Posted in: Comics, Recent Updates | Tagged: Angoulême, bd, Comics, france, scarce

Abby Denson At Angoulême

Published Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:30:16 -0600

Last updated Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:08:17 -0600

Abby Denson writes for Bleeding Cool.

This is my third year at Angouleme. So far, I'm making good on my vow to come every year, and I'm so glad I can!

My friend Yuuko KOYAMA came in from Japan this time too, so it's extra special (though we are also missing Tim FISH a lot this year).

We came into Paris on Wednesday morning and made the journey into Angouleme with some jet lag, but were very excited to see Xavier and the SCARCE gang! This time we collaborated on a little info booklet featuring the art and bios of all of the artists which was very handy to explain our backgrounds to attendees (flip through the booklet here).

We came into Paris on Wednesday morning and made the journey into Angoulêmewith some jet lag, but were very excited to see Xavier and the SCARCE gang! This time we collaborated on a little info booklet featuring the art and bios of all of the artists which was very handy to explain our backgrounds to attendees (flip through the booklet here).

For me, the most exciting part of Angoulêmeis getting to meet artists that I admire, often unexpectedly. A major highlight for me this year was meeting Aline Kominsky-Crumb. She came by our booth on the first day and I gushed about how much I loved her book "Need More Love". She kindly posed for a photo with me and even bought a copy of Dolltopia! That was an unexpected thrill.

I also got to meet manga artist, Atsushi Kaneko, whose book " Bambi and Her Pink Gun" I admired greatly (a few volumes came out in the U.S.). We just happened to pass by a booth and he was there signing. He made a gorgeous sketch of Bambi for me in the French volume I purchased. It's unlikely that I would ever meet him at a U.S. comic show or even in Japan!

It was a lot of fun taking Yuuko around to try out all of the delicious pastries and cheeses in the area. I drew a quick comic about our happy stomachs after a nice meal. We had the raclette (complete with gigantic melted cheese apparatus), I recommend trying it at La Calandrine. Of course, we also had fouees from the stand where they bake the fresh bread and fill it with sweet or savory fillings, as well as hot mulled wine on the street. Perfect, since the weather was quite chilly.

Xavier had an adventure with a cat outside Cafe Chaud, cute but vicious! I have a photo of him before he struck. It was another fantastic time in Angouleme with talented friends from around the world and it is all over much too soon!