Maurice Tillieux's "Gil Jordan" coming to English from Fantagraphics

An interesting article on the Fantagraphics site by Kim Thompson, about bringing out Maurice Tillieux's Gil Jordan, Private Detective in English (as mentioned by george in this thread).

Note the reflection on not starting with the first couple of books, so that the series can get off to a stronger start - sound familiar? ;-)

Yes, but it is not so bad this time since most of the stories are self-contained. They seldom refer to events or characters that have occurred in previous books.

The four main characters introduced in the first two French books (Gil Jordan, Crackerjack, Inspector Crouton and Miss Midge) are the only consistent ones in the series; it's not like "Tintin" where you get recurring supporting characters like Alcazar or Rastapopoulos and it is necessary to read previous books in order to fully understand the back plots and relationships between the characters.

The preview they give shows promise. The translation they've done is in the spirit of the original French, but not a word-by-word translation as has been the case of some recent publications.

"Gil Jordan" has an entry on Wikipedia.

Until I read that interview I'd not realised this was a 'double-album', which is great. Looking at the hoped-for publishing schedule I see they're all paired in the same way, so perhaps these Gil Jo[u]rdan adventures are all 96 pages. And, having seen the art, I'm quite 'stoked' for these, as the youth would say...

[EDIT]

And having read that wikipedia page I realise they're no such thing so I'll shut up...

Does that mean that you will not be buying these books? That'll be a shame because they really are quite good, with plenty of action and mystery. Why else do you think that, in France and Belgium, they are still being published after 50 years?

Oh no, I'll certainly be getting this. I'm very much looking forward to it, it's just I was wrong on all the stories being double-length a la Tintin and the moon adventure.

Fantagraphics have another title lined up that I'm also going to get - my bookshelves are already heaving with translated albums, but I just can't stop...

George

Well, that's a relief.


"Sibyl-Anne Vs. Ratticus", which I also recommend, especially to Smurf fans, since it is all about little animals defending their peaceful community against nasty invaders.

Sibyl-Anne ("Sibylline" in the original French) makes an especially charming heroine: she is shown as somewhat vain and self-flattering, referring to herself as the most beautiful girl and best cook in the land, but is also brave, bold and practical.

Fantagraphics are due to release another Gil Jordan two-adventures-in-one-book: "Ten Thousand Years in Hell" which, in the original French, was "L'Enfer de Xique-Xique" ("The Hell of Xique-Xique").

This adventure should appeal to "Broken Ear" fans since it is based in a South American dictatorship run by barely competent tin-pot dictators and their cronies.

It also includes "Boom and Bust" - "Surboum pour 4 roues" ("Having a bang on 4 Wheels") - which for me is one of the best in the series since it contains a lot of suspense and twists in the tale.

You can pre-order from Amazon and here's a review with more details.