick volume of the Spanish Language
Dictionary to review, among other things, the accentuation rules of demonstrative pronouns and other
words. There was a lot to be learned from those
venerable gentlemen.
It was easy then for fans to criticize the translations,
but little could be done when facing an editorial and
governmental policy arguing that Mexicans did not
like to read much and would compel the translators
to summarize texts using type that was much bigger
than their American counterparts. However, given the
current commitment to literal translations, as opposed to cultural adaptations, there are times when
one longs for the Novaro style of work.
Having overcome the spelling obstacles, a novice
worker could then aspire to translate “serious” comics and receive a copy of a certain crimson speedster, or maybe, hopefully, “El Hombre Murciélago”,
The Batman. Having been given this opportunity,
it was then a matter of numbering all the word balloons, measuring how many typed characters would
fit inside them and finally,
adapting the dialogue as
best you could.
“It’s just an album. A stack
of yellowed clippings. Nothing but memories ...” thus
read the first text I translated
for Batman issue 2-1123
dated March 18, 1982. I
remember the grim copyeditor reading these words out
loud to me, savoring each
word. The so-called “serious” comic book seemed to
Batman #2-1123
Page 4
be the way to go.
Novedades Editores: 1982
By then, it was rumored that there were problems at
Novaro. Workers were upset and the economic crisis
and the devaluation of the Mexican peso would eventually run the Latin American publishing giant into the
ground. Long gone were the golden years when they
would provide Latin America and Spain with virtually
every title produced by D.C., Harvey, Dell and Archie
Comics. Meanwhile, the publishers of the Novedades
newspaper had decided to venture into the market of
U.S. comic book reprinting thus becoming heir to the
glories of La Prensa.
On the third floor of the modest building of Editorial
Herrerías, long-time Mexican comic book publisher
and sister company to the newspaper, were the mod-
Continued on page 6