Last weekend, one of France’s most celebrated graphic novelists passed away. You might be surprised to learn that he was Japanese. Indeed, Jiro Taniguchi was “knighted” as a chevalier in France’s Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2011. While hailed in the press as a manga author, Taniguchi’s style was…
Inundated with U.S. political news, and hearing rumors that the far-right is gaining momentum across Europe, I thought I’d take the time to explain how the French presidential election is shaping up. Why should we care what happens in France? It turns out that this election is quite important because,…
I recently watched the documentary film, Je Suis Charlie, available on Netflix. The movie was released in September 2015, 9 months after the terrorist attack that killed several staff members of the sharp-edged periodical, Charlie Hebdo. The two gunmen that carried out the attack were members of Al Qaeda in…
I’ve recently written about the International Comics Festival that takes place each year in France and the controversy that marked last year’s event. At issue was the glaring absence of female nominees for the festival’s celebrated Grand Prix. The coveted Grand Prix is considered by many to be the most…
A year ago, women in the comic industry were outraged upon learning that all of the 30 nominees for the Grand Prix d’Angoulême were men. This prestigious prize is awarded each January at the Angoulême International Comics Festival in France. In response to what they viewed as an egregious oversight,…
Comic strips and graphic novels are tremendously popular in France and every January, the country hosts one of the world’s largest comic book conventions, Angoulême International Comics Festival. Americans might be surprised to learn that this event is even bigger than the annual Comic-Con that takes place in San Diego.…
My friend, you’ll be back In the afternoon, when I’m chopping vegetables for a soup or folding laundry, you’ll be back. You’ll sit at the high counter as you have so often, while I convey my frustrations with the latest news or my fascination with a newly found book or…
Last year, when Patrick Modiano won the Nobel Prize in literature, I had never heard of him. It’s not surprising. None of my friends, many of whom who are far more well-read than I, had heard of him either. As it turns out, not many of his works had been translated…
