Comic books and bandes dessinées (graphic novels), have a respected heritage in France, and are celebrated as le neuvième art (the ninth art) along with poetry, architecture, painting, and sculpture.
But one city is particularly passionate about them. Angoulême in Charente is France’s undisputed capital of comics – home to the internationally renowned Festival International de la Bande Dessinée d'Angoulême (FIBD) and the Cité internationale de la bande dessinée et de l’image (CIBDI), a museum dedicated to the art.
“The FIBD was founded in 1974 thanks to the initiative by two comics enthusiasts, Francis Groux and Claude Moliterni, alongside Jean Mardikian, deputy mayor of Angoulême and responsible for culture and communications.
“Their vision was to promote comics as an art form in its own right, on a par with literature and cinema,” said Jean-Philippe Martin, scientific and programming adviser at the CIBDI.
Artistic renaissance
The festival was inspired by a 1972 exhibition dedicated to the art form in Angoulême. The first edition took place on January 25, 1974 over two days, in a disused wing of the Musée d'Angoulême, attracting 10,000 visitors.
“In the 1970s, comics underwent a veritable renaissance, with the emergence of more mature comics aimed at an adult audience,” said Mr Martin.
“The festival came at just the right time to capitalise on this. The FIBD has rapidly become a meeting place for authors, publishers and the general public. It offers a space for discussions, conferences, exhibitions and signings, encouraging exchanges between the various stakeholders in the industry.”
Its success continued to grow and during the 1984 festival the then culture minister Jack Lang announced a plan for Angoulême that included the development of the National Comics Center into the Cité internationale de la bande dessinée et de l’image (CIBDI).
“Visitors to the Cité will find a unique setting on the banks of the Charente, with its comic strip museum, open all year round, its specialist bookshop with over 20,000 items, and its library,” said Marina Sichantho, assistant general manager at the CIBDI.
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“The Cité also has a research centre, an arthouse cinema, an author residency facility called the Maison des auteurs, where more than 60 authors are welcomed every year, and a programme of meetings with authors, educational workshops and tours.”
The CIBDI officially opened on January 1, 2008, and now presents the largest collection of comic strip originals on show in Europe.
“The origins of the comic strip in Europe date back to the 19th Century, with pioneers such as the Swiss artist Rodolphe Töpffer. From the 1830s onwards, he published illustrated stories that were both satirical accounts and literary works, combining text and images in a continuous format. His influence spread throughout Europe, including France,” said Ms Sichantho.
Illustrated magazines such as Le Charivari and Le Chat Noir provided a platform for artists such as Honoré Daumier, who played a role in influencing and defining the comic strip so it could tell stories or project views on political or social subjects.
On February 2, 1905, the first issue of La Semaine de Suzette, created by writer Jacqueline Rivière and illustrated by Joseph Pinchon, featured a children’s comic, Bécassine. Made to fill in a blank page, the story centred around a young Breton housemaid from Finistère.
Belgium’s comic contribution also had a prolific impact on French comics and created countless collaborations.
Zig et Puce in 1925 was a Franco-Belgian comic series created by French artist and professional cartoonist Alain Saint-Ogan, who was the first French illustrator to adopt the speech bubble format.
Les Aventures de Tintin was a huge pioneer in 1929 by Belgian cartoonist Hergé (Georges Remi), as well as The Smurfs, also created by another Belgian – Peyo (Pierre Culliford).
“Although the eponymous characters and magazines Spirou (1938) and Tintin (1946) were Belgian creations, their influence in France was considerable. These two magazines became major platforms for comic strips, publishing works by authors such as André Franquin and Smurfs creator Peyo," said Mr Martin.
US imports
During World War Two and the Occupation, most of the publishing industry and the creation of comics in both France and Belgium were either halted, or cartoonists were coerced into producing political propaganda.
The American DC Comics (1934) and Marvel Comics (1939, as Timely Comics) were a valuable import. However, post-war moral panic against US comics gave birth to a law to ‘protect’ French youth from US comics depicting violence and sexuality. Many viewed this as France’s way of protecting its own legacy.
Comics magazine Pilote was launched on October 29, 1959 by Frenchmen scriptwriter René Goscinny and cartoonist Albert Uderzo, with the first edition showcasing Astérix le Gaulois (1959). It also introduced Les Pieds Nickelés (originally 1908) and Tintin to a wider audience.
“The magazine epitomised the typically French comic strip which, although spreading to neighbouring countries, found immense popularity in France,” said Mr Martin.
“These works combine humour, adventure and social criticism, and are aimed at children and adults alike. It is between these types of magazines that the comic strip known as BD Franco-Belge comes into being.”
Comics started resonating with a more mature audience during the 1970s through publications including l'Echo des Savanes (1972), Métal Hurlant (1974) and Fluide Glacial (1975), with the term ‘graphic novel’ becoming more common.
Distinguished by its more literary, complex approach, graphic novels are often aimed at an adult audience. And unlike traditional comics, which are often serialised in magazines or issues, graphic novels are generally published as complete books.
CIBDI exhibitions
The CIBDI organises around 10 temporary exhibitions a year, opening them in conjunction with the FIBD. A big one in 2025 will be Plus loin: The new science fiction, which features more than 130 authors.
Numerous prizes are awarded at the FIBD, including the Grand Prix, which celebrates an author’s body of work; and the Fauve d’or, rewarding an album published the previous year.
“The announcement of the Grand Prix at the Festival's opening ceremony is always eagerly awaited by the industry. In 2024, Posy Simmonds was chosen,” said Ms Sichantho.
“The Fauve is another highly anticipated moment. In 2024, two prizes were awarded to two female authors who had created their album in our authors' residence, the Maison des auteurs.”
In 2019, the CIBDI was awarded Unesco Creative Cities status for its pioneering role in the field of comics and literature. It welcomed roughly 247,000 visitors in 2023.
These days, one in four books sold in France are BDs (many of them non-fiction works by journalists and historians), according to the market research company GfK.
For Ms Sichantho, their popularity is no surprise.
“The French tradition places great importance on narrative art, whether in literature, theatre, film or caricature.
“Comic strips are part of this continuity, combining strong elements of French culture: visual art, literature and the spirit of satire.
“Works such as Asterix, for example, use humour and irony to tackle historical and contemporary themes, often relating to politics and cultural identities, two subjects deeply rooted in French society.”
The Cité internationale de la bande dessinée et de l’image (CIBDI) is open year-round, and is currently hosting the exhibition, Super-héros & Cie. L'art des comics Marvel.
The Festival International de la Bande Dessinée d'Angoulême (FIBD) will take place from January 30 to February 2, 2025, with a focus on Spain.
Cartoonist, illustrator and writer Posy Simmonds MBE was crowned winner of Angoulême International Comics Festival (FIBD) 2024’s Grand Prix, making her the first British recipient and the fourth woman to be awarded the French lifetime achievement award.
Her work will be celebrated once more during the 52nd edition of the festival, with an exhibition called Posy Simmonds. Herself.
“The title is taken from a magazine I did called Herself when I was between the ages of about 13 and 14,” she said. "It was sort of a spoof of a women's magazine at the time. I suppose that would have been in the early 1960s and I think it may be in the exhibition.”
Visitors will have the opportunity to see Posy classics up close, such as Gemma Bovery and Tamara Drewe, as well as Posy herself, who will be in attendance.
Posy enjoys a long relationship with France after studying at the Cours de Civilisation Française de la Sorbonne (CCFS), a private French language institution in Paris, as a teenager.
“I had done A-level French so I could write it, but I couldn't speak it for toffee,” she said.
She then returned to London to attend the Central School of Art and Design, and is often referred to as ‘the queen of British graphic novels’ by the French.
“It's very strange. I don't feel very regal at all, especially as I'm in my socks and my old jeans,” she joked.
“But it's wonderful. Angoulême is the great Mecca for comics and the French love of bandes dessinées is terrific. So, of course, I'm really pleased and honoured that they like my work.”
Posy was interested in cartoons from a young age, and with lots of siblings, she had access to plenty of comics.
“I had always drawn and originally I actually wanted to do painting.
“However, I always liked writing as well, so after I'd done the foundation year, I chose to be in the graphic design department. At that time it was mainly a typographic course, but I found it very useful ever since for doing my own lettering, because in those days, pre-computer, you had to learn how to hand-letter. That was useful.
“There wasn't much illustration, but I managed to turn the projects that we were given into kind of illustration projects as well. I left in 1968, so of course it was a great time then to be an art student.”
She cites William Hogarth, George Cruikshank and Thomas Rowlandson, as well as US cartoonists such as Saul Steinberg, plus newspaper cartoonists Giles Wood and Ronald Searle, as inspiration.
Her career started at The Guardian during the 1970s, producing a weekly comic strip. It became a long-standing collaboration, with Posy seamlessly blending her artistic and literary talents to produce award-winning comics and graphic novels.
Her modern take on Frenchman Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary, which sees an English expatriate in Normandy facing modern problems, was produced in The Guardian in the 1990s, and Tamara Drewe started in September 2005 as a weekly comic strip. Both were turned into graphic novels and subsequently films, featuring Gemma Arterton.
Posy’s satirical and often humorous views on British society are what set her apart in a ‘boys’ club’ of cartoonists and illustrators, and she is credited with redefining the graphic novel industry.
Posy Simmonds. Herself is at the 52nd Angoulême International Comics Festival (FIBD) from January 30 to February 2, 2025 at the Musée d’Angoulême.
Experts' top five comic books for expats:
Marina Sichantho and Jean-Philippe Martin suggest:
The Clandestines de l’Histoire series by Catel Muller and José-Louis Bocquet, telling the story of women forgotten by history: Kiki de Montparnasse, Olympe de Gouges, Joséphine Baker, Alice Guy and Anita Conti.
The Frustrés series by Claire Bretécher
L'Incal by Jean Giraud (known as Moebius), one of the great titles of science fiction
Le Monde sans fin, by Christophe Blain and Jean-Marc Jancovici, a bestseller in France in 2022 and now translated into English
Tamara Drew by Posy Simmonds
Posy Simmonds’ top five
La Légèreté by Catherine Meurisse
Rébétiko by David Prudhomme
The Arab of the Future novels by Riad Sattouf
Anything by Claire Bretécher
The Last Days of Stefan Zweig by Laurent Seksik and Guillaume Sorel
