Okay, I've been pretty laudatory of this series right from the get go, and what I'm about to say takes nothing away from that, but, holy God, there's a lot of German dialogue in this issue. I mean, I'm pretty sure I'm missing a full half of what's going on. The 7 Guys, sans Talon, have been exposed to Mussolini's fascist gas and have become goose-stepping followers of the 10th Reich.
(Only in comics, folks!)
I appreciate the way that the language is being used here. I was talking to my class today about representations of sound in comics, and how it helps us focalize our perspectives. When Talon, and his allies Dung Beetle and the Human Poop, are interacting with the brainwashed 7 Guys, all of the 7 Guys dialogue is in German. Because we're meant to be seeing things through the lens of Talon (a terrifying prospect if ever there was one). But when it's just the 7 Guys talking to each other, the dialogue is in English, albeit with those little pointy brackets that stand universally, in comics at least, for a translation from another language. Hence we focalize through the 7 Guys, even though they're kind of evil right now. So, as I say, I appreciate the way the language is being used, I just wish I knew what was being said.
Well over 20 years living with someone who speaks German, you'd think I'd have picked a thing or two up. Back tomorrow with perhaps one of the greatest story titles of all time - "The Fascist Man Alive."
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