In an earlier post I mentioned that we are staying in a chateau. Now, I wasn’t originally planning on writing about this, because it’s not part of the typical Angoulême experience, but I can’t resist. The way I pitched writing about Angoulême in the first place was to give a first-person perspective of someone’s first experience at the festival, and after spending time in this building, it has definitely become a big part of what I will remember about this trip.
So… when I first heard about the chateau I thought it was an inter-office joke that I wasn’t in on. To be honest I was expecting a motel in Angoulême that ironically picked up the title, but I was wayyyy wrong. When we first pulled up to where we were staying I was blown away. This is a legitimate 12th-century… well essentially it’s a castle. And its big. Real big.
So big in fact, that this morning I got very lost trying to find the dining room where everyone was eating breakfast. By the time I got there everyone had moved on to getting ready to head back over to the festival. Which was fine with me since, I pretty much got to pretend I was a duke at a feast just for me.
Also this place is definitely 100% haunted. Probably by the spirits of these guys…
And when the spirits of my new animal friends deem it necessary to keep my at the chateau for all eternity, it will be fine because…seriously look at these views:
After an almost heartbreakingly scenic drive back to the festival from the “chateau” we are staying at (more on that later), my first stop was Hall 1 in Le Monde Des Bulles. This hall has the most similar feel to American conventions than anything else at Angoulême.
The hall is made up of a large tent lined with publishers selling both original Franco-Belgian BDs as well as licensed and translated American comics. One thing I thought was best was the amazing quality of the printing of the American stuff. Not a trade paperback to be seen, everything is hardcover and beautifully bound.
Another stark difference between this festival and those in the states is the complete lack of anything movie or videogame related, aside from that set of Avengers statues in the Panini booth that went mainly overlooked by the passers-by. Everything here is entirely dedicated to comics and BD.
There really is an incredible wealth of French comics completely unfamiliar to me, and they all look so cool it makes me wish I could read more than the paltry amount of French that I know. Hopefully in time more and more of this content will get translated into English and made available on comiXology.com (a lot of it is already available there in French if you speak the language).
ComiXology celebrates the 42nd Angoulême International Comics Festival
with a Big Sale and “All Access Angouleme” social media coverage
January 29, 2015 – New York, NY – ComiXology, the revolutionary cloud-based digital comics platform, celebrates this year’s Angoulême International Comics Festival with a sale spotlighting comics, bandes dessinées (BD), graphic novels and manga from all over the world from January 29th through February 1st. ComiXology will also be covering the show through their social media channels under the “All Access Angoulême” moniker – giving fans around the world a way to experience the festival. The Angoulême International Comics Festival takes place in Angoulême, France and runs from January 29th to February 1st.
Beginning Thursday and running through Sunday, the Angoulême Sale features a whole host of French content available in multiple languages and rounded out with a selection of titles from creators around the world, giving fans a curated taste of the international comics scene.
As the sale starts, comiXology will be on the ground in Angoulême, Francecovering all aspects of the festival with their “All Access Angoulême” social media coverage, giving fans a firsthand look at this great celebration of the comics arts. Every day of the festival, tune in to comiXology’s Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, and Google+ channels for Angoulême panel updates, photos, interviews, videos and get a feel of what it’s like to attend this amazing comics festival.
“This year’s Angoulême International Comics Festival will be held in commemoration of Charlie Hebdo’s newspaper and its cartoonists,” said co-founder and CEO David Steinberger. “We are honored to highlight France’s deep commitment to cartoonists everywhere by putting a spotlight on the Angoulême International Comics Festival as we continue to mourn the tragic loss of life.”
Now in its 42nd year, the festival is the premier comics show in Europe with over 200,000 attendees every year and playing host to creators, cartoonists, publishers, and fans from around the world. This year marks comiXology’s third year attending the Angoulême International Comics Festival in France.
“Being digital allows us to make the world a little smaller by offering everyone everywhere international content. Our Angoulême Sale and our extensive social media coverage of the show exemplify this,” said comiXology VP of Communications and Marketing Chip Mosher. “Come join us in France as we tour this fantastic international festival that honors comics from all parts of the globe.”
Find your favorite comics, BD, graphic novels and manga at comixology.com and try the comiXology app available on all major mobile platforms.
I made it! After a blizzard, an hour and 45 minute delay, a set of crying twins in front of me, and a… well I must say lovely 3 hour train ride. I arrived in Angoulême.
On Angoulême
Angoulême is small town in the southwest of France, just about 300 miles from Paris. Since the 1300s the town has been connected to the paper-making and print industry, which naturally lead to it becoming The Cité internationale de la Bande Dessinée et de l’Image.
On Bandes Dessinées
So… comics in France (and Belgium and other French speaking countries) are a bit different. Here they are referred to as Bandes Dessinées (or BD) which literally translates to Drawn Bands, and are thought of as the “ninth art.” The subject matter is just as varied as you will find in American comics, but tend to focus more on slice-of-life style narratives and far less on the capes-and-tights which are so prevalent in the US. What separates BD from American-style comics is the readership, while the comics community in the US has been swiftly growing and changing recently, BD have, for a long time, been one of the most popular forms of entertainment among Franco-Belgian companies. A while ago comiXology entered the world of BD with the launch of comixology.fr.
On Angoulême International Comics Festival
What first struck me upon arrival in Angoulême was, well really the rain… and lots of it. All day. At every other comic convention I’ve ever been to I don’t even think I could ever even tell if it was raining unless a bunch of damp cosplayers walked up to our booth, but here at Angoulême its a bit different. The convention is set up as an assortment of pavilions spread out throughout the town. Each pavilion has a theme, some more vague than others, such as the Monde Des Bulles (World of Bubbles) which houses some of the industry’s major publishers like Panini, Delcourt, Glenat, and Casterman, or Little Asia which features art and culture exhibits of Asian Origins. The end result of this set up is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS. Comics and castles, what more can a boy ask for?
At the Nouveau Monde (New World) which is akin to Bethesda’s SPX I ran into friend of the show and brilliant creator Simon Hanselmann (girlmountain). The French version of his Megahex stuff looks amazing.
More to come soon. Hopefully with less rain and less jetlag.
This is Shane, the guy who’s been posting on this here comiXology tumblr since the beginning. I have some fun news.
Right now I’m am sitting in New York’s JFK airport, getting ready to head to France to experience Angoulême International Comics Festival for the very first time. To be honest I wasn’t even aware that France had such an amazing comics community and industry, and it wasn’t until we started to carry more French and international comics on the website that I realized how incredible and multifaceted the stuff coming from outside of the domestic publishers truly is.
Over the past year or so, it’s been really exciting to see an increase in international comics making their way to comiXology and we are constantly striving to make everyone on Earth a comics fan regardless of what language he speak or country they are from.
So, in an hour or so, I will board a plane and fly to Paris, from there I will immediately hop on a train to the small town of Angoulême, where for the next few days I will do my best to share my first-hand experience of visiting the biggest international comics festival in Europe for the very first time.
Follow my #fibd2015 tag to keep track of my adventures, and if you’re by chance going to Angoulême too, be sure to send me a message with what you’re up to!
When Comixology asked about selecting some of the titles I’m most excited about in the French language offerings on comiXology, I wanted to give a good overview of titles most people new to Bande Dessinée may not be familiar with, from a cross section of publishers I think are all doing interesting work in a variety of genres in a huge diversity of styles. There are a number of great titles available and I skipped over ones I think most people will be aware of (for instance, I highly suggest Julie Maroh's Le bleu est une couleur chaude from Glenat, but given that the film adaptation, Blue is The Warmest Color is a massive success, you’ve likely found it or will find it on your own) and wanted to give you a sample of recent works for you discover.
I’ll read anything illustrated by Frédéric Bézian, but the story he’s crafted with writer Christmas Simsolo seems tailor made toward my interest, taking place in Paris in 1920, in which a murder by poison on a train leads to a strange murder mystery with roots in everything from Fantomas to the era’s European surrealists.
I discovered Ankama’s Love series last year and am absolutely enthralled. Beautifully illustrated, silent stories of grand subject in naturalistic settings anyone can enjoy. (comixology’s note: There are no words in this book, so you can pick it up and enjoy it even if you don’t speak French! The art speaks for itself.)
Like many people, I was a massive fan of Alessandro Barbucci’s work on Skydoll and am loving this fantasy series just as much. His already masterful storytelling and character emotion has only increased since Skydoll, so this is one you cannot miss.
I have to admit a slight bias with Hollywood Killer, as I’ve worked with Fabrice Sapolsky on the French comics magazine, Comic Box, but I really enjoyed his collaboration with Ariel Olivetti. A Tarantino-esque crime series set in Hollywood with a biting humor I find makes for a really solid comics cocktail.
Another bias has to be copped here as Delcourt’s the publisher of my work with Ross Campbell, GLORY. However, as I mentioned with Docteur Radar, this is a story tailor-made for me, with an alternate history set in the early 20th century, with a world never faced the horrors of World War I, centered around a macabre murder mystery. Beautiful work.
ComiXology Takes Comics Further at the 41st Festival de la Bande Dessinée d'Angoulême in France
ComiXology brand ambassadors to showcase French publishers on comiXology and hand out codes for free comics
January 28th, 2014 – Angoulême, France / New York, NY. – Celebrating their second year of attendance at the Festival de la Bande Dessinée d'Angoulême, comiXology – the revolutionary digital comics platform and recently named #1 Top-Grossing iPad Book App in France for 2013 – returns with panel presentations and brand ambassadors giving away free books during the entire Festival!
