Last month, I finished reading the 6th and final book in the graphic novel series, L’Arabe du futur, by Riad Sattouf. Every volume of this autobiographical bande dessinée has been a bestseller in France and translated into over 20 languages. Sattouf, whose mother is French and father is Syrian, zigzagged…
Claire Bretécher was one of France’s most prominent socio-satirical comic strip authors for more than 4 decades. Bretécher is an icon in the world of bandes dessinées who has served as a role model to aspiring dessinatrices that dream of becoming successful cartoonists. Born in 1940, Bretécher broke into comics…
Kobane Calling, a new graphic novel by Italian cartoonist, Zerocalcare, provides a riveting account of the author’s humanitarian trips into war-torn Syria. Enlightening as well as entertaining, the book is fascinating on many levels and well worth your time and/or money. Originally written in Italian, a French version appeared last…
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…
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.…
