Who is the Spanish publisher of Promethea and other Alan Moore titles and what is the address or email that people can contact if they wish to purchase Alan Moore titles in Spanish?

The publisher is Editorial Planeta DeAgostini, under the imprint World Comics. You can buy their comics at

I don’t really know whether this web page has actually something to do with the publisher, though.

How far have you gone in translating Promethea? What is the latest issue published? Have all of the ABC titles been translated?

The last issue I translated was #23. I’m not sure which is the latest issue published, since I don’t live in Spain and it’s difficult to keep track of these things abroad.

Promethea was published in "pamphlet" form for the first 15 issues. After a hiatus (I think it was more or less a year), World Comics started publishing Promethea again as 4-issue paperbacks, starting with #16.

As far as I know, yes, all of the ABC titles have been published/are being published currently in Spain.

The Italian translator Leonardo Rizzi wrote that it took him over a month to translate Issue #12. Did it take you about as long as this?

I take you are talking about the one that was written in verse. No, I don’t think it took me so long. Maybe a week or so. That was a couple of years ago, so it’s difficult to remember. Besides, I don’t remember issue #12 being a big pain in the ass. I saw it more as a challenge, and a funny and well-written one, for a change. In my experience, it is more difficult to translate badly written comics than to translate clever rhymes.

Then again, maybe Leonardo just did a better work. Anyway, I’m kind of proud of how it turned out in the end.

Do you know of any other translations of Alan Moore's works in languages other than Spanish?

I remember a French translation of Watchmen.

Is there any sort of cameraderie amongst European translators of English comic books. Do you know or have any contacts with translators from English into other languages such as Italian, French or German? Do you ever get together to complain about how little you are paid or how easy people think translating is when it really is harder than it looks?

No, I don’t have any contacts with translators except for other Spanish translators. I used to see them at comic conventions in Spain. Most are comics fans that happen to be capable of translating from English to Spanish and consider this a "side job". A "labour of love", I guess. I don’t think I know anyone that could make a decent living just translating comics. That would take a lot of series.

And yes, we do exchange stories about deserving a better pay and readers that tend to think that they could do a better work than you did. Sometimes they are right, you’ve messed it up and it cannot be denied. However, I’m sorry to say, more often than not they just don’t know what they are talking about. A couple of fans actually wrote to a Spanish comic magazine complaining about some things they didn’t like in my translations. One of them was actually kind of polite (not with me, mind you, but at least he bothered to mention specific issues and all that), so I thought it would be fair to bother and research the comic-books he was complaining about, and it turned out that he had made up the whole thing. And he was the polite one! Maybe it was an honest mistake on his part, but he never wrote back apologizing as he did complaining.

How long have you been working as a translator?

I think it’s going to be nine years now. Boy, does time fly.

How did you first start as a translator? What are some of the titles you have translated?

I was working for a comic-book shop in Madrid called, ahem, Madrid Comics (btw, with the new owners, it has developed into the finest comic and pop culture shop in Madrid. Kudos to Eloy and Manolo! Keep up the great work!). The then-owner had just acquired the rights to publish the Calvin and Hobbes daily strips in Spanish, and since he knew I was studying to get my English Lit degree at the University and I could understand English, he asked me if I thought I was up to the task. I thought I was.

After that, I took samples to the biggest comic convention in Spain, the Saló del Cómic de Barcelona and to Editorial Planeta, and they seemed to like it. At least, I’ve been working for them since.

The first comic-book series I translated for them was Daredevil, which I am still translating. Apart from that, right now I’m translating mostly Marvel titles: Avengers, Incredible Hulk, Punisher, Exiles, Captain America, Elektra, and some miniseries and one-shots from time to time. Besides, I’m translating a couple of Wildstorm titles, Global Frequency and Sleeper, for which I’m also writing the reader’s mail.

Actually, I was translating the ABC line except for The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen (although I did answer the reader’s mail for the first series). I had translated the first three or four issues of Top Ten and Tomorrow Stories, but then I got a job teaching Spanish in the United States and I moved here and had to drop some titles because I was not going to be able to meet the deadlines with my teaching job and all. I kept Promethea and Tom Strong, though, since those were the ones I enjoyed the best.

I’ve also translated some Image titles (DV8, Witchblade, Weapon Zero, Grifter) and miniseries such as Ninja Boy, Resident Evil, Point Blank... pretty much anything they threw my way!

Do you just translate comic books or novels as well?

No, I’ve never translated novels. I was assigned to translate a book written by some Australian Wiccan magician called Deborah Gray, I don’t know whether you’ve heard of her. That might very well be the only deadline I’ve ever missed. They are still waiting for that one, I’m afraid. I’m so ashamed.

How popular is Alan Moore in Spain?

Quite popular. But I don’t think A Small Killing has sold the same figures as, say, Watchmen, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, From Hell or even Tom Strong.

What percentage of the population would know English well enough to read his works in the original as opposed to in translation?

Honestly, I don’t have a clue. However, I wouldn’t bet on a high figure.

How much of his work has been translated and how much have you yourself traslated?

As far as I know, everything Moore has ever done for Marvel, DC or Wildstorm has been translated in Spanish (with the possible exceptions of some short stories he did for DC back when). Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow?, Swamp Thing, V for Vendetta, Watchmen... Captain Britain... Wildcats and the whole ABC line... Marvelman, A Small Killing, From Hell, The Birth Caul... I know there were plans to publish Supreme in Spain, Dude Comics bought the rights but I don’t really know what happenned in the end. DR and Quinch, The Ballad of Hallo Jones have been recently published, also by Dolmen.

Apart from Promethea, I have translated the first 14 issues or so of Tom Strong, plus the first three or four issues of Top Ten and Tomorrow Stories.

Has his novel Voice of the Fire ever been translated and if so how did they manage to translate the first chapter?

Sorry, again, I cannot tell.

What do you especially like about Promethea as compared to Alan Moore's other works?

I read an interview with Alan Moore concerning his then-new ABC line in which he half-jokingly referred to the "grim’n’gritty" trend of the 80s as a result of a mood swing he was going under at that time. We all know how influential Watchmen was, so I think it’s a safe bet to believe he wasn’t far from the truth but just playing around a bit.

What I like about Promethea is that he set himself apart from what anyone could have expected from him and still has been able to write a clever and relevant book.

I also find attractive the fact that, for me, the book turned from a non-conventional superhero book to an amazingly didactic book on magic and its meaning. But the change has been so gradual, so well-told, that it makes perfect sense (and knowing Moore’s previous works, I wouldn’t rule out that he had it planned from the beginning).

For me, Promethea is a book about change and understanding the world we live in. Everyone on it changes, from Sophie to Stacia to Jack Faust, as do the relationships between all the characters. Sophie’s trip with Barbara through the spheres is her path to knowledge, and knowledge empowers her, making her wiser. Her trip is the story of a really inquisitive mind looking for answers and meanings, and, are we not all embarked on a similar trip?

What are some of your favorite lines of dialogue and captions that you have translated in Promethea?

I character I’ve come to like a lot is Jack Faust. I love his dry humour and sarcasm, and how he changed from this ominous, frightening character into a frail human and Sophie’s magic mentor.

I also love the "Weeping Gorilla" quotes, but after seeing your web page, it seems I’m not very original. Stacia is always funny to translate, too.