Managing translated comics when by multiple authors and adding other languages for the interface

JNSquire 2015-07-26 00:41:44 UTC #1

Hello everyone!
I 'm J.N. Squire, the "author-approved" French translator of Prophecy of the Circle, a dramatic sci fi/fantasy tale by Meghan Taylor you can find on Tapastic (you can read it in French on the official website, by the way).

I'd like to add the French pages here since I'm attracted by its tools, look and interface, but I've run into two major issues for gaining any non-English language readership preventing me to do it. ^^"
1) First, I can't upload pages for a series created by another artist by myself. Asking her to do it for the 285 single pages already translated would take a lot of team and unfair as nobody but the artist would be credited (and don't have much time). I also don't want to add credits on the translated pages for various reasons. What do you think about allowing multiple people to manage a comic (with the ability for the series creator to give more or less rights to other people, for example with a "translator" rank) ?
2) Translated comics are possible, but the interface is only in English. And the English level for most of French people is pretty poor. Which is a shame since French-speaking Europe is one of the biggest market for comics in the world. Most of them would be stopped short after landing here from social networks because they don't understand what they are clicking on. So what about making Tapastic itself available in French in other languages.

There, those were my two cents/suggestions. What do you think about them? Don't get me wrong, I already follow a lot of comics here and love this site (it's just not made yet for non-English language readership). I really hope those issues could be quickly fixed since it would attract a lot of non English-speaking comic artists I can't follow on Tapastic yet and really would like to contribute with my translation. ^^

abbastudios 2015-07-26 01:00:18 UTC #2

Only the creators should upload the comic.

The colorists, letterer and translator don't count as creators. The creator already upload translations themselves.

JNSquire 2015-07-26 01:41:25 UTC #3

Ouch. Harsh. I also disagree for translators. Translation takes place most often than not after most of the page is done and translating takes a lot of work since you have to adapt content from one culture to another and make critical creative choices in order to make a good translation. Besides, I'm doing lettering and the bubble layout since French language is more lengthy.

abbastudios 2015-07-26 02:32:15 UTC #4

In no way am I saying there is no work or creativity involved; only that those positions don't count towards having rights as a creator. That's the law, harsh as it may seem to you and not my opinion.

getsuart 2015-07-26 12:24:39 UTC #5

(amazing webcomic btw )

On a side note, I think that Tapastic can translate the interface if only it is a big necessity.
I mean, a lot of people have to adapt themselves ; plus, even if there is some comics translated in French and English, most of the time, readers and creators write in English.
And for the poor french level, as a French myself, I must say that I see a lot of new readers who know how to handle English even if they are bad at this language (and I know a lot). You can also see on deviantArt that there is an active and quite big French community, despise the fact that the website is and will always be in English. There again, a tons of artists saying "Je comprends rien à l'anglais !! " are in there.

It's the problem when you want a lot of translated versions of one comic : you can't please everyone with the interface, because the website has one or two languages at best.