This was going to be a review of a single graphic novel, but I started explaining about the two that were published in English, and found there were more in French, not to mention the German translations… So the review will come later.

The French Graphic Novels

At first I was convinced that there were six French graphic novels and then I found the seventh! Published between 2017 and 2022 the titles, in order, are  –

1. Five on a Treasure Island
2. Five Go Adventuring Again
3. Five Run Away Together
4. Five Go to Smuggler’s Top
5. Five Get Into Trouble
6. Five Go Off in a Caravan
7. Five On a Hike Together

Obviously not the same as the original publishing order of the books, but close.

In French the titles are the same as those of the translations of the novels and even with my basic high school French (or what I remember of it anyway) it’s not that hard to work out most of the titles though I have used Google Translate to be sure!

1. Le Club des Cinq et Le Trésor de l’île (The Club of Five and The Treasure of the Island) 
2. Le Club des Cinq et Le Passage Secret (The Club of Five and The Secret Passage) 
3. Le Club des Cinq Contre-attaque (The Club of Five Strikes Back)
4. Le club des Cinq en Vacances (The Club of Five on Vacation)
5. Le club des Cinq en Péril (The Club of Five in Peril)
6. Le club des Cinq et Le Cirque De l’Étoile (The Club of Five and the Circus of the Star)
7. Le Club des Cinq en Randonnée (The Club of Five on a Hike)

Putting a secret passage into the title of book #2 is interesting as it is a bit less vague than going adventuring again, and slightly narrows the title down to one of several books. So it is perhaps odd that they have made books #3 and #4 more vague with references to striking back (very Star Wars of them!) and going on vacation. Perhaps the French translation of Smuggler’s Top is not very catchy. It may be Pic du Corsaire but I’m not sure.

Obviously there is a circus in Five Go Off in a Caravan but I don’t know who or what the star is.

The graphic novels were written by Nataël and the illustrations were by Béja (who I believe is Nataël’s son), rather in the style of Herge’s Tintin .

In France they were published by Hachette Livre. I am really not good when it comes to working out the complicated world of publishing imprints… But here goes. Hachette (known as Hachette Livre in France) publishes primarily in French, English and Spanish. The UK branch is Hachette UK, and Hodder & Stoughton is an imprint of Hachette…

So it makes sense that the UK would get a translation of these graphic novels published by Hodder Children’s Books.

In French Julian is François, Dick is Mick (I assume short for Michael) and Anne is Annie. George is Claude (Claudine, or Claudette?) and Timmy is Dagobert. Kirrin (Farm and Castle) is Kernach, but Kirrin Cottage is Villa des Mouettes. Castaway Hill is rocher Maudit which translates as Accursed Rock. I recognise the Five’s names from the French translations of the novels so presumably the other translations are also consistent.

The German Graphic Novels

As far as I can tell the German translations by Annette von der Weppen came out around the same time as the French editions. Again, the titles are the same as the German translated novels. 

1. Fünf Freunde erforschen die Schatzinsel (Five Friends are Exploring Treasure Island)
2. Fünf Freunde auf neuen Abeneuern (Five Friends on New Adventures)
3. Fünf Freunde auf geheimnisvollen Spuren (Five Friends on Mysterious Tracks)
4. Fünf Freunde auf Schmugglerjagd (Five Friends on a Smuggler Hunt)
5. Fünf Freunde 5: Fünf Freunde geraten in Schwierigkeiten (Five Friends Get Into Trouble)
6. Fünf Freunde und der Zirkus Stern (Five Friends and the Circus Star)
7. Fünf Freunde auf grosser Fahrt (Five Friends on a Long Journey)

My German is pretty much non-existent apart from counting to 12 and a few words I’ve picked up from Rammstein songs, so these are Google Translate’s work again. Most of these are pretty close to the English titles – I mean a hike is a long journey and a new adventure is adventuring again. But then we have the mysterious tracks… that sounds more like it should be Five on a Secret Trail than Run Away Together. The German also adds a star to the circus.

In German none of the Five’s names change and Kirrin is still Kirrin, while Smuggler’s Top is the excellent-sounding Schmugglerhügel aka Smuggler Hill.

The Portuguese Graphic Novels

From what I can gather these translations (I can’t find the name of the translator unfortunately) began to be published in 2020, with the first two coming out in February and the rest later. I haven’t found any evidence of a Portuguese edition of Hike, but as they started publishing them later it may be that they will get to that one this year or next.

Although I know no Portuguese a few of these sound exactly like they should and Google Translate did the rest.

1. Os Cinco e a Ilha do Tesouro (The Five and Treasure Island)
2. Os Cinco e a Passagem Secreta (The Five and the Secret Passage)
3. Os Cinco Voltam à Ilha (The Five Return to the Island)
4. Os Cinco e os Contrabandistas (The Five and the Smugglers)
5. Os Cinco na Casa do Mocho (The Five at House of Owl)
6. Os Cinco e o Circo (The Five and the Circus)

Nothing too wild here. Google Translate is quite irritating as it sometimes refuses to translate parts of text – it kept leaving Casa de Mocho in Portuguese so I had to put the words in separately to get House of Owl.

In Portuguese Julian is Júlio, George is Zé – which is short for Maria Jose, Dick is David, Anne is Ana, and Timmy is Tim.

The Dutch Graphic Novels

I couldn’t find a Dutch edition for Hike, either, but then the first one is dated 2022 and so they perhaps haven’t reached the seventh title yet. I had a much harder time tracking down all six of these, perhaps because they are newer.

1. De Vijf en het Gestrande Goudschip (The Five and the Stranded Gold Ship)
2. De vijf en de Geheime Doorgang (The Five and the Secret Passage)
3. De Vijf gaan Ervandoor (The Five Run Off)
4. De Vijf Op de Smokkelaarsrots (Five on Smuggler’s Rock)
5. De Vijf in de Knel (The Five in a Squeeze/Pinch [or the knuckle?])
6. De Vijf in een Kampeerwagen (The Five in a Campervan)

I know no Dutch at all but even I could guess that goudschip was goldship (though you often doubt that it would be that simple!) and most of the others are pretty close to the original titles. According to the blurb the house is called Smugglers Nest rather than Top, so it’s interesting they were for Rock in the title.

Google wouldn’t translate de Knel with the rest of the title – though I had an idea that knel would mean trouble – death knell? But alone Google translates is as either a squeeze or a pinch which would make sense as in a added to either of those is the same as in trouble. It also suggested the knuckle, though, which makes less sense. Campervan makes me wonder how much they’ve changed the story! (Though a Caravan wasn’t quite accurate to begin with.)

When it comes to the characters and place names the Dutch sticks very closely to the original. The Five are Julian, George, Dick, Annie and Tim, Kirrin, Fanny and Quentin are the same with Dutch words for Island, Aunt and Uncle. Pierre Lenoir’s name is the same but his nickname is Roetje which still means soot. Richard Kent, Rookie and Owl’s Dene also stay the same. Mrs Stick becomes Mevrouw Stok, which retains the same sound without being exactly the same. I assume these are the same translations applied to the novels and the dubbing for the Dutch release of the 90s TV series.

The English Graphic Novels

There have only been two UK editions so far, and they have been translated by Emma Page. I recall people talking about the second book first, though they were released on the same day. I can only assume they weren’t well advertised and people were stumbling across them at random.

It will be interesting to see if we get another four – or five, and if there are any more French editions to come. I suppose it will all depend on how well they sell. It’s heartening to see that they are being translated so quickly and into so many different languages.

The covers are different for the UK editions – all the other languages have the same scenic backgrounds while these are plain. However I have seen French Format carré – square edition versions of the first two books, which have the same covers as above. Below are the original scenic covers.