Tintin Forums

The twelve Quick & Flupke books will be made available in India in November for the first time.
The managing director of the company who obtained the rights for the series stated "India will be our testing ground before taking it to other countries".
There's no mention of language, but I would assume they'd be in English?

Read the full article here.

That's great news, English is the second language in India. Read this similar article.

Has anyone found an online source for these books?

I've been looking for a while and I can't find an Indian equivalent of Amazon, et al. I have spotted a site named www.navrang.com which has a number of Biggles graphic novels from the same publishers, but nothing on there about Quick & Flupke (nor the Spirou books they're supposed to have published).

George

This is good news!
Do English transaltions already exist or have they been specifically translated for this release?
The English translations for Spirou, brought out by the same company, were quite substandard, not to mention the huge number of typos.

Do English translations already exist or have they been specifically translated for this release?

There were a number of Biggles books put out by Redfox† about ten years ago, so there are some pre-existing translations, but these are new - or different at least.

I ordered three books just after I posted my original message, and they're just turned up. I've only had a chance to flick through them but there are no obvious typos, and the production is very good. Incidentally, should anyone be interested in picking up a volume or two I should point out the the volume published by Redfox as Flying Detective is the same one as this series' Yellow Swan. Too late for me...

I ordered through the website I mentioned. They take Paypal, so the entire process is pretty secure. The packaging was fine - a big box stuffed with newspaper as padding. The best part is that you pay in dollars. Given the weakness of the dollar vs the pound these books are bargains. Including postage I was charged £16.67 - cheaper to get from India than two similar Tintin's would cost in a British bookshop.

No sign on there of Quick & Flupke though - where did you pick up the Spirou?

George

(† Flying Detective; Spitfire Parade; Biggles and the Battle of Britain)

Hi George,
Since I live in India, I can just pick them up from any bookstore!
I've seen the Biggles as well, although I haven't bought any.
The Spirous are full of glaring typos, and the translation is very stunted. I didn't see any Quick & Flupke, so I guess they're not out yet. I did see a few Lucky Lukes, the Nolan/Kunzig translations, that have been reprinted for the Indian market, and are dirt cheap!

SD

Since I live in India

Well, that explains it then! ;-)

Out of interest, are there any online bookstores in India that you'd recommend?

Having read one of the Biggles books in question I see what you mean about the translations.
The English is fine but I suspect the translations are by someone who has less of an understanding of colloquial English.

On the very first page there's an example; the Captain of a naval ship shouts "Stop machines" rather than "Stop engines", which would fit better.
The former sounds more like a literal translation from French; the latter is English usage.
Another example: a few pages later, when discussing the possibility of an uncharted island being used as a hideout, Biggles states "Everything is not listed!" I would suspect he means "Not everything is listed". Same words, totally different meaning!

Despite this, the books are enjoyable and readable.

Hopefully the Quick & Flupke books will get off lightly given the nature of the strip (in other words, not being a complicated narrative).

George

Well, when I first looked at the Quick & Flupke, I didn't know Hergé ever worked on anything else other than Tintin.... Now only know they originate a year even before Tintin was born.

Will definitely pick them up the next time I visit a bookstore in India.

Euro Books India, who in recent times, have published BDs of Spirou, Biggles, and even Agatha Christie, have just released 11 new volumes of Quick & Flupke in English.

The 11 volumes are:

Forbidden Games
Everything's Fine
Full Sail
It's Your Turn
Without Mercy
Excuse Me Ma'am
Long Live Progress!
Catastrophe
Pranks and Jokes
Bluffmasters
Fasten Your Seat Belt!

We finally get to see what these new Q&F English translations look like! Someone is selling the whole collection on Ebay for close to $100. [Broken link removed]

According to the seller, the translators are none other than the original translators of Tintin: Leslie-Lonsdale Cooper and Michael Turner!
Very interesting news indeed!
Hopefully the books will eventually become available in other English-speaking countries. Can't wait to get my hands on them!