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Molly Crabapple At Angoulême

Published Fri, 28 Jan 2011 18:35:15 -0600

Molly Crabapple writes for Bleeding Cool.

I've never been to Angoulême before. The Western hemisphere's largest comics convention had always seemed to be the Anti-San Diego, where instead of berber carpeting, overpriced pretzels and hoards of fanboys, you had a charming French village full of wine and hot chicks who liked Joan Sfar.

I never would have taken my Angoulême fantasy outside of headspace if it hadn't been for Abby Denson. After bribing her with hamburgers, Abby hooked me up with Xavier Lancel, editor of SCARCE, and soon me and Fred were heading to France.

Angoulême Comics Festival really is as dreamy as people say it is. Held on the rampart ringed hilltop of Angoulême's old town, the festival is everywhere. There are tents for alternative comics (BD Alternative) and the big boys of France- the Dageurds and Delcourts, as well as for superheroes and for selling foreign rights. I signed with SCARCE in the BD Alternative section, drawing elephants whenever business got slow.

When I wasn't drawing, I was ogling the books at Requins Marteux. Their beautiful grey and gold Pinnochio is going to be released in the US by Last Gasp. The employees of L'Association, France's most renowned comics press, are on strike, their booth filled with fliers and unpacked, propaganda-painted boxes. They were striking because of layoffs that they claim were not financially justified.

When artists sign at Angoulême, many of them do finished drawings on the title pages of their books. Many of the booths were also rigged out with hand done art- like the Romanian cartoonists across from SCARCE who covered their booth in brown butcher paper and drew cartoons on top of it.

The professional's lounge is also a thing of splendor- all red and gold Rococo gorgeousness complete with trompe-l'oeil curtains and crystal chandeliers. They plied us with free espresso and cognac.

At the foreign rights booth, I found my editor at First Second books, Calista Brill. We made dinner plans and talked a bit about the somewhat scandalous nature of French comics.

After a day signing and wandering, me and the Bleeding Cool Gang (Jeff, Abby Denson, Fred Harper, Tim Fish and co.) drank champagne at Cafe Chaud and drew obscene doodles on pieces of paper provided by the owner. Finally, we fell into a cab home.

Thank you so much to Abby Denson, Xavier Lancel and SCARCE Magazine helping me come to Angoulême.

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