Self-Translation and Comics: Practices, Attitudes, and Publishing

Abstract

This article is the first attempt to identify comics self-translators and analyze their practices, taking into account the multimodality of the medium. Based on this corpus of comics authors who have translated their own work, this article addresses the contexts (sedentary or migratory) in which they work, the languages they use, and the way they publish their works. It discusses the attitudes that comics self-translators have toward self-translation, especially in terms of their own perceived freedom, before analyzing the authors’ translation choices, while considering how authors collaborate with other parties, including the illustrators. Finally, attention is paid to the publishing choices, including avenues, timelines, and editing choices related to the comic book covers. These reflections open a new topic of research around the specificities of self-translated comics and of comics self-translators themselves.