INTERNATIONAL SWASHBUCKLING PIRACY of the early Superman comics began as early as 1939. French and Belgian publishers were running copies of the first adventures in reprint magazines with weird colors and fancy language. This went on throughout the forties.
They changed his name to “Yordi” at one point — and also “Marc, l’Hercule moderne!” (which Marc Tyler Nobleman will like).
Thanks to Jean-Michel Ferragatti, this place, and Bluechip, Captain Azur, and Xaltotun (mysterious collectors with mysterious names).
Hey Brad. Thanks for the link to our site. Just one thing. Those early Superman adventures in French aren’t related to piracy. They were legal. They just happened at a time when editors weren’t too much concerned about respecting the original material. Back in 1939, the name “Superman” was problematic in Europe, with the nazis having their own theories about “supermen”. That’s why the first french editors changed the name to something else. And even redrew the “S” shield when he was called Yordi. I guess it’s something similar to what was done to Robotech when it was translated in the USA.
Now, for a real french piracy of Superman you should check a strip called François l’Imbattable (“François the Invincible”) where most of the art came from a swiped Superman
Hey Xavier — thanks for the info. I like your site. So do you mean the strip was actually licensed to the French publisher? I will check out Francois. I like how they give the character more proper names: “Look! Up in the Sky! It’s Francois!”