You may recognize the name “Achille Talon”
as that of one of our friends, and regular commenters.
But, do you also recognize “Achille Talon”
as that of a wonderful French/Belgian comic series, from which our friend “Achille
Talon” has taken his screen name?
Neither did I, until he brought it to my attention by providing an
Amazon link to a rare English language volume translation of one of the stories
– pictured above!
...Now, it's time to bring it to YOUR attention!
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| Click to Enlarge, to Read Descriptive Text. |
“Achille Talon”, or “Walter
Melon” as he is known in English, is the product of creator Michael
Greg who, in this volume gives us a fantastic 44-page comedy adventure (in
four-tiered panel layout, as was done in Dell and Gold Key Comics – no less), in which
Achille/Walter journeys to the jungles of “Messaplato” in search of his
lady-love, the fair (and somewhat indifferent) “Magnesia Pamperbilt” and the
diamond mine she just learned she has inherited.
“Magnesia’s Treasure” (1977, with an English translation created in
1981), opens with Achille/Walter purchasing a small vase for Magnesia from an
outdoor flea-market, as a token of his undying affection. Click to Enlarge any and all panels!
We readers are quickly thrust into the magnificent absurdity
that I’ll presume permeates the entirety of the “Achille Talon” series, as
Magnesia enthusiastically accepts the gift – but decides that she must change
the décor of her entire living room to fit the vase!
To do so, she orders her servant/faithful companion “Hexcedrin”
to switch her present living room furniture with that of a departed aunt and
uncle, which is stored in Magnesia’s vast attic.
Achille/Walter, ever the fawning gentleman
assists, and finds an old book – containing a letter that reveals Magnesia to
be the heir to a lost diamond mine in the aforementioned Central American land
of “Messaplato”.
Impulsive Magnesia and Hexcedrin are off in search of the
titular “Magnesia’s Treasure” , with Achille/Walter just
late enough to miss the departing plane, and imagine the many terrors the two
ladies will be facing without his protection!
Achille/Walter gears-up for a dangerous jungle adventure,
takes the next plane, and finds the greatest dangers to be customs, local law enforcement, and wild vehicular traffic! Please forgive an occasional "crooked panel", as this book cannot lie flat on my scanner!
Teaming up with a perpetually inebriated old war buddy of
his father’s, “Arthur, the 14th Duke of Booswallow” (a pun to make
me envious), Achille/Walter eventually plunges into the jungle to find
Magnesia.
Along the way he picks-up a delightfully funny array of pursuers, hangers-on, and just plain old self-interested exploiters that include…
…An officer of the Messaplato Secret Police...
…The enterprisingly mercenary natives of the “Kiukiubamba
Tribe”...
…A band of revolutionaries...
…A rather inept man-eating leopard...
…The mysterious adventurer with a bad case of amnesia, “Colorado
Jones”…
…Dangerous fauna, and deadly man-made traps…
…And the Messaplato Military!
This wondrous mix (and mix-UP) of humorous and satirical characters makes
for one heck of a conclusion! ...But, no
more spoilers!
Instead, we’ll move on to why the readers of this Blog should
enjoy “Achille Talon”, AKA “Walter Melon”.
The character of Achille/Walter is a delightful mix of Carl
Barks’ Donald Duck, and E.C. Segar’s J. Wellington Wimpy – yet, with a quality
all his own.
The basic story structure is that of a Carl Barks Donald
Duck adventure, beginning innocently in Achille/Walter’s hometown, and leading
to intrigues in an exotic locale – with lots of twists, turns, and eccentric
characters to encounter along the way.
Michael Greg was Don Rosa, “before there WAS Don Rosa”! Like Rosa, Greg adheres to - and builds upon - the
classic Barks story structure, yet creates panel after panel of insanely
cramped detail… and does so in a very funny style of cartooning!
The English translation, by Pablo Vela, is worthy of the
best in the English-dialoguing business, such as Geoffrey Blum, Gary Leach, and
the “Creative Core Four” of the present IDW Disney comics! (…You know who we are!)
I heartily recommend “Achille Talon”, AKA
“Walter Melon” to the readers of this Blog – and thank “The
Other Achille Talon” for recommending it to me!
…Finally, I don’t know if any additional American English
translations of “Achille Talon” were created after 1981, but
*I’d* sure like to give it a go sometime!
UPDATE: December 08, 2017:
Compare the detail in these panels from the American printing with that of the French original. This is discussed in the Comments Section: Thanks to Achille Talon (The PERSON) for citing the differences!
