Tintin Forums

Moderator Note: Spun off from the main Popol Out West thread, to clarify the new title and translation...

Well, to go along with the 1969 and 1992 editions of "Popol Out West", we now have a 2013 edition in the pipeline, under a new title!

For those who like to 'fish' on Amazon you'll see Fantagraphics (surely* the premier comic-book publisher in the English language) has Peppy and Virginny In Lapinoland on their schedule for June.

No clues as to the translator; given the characters' names are changed my guess is it is being redone by Kim Thompson or one of the other, small, team of translators they use.

George

(*for surely read definitely)

Thanks for mentioning this George! I’m awaiting information on the release from Fantagraphics, so I’ll update you if and when I get anything back!

I’m interested in the new title, and possible new translation, so have asked them about that. Let’s see what happens!

I'm glad to see anything by Herge in print but I have to admit this is near the bottom of my wish list! Perhaps because I've the hardback from the 60s...

There's a little more information on various sites, including Fantagraphics' (with cover). The publisher's comment about how he "finally get[s] to do a cartoonist [he's] ALWAYS wanted to do" might indicate he's also done the translation. Or perhaps he's just proud to publish Herge.

Maybe we need to suggest how he'd be able to retire should he pick up publication of the B&W facsimiles? A white lie, yes, but for the greater good...

George

I think it’s the latter - actually, I do know that he hasn’t done the translation, as Fantagraphics have told me it is by Kim Thompson (to whom I’ve dropped a line, so hope to get an update about the book soon).

I didn’t go quite that far, but our minds work in similar ways, as I suggested that the B&W book would fit in very well with things like their Mickey Mouse books… ;-)

A wee bit more from the latest Fantagraphics catalog:

'A LONG-LOST CLASSIC FROM THE CREATOR OF TINTIN

Hergé is known worldwide for his plucky, globetrotting, strikingly quiffed hero Tintin. But before the runaway success of this character, the struggling Belgian cartoonist created a number of shorter-lived and less well-known series and characters. By far the loopiest were 1934’s Peppy and Virginny (“Popol” and “Virginie” in the original), a couple of haberdashers who journeyed to the Wild
West in search of new clientele, accompanied by their trusty horse Bluebell—where they ran into savage Indian tribes, evil bandits, and much more. They experienced only one adventure, but it was a doozy!

The crisp, “clear line” drawing style of the earliest vintage Tintin albums combines
with a freewheeling, farcical storyline and engaging funny-animal characters (the leads are bears, the Indians are rabbits with ears for feathers, and the main villain is a bulldog) and gorgeous Euro-album coloring to make this a genuine oddball classic of Franco-Belgian comics, and Fantagraphics is proud to present its first American release (and its first English-language release in two decades).

With the Spielberg/Jackson Tintin adaptations and a steady flow of new books about Tintin and his creator (such as last year’s Adventures of Hergé graphic-novel biography), work by Hergé remains in high demand and this book shows a fascinatingly idiosyncratic facet of his career. And it’s a rollicking, hilarious, kid-friendly (if you can give the non-PC 1930s “Injuns” a pass) read to boot.'

Nothing there we didn't suspect but, well, it is nice to have confirmation,

George

Just in case anyone doesn't know Fantagraphics are re-printing Popol Out West in a new version.

It's due for release and marks the first time this story has been in print (in English) since the Mammoth version in 1992. I'm not sure why they've changed the title, and it may be a new translation. The cover is drawn from earlier version of the French book, which was reprinted as a fascimile version in French in 2008, so I imagine the artwork for this comes from that. It's good to see a new version of this tale!

On a side note, Fantagraphics are doing great work publishing other European classics, such as Joost Swarte and Tillieux - well worth taking a look.

Moderator Note: Just a gentle reminder to do a forum search before launching a new topic; your post has been moved to this existing thread.

The Tidy Tintinologist Team

Hergé has often been referred to as the Jules Verne of the 20th century. Another author whom many consider to be a modern day Jules Verne is Michael Crichton.
Coincidence or not - long out of print books of both these authors are to be republished in July 2013.
Ten Michael Crichton novels written while the author was in medical school and 7 of which have not been in print since the Seventies will be re-published on July 23rd.
Peppy and Virginny in Lapinoland the new title for Popol Out West will be publsihed for the first time in 21 years on July 11th 2013.
Indian online store, flipkart.com, is selling the book at Rs. 1070 (around $20 U.S.), and I have already reserved my copy.

Moderator Note: It's obvious what you did there, but you are going way too far off topic to suggets that, just because someone, somewhere, might once have compared Michael Chrichton to Jules Verne, that you can shoe-horn something about Chrichton and Hergé having books re-published in July into the Verne thread, so your post has been moved here,and combined with the post you made hee at the same time.

Even then it's a bit of stretch that word on Chrichton should be here rather than in the Member's Lounge, but it's difficult to split a post in two; however, any discussion of Mr Chrichton and his works should be started in a thread in the Lounge, and not in this one, where you can talk about the Popol/ Peppy book.

The Tidy Tintinologist Team

Sadly this book is now listed on the Fantagraphics web-site as "postponed indefinitely".
Given the sad news that Mr Thompson recently passed away after a period of illness, this may be related to that, so please respect the nature of the situation at Fantagraphics, and let's wait quietly for further news.

Should I hear anything, I will let you know.

That's a shame but Mr Thompson's death is a much sadder affair. Eventually other publishers will pick up Herge's minor volumes but it'll be a long long time before we have someone as enthusiastic as he was who is also in a position to do something about those passions.

A quick search of Fantagraphics' site shows 13 books with the same "postponed indefinitely" message, all European translations. My guess is that some will now be dropped and others rescheduled once the company has got over (as much as it can anyway) the shock of the recent events.

Fog Over Tolbiac Bridge already has a translation.

George

Truly sad news about the passing away of Mr. Thompson.

But was this a new edition with a new translation, or a reprint of the translation done by Leslie Lonsdale-Cooper? I am confused.

If it's a reprint - I think the album will be out in the market sooner rather than later. But if it is a new translation, we may have to wait a long time.