How Are You Going to Stop Me?

"Then it doesn't matter anymore."  "Don't talk like that, Dad!" "That's how I am, son." "Nothing will change that." "Don't go up...to that bad place!" "I will." "No, I'll stop you!" "How are you going to stop me?"

Who's Flying the Plane?

I'm back from vacation.

"But when he's awake, he plays.  I protect his body, but not his spirit.  Oh!" 
 "I was making a cup of coffee..." 

"Before I fix this broken seat, and I thought you would like a cup of chamomile tea." 
 "God bless you, Ben.  But, if you're here...who is flying the plane?"

Notes:
The past participle of romper is irregular: roto
(Que) Dios te bendiga is a common phrase derived from the irregular subjunctive of the verb to bless - bendecir.

I Can't Tell You

"Hey Dad, how does a carborator work?" "I can't tell you." "Why?" "It's a secret."  "No it isn't!  It's that you don't know!"

Notes:  
When attached to the end of an infinitive, indirect object and direct object pronouns maintain their regular order: decirtelo, darmelo, etc.

Spanish by Choice: Take a Picture

Poder, the verb for to be able, is irregular in many conjugations.  Podría - the conditional could -  is one of them.   As discussed here and as seen below.

"But there is no address for the general here..." 
"I know, but we'll call the telephone number on this card." 

"Hello?  Is this 97.85.24?  Could I speak with Mr. Dubreuil? Who am I...?  A friend of the general Alcazar, and I...Hello?"

Spanish by Choice: She's Not Mexican

Spanish uses the reflexive verb llamar when discussing names.  As seen below and in this lesson.

"Very well, tell me madam Yamilah, what is this gentleman's name?" 
"Serafin."  

"Is that true, sir?" "It's true!"

"I would like to speak with Mr. Tintin." 

"For what?  Is your name Rackham the Red too?" 
"What's that?"

"I'm pleased to meet you.  My name is Sunflower.  Silvester Sunflower." 
"Ah!"

Meanwhile... 
"I have a retired horse for you..." 
"Oh...a nice horse!" 

"Look, it's very docile.  It's name is Beatriz." 
"Hello, Beatriz!"

Spanish By Choice: At the Bar

Spanish has two grammatical genders: masculine and feminine.  All nouns fall into one of these two categories, and the gender of a given noun changes the ending of most adjectives that modify it.  This lesson discusses this topic, as well as how to order a beer in Spanish.

"Bring another beer, waiter." "Very well." 

"Dear Tintin, what a pleasure it is to see you again!" 

 "I would say even more:  what a pleasure it is to see you, dear Tintin!"  

"Here you are, sir." 

"To your health!" "To yours!" 

 "Ah, dear friends, what a pleasure it is to see you again!"

Spanish by Choice: Birthday Party

As in many languages, ir - to go is an irregular verb in Spanish. 
As seen below and in this lesson.

"Where are you going?" 
"To find some scissors."

"With much pleasure, but before that, Irma!  Where is the...ahem...little something for Captain Kodack?" 
 "In the taxi, Ma'am.  I'll go get it."

"Now is the moment.  Let's go!"

"Arumbayas!  They're very bad!  I'm not going!" 
 "How brave!"

"Careful, the diamond!"  
"It's going to go in the water!"

Spanish by Choice: Are You Ready Yet?

With few exceptions, the command form (also known as the imperative) of verbs in Spanish is formed by dropping the final r of the infinitive.  Thus, as seen below and in this lesson, esperar - to wait becomes espera! - wait!

"Just wait a little until I find you, you lout!"

"Sir...sir...it's horrible...all of those foreigners have set up camp..." 
"Wait, Nestor, wait a moment..."

"Shut up!  Just a moment..."

"Wait, I'll turn on the light..."

I Don't Believe You

From La Garrapata:

"Err...Yes, I...I...I...suck blood all the time." 

"I don't believe you."

"I have a straw right here, pal!  Do you want a demonstration?"

Notes:  
The direct object form of tú is te.
straw is a word with lots of regional variation.  Besides sorbete - which is also the word for sorbet, and apparently comes from Arabic - you may also come across pajita, popote, or pitillo.

I Suggested That We Get a Dog

Calvin's parents on the decision to have kids:

"The contractor says that the repair will cost $200." 
 "Oh, that boy!"  

"Well, it's what happens when you raise a kid, no?"  
"Mm."  

"You don't regret that we we had Calvin, right?" 
 "What about you?"  

"I asked first, besides, it wasn't just my decision."
 "I just know that I suggested that we buy a dog, but you said no and..."

Notes:
educar is to educate, but it can also mean more generally to raise or to teach manners, so it can be used for what parents do as well as what teachers do
arrepentirse -  to regret and negarse -  to refuse are reflexive in Spanish
proponer - to propose or to suggest conjugates like poner: propuso, propuse, propusimos, etc...

That Depends on Who's Asking

From a slightly disturbing Aliens comic featuring a mad scientest:

"Why don't we encode you in the bioscan now?" 

"How many members of the team have died in the course of your investigation?" 
"That depends on who's asking."

 "I'm asking."  

"None."

Notes:
morir has an irregular past participle: muerto
preguntar is in the subjunctive in the second panel because it's a hypothetical clause
the subject can be moved to the end of a sentence in order to emphasize it: se lo pregunto yo

You're Going to Leave Us to Burn?

Bobba Fett leaves two criminals handcuffed to a burning car:

"You're going to leave us to burn?" 
"Rolu?  What's happening?" 

"The owner of the sculpture is probably looking for you.  It may be that he catches you before the fire."

Notes:
Two new verbs for me: arder - to burn, pillar - to catch.  Notice that both are in the subjunctive in these panels.
os, as a direct object, can follow the gerund, resulting in a rare 'double o' spelling: os está buscando or está buscandoos.

I Avoid Stepping on Bugs

"I think that 'good' and 'bad' are difficult to define..." 
"Of course, I have my opinion on the matter..." 
"For example, when I go in the street, I avoid stepping on bugs..."  
"Bravo! Bravo! Clap clap clap!"

Notes:
Costar - to cost or to cause effort - is a stem-changing verb.
The personal a is used even though bugs aren't people because Carlitos is treating them with respect.

You Saw Me Die

From Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - The Return to New York:

"That's right." 

"Three years ago I saw you die.  How did you return?" 

"Does it matter to you? Yes...I suppose it does.  Long ago on that roof you saw Oroku Saki die...blown to pieces!  You saw me die!"

Notes:
Asi es is an extremely common expression used for general agreement.
The personal a is required in viste morir a Oroku Saki

I'm Going to Monster Island

Lots of simple future here:

 "I'm going to Monster Island...alone...and I will tell him that I don't intend to continue to pay." 
"You won't do it without me!" 
"And I don't intend to stay behind."

"Fine, we'll all go! At least we're still a team!"

Notes:
Verbs in the simple future tense typically have a stress on the last syllable, which requires an accent mark: iré, diré, harás etc.  Notice that the first person plural breaks this pattern by stressing the "normal" penultimate syllable: iremos.

No One Will Harm You

La Cosa has inexplicably joined El Hombre Topo:

"Benjamin, I heard voices!  Who are you talking to?" 
 "The Moleman!" 

"My greatest enemies!" 
 "Easy, nothing's wrong!  You don't have to worry!  No one will do you harm while I'm here!"

Notes:
mayor could mean either great, or old.  I translated it as the former.
hacer daño is literally to make damage.

We Didn't Say That

Spanish can distinguish between singular and plural with verbs only.  No subjects necessary:

"Are there monsters under my bed?" 
 "Maybe yes, maybe no." 

 "Is that a definite yes?" 
"We didn't say that."

 "We?" 
"I meant to say I."  

"Uh...If there were an I. Right." 
 "Shut up, Wilson." 
 "Fortunately, monsters aren't very bright when they're hungry."

Notes:
Quizá and quizás are both regional variations for the word maybe.
Listo means ready, but also bright or clever.

I Remember It As If It Were Yesterday

La Cosa ruminates in the rain:

"Nothing has changed.  Just like my life, nothing changes, nothing gets better. It was...years ago, but I remember it as if it were yesterday." 

"I'll never be able to forget it.  It seemed so simple.  We were going to be heroes."

Notes:
mejorar is derived from the adjective mejor - better.
poder has the irregular stem podr- in the simple future.

It's About Time

Apparently, the only time the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles conceal their modesty is when they emerge from the shower:

"What are you guys talking about?" 
"TCRI." 
"Oh, yeah?"
 "It's about time that you came out of the shower Raphael!  There had better be some hot water left!"

 "Don't worry about that big boy!" "Hey!"

Notes:
the past subjunctive is used in Ya era hora que salieras de la ducha because it is a clause that expresses a command or hope for a different subject.
Más te vale is a an expression such as There had better be... or God help you if there's not... etc.
Grandulón is a Latin American version of gradullón, said to a child who is big for his or her age.

Perhaps I Didn't Explain Myself Clearly

"Sirs, in relation to the letter of rejection that I have recently received,"
"I believe there has been a misunderstanding."
"What I wanted was for you to publish my novel, and send me fifty thousand dollars."
"Perhaps I didn't explain myself clearly."

Notes:
Many nouns can be formed from the 1st person singular form of a verb: rechazar - to reject → rechazo a rejection, disparar - to shoot → disparo - a shot etc.
In the third panel, the imperfect subjunctive (the past subjunctive) is used since Snoopy is referring to a wish that he had in the past.

Why Do I Have to Take a Bath?

"Why do I have to take a bath?  I'm going to get dirty again." 
"Why do I have to brush my teeth?  I'm going to eat again"
"Why do I have to brush my hair? I'm going to mess it up again."
"Efficiency is better than hygiene."

Notes:
Many routine, daily personal habits are expressed with reflexive verbs in Spanish:  bañarse, ducharse, cepillarse, peinarse, etc.  The reflexive pronoun is required.
des- is a convenient cognate prefix: peinar/despeinar, hacer/deshacer, etc.

As If He Were Awaiting My Next Order

Lots of imperfect subjunctive in the first issue of La Masa:

"Get back!  Please...Stop!  Eh?  He...He's stopped!"
"He's stopped still...silent!  I told him to stop and he stopped!"
"There he is, as if he were a robot! As if he were awaiting my next order!  I have to test it!"

Notes:
quedarse plantado is to stand still (as if one were planted), but dejar plantado is to stand someone up

Vomiting Stickers

"I have a smiley face sticker on my test." 
"Good for you." 

"And you?" 
 "None of your business!"

 "You have one with a frowny face right?" 
"No, I don't have one." 

"I didn't even know they made stickers with vomiting faces."

Notes:
asunto can be used formally for business, or matter, but can also be used to tell someone to mind their own business.
ninguna is feminine because it refers to the feminine antecedent pegatina.  The borrowed English term sticker is also used in some countries.

"Men" Haven't Done Anything to You!

La Cosa attempts to help Ms. Marvel cope with her hatred of men:

"Look, "Men" haven't done anything to you!  It was "Some Men"...and Johnny wasn't one of them!  If you want to be in the group, you have to be with all of us...or you have to leave!" 
 "Ben...you can't kick me out!  Not after I confided in you, in order to get your help!  I can't stand another failure!" 

 " And I don't want to hurt you Sherry, it's the last thing I want...but if you make me I will!"

Notes:
tener and hacer are irregular in the simple future tense tener→tendrás, hacer→haré

It's a Pleasure

Yesterday I heard someone call this Jabba miniseries repulsive...

"It's a pleasure to meet you."  "Oh, pardon me.  How are you?"  "Jabba is an old and respected friend and colleague..."

"...and I don't want him to have to hear your quarrelling."

Notes:
The subjunctive is used in the second panel, because there is a change in subject:  I don't want him to have to hear...

Get Away From Him!

La Cosa is a jealous guy:

"You seem very depressed...very deceived!  But you don't have to be!  There is much beauty, and much goodness here on the Earth..."
"Somehow, I can believe it...when I look at you...when I hear your voice...so gentle...so full of freindship..."
"Mr. Grimm...wait!  What are you going to do?"
"I'll write you a letter!  Yeah, just as I thought, someone is trying to take my girl!"

"Yes!  I was right!"
"Ben!  Is that you?"

I'm Going to Be a Mother!

Ir a plus an infinitive is a common spoken future tense:

"What are you going to be when you grow up, Susanita?"

"I'm going to be a mother!"

"Your father has a unique way of taking a rest."

Notes:

The subjunctive is used in the first panel because it's a hypothetical future: llegar→llegues

Note the lack of the article la in Voy a ser madre

…Or The Russians Will Go There First!

Los Cuatro Fantásticos in the Cold War:

"Ben, we have to run that risk…or the Russians will go there first!  I…I never thought you were a coward."

"Coward?  No one calls me a coward!  Let's go to the ship!  I'll pilot her no matter what happens!"

Notes:
The verb correr - to run, collocates with risk as in English
fueras is in the imperfect subjunctive because she didn't believe it 

I Won't Forget It

Bib Fortuna plots against Jabba, but ends up saving his life:

"I never imagined how loyal you are, Bib. I thought that you were...waiting for your opportunity.  I mistrusted you."
 "I...You...Uh."

"You killed like a champion for me.  You risked your life.  I won't forget it."

Notes:
Spanish makes the past progressive in the same way as English: Yo estaba mirando - I was watching.
Esperar is more accurately translated as to await, since no preposition is necessary.  Te espero - I await you.

What About Discounts?

Early 80s Peanuts:

"No Miss, I don't know the answer."

"Will you give me a hint?"

"You don't give hints?"

"What about discounts?"

Notes: 
This is a good example of how Spanish uses the simple present to express both the future and to ask for a favor: Me da una pista could of course mean You give me a hint, but with rising intonation, becomes a request for a hint.

Stop! Halt!

Tintin sees someone suspicious leaving a ship in La Estrella Misteriosa:

"How strange!  Someone getting off running!  It smells fishy to me.  Who is it?  Stop!"

"Stop!  Wait!"

"Wait!"

Notes:
oler - to smell is irregular: huele etc.
alto is a command to make someone stop (c.f. English halt).  It is also seen on stop signs in some countries: