Today, 30th January, sees the opening of the 41st annual festival of BD (bandes dessinés) Angouleme Festival. This is now an important event in the calendar of those passionate about the genre, designers, producers and seller alike.
Most of us Brits know about Tintin or Asterix (whose adventures "Chez les Pictes" was the best selling book in France in 2013, with over 1 million copies - second btw was "50 Nuances de Gris").
But do we know about Professeur Cyclope, Mafalda or that there are countless "serious" titles. We've heard of Hervé but what about Tardi or Willem?
There is a long history of comics (Mickey Mouse annual is 80 years old) with acclaimed artwork, but are BD's outdated now, with DAs (dessins animés) more in vogue worldwide? It seems clear that the French remain attached to their BDs. If you are going to Angouleme this weekend you will see for yourself.
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