«CANNIBALE»’S TRANSLATIONS AND THE RECEPTION OF US UNDERGROUND COMIX IN ITALY
A Semiotic Analysis
Keywords:
Isotopy; Comics Studies; Translation; MultimodalityAbstract
By relying on the tools provided by semiotics (in particular, isotopic and thymic analysis) and multimodality, this paper presents a contrastive analysis of the Italian translations of a selection of works belonging to the US underground comix phenomenon, which were published in the ninth and last issue of the radical comics magazine «Cannibale» entitled «USA Only» (July 1979). This represents a critical publication since it includes works by US underground cartoonists which were selected and translated by Italian underground cartoonists during the Years of Lead, thus establishing a bridge between the two experiences. The aim of the study is to investigate the hermeneutic frames adopted and the signifying processes triggered by the transfer into the Italian language and underground milieu of the controversial production which characterised the turbulent years of the US Counterculture (mid 1960s-mid 1970s). In particular, the paper discusses the translation of two works by cartoonist Greg Irons and writer Tom Veitch, originally published in the second and last issue of «Deviant Slice Funnies» (1973): a 14-page untitled story opening «Cannibale»’s issue and the 10-page story entitled You got a point there, pop! (translated as Gran perdita di punti, amico!), ending the publication with an emblematic scene of cannibalism.
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