I (heart) Chris Sims

Yes, that's right — I have total novela-style man-love for Sims today, because over at the Invincible Super-Blog he's got the smartest and funniest response to a racist moron you could hope for — que chistoso!

Blue Beetle en Español: El gran experimento

As an experiment, the all-Spanish Blue Beetle #26 works.

People are talking about it, which is good for the unfairly struggling title, and the story by Jai Nitz keeps the focus on what's special about Blue Beetle — the character's family and friends. The artwork by Mike Norton is fun and expressive, and I wouldn't have a problem with him doing the book on a permanent basis if regular artist Rafael Albuquerque dropped out for some unholy reason (please don't drop out for some unholy reason, Rafael Albuquerque).

It is a fill-in issue, though, and it feels like it. The story's light, and a lot of stuff is glossed over: What was Parasite, who's normally a Superman foil, doing in El Paso? Did he target the Posse on purpose, or did he just stumble across them?

Regardless, it's not holes in the plot that's got people talking — it's the español.

I've talked about the use of Spanish in Blue Beetle before, but I should be clear about something; my Spanish is what could be called "not so great." Like a lot of second and third generation Latinos in the United States, I learned English as my native language because my parents didn't want me to struggle like they did. (Dad would be beaten for speaking Spanish in school, even in conversation, and that was in the '50s.) Add a grandmother who wanted to practice her English instead of teaching the kids Spanish like she was supposed to, Grandma, and you have a Latino who doesn't speak the language nearly as well as he should.

Still, I was able to read Blue Beetle #26 without much trouble, though there were a few words here and there that threw me off. With that in mind, I called in an expert opinion — my wife. Since she's originally from Mexico City, was raised in Juarez, and has worked professionally in both the Spanish- and English-language media and as an English/Spanish translator, I figured she might know what she was talking about.

And as soon as she picked it up she looked at the cover and said, "'Destrailló?' What's that mean?"

Not a good sign for El Escarabajo Azul.

It turns out Kevin's customer was right; the Spanish isn't very good. Like a lot of media going from English into Spanish, the problem's with the translation. It's technically correct, but as my wife put it, "It's clunky. It's almost a literal translation, like it was done by someone whose native language is English but who also knows some Spanish. You can 'hear' that the phrase was in English first."

In other words, people who speak Spanish wouldn't talk like that. The thing that jumped out at my wife was the scene (page 9, panel 2) where Jaime's abuelita tells him to "make us proud," but the way the line is phrased in Spanish actually comes across as (roughly), "make us prideful." There's a subtle but important difference there. Someone who speaks English and Spanish would probably understand what was meant, but someone who primarily speaks Spanish might be confused by that wording.

For my part, I had a problem with inaccuracies in the text. There are parts here and there that just made me say, "But that's not what he said!" once I read the script provided in English. None of it is really anything that impacts the story, but I don't feel it's fair to readers who don't speak a language to get sloppy with the translation.

For example, when Jaime meets some cousins (I'm guessing) at the family cook-out, this is what they say (5.1):


According to the translation, the first kid asks, "Why don't you have a ride?" But what he actually says is, "Why don't you have a car?" And then the second kid ends his little dig with, "You suck." (Again, according to the translation). But the phrase "te sales" would actually be used to say "you've gone too far" — the closest approximation I can think of in English would be "what's up with that?" If you wanted to say someone sucked you'd call them "sangron," which literally means something along the lines of "bloodsucker" (yeah, Spanish slang is weird) but in this context would basically mean "one who sucks."

Anyway, there are examples like that throughout the issue, and again it's nothing that affects the story, but it does affect the tone of the dialog and the feel of the story itself. I was also sorry that there was almost no slang in this issue, because brother, El Pasoans love them some Spanish slang. No slang? Chale, güey!

One more thing: I was disappointed to see Traci basically pushed off-stage in favor of the by-the-numbers dust-up with Parasite. I would have been a lot more interested in seeing more of Traci interacting with Jaime's family, and how everyone dealt with the language barrier. It would've been nice to see Jaime explain to Traci what it's like living in a border city, too, so I think an opportunity to flesh out Blue Beetle's background was missed.

All this sounds nit-picky and fairly negative, but I still enjoyed this issue and I like the title as much as ever. And I really have to give credit to DC for Blue Beetle #26: It wasn't perfect (what comic is?), but the important thing was that it was done at all. The Spanish-language issue was a low-risk experiment that brought some attention to a book that needs it, and it reaches out to a mostly ignored and untapped U.S. market; hopefully, regular readers will see it as a chance to experience something a little different and have fun with it. Best of all, the issue moved the overall story forward, even if it was just a little.

All in all, I'd call that a success. Even if the cover blurb should have said, "El Parásito Desatado!"

The Pull List (4-30-08): Wait, what do you mean Blue Beetle speaks Spanish?

The return of old favorites, unexpected shake-ups and at least one shocking resurrection — it's like a Mexican novela around here! Speaking of fun things with an accent y con sabor muy Latino — vamos a la lista!

Blue Beetle #26: You might have guessed from the espanich, but I'm pretty excited about this month's issue of Blue Beetle. I'm sure some people are grousing about it, but DC deserves some credit for publishing a comic in a language that's now spoken by a fairly large amount of people in this country (not to mention others). And it's pretty canny — Latinos make up the fastest-growing minority group in the United States, and it makes sense to start feeling them out as a potential market.

But really I'm mostly stoked that someone at DC realized that for a lot of people, particularly those living in border towns like El Paso, English is not necessarily the default language. The social situation that Jaime and his non-Spanish speaking girlfriend (the awesome Traci Thirteen) find themselves in when they go to a family gathering where no one is speaking English isn't far-fetched at all (even if most people along the border tend to be bilingual). This is particularly true when the border cities are so deeply integrated that having business, friends and family on both sides of the border is so common it's taken for granted.

This story is a great way to touch on aspects of Jaime's character, as well as the cultural background that is an integral part of him and the city he calls home. As I've mentioned before, I grew up and lived most of my life in El Paso myself, so it's nice to see some attention paid, not necessarily to the spot of geography itself, but to what that geography means in terms of culture, history and the people who are a part of both.

Of course, Marvel already did a Spanish-language issue with Fantastic Four: Isla de la Muerte, but I'd argue that Blue Beetle has a chance to resonate more because while Isla translated characters that normally speak English into Spanish, speaking Spanish would be a natural part of who Jaime Reyes is — it would be more remarkable if Jaime didn't speak Spanish once in a while. And in a smart move, DC is including the script in English for those who don't know Spanish (or those who are, er, not as fluent as they should be ... ahem ...), which is something Isla could have benefited from. Especially since Puerto Rican Spanish is a little different from Mexican Spanish ... which is a little different from Cuban Spanish ... which is ...

Is it a gimmick? Sure. But it's a gimmick that will help add another layer to the character of the Blue Beetle, who also happens to be a young Latino named Jaime Reyes. In that case, I'm all for it. Check out the preview and see what you think.

(By the way, I still see it debated here and there, but Jaime's name really is pronounced that way.)


The rest ...

DC Universe Zero (one-shot): You know you want to see what Grant Morrison is coming up with, too. Stop looking at me like that.

Immortal Iron Fist #14: The conclusion to the best mystic kung-fu/super-science/crazy-ass espionage movie that happens to be a comic book.

Local #11 (of 12): Finally! Did you know this series was supposed to wrap up in January? 2007? According to writer Brian Wood, in spite of the sketchy schedule "it's undoubtedly a better book for all the delays." And y'know, I can't argue with him — Local is a wonderful bit of superior storytelling with beautiful artwork by Ryan Kelly. I'll be sorry to see it go when it concludes with #12 in May. Supposedly.


Trading up ...
(Titles I either am, or will be, picking up in trade)

Abyss #4

Green Lantern #30 (a six-issue retelling of the GL origin? Seriously?)

Jack of Fables #22

Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters #8 (of 8)


Maybe ...

Daredevil: Blood of the Tarantula #1

Thor: Ages of Thunder #1


Recommended ...

Amor Y Cohetes: A Love and Rockets Book: I tend to evangelize for Love and Rockets and almost anything Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez produce, but I'll also be the first to admit that they can be tough to just jump into. If you ever really wanted to start from the beginning — and I mean before Maggie or Palomar were more than nebulous ideas just taking shape — you'll want to get Amor Y Cohetes, which collects the first 50 issues of Love and Rockets ever. It should be considered essential, and at $16.99 there's no reason this shouldn't be added to your library.

Friday Night Fights: Translation - pain!

Bienvenidos and welcome to sunny San Juan, Puerto Rico! For your entertainment tonight we bring you two giants of the throw-down for a Monster Mash of epic proportions!!

Entering the ring we have the reigning champion, that rocky wrecker, the man from Yancy Street, the one, the only, BENJAMIN J. "EL MORRITO" GRIMM!!!!


And in this corner we have a local legend, a sly fighter with nearly mythic skills, the scourge of goats everywhere, ELLLLLL CHUPA-CAAA-BRAAAAaaaaa!!!!!


(Hey, get that skinny guy out of the ring!)

There's the bell and OOOH! El Chupacabra lands an early blow! El Chupa may suck but he's certainly not sucking!


Grimm is off his feet! The champ looks staggered, but wait! He's back up with a look of determination! He's charging into the challenger!


QUE CASUALIDAD! El Chupacabra is reeling! He's wide open and WILL SOMEONE GET THAT GUY OUT OF THE RING?!?


DONDE ESTA LA CASA DE PEPE!?!? What a blow from the champ! The crowd is on its feet, chanting, "Que hora es? Que hora es?" and waiting for Grimm's trademark answer ...


AND IT'S A KO! Ben "The Thing" Grimm, winner by knockout and still champion of the San Juan squared circle! Ben, do you have anything to say to the fans?!?

Panels from Fantastic Four: Isla de la Muerte! (one-shot)

"Bahlactus" means champion in any language.

Following a link? Read more of the Post here!

Your Blue Beetle Spanish lesson of the day

There's something I've noticed coming up in various blogs and conversations, and I was trying not to let it bother me but I feel like I should help clear it up.

First, yes - the new Blue Beetle is Latino.

Specifically, Jaime Reyes is a Mexican-American and lives in the border town of El Paso, Texas - which has a Latino population of about 80 percent and where, according to the 2000 census, 69 percent of the population speaks Spanish at home.

Writer John Rogers has been doing a fantastic job reflecting all this, with almost no slips into the easy "shorthand" stereotypes others might use to hammer in the idea that the kid is brown. Original artist Cully Hamner did a great job with his character designs, showing that Latinos can, and often do, look different from one another (current artist Rafael Albuquerque is also becoming a favorite). Mostly - and this is what makes Blue Beetle one of the best comics out right now - Jaime is just a kid. His ethnic background doesn't define him. Instead it's just one facet that helps make up who he is, which is as it should be.

So, as a fellow Mexican-American who was himself raised in El Paso, let me point out something that's been bugging (heh) me: The character's name is JAIME Reyes, not JAMIE Reyes, and in case you're wondering it's pronounced HI-MEH, not JAY-MEE.

Thank you very much, y muchas gracias.