(Continued from Poe 1947, Pt. 6)
TIT-BITS 1991
"EL ESCARABAJO DE ORO"
(in COLOR)
Editorial Manuel Lainez S.A. was a publisher in Argentina. They did an anthology magazine that combined illustrated short stories with comic-strip reprints from America. Among the countless features, was this Poe classic...
"THE GOLD BUG"
I discovered this on Ebay on 5-25-2020. I wasn't sure what it is. So I contacted the seller, "Petronio 1908":
"I'm interested in this item. Is "El Escarabaro De Oro" ("The Gold Bug") a comics story? Complete or one chapter? How many pages? Do they list the artist? Could you send me at least ONE image of the story? I'd like to make sure it isn't something I already have from some other source. (Also, if it's serialized, I'd like to find out what other issues have the rest of the story.)"
He replied:
"It´s an complete history in 4 great pages full color & black and white.
I put images 5 and 6
Regards, Horacio"
He actually didn't post the pages, but I figured, that was enough. I ordered it. And then, about a week later, COVID shut down the Post Office processing center in Buenos Ares. OY! I kept checking the tracking for several weeks, but nothing was moving. I know this was a mistake, but eventually, I stopped checking.
Almost 2 YEARS later... on 3-11-2022... I happened to see a copy of the book was still on sale from the same seller. And, he HAD posted 2 pages by then. As soon as I saw them, I KNEW I had to get it! I really love simple, "cartoony" art like this.
I decided to contact him:
"Hi there! I know this is ridiculous to be contacting you at this late date... I ordered this item back on 5-26-2020. Right when Covid SHUT DOWN the Buenos Ares processing center. I followed the tracking for months, but it never seemed to leave. I finally gave up after 6 months. It certainly never got here. I see you've still got a copy for sale. Has the Post Office down there finally gotten their act together? Is there any way to check if this thing is somehow lost in their facilities? I thought I'd ask before I tried ordering it AGAIN. I see you NOW have 2 pages of the "Gold Bug" posted, and what I see makes me want it all the more. (It's been a crazy couple of years, hasn't it?)"
He said the Post Office seemed to be working fine. But he also reccomended that if I used FedEx, I could get the book delivered in 6 DAYS. But it would cost $22.00 just for the shipping. I thought about it for a few days... then, I ordered it, using regular "Economy Shipping" ($12.00).
I put the order in on 3-16-2022. I figured, if I didn't get it in 6 WEEKS, I'd request a refund. About a week later, I checked the Argentina Tracking site, and after 2 minutes, it said, "Cannot find item". WHAT? A few days later, I checked Ebay's tracking. And I was delighted to find that on 3-28-22, it had arrived in Florida! ALRIGHT! It made it to this country this time.
It wound up getting to my PO Box on 4-2-22 (Saturday afternoon), so since I was already on the road, I picked it up on Monday, 4-4-22, a "mere" 19 days after I ordered it. The next day I scanned it in and began the clean-up job.
This thing is HUGE!! It's 10-1/4" wide by 13-3/4" high. Under a thin "matte" cover stock is really thin newsprint, which has yellowed extensively after 75 YEARS. Whoa. Yep, this thing's older than I am, and is now one of the oldest magazines in my entire collection.
This now-earliest of "Gold Bug" adaptations is a 4-page "illustrated story", with 2 pages in COLOR and 2 in B&W with some graytones. After wanting it for almost 2 years, I couldn't wait to get started on it.
This version of the story is so truncated that I felt it best to use most of what kicked out of the translator verbatim, only changing a few words where necessary.
ENJOY!
TIT-BITS 1991
cover by ?? (Editorial Manuel Lainez S.A. / Argentina / August 1947)
Adaptation & Art by AMADIO
Page 18
Page 19
Page 20
Page 21
New Color & English Translation (C) 2022 Henry R. Kujawa.
Scans of TIT-BITS #1991 (1947) from MY collection
with special thanks to Horacio Iglesias
("Petronio1908") in Buenos Ares, Argentina.
For more:
Read about Edgar Allan Poe at The Poe Museum site.
Read about Edgar Allan Poe at the Biography site.
Read about THE GOLD BUG at the Bookriot site.
Read the complete story at the Poe Stories site.
See the GOLD BUG Gallery of Illustrations.
Audio:
Hear the Vincent Price GOLD BUG recording!
Hear the FAMILY THEATER episode!
Comics:
Read the Amadio GOLD BUG adaptation! (coming soon)
Read the Joseph Wirt Tillotson GOLD BUG adaptation!
Read the Alex A. Blum GOLD BUG adaptation!
Read the Henry Sharp GOLD BUG adaptation!
Read the Fernando Bento GOLD BUG adaptation!
Read the Editorial Sea/Novaro GOLD BUG adaptation!
Read the Mick Anglo GOLD BUG adaptation!
Read the Alexis-Thomas Hinsberger GOLD BUG adaptation!
Read the Dino Battaglia GOLD BUG adaptation! (coming soon)
Read the Antonio Calmerio Tomas GOLD BUG adaptation!
(Coming soon:)
Read the Alfonso Font GOLD BUG adaptation!
Read the Guido Del Carpio Rivera GOLD BUG illustrated story!
Read the Arturo Arnau GOLD BUG illustrated story!
Read the Pablo Marcos GOLD BUG illustrated story!
Read the Novedades Editores GOLD BUG adaptation!
Read the Silvio Camboni GOLD BUG adaptation!
Read the Jorge Hardmeier GOLD BUG adaptation!
Read the Niesa Editores GOLD BUG adaptation!
Read the Jean-Louis Thouard GOLD BUG adaptation!
Read the Miguel Serratosa GOLD BUG adaptation!
Read the NBM / Papercutz GOLD BUG adaptation!
See the CHRONOLOGICAL list of Edgar Allan Poe stories!
See the ALPHABETICAL list of Edgar Allan Poe stories!
(Continued in Poe 1948, Pt. 1)
Excellent!
ReplyDeleteand Thanks