Comics, translation and character: reflections from Batman: The Killing Joke

Abstract

It intends to show how the translation or lack of it alters or preserves the characterization of the characters in the graphic novel, whose title is Batman: the Killing Joke. The corpus is made of the original volume and three versions translated into Brazilian Portuguese. For this analysis, the modalities of translation (Aubert, 1998) were used, focusing, in this section, on the mode of omission and how the lack of translation or changes in certain passages lead to the mischaracterization of the characters, more specifically in relation to the characters Barbara Gordon and the Joker, when comparing two translations by Editora Abril and a translation by Editora Panini with the original version. The contexts of production, publication and reception of these works in the Brazilian market are also considered. Thus, the omission or alteration of segments of the original text mischaracterizes the character Barbara Gordon and the Joker by totally or partially excluding personality traits that could help the reader to better understand her complexities, in addition to losing the Interweaving (Groensteen, 2015) during some excerpts from the translations.