Serval (Leptailurus serval).
(Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris. Exposition Félins, 2023.)
The reason I post this is to share a piece of trivia:
Translation in publishing is sometimes very weird. When I was a kid, in the French translation of the X-men comics and the cartoon, Logan was not called Wolverine but Serval. It was years before he was actually called Wolverine.
You’ll admit, looking at a serval, not quite the same animal. ^^;;
I had always wondered whether they just feared Europeans would have NO IDEA WHAT THE FUCK IS A WOLVERINE.
So, hey, wikepedia, mon ami, help !
Here is the answer :
En France, des années 1970 aux années 1990, le nom du personnage est traduit en Serval dans les épisodes publiés par les éditions Lug. Bien que le terme « glouton »6 soit la traduction correcte de « wolverine », le terme « serval » lui a été préféré (« glouton » désignant également en français un individu gourmand). Cependant, en 1980, l'éditeur Arédit publie un épisode dans Gamma no 111 où le personnage fait sa première apparition, et traduit son nom par Glouton7. Dans les années 1990, la popularité de Wolverine est telle qu'elle égale celle des super-héros les plus fameux de Marvel avant lui, comme Spider-Man. En France, Panini Comics, qui publie depuis 1997 les comics Marvel en version française, lui rend à cette époque son nom d'origine.
In France, from the 70s to the 90s, the character’s name is translated as Serval in the issues released by the publisher Lug. Even though the word “glouton” was the correct translation for “wolverine” (NDT: animal wise), the word “serval” was prefered (as “glouton” also means an individual fond of food in French). (NDT: I confirm, to French ears, the name would have sounded somewhat ridiculous for a hero. Especially when glouton has a bit of a negative connotation too, as exaggeratedly fond of food, voracious or even greedy.) Nonetheless, in 1980, the publisher Arédit releases an episode in Gamma n°11 where the character makes his first appearence and translates his name as Glouton. In the 90s, Wolverine’s fame is such that it equals the one of the most famous Marvel superheroes before him, such as Spider-man. In France, Panini Comics, which publishes Marvel comics since 1997 in the French translation, gives him his original name back.
Thought you might find this funny. ^^
