Comic Translation: Translation and Analyses of the Graphic Novel Something is Killing the Children, written by James Tynion IV and ilustrated by Werther Dell’edera

Abstract

Comic Books, also known as comics or Graphic Novels, have been gaining influence in different social and cultural spaces, mainly due to marketing interests, making this type of narrative more popular, impacting the way with which its translation is approached (ROSA, 2013). Considering this statement, it is important that the singularities of this medium are analyzed so that the translation process may encompass its uniqueness. Thus, the Graphic Novel Something is Killing the Children, written by James Tynion IV, illustrated by Werther Dell’edera and published by BOOM! Studios was translated. It tells the story of a small town in the United States that is being attacked by monsters. This narrative was chosen to emphasize possible cultural elements and, also, with the goal of experiencing the challenges in the translation process found in Graphic Novels, specially horror ones. Through this analysis and the observations raised in the translation journal, we seek to understand the elements that must be studied during the translation of Graphic Novels, highlighting the importance of the graphic and cultural elements for their enjoyment. These characteristics were studied during the research, reinforcing the difficulties and choices made in the translation process, aiming at a coherent and fluid result. Therefore, the theories of Aragão and Zavaglia (2010); Assis (2016); Bassnett and Lefevere (1992); Zanettin (2008; 2018), among others, were used as theoretical background.