36 EXCURSIONS & EXCAVATIONS in the HERMETIC GARAGE

 

23: A textual history of Le Garage Hermétique 1976-1979

 

 

... But what if something interrupted the cycle? An historical event, perhaps, of such importance that the whole pattern was changed. The nature of time, assuming that it was cyclical, would be disrupted. The circle broken, what might happen?...

 

(Michael Moorcock, The Final Programme p.38)

 

 

Children are open to developing behaviors that respond to fears and misconceptions. One might hope that, at some point in the future, whatever remnant of humanity clings to our scarred planet may develop a responsible and civilized society in which children are helped to deal with their fears and misconceptions, rather than having them reinforced and exploited. Would the result be uniformity and dullness, if we each had the opportunity to work through our misunderstandings, and discover who we really are?

     I won’t live to find out. I hail from times of muddling through. The adults around me when I was a child left those kinds of questions to people smarter than they were; it wasn’t their place to ask. And those who, beyond my immediate circle, were smarter were also creatures of their time, confused and partial, each with their share, greater or lesser, of insight and delusion. What chance did I have?

     Well, I’ve had the chance to learn that what little I know isn’t all I need to know; and that what I need to know isn’t something I can always get from the internet.

     Why am I telling you this? The simple answer is that what follows in this section makes pretty dull reading. When I was younger, I was neurotic, confused and obsessive, and one of the odd ideas I developed was that if I was reading a book, I ought to read every word. It was a point of honor. No skipping, no skimming. Otherwise, I couldn’t really say I’d read it.

     But books aren’t all designed to be read from one end to the other, and some parts of some books are better skimmed or skipped. So even if you do come to this section as the twenty-third part in a book of thirty-six parts, you ought to know it’s designed to be skimmed or skipped—unless you’re determined to know exactly how the text of the Garage, as it appeared in Metal Hurlant #6-41, was changed for the book, MAJOR FATAL, published in June 1979.

     In which case, it’s like a box containing what you want to know. Open it up, look inside. If you find something interesting, good. If not, close it and move on.

     The information is presented in a fairly basic way, episode by episode. References are to page and panel within each episode. For instance, in the section on episode 4, the reference to 3/7 is to the third page of that episode, rather than to the ninth page of the story as a whole. The numbering of the episodes, however, reflects their ordering in the collected edition.

     The notes appended here are not extensive; but by clicking on the links provided, you can be redirected to other sections where some issues concerning the revision are addressed in greater detail.

     Occasional reference is also made to the second edition (1981) of MAJOR FATAL, Marvel’s The Airtight Garage (1987) and, for comparison, a recent edition in French, Arzach - Le Garage Hermétique (2018).

 

 

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episode 1   

 

The only change to the text is a minor addition to 2/2: TiENS!.. above and to the left of the engineer’s head.

 

 

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episode 2

 

1/1: RÉSUMÉ: LE JEUNE iNGÉNiEUR BARNiER, POUSSÉ PAR LA DÉMONiAQUE BETTY PROVOQUE VOLONTAiREMENT LA DESTRUCTiON DU CABLEUR FABRiQUÉ SELON LES PLANS DÉCOUVERTS SUR LE CADAVRE DE PÈRE DE JERRY CORNELiUS

 

            becomes

 

RESUMÉ: L’iNGÉNiEUR BARNIER EST TRES ENNUYÉ CAR SON CABLEUR A GRILLÉ

 

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1/2: After SA ViGiLANCE ... the words SOUS PEiNE DE MORT have been removed.

 

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2/1: After DE LA VALEUR ... the words MAiS ... J’Ai PEUR ... have been removed.

 

See 4: In which two bodies are briefly unearthed for a discussion of these points.

 

 

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episode 3

 

 

In 1/1, PAR LE MERDiER!... becomes PAR LE FARAHON..!..

 

 

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episode 4

 

In 3/7,  LE SOLEiL VOiLÉ ET iMMOBiLE DU PREMiER NiVEAU...

 

becomes

 

LE SOLEiL VOiLÉ ET iMMOBiLE DU TROiSIÈME NiVEAU... 

 

(The reference in 1/4 to LE PREMiER NiVEAU—remains unaltered.)

 

For a full discussion of this point, see 33: All roads lead to Armjourth.

 

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In 4/10, MAGNEZ UN PEU VOS MiCHES!..  is replaced by PLUS ViTE!..  ON NOUS ALLONS LOUPER LE TRAiN!..

 

One may question whether this change makes sense. In the next panel, Sam explains that his ZiP will lead them to the nearest lock. Given what we later learn about the infinite variety of passages between the levels, and given that the destruction of Star Billiard was not planned, one may doubt whether Sam ought to know he’s supposed to be catching a train.

 

 

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episode 5  

 

 

Originally, what Grubert thought in 2/2 was:

 

BON SANG !.. COMMENT ONT-iLS RETROUVÉ NOTRE TRACE APRÈS TOUT CE TEMPS!.. HELL!.. L’AFFAiRE EST PLUS GRAVE QUE JE NE LE PENSAiS

 

This has become:

 

ÇA Y EST!.. CE QUi ARRiVE DEVAiT ARRIVER!  LE “NAGUAL” M’A RETROUVÉ, ET M’A ENVOYÉ LEWiS AUX TROUSSES

 

....................................

 

And in 2/3:

 

... ET MALViNA QUi DOiT ÊTRE FOLLE DE RAGE ... MAiS iL NE FAUT PAS QU’ELLE SACHE QUE CE CORNELiUS EST L’HOMME QU’ “iLS” ONT LANCÉ À NOTRE RECHERCHE ... ET QUi NOUS A TROUVÉ

 

becomes:

 

UNE SEULE iSSUE: DESCENDRE MOi-MÊME SUR L’ASTÉROïDE ET AFFRONTER LEWiS CERN ALiAS JERRY CORNELiUS “LA MOUCHE NOiRE! “ NiVEAU PAR NiVEAU!..

 

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There is also a correction from AU PREMiER NiVEAU to AU TROiSiÈME NiVEAU in 2/4.

 

A more detailed discussion of these changes may be found in 26: Who is Major Grubert? and 33: All roads lead to Armjourth.

 

 

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episode 6

 

 

In 1/5, TOUS LES RÉSULTATS ... is replaced by TOUS LES EVÈNEMENTS ...

 

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In 2/7, VERS SAT-TCHiT-ĀNANDA LA CAPiTALE 

 

is replaced by

 

VERS ARMJOURTH ... (C’EST LA CAPiTALE) 

 

This point is discussed in 22: Sat-tchit-ananda and 33: All roads lead to Armjourth.

 

 

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episode 7

 

There are two minor adjustments to the résumé ahead of 1/1. In the first,

 

JERRY CORNÉLiUS ROULE VERS ARMJOURTH, LA CAPiTALE DU 3^eme NiVEAU

 

becomes

 

JERRY CORNÉLiUS ROULE VERS ARMJOURTH, LA CAPiTALE DU 2^eme NiVEAU”

 

This was necessary and unavoidable; but where there was originally one reference to LA CAPiTALE DU 2^eme NiVEAU, now there are two, because the Major’s spy, Samuel L. Mohad, was crossing LA GRANDE BANLiEUE DE LA CAPiTALE DU 2^eme NiVEAU. This phrase didn’t need to be (and wasn’t) altered, but the doubling of the reference is a little untidy.

 

Also, at the end of the résumé, the word SOUDAiN... was added in 1979.

 

Needless to say, further discussion of some of these points is reserved for 33: All roads lead to Armjourth.

 

 

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episodes 8 & 9

 

No changes.

 

 

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episode 10

 

 

There is an alteration to the text of the résumé. What was originally  

 

LE MAJOR GRUBERT EST BiEN DÉCiDÉ Ā CHANGER DE NiVEAU

 

becomes

 

LE MAJOR GRUBERT EST MAiNTENANT PRĒT Ā PASSER LE 2^e NiVEAU...

 

This minor adjustment apparently underlines what was neither clear nor settled in 1976—that Grubert is here entering the second level. See 33: All roads lead to Armjourth.

 

 

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episode 11

 

 

At the bottom of the last panel, 2/4, there was originally a line that read, MAiS QUi EST CE MYSTÉRiEUX CONViVE, QUi, MASQUÉ ET ARMÉ D’UN ARC ÉTONNANT, SEMBLE JAiLLiR DU NÉANT. À SUIVRE? This question concerning the masked archer has been effaced.

 

It may be argued that the elimination of this question was unnecessary, since an even sillier question was allowed to remain at the end of episode 3. On the other hand, it may be pointed out that the question was never properly answered, so its elimination simply tucks a dead end tidily out of sight. Nothing is lost save one of the signs advertising the nature of the story’s serial production.

 

 

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episode 12

 

No change.

 

 

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episode 13

 

 

There are significant alterations to the résumé, and to the last page. First the résumé:

 

RÉSUMÉ ... DiONNET : J’Ai L’iMPRESSION QUE TU PARS COMPLĒTEMENT AU HASARD!?  MŒBiUS: AU DEBUT OUi, MAiS PLUS MAiNTENANT, Ā C’T HEURE J’Ai TOUT DANS MA TĒTE JUSQU’Ā LA PAGE 723!..  DiONNET: C’EST CASiMENT LA SAGA!..

 

becomes

 

RÉSUMÉ ... DEUX iNDiVIDUS iNQUiÉTANTS SE PENCHENT SUR LE SOMMEiL iNNOCENT DU MAJOR ÉGARÉ.

 

As a whimsical sidelight reflected on the moment of creation, in the midst of a serial produced (in a most high-spirited fashion) for a monthly magazine, the original is amusing and, to an extent, revealing. But, it’s no great surprise it was changed for book publication. And the replacement is rather good. (Regrettably, the 1987 translation doesn’t quite do it justice.)

 

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In 4/1, three out of four balloons have been altered:

 

 

In 4/2  ? !  was added above the Major’s head in 1979—a minor addition, emphasizing the Major’s attention. Originally there was nothing.

 

In 4/3, what the Major originally thought was:

 

TIENS TiENS!.. UN CABLEUR ENDOMMAGÉ... VOiLĀ QUi EXPLiQUE PAS MAL DE CHOSES!..

 

This became:

 

UN CABLEUR ENDOMMAGÉ... ÉTRANGE MAiS iL M’A SEMBLÉ EMETTRE UNE CURiEUSE ÉNERGiE

 

In 1977, the damaged cableur gave the Major a clue to what was going on, but in 1979, at the end of the story, the explanation was left to someone else. The thought has been altered to corroborate what Sper Gossi says in the last chapter.

 

See 34: What’s a poor puppet to do...? for a discussion of some of these points.

 

 

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episode 14

 

No alteration of the text.

 

 

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episode 15

 

 

In 1/4, Jasper originally told Barnier that, LE PALPEUR DE MiRETTE AYANT ÉTÉ SABOTÉ... This was changed to read:

 

LE PALPEUR DE MiRETTE AYANT ÉTÉ CERTAiNEMENT SABOTÉ...

 

Jasper’s added certainty is perhaps surprising, or perhaps ironic. It appears to make little difference to the story. Perhaps Giraud was playfully or ruefully acknowledging his culpability.

     In 1981, however, in the second edition, this unlikely certainty was again lost, and has remained lost.

 

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In 2/3, the archer, speaking of Grubert, originally told Barnier that ON PRETENDE QU’IL A TROUVÉ LE SECRET DE L’iMMORTALiTÉ (1)  IL A DES ENNEMiS ...—and a note was appended informing us that (1) L’ARCHER iGNORE QUE GRUBERT EST RÉELLEMENT iMMORTEL

     This was replaced by ON PRETEND QU’IL A TROUVÉ LE SECRET DU SILENCE!..  MAiS IL A DES ENNEMiS ...—with no note attached.

 

In view of the archer’s subsequent statement (in 17) that Grubert discovered the secret of immortality after finding the Otra, it may have seemed inappropriate to accuse him in a footnote of being ignorant of the facts.

 

 

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episode 16 (see also 29) 

 

 

In the résumé: Ā L’AiDE DE TREiZE GÉNÉRATEURS EXPANSEURS

 

was changed to

 

Ā L’AiDE DE  “23”  GÉNÉRATEURS EXPANSEURS

 

Possibly supplying the type (“23”) rather than the number (thirteen) was done with the intention of identifying the generators with the ViNGT TROiS DiViNiTÉS GÉNATRiCES (“twenty-three genitive divinities”) of Tar’haï mythology. Though a minor adjustment, it serves to suggest a coherent (if tangled and mysterious) background.

     Unfortunately, in the second edition, the text reverted to the original version, though a second reference to the “23” generators survives in 29.

 

 

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episode 17

 

 

The dialogue on the first page was revised:

 

Perhaps the archer’s return to the subject of Grubert on the following page, after an interruption of five and a half pages, appeared abrupt and ungrounded. In the original, it seems reasonable to suppose the archer has been boring Barnier with local politics since we left them in 15, while Barnier, concerned for himself but otherwise indifferent, has interrupted him in order to complain about the length of their journey. Barnier’s revised curiosity is unconvincing and flat, and the archer’s immediate response (“I am certainly the best informed”) doesn’t actually tell us anything. If you ask me, the original was funnier.

 

 

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episode 18

 

In 2/1, what Orne Batmagoo originally said was:

 

C’EST L’HOMME QUi A TUÉ LE PILLEUR DE TOMBE, IL A TUÉ!  iL DOiT MOURiR ... ARDANT, UTILiSE TON ARME ET TUE!  TUE-LE!..

 

     This was changed to:

 

LÀ!  C’EST LUi ... L’ESPiON ELECTRONiQUE QUE ZARETH A VU HiER DANS LE LABO!  PENCHÉ SUR LES CiRCUiTS CHRONOTiQUES!

 

(Sper Gossi, in 36, refers not to CiRCUiTS CHRONOTiQUES, but to CiRCUiTS CHROMATiQUES. The 1987 translation has a reference to CHRONOTIC CIRCUITRY in both 18 and 36.)

 

See 28: The unpleasantness in the Cafe Viennax and 29: Are you dead, Samuel Mohad? for comments.

 

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 In 2/3, VOTRE RAPPORT SUR LES TROiS NiVEAUX!  

 

becomes

 

VOTRE RAPPORT SUR LES DEUX NiVEAUX!

 

See 33: All roads lead to Armjourth.

 

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It may be noted that in 1/5 Grubert identified Samuel L. Mohad as SAMUEL L. MOHAB!  This was not corrected in 1979. The mistake is repeated in the résumé in 21, though Sam becomes MOHAD again when he’s referred to in the last episode. Consistency was introduced in the 1987 translation, but the Mohad/Mohab confusion has been reverently perpetuated in French.

 

The point is briefly addressed in 21: A dangerous overhaul.

 

 

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episode 19

 

The only alterations occur in 1/1, where the business of the levels is still being sorted out. Where Sam originally spoke of LE PREMiER ET LE SECOND NiVEAU, this has been corrected to LE TROiSiĒME ET LE SECOND NiVEAU.

     And where Grubert originally said, ET LE TROiSiĒME?!. LE TROiSiĒME NiV..., this was corrected to ET LE PREMiER ?!  LE PREMiER NiV...

     Surprisingly, these corrections vanished in 1981 from the second edition, which reverted to the original text. Likewise, this panel retains the original text in the 2018 edition. In the interim, the Marvel translation accepted the corrections—but as for other French editions...? Look for yourself. I can’t do everything.

     For the business with the levels, see 33: All roads lead to Armjourth.

 

 

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episode 20

 

No alterations to the text.

 

 

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episode 21

 

  

There are two minor alterations to the text:

 

In 2/1, the usual correction is made regarding identification of the levels: Grubert’s original reference to the 1^er ET 2^eme NiVEAUX is changed to 3^eme ET 2^eme NiVEAUX.

 

As in 19, the second edition reverted to the original text. See 33: All roads lead to Armjourth for a discussion of the substantive issue rather than textual nit-picking.

 

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In 2/3, there was a minor adjustment to the President’s originally simple identification of LE MAJOR!.. which became instead, C’EST LE MAJOR!..  C’EST BIEN LUi!..

 

This adjustment was not retained in the 1981 edition of MAJOR FATAL, nor in the 1987 translation.

 

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As indicated above, Samuel L. Mohad was originally identified as “SAM MOHAB” in the résumé, and this was not corrected in 1979.

 

 

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episode 22

 

No changes... although in the 2018 edition in French “LE TERRiBLE AViON” is missing from the top right of the first panel on the second page. I don’t know when this happened or whether it might be missing from other editions in French, but it was certainly present in the first and second editions of MAJOR FATAL, and was translated (not entirely accurately) as “THE DEADLY PLANE” in 1987.

 

 

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episode 23  

 

The first two pages are what was originally the twenty-fourth installment. The text on these pages was unaltered, but all text on the added third page (obviously) was new:

     The additional (incomprehensible) dialogue in the three extra panels featuring the cow-boys may be considered a minor adjustment to the story, as the third lightens the tone somewhat.

     The exchange between Cervic and Malvina in the next panel doesn’t exactly add anything, though it keeps the Ciguri in view, and perhaps flirts briefly with suspense before the storyline involving Larc is summarily cut off: 

 

... iMPOSSiBLE DE LE RETROUVER, DAMALViNA... LE “PORTiER” DiT QUE LE TRANSMETTEUR A RiPPÉ D’AU MOiNS TRENTE DEGRÉS...

 

iL FAUT RAMENER LARC!..  LE SORT DU MAJOR EN DÉPEND!..

 

LE SORT DU MAJOR...

 

The pilot of the airplane had had little to say since his entry into the narrative in episode 7, but here he says,

 

MAiS!.. LĀ BAS!.. C’EST BiEN L’ARCHER!.. QUE FAiT-iL iCi, EN COMPAGNiE DE BARNiER?..  ALLO... CENTRAL “OPERA” PASSEZ-MOi LE PRÉSiDENT EN PRiORiTÉ!..

 

He’ll be in contact with the President in 25, so this does little more than reinforce the point (not otherwise very clear) that the airplane is under the authority of the President.

     The echo of the pilot’s C’EST BiEN L’ARCHER!.. by the President’s C’EST BiEN LUi ! at the beginning of 24, is deceptive. The President is not responding to the pilot’s message, but looking at Orne Batmagoo’s pictures. Her following order concerns the police operation closing in on the Major. Whether this was a deliberate attempt to restructure the action, or the result of a momentary confusion during the revision, I hesitate to guess.

 

 

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episode 24

 

No changes... but this was originally the twenty-third episode. See above.

 

 

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episode 25

 

 

Originally Larc’s last words, in 2/5, were, MAiS... QUi ĒTES VOUS?.. Possibly because this was a question to which no answer was forthcoming, they were changed to JE SUiS PRiS!  PRiS AU PiĒGE!..

     Though the revised version is quite different from the original, it’s of little consequence, since Larc’s fate will shortly be wrapped up...

 

 

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episode 26

 

In the résumé, Larc’s fate is changed from iL TROUVERA L’AMOUR ET MOURRA GLORiEUSEMENT ... to iL TROUVERA L’AMOUR ET UN DESTiN GLORiEUX ...

 

It’s a revision that somewhat softens the manner in which Giraud originally discarded the character. The reckless invention of the story is perhaps better displayed by the original, but it’s a minor matter—except perhaps to Larc.

 

 

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episodes 27 & 28

 

No changes.

 

 

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episode 29 (see also 16)

 

The only alteration is in 2/2, where UN DES TREIZE GÉNÉRATEURS becomes UN DES “23” GÉNÉRATEURS.

 

This is consistent with the change made to 16 in 1979, but the revision there was lost in the second edition of 1981. (See above: note to 16.) 

 

 

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episodes 30 through 36

 

There are no significant changes. The two pages of episode 33 were, of course, printed in the correct order in the book.

     The word CHUT has dropped out of a small word balloon in episode 35 (6/3) in the 2018 edition.

     Occasions when GRUBERT was originally spelled GRUBER in the last two episodes (35: 6/3; 36: 1/1, 2/4, 2/6, 4/5, 5/1) remained uncorrected in 1979 and 1981. They were corrected for Marvel’s 1987 translation, and have been corrected in the French of 2018. (In French, however, Grubert would become Gruber in all major additions to the hermetic canon.)

 

 

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