Reading Wednesday

This week is Eurovision week, I was not kidding when I said that was all I was doing.

READING

Finished reading

( Books read )

Scarlet Witch #6, by James Robinson (story) and Marguerite Sauvage (art): I am breaking my own rule of not speaking about ongoing comics until enough to collect in a tpb/a whole arc has come out. It's not really a rule, but even if it were, I feel that this issue deserves its own post.

First off, I have to say I really loved the art this issue, especially the Art Nouveau influence on the composition and page structure.

I wish it had been enough to redeem the story for me.

The story is set in Paris. As you know, reader-Bob, I am a Parisian born and bred, which means I can be pretty strict about depictions of Paris in fiction. However, I have long ago decided that Marvel Paris has some significant differences with ours, the most notable one being that the plan autoroutier pour Paris went ahead as expected -- this was the only way I could make sense of a scene in Matt Fraction's Journey into Mystery. (There will not be a test, you do not have to remember this.)

The comic had some pitfalls concerning the use of French -- more on this later -- but I was reading merely along, until I came across this bit of dialogue, by French superhero Alain Racine:

"It happened the day after the attacks in the city." "There was so much fear, so much confusion. I was everywhere, trying to be. The hunt was on for the perpetrators, I'm sure you know. It was on the news everywhere."

WHO THE FUCK OKAYED THIS

My thoughts went pretty much blank for a minute, because who the fuck thought this was okay? It's kept very vague whether this applies to the attacks in Jan 2015 or November 2015, which only makes it worse. If you're going to exploit national tragedies for cheap, throwaway, unnecessary melodrama, at least have the guts to commit to one.

I've talked before about how I hate to see human-made tragedies co-opted by the in-human, but wow, this reaches new heights of bullshit. And yes, I am not rational about this, yes there have probably been similar cases in comics before. I don't care. I know a guy who was in the stadium when the bomb exploded outside in November, I spent an entire afternoon in January trying to find the names of the hostages as the hostage crisis was happening so I could tell a friend if he had family among them (spoiler: he did), I spent a week in November not knowing if a friend had been at the Bataclan -- which seemed unlikely but what if -- (he was not) and I could go on, so NO I AM NOT RATIONAL.

This has really soured me on the comic, I have to say, especially since it's so pointless. I have no qualms with tragedies, even recent ones (although, yikes, too soon here, imho), used in fiction, as long as it's handled sensitively. Obviously what "handled sensitively" is very YMMV, but I would be very surprised to hear anyone include "throwaway line to explain why some dude was so busy he couldn't save his wife" in their definition.

ANYWAY.

This said, it is time to talk about the mistakes in the French in this comic. I wouldn't normally care, but it has a character point out "that isn't gramatically correct, not in France" so that makes it fair game. You want to talk about French like you know what you're talking about? I'll judge you as if you did.

There is mention of a group of bankrobbers called "les Apaches Nouveaux". It should be "les Nouveaux Apaches". (Fyi, it is from the Apaches, a part of the criminal underworld of 1900s Paris -- credit where it's due, this is pointed out in the comic.) Also, I feel really bad for les Apaches de Paname, who are lovely folks and don't deserve this bullshit.

There's a dude named Joubert. Marc, but I was reminded of the running joke concerning Brian Joubert on the Guignols: *falls down* *falls down again*

Then we have the above nitpick about Le Peregrine not being proper French (correct) and his name being Le Faucon Pèlerin (also correct), which makes it all the more hilarious when Wanda is soon after referred to as "La Sorcière Ecarlate", because she is not, in fact, la Sorcière Ecarlate in the French comics.

She is la Sorcière Rouge.

 

( And I can prove it )

Penultimate panel:
Wanda: "Pas tant que ça, crois-moi..."
Wanda: "Les gens tapent encore plus fort sur les mutants."
Billy: "oh mon dieu, tu es..."

Last panel:
Billy: "LA SORCIERE ROUGE."
Billy: "Mon Vengeur préféré."
Billy: "J'y crois pas que j'ai dit ça tout haut."
Wanda: "Ne t'en fais pas..."

This from my copy of Young Avengers V1 -- picture cropped so you can see it's the actual, physical book. This is the official Marvel translation in France.

Now, I am not saying that Panini, the company in charge of publishing Marvel comics in French in France, is without its translation blunders. This very volume, for example, translates "Hawkingbird" once as "le Faucon Moqueur" and once doesn't translate it. However, the names of most superheroes have been consistent. (Except Wolverine. Wolverine was Serval for a very long time, until he became Wolverine again. And Sue Storm is Jane Storm, idk.)

So Wanda is la Sorcière rouge.

AND SHE DESERVES BETTER.

(Also, wow, he is so not dressed for traipsing around the Catacombes, if that's where that one flashback takes place -- and if not, where the fuck does it?)

But hey, at least the art is pretty and Paris looks recognisably like Paris.


I am going to make some "Wanda Maximoff deserved better" signs one day and it will apply in every single continuity, both instory and outstory. JUST YOU WAIT.


Still reading

Contes et récits de l'histoire de Carthage by Jean Defrasne
Le Déchronologue by Stéphane Beauverger

Paris fais nous peur: 100 lieux du crime, de l'étrange et de l'irrationnel, by Claudine Hourcadette et Marc Lemonier: I have just started reading this. It's pretty entertaining so far and I'm learning stuff -- I had no idea l'homme rouge des Tuileries was supposed to be someone specific, for example.

It's also reminded me how much I love the expression "l’âme damnée". It's an expression that translates to "damned soul" and is used to refer to someone's most loyal minion -- "Dark Vador est l'âme damnée de Palpatine" (Darh Vader is Palpatine's damned soul) is hilarious, because puns. I like puns.


I have also been reading the newspapers and wow I am pissed.


Partial list of comics I am following, which I will add to as I remember them:
Lucifer
Scarlet Witch
The Wicked the Divine (sort of. When I remember it exists)


Reading next

IDK.

( To Read List )

TV

I have thoughts on the recent Lucifer finale and on other stuff, but it's quite late over here, so some other time.