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France UPDATED 4/23/08 Click here to read my comments on the 2008 Angouleme Festival This page is under development. I'll add to it as time permits. In the meantime, I'm going to post some interesting bits. Angouleme 24-27 January 2008 Festival International de la Bande Dessinee Europe's biggest comics festival (convention) is held every year over the last weekend in January. Where is Angouleme?
My first visit was in 2005 which was the last time the festival was held in its traditional configuration. I feel lucky to have seen it because, since then, the layout of the festival has been different each year and the layout for the upcoming festival is different again. (I know I have the 2005 map somewhere and will post it when I find it.) Angouleme is a medieval town made up of a town center at the top of a hill, the hillsides and the surrounding flatland. In my opinion, none of the festival maps have ever accurately conveyed the elevation. From the map below, I'd think it was flat, but in fact, the train station is at the base of the hill, the CNBDI is on the side of the hill, and the the town hall and long orange tent next to it are at the top of the hill. This was the map of the 2006 Festival:
For 2007, the exhibitors' tents were consolidated in a clearing outside the town center but there was such an uproar over the lack of amenities (proper restaurants first and foremost) that the festival is returning to the town center.
Here are some pictures from Angouleme: This is a typical street in the center of Angouleme.
A typical street sign in Angouleme.
2007 festival: the centralized tents at the bottm of the hill.
2007 festival: Sergio Toppi at his publisher's stand signing & drawing for his fans
Angouleme is a medieval town made up of a town center at the top of a hill, the hillsides and the surrounding flatland.
This is the map for the 2008 Festival:
Here's the map for the 2008 Festival with Lewis Trondheim's super cute Festival mascots (which were introduced in 2007):
The 35th Annual Festival of Bande Dessinee at Angouleme Three months after the event, I'm finally writing down my observations! Clearly there'll be no blogging in my future! It was the warmest January on record and both Paris and Angouleme were balmy and sunny for the festival. My wife Amy joined me on my annual trip for the second year in a row and the weather suited her fine. Lewis Trondheim's super cute Festival mascot and his supporting cast (which were introduced in 2007) returned for the 2008 Festival. There were even buttons and a small vinyl statue of the mascot for sale at the festival kiosks. For the first 34 years, the festival never had an emblem or mascot. After the 2005 Festival, construction began on a massive parking garage and shopping mall under the Champ de Mars which was the center of the festival. There were two years of turmoil as the festival tried to accommodate exhibitors and attendees and work around the loss of their largest open space. Now the shopping mall is open and the tents (albeit with a much reduced footprint) have returned to the Champ de Mars! Last year's festival (in sprawling tents at the bottom of the hill) was a financial success for the publishers but the town's businesses did not see similar results because attendees bypassed the stores. This year, to accommodate smaller tents in town, the publishers had to cut down the size of their stands and reduce the number of artists they invited. The last two years have seen the bouquinistes (the out-of-print album sellers) badly squeezed with the loss of the three-story building that they used to set up in. Those that remain are paying much more for their much smaller spaces. The Grand Prix was awarded to Dupuy & Berberian! |
