Classic Jonny Quest
"Sulla Cordigliera" ("On the Cordillera"), July 1971

The title of the book is Italian for "on the cordillera," where a "cordillera" is two or more mountain ranges that are close together and share plateaus and other geographic features. Here, "Sulla Cordigliera" is the title of a "Jonny Quest" book printed in Verona, Italy, in 1971. The end of the book is set in the Andean Cordillera.

The book is 122 pages long and includes the "Quest File O-37" trademark, indicating it was an officially-licensed product.

Our translation of the copyright notice reads, "This volume was printed in July 1971 in the graphic workshops of Verona of the publisher Arnoldo Mondadori."

Special thanks to fellow JQ fan Martin Sentmanat for sharing this material (the scanned images, the translated table of contents, and the synopsis) with us!

When I asked Martin if he spoke Italian and how he was able to translate this text, he replied as follows: "I speak Spanish fluently, so I was able to decipher a lot of the language because Italian is so similar. However, I did use an online translator to help with some phrases."

Following is Martin's synopsis of the book, and links to a number of scanned images showing some of the important parts of the book, including its illustrations.

Table of Contents (translation)

  1. Introduction
  2. Two boys and a dog
  3. The "Prince of Darkness"
  4. The Plot
  5. The Abduction
  6. Bandit's Curiosity
  7. Prisoner!
  8. The Abandoned Warehouse
  9. The Rescue
  10. Departure!
  11. Tropical Hurricane
  12. Castle In The Andes
  13. Chateau-La-Valliare
  14. A Triplane for Race
  15. The Duel
  16. Goodbye Mountains!

Synopsis

In South America, Doctor Quest and a colleague, Doctor Gregory, have been developing a top secret jet aircraft that is being test piloted by Race Bannon. A mechanic, Bruce Wayne (no relation to Batman), who works at the hangar, hears the men talk about the top secret project dubbed Prince of Darkness and quickly reports this information to Lou Redfox who owns a nearby aircraft manufacturing company. The two plot to sabotage the plane as Redfox sees the project as a threat to his business. Wayne and some cronies return to the hangar to carry out the mission when Race stumbles upon their activities. Race is then ambushed, kidnapped, and held in an abandoned warehouse nearby.

The next morning the Quests discover that Race is missing and are concerned. Jonny, Hadji (misspelled as Haji throughout the book, although consistent with the spelling seen in the official license mark), and Bandit start to sniff around the hangar where Race was abducted, and Bandit discovers a broken flashlight on the ground, the very flashlight Race had dropped during the struggle. Bandit picks up the scent from the flashlight and the three head off in the path of the abandoned warehouse. As they investigate the area, Hadji falls through a soft spot in the structure and lands inside the thugs' lair. Jonny runs back to call for help, while Hadji awaits his return. Having heard the loud crash, the thugs begin to snoop around but don't discover the hiding Hadji. In the meantime, Jonny arrives with reinforcements to save the day and Hadji gratefully meets them while the police flush out the criminals with megaphones and arrest the thugs.

The Quests then depart on a flight when they run into a hurricane that forces them to land on a mountaintop in the Andes, and what unfolds is a plot similar to the episode "Shadow of the Condor". It is noteworthy that upon meeting Baron Francois-Marie de la Valliere (son of WWI German aviator Major Gustave de la Valliere), Doctor Quest introduces himself as a professor at the University of Chicago! It should also be noted that the baron and his servant, Julio, are depicted differently than the illustrated characters in "Shadow of the Condor" television episode.



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