We caught up with Olivier Cadic, entrepreneur and founder of Cinebook, 'the ninth art publisher', to talk translating graphic novels in the UK...
Has the release of the Spielberg film, The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, had any impact on interest in comic books? How well do you think they translate to the big screen?
Without a doubt. It’s the perfect teaser to give people a taste of European comics. Especially since we publish Blake and Mortimer, whose creator Jacobs worked with Hergé on Tintin. As Hergé refused to let Jacobs share the credit on the Tintin graphic novels, he offered him instead two pages in his Tintin magazine to develop his own hero. And thus were Blake and Mortimer born.
Several of our series have already been made into movies: Lucky Luke, with Terence Hill; Iznogoud; and Largo Winch with Tomer Sisley, Kristin Scott Thomas in the first movie and Sharon Stone in the second.
"It’s important to remember that publishing the stories as graphic novels is something that came much later. The comic culture came to be through periodicals first."
Why do you think comics have traditionally been more popular in France and Belgium than in the UK?
It has to do with the magazines Tintin and Spirou. They allowed many talented artists and writers to be discovered. It’s important to remember that publishing the stories as graphic novels is something that came much later. The comic culture came to be through periodicals first.
Moreover, I think British artists have been sucked in by the US majors. American superheroes have greatly influenced that particular market, as they didn’t require translation to be imported.
In 2008 you added a line of comics for 15+. How is the series performing?
We’re very happy with that line, which was primarily developed for the comic book shop circuit. It’s made all of Jean Van Hamme’s major series popular.
What proportion of your books do you sell through your website?
It’s a low percentage, since we don’t want to be in competition with the distribution networks that work everyday to help Cinebook grow. You can also find on our website a list of retail stores that carry the Cinebook range.
You're committed to publishing regular instalments of series such as XIII, to keep up with reader demand. Is it tricky to keep on track?
When we started, people would tell us they were extremely frustrated by all the other publishers who’d begin a series and then cancel publishing, leaving the reader hanging. Someone had told me: Don’t do XIII, it’s cursed. Several publishers had started it, and stopped at number 3. I answered that if Cinebook published XIII, the curse would become a blessing to readers. In order to give exposure to the authors and clarity to the readers, we resolved to publish one volume of XIII every two months, alternating with Lucky Luke. That way, everyone knows they will read the end of the series in 2013. I was very happy yesterday to hear from Whatever Comics in Canterbury that they had a new customer who now came in regularly to buy his issue of XIII.
The grande dame of translators, Anthea Bell, is well known for translating the Asterix series. Do you find it difficult to find translators who are able to work with the format?
Unlike other publishers, we decided to work with a team of three translators on each book. Either Erica Jeffrey or Jerome Saincantin translates, while the other proofreads and corrects. Then a third filter is applied, checking and validating the work of the first two translators. For Asterix, René Goscinny would personally review the first English translations to make sure the spirit of his work was preserved. We kept this idea of a final filter before publishing.
Who is your all-time favourite comic book hero?
The Bluecoats. Chesterfield and Blutch hold the high ground in my heart, right next to Lucky Luke.
What next for Cinebook? Any digital developments?
Our comics are available on Izneo, the digital platform co-developed by Mediatoon, the French publisher that puts the graphic novels we translate in print.
Cinebook continues to develop, with an average of three new releases per month. Each semester, we also work to introduce a new series – always very carefully selected.
Find out more at cinebook.co.uk
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