Catalan Communications
From Hey Kids Comics
Industry | Publishing |
---|---|
Founder(s) | Bernd Metz |
Headquarters |
New York 43 East 19th Street |
Key people |
Bernd Metz Tom Leighton Elizabeth Bell |
Products | Comics, trade paperbacks |
Catalan Communications was a New York Publishing company, operated by Bernd Metz (1944-2012), which mainly focused on English-language translations of European graphic novels, presented in a series of high-quality trade paperbacks.
Company history[edit | edit source]
The company, founded as a collaboration with Josep Toutain (1930-1997) of Selecciones Ilustradas in Barcelona, published through the 1980s until 1992 from a large loft located at 43 East 19th Street. Metz was the editor, and the novelist Tom Leighton and later Elizabeth Bell provided English translations for the French and French-edition titles, including Max Cabanes' Colin-Maillard (Heartthrobs). In 1990, the Cabanes graphic novel was the winner of the Grand Prix at France's Angoulême International Comics Festival. One of Bell's translated books for Catalan revealed errors in an earlier Heavy Metal translation of the same story. James Keller, the Germanic studies scholar, translated the German edition of Sacher-Masoch's Venus in Furs (Guido Crepax) in 1991, the year the company released its last titles. Tom Leighton was the IT arm of the firm as well as the translator from French until 1989. Jeff Lisle translated from Italian and Spanish.[1]
Some outstanding books published by Metz were Jacques Loustal's Love Shots, Lorenzo Mattotti's Fires, Massimo Mattioli's Squeak the Cat series, and Barcelona artist Marti Riera's The Cabbie, with an introduction by Art Spiegelman. Published in five languages, Trip to Tulum by Federico Fellini and Milo Manara, with essays translated by Elizabeth Bell, was selected by Publishers Weekly as one of the best trade paperbacks of 1990. PW reviewed:
- A beautiful woman falls into a pond chasing Fellini's windblown hat. Under the water's surface is an eerie world of preserved shipwrecks and planewrecks, a resting place for ghostly references to Fellini's films. Inside a submerged seaweed-encrusted 747 the woman is astonished to find Fellini himself. He sends her off with a very handsomely drawn Marcello Mastroianni—Fellini's alter ego—to make a movie of unknown content. They stop in Los Angeles and finally reach a grand hotel on the Mexican coast where magical transformations abound. Fellini and Manara have brought the dreamlike beauty of Fellini's cinematography to the comics medium. A consummate linear draftsman, Manara's deft portraits of Fellini and Mastroianni are complemented by his dazzling imaginary architecture, his characteristic lyrical eroticism and the playfully self-referential exchanges between Fellini and the characters in his story.[2]
In 1989–90, Catalan expanded its line with the "Comcat" line of comic albums aimed at all ages, focusing on non-adult European comic albums such as Blake and Mortimer, The Adventures of Yoko, Vic and Paul, Code XIII and Young Blueberry.
Publications[edit | edit source]
Catalan titles[edit | edit source]
Title | Art | Script | Year | ISBN |
---|---|---|---|---|
A Matter of Time | Juan Gimenez | 1985 | ISBN 0-87416-012-X | |
Abominations | Hermann | 1990 | ISBN 0-87416-080-4 | |
Anarcoma | Nazario | 1984 | ISBN 0-87416-000-6 | |
Bell's Theorem #1: Bell's Theorem | Matthias Schultheiss | 1987 | ISBN 0-87416-037-5 | |
Bell's Theorem #2: The Connections | Matthias Schultheiss | 1988 | ISBN 0-87416-062-6 | |
Bell's Theorem #3: Contact | Matthias Schultheiss | 1989 | ISBN 0-87416-074-X | |
Billy Budd, KGB | François Boucq | Jérôme Charyn | 1991 | ISBN 0-87416-111-8 |
Bodyssey | Richard Corben | Simon Revelstroke | 1986 | ISBN 0-87416-032-4 |
Breakthrough | Various | 1990 | ISBN 0-87416-097-9 | |
Burton & Cyb: 1 | José Ortiz | Antonio Segura | 1990 | ISBN 0-87416-101-0 |
Cases from the Files of Sam Pezzo P.I.: 1 | Vittorio Giardino | 1988 | ISBN 0-87416-057-X | |
Click! : A Woman Under the Influence | Milo Manara | 1985 | ISBN 0-87416-055-3 | |
Companions at dusk: The Spell of the Misty Forest | François Bourgeon | 1991 | ISBN 0-87416-126-6 | |
Corben Collected Works #1: Underground 1 | Richard Corben | 1985 | ISBN 0-87416-018-9 | |
Corben Collected Works #2: Underground 2 | Richard Corben | 1986 | ISBN 0-87416-026-X | |
Corben Collected Works #3: Rowlf - Underground 3 | Richard Corben | 1987 | ISBN 0-87416-031-6 | |
Dark Tales | Jordi Bernet | Enrique Sánchez Abulí | 1990 | ISBN 0-87416-082-0 |
Den: Neverwhere | Richard Corben | 1984 | ISBN 0-87416-003-0 | |
Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde | Guido Crepax | 1990 | ISBN 0-87416-079-0 | |
Dulled Feelings | Igort | 1990 | ISBN 0-87416-090-1 | |
Edgar Allan Poe. The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Tales of Horror. | Richard Corben | 1985 | ISBN 0-87416-013-8 | |
Erma Jaguar #1: Erma Jaguar: 1 | Alex Varenne | 1990 | ISBN 0-87416-099-5 | |
Erma Jaguar #2: Erma Jaguar: 2 | Alex Varenne | 1991 | ISBN 0-87416-117-7 | |
Evaristo: Deep City | Francisco Solano López | Carlos Sampayo | 1987 | ISBN 0-87416-034-0 |
Exterminator 17 | Enki Bilal | Jean-Pierre Dionnet | 1986 | ISBN 0-87416-024-3 |
Fires | Lorenzo Mattotti | 1987 | ISBN 0-87416-048-0 | |
Ghita of Alizarr #1: Ghita of Alizarr 1 | Frank Thorne | 1991 | ISBN 0-87416-095-2 | |
Ghita of Alizarr #2: Ghita of Alizarr 2 | Frank Thorne | 1985 | ISBN 0-87416-010-3 | |
Good-Bye and Other Stories | Yoshihiro Tatsumi | 1988 | ISBN 0-87416-056-1 | |
Giuseppe Bergman #1: The Great Adventure | Milo Manara | 1988 | ISBN 0-87416-063-4 | |
Giuseppe Bergman #2: An Author in Search of Six Characters | Milo Manara | 1989 | ISBN 0-87416-071-5 | |
Giuseppe Bergman #3: Dies Irae | Milo Manara | 1990 | ISBN 0-87416-077-4 | |
Giuseppe Bergman #4: Perchance to dream | Milo Manara | 1990 | ISBN 0-87416-086-3 | |
H.R. Gigers Necronomicon 2 | H.R. Giger | 1986 | ISBN 0-87416-029-4 | |
Hearts of Sand | Loustal | Philippe Paringaux | 1991 | ISBN 0-87416-134-7 |
Heartthrobs | Max Cabanes | 1991 | ISBN 0-87416-128-2 | |
Hidden Camera | Milo Manara | 1990 | ISBN 0-87416-098-7 | |
Ice Age #1: Blind Mists | Christian Gine | Didier Convard | 1990 | ISBN 0-87416-107-X |
Ice Age #2: Death Bird | Christian Gine | Didier Convard | 1991 | ISBN 0-87416-132-0 |
Indian Summer | Milo Manara | Hugo Pratt | 1989 | ISBN 0-87416-030-8 |
Jeremiah #13: Strike | Hermann | 1990 | ISBN 0-87416-106-1 | |
Joe's Bar | José Muñoz | Carlos Sampayo | 1987 | ISBN 0-87416-046-4 |
Justine | Guido Crepax | 1991 | ISBN 0-87416-136-3 | |
Killer Condom | Ralf König | 1991 | ISBN 0-87416-146-0 | |
Kogaratsu #1: The Crest of the Blood Lotus | Marc Michetz | Bosse | 1990 | ISBN 0-87416-103-7 |
Kogaratsu #2: Treasure of Eta | Marc Michetz | Bosse | 1991 | ISBN 0-87416-131-2 |
Kogaratsu #3: Spring of Betrayals | Marc Michetz | Bosse | 1991 | ISBN 0-87416-133-9 |
Light and Bold | Jordi Bernet | 1990 | ISBN 0-87416-122-3 | |
Little Ego | Vittorio Giardino | 1989 | ISBN 0-87416-069-3 | |
Love Machine | Horacio Altuna | 1991 | ISBN 0-87416-120-7 | |
Love Shots | Loustal | Philippe Paringaux | 1988 | ISBN 0-87416-059-6 |
Mark of the Dog | Silvio Cadelo | 1991 | ISBN 0-87416-113-4 | |
Max Friedman #1: Hungarian Rhapsody | Vittorio Giardino | 1987 | ISBN 0-87416-033-2 | |
Max Friedman #2: Orient Gateway | Vittorio Giardino | 1987 | ISBN 0-87416-041-3 | |
Morbus Gravis | Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri | 1990 | ISBN 0-87416-115-0 | |
Necron #1 | Magnus | 1989 | ISBN 0-87416-072-3 | |
Necron #2 | Magnus | 1990 | ISBN 0-87416-118-5 | |
Necron #3 | Magnus | 1991 | ISBN 0-87416-107-X | |
New York/Miami | Loustal | Philippe Paringaux | 1990 | ISBN 0-87416-073-1 |
Nikopol #1: Gods in Chaos | Enki Bilal | 1988 | ISBN 0-87416-049-9 | |
Nikopol #2: Woman Trap | Enki Bilal | 1988 | ISBN 0-87416-050-2 | |
Outer States | Enki Bilal | 1990 | ISBN 0-87416-085-5 | |
Paper Man | Milo Manara | 1986 | ISBN 0-87416-022-7 | |
Peter Pank | Max | 1991 | ISBN 0-87416-119-3 | |
Pioneers of the Human Adventure | François Boucq | 1989 | ISBN 0-87416-075-8 | |
RanXerox #1: RanXerox in New York | Tanino Liberatore | Stefano Tamburini | 1984 | ISBN 0-87416-027-8 |
RanXerox #2: Happy Birthday Lubna | Tanino Liberatore | Stefano Tamburini | 1985 | ISBN 0-87416-008-1 |
Realms | Paul Kirchner | 1987 | ISBN 0-87416-043-X | |
Rebel | Pepe Moreno | 1986 | ISBN 0-87416-020-0 | |
Remember Jonathan | Cosey | 1990 | ISBN 0-87416-104-5 | |
Rocco Vargas, The Astral Adventures of #1: Triton | Daniel Torres | 1986 | ISBN 0-87416-025-1 | |
Rocco Vargas, The Astral Adventures of #2: The Whisperer Mystery | Daniel Torres | 1990 | ISBN 0-87416-096-0 | |
Rocco Vargas, The Astral Adventures of #3: Saxon | Daniel Torres | 1990 | ISBN 0-87416-114-2 | |
Romantic Flower | Silvio Cadelo | 1990 | ISBN 0-87416-088-X | |
Shooting Stars | Rod Kierkegaard Jr. | 1987 | ISBN 0-87416-028-6 | |
Shorts | Milo Manara | 1989 | ISBN 0-87416-060-X | |
Snowman | Milo Manara | Alfredo Castelli | 1990 | ISBN 0-87416-124-X |
Squeak the Mouse | Massimo Mattioli | 1989 | ISBN 0-87416-070-7 | |
Stella Norris #1: Hurricane | Roberto Baldazzini | Lorena Canossa | 1991 | ISBN 0-87416-112-6 |
Superwest Comics | Massimo Mattioli | 1987 | ISBN 0-87416-035-9 | |
Tex Arcana #1: Tex Arcana | John Findley | 1987 | ISBN 0-87416-036-7 | |
Tex Arcana #2: Tex Arcana Meets the Toast of Europe/Part 1 | John Findley | 1991 | ISBN 0-87416-129-0 | |
The Ape | Milo Manara | Silverio Pisu | 1986 | ISBN 0-87416-019-7 |
The Cabbie | Marti Riera | 1987 | ISBN 0-87416-042-1 | |
The Hunting Party | Enki Bilal | Pierre Christin | 1990 | ISBN 0-87416-053-7 |
The Last Voyage of Sinbad | Richard Corben | 1988 | ISBN 0-87416-054-5 | |
The Magician's Wife | François Boucq | Jérôme Charyn | 1987 | ISBN 0-87416-045-6 |
The Man from Harlem | Guido Crepax | 1987 | ISBN 0-87416-040-5 | |
The Ranks of the Black Order | Enki Bilal | Pierre Christin | 1989 | ISBN 0-87416-052-9 |
The Specialist: Full Moon in Dendera | Magnus | 1987 | ISBN 0-87416-044-8 | |
The Survivor #1: The Survivor | Paul Gillon | 1990 | ISBN 0-87416-116-9 | |
The Survivor #2: The Heir | Paul Gillon | 1991 | ISBN 0-87416-083-9 | |
The Talking Head | Paolo Baciliero | 1990 | ISBN 0-87416-105-3 | |
The Towers of Bois Maury #3: Germain | Hermann | 1990 | ISBN 0-87416-100-2 | |
The Town That Didn't Exist | Enki Bilal | Pierre Christin | ISBN 0-87416-051-0 | |
Torpedo 1936 #1 | Alex Toth, Jordi Bernet | Enrique Sánchez Abulí | 1984 | ISBN 0-87416-125-8 |
Torpedo 1936 #2 | Jordi Bernet | Enrique Sánchez Abulí | 1985 | ISBN 0-87416-014-6 |
Torpedo 1936 #3 | Jordi Bernet | Enrique Sánchez Abulí | 1986 | ISBN 0-87416-023-5 |
Torpedo 1936 #4 | Jordi Bernet | Enrique Sánchez Abulí | 1987 | ISBN 0-87416-039-1 |
Torpedo 1936 #5 | Jordi Bernet | Enrique Sánchez Abulí | 1988 | ISBN 0-87416-058-8 |
Torpedo 1936 #6 | Jordi Bernet | Enrique Sánchez Abulí | 1991 | ISBN 0-87416-078-2 |
Torpedo 1936 #7 | Jordi Bernet | Enrique Sánchez Abulí | 1991 | ISBN 0-87416-125-8 |
Trip to Tulum | Milo Manara | Federico Fellini | 1990 | ISBN 0-87416-123-1 |
Venus in Furs | Guido Crepax | 1991 | ISBN 0-87416-091-X | |
Video Clips | Tanino Liberatore | Stefano Tamburini | 1985 | ISBN 0-87416-015-4 |
Werewolf | Richard Corben | 1986 | ISBN 0-87416-007-3 | |
Zeppelin | Pepe Moreno | 1986 | ISBN 0-87416-021-9 | |
Zora and the Hibernauts | Fernando Fernandez | 1984 | ISBN 0-87416-001-4 |
Catcom titles[edit | edit source]
Title | Art | Script | Year | ISBN |
---|---|---|---|---|
Blake and Mortimer #1: The Time Trap | Edgar P. Jacobs | 1989 | ISBN 0-87416-066-9 | |
Blake and Mortimer #2: Atlantis Mystery | Edgar P. Jacobs | 1990 | ISBN 0-87416-094-4 | |
Yoko Vic and Paul #1: Vulcans Forge | Roger Leloup | 1989 | ISBN 0-87416-065-0 | |
Yoko Vic and Paul #2: The Three Suns of Vina | Roger Leloup | 1989 | ISBN 0-87416-076-6 | |
Code XIII #1: Day of the Black Sun | William Vance | Jean van Hamme | 1989 | ISBN 0-87416-061-8 |
Code XIII #2: Where the Indian Walks | William Vance | Jean van Hamme | 1989 | ISBN 0-87416-081-2 |
Code XIII #3: All the Tears of Hell | William Vance | Jean van Hamme | 1990 | ISBN 0-87416-092-8 |
Magic Crystal #1: Magic Crystal | Marc Bati | Moebius | 1989 | ISBN 0-87416-067-7 |
Magic Crystal #2: Island of the Unicorn | Marc Bati | Moebius | 1990 | ISBN 0-87416-084-7 |
Magic Crystal #3: Aurelys's Secret | Marc Bati | Moebius | 1990 | ISBN 0-87416-102-9 |
Blueberry, Young #1: Blueberry's Secret | Moebius | Jean-Michel Charlier | 1989 | ISBN 0-87416-068-5 |
Blueberry, Young #2: A Yankee named Blueberry | Moebius | Jean-Michel Charlier | 1990 | ISBN 0-87416-087-1 |
Blueberry, Young #3: The Bluecoats | Moebius | Jean-Michel Charlier | 1990 | ISBN 0-87416-093-6 |
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Stewart, Bhob. "Screaming Metal", The Comics Journal no. 94, October, 1984.
- ↑ Publishers Weekly, 1990.