Lost in translation...und Die Rächer!

I had a post up recently about a new collection of books that dropped into my lap. One of the odder books in it was a German language version of Texas Rangers #67.

Now I'm no stranger to the German language, after taking four years worth of classes during high school. Unfortunately, that was over twenty years ago and the German words or phrases I remember I can number on one hand.

Of course, there's the swear word we were taught in chapter four of our textbook.

scheußlich

Although, using an online translator, it's apparently not quite as blue as I remember. Oh well.

The other phrase was my standard answer when called on in class.

Ich habe keine ahnung.

So I wasn't expecting to understand much of this issue, but thought it would be fun to thumb through. At the very least, I figured I'd be able to at least understand the sound effects.

I guess I was wrong.

I don't know what type of revolvers they use in Germany, but...

PENG!

I think my six-shooter cap gun that I had when I was eight sounded more threatening.

It would probably just be better if you pretended to shoot and hollered out BANG at the same time.

It looks like things are getting a tad more realistic later on in the issue.

PÄNG!

While I can imagine this sound effect if you were shooting tin cans off a rock at thirty paces, I don't think that's quite what they were aiming at.

On second thought, it's got an umlaut in it. Does that make it sound any badder?

Ich habe keine ahnung.

It definitely looks more threatening.

Now I assume that's just water that they're dumping him in.

Or so I thought until I saw that sound effect.

PLATSCH!

I don't know how dense water is over in Germany, but I can only assume it's just as viscous as it is here.

SPLATSCH I could handle, but PLATSCH? Who knows what he's getting dumped in.

This, I think, is my favorite of the lot.

Now I've never socked anyone in the jaw, so I can't speak from experience, but I've seen enough movies and read enough Jonah Hex books to know that ZACK is not necessarily the sound you'd hear.

I like to think that maybe the victim's name is Zack, and this punch just happened to have his name written all over it.

Who would've thought that the sound effects would end up getting lost in translation, but there you go.

Now on to something that needs no translation, as it's time to pick another random book to review. Take it away Randomizer...

...and that book is The Avengers #269 from July 1986, published by Marvel Comics!

Wow, has it really been over six months since we've reviewed an Avengers book around here? I guess so, but this pick more than makes up for us having to wait so long.

When I saw this cover pop up on the Randomizer, I instantly felt like I was a kid again. I remember standing at the racks of The Paperback Exchange, pulling this issue off of the racks. While that was twentyfour years ago, it seems like just yesterday.

The Roger Stern/John Buscema/Tom Palmer era of The Avengers will go down in history as one of my all-time favorite comic book runs. I'm sure it has everything to do with it being the first title I collected, but that's beside the point. This here, is as good as comics get...or at least it is in my mind's eye.

Come back in a day or two for the review and we'll see if it lives up to the hype.

It's got Kang in it, so seriously...it has to be good!