The Angoulême International Comics Festival, the biggest most amazing comics-themed gathering of the year, is well underway in France, and if a bomb was dropped on this small French town, no one would be left to amaze us. You can keep up to speed with the English language version of the fest’s website. It’s being regularly updated with news and photos. Above, Argentine legend José Muñoz arrives at the train station. (Photo © Jean-Daniel Guillou) See, in France they treat cartoonists like celebrities.
Others covering the show en Anglais: Wim Lockefeeris reporting for the Forbidden Planet Blog :
Comics are everywhere in Angoulême. Naturally, all the important streets are named after important cartoonists (most famously La Place Hergé, with the enormous head of the Tintin creator smiling benevolently down the street). but there are also murals all around; even the local fast food joint was decorated by ligne claire giant Ted Benoit and all the shop windows in the city centre have been redecorated in a comics style (ranging from putting a stand-up Spirou near a set of hair products, to having all your mannequins reading quite recent books). Newspapers, from the local Charente Libre to the national Libération, put cartoon art on their front pages (or, in the case of Libre, had cartoonists illustrate their entire paper – more on that later), and new books are advertised in the streets as if they were new albums by hot bands or Hollywood blockbusters. If you need a sugar rush as a comics addict, Angou is the place to be.
He also has a Flickr stream.
Marvel’s CB Cebulski is constantly reporting on his blog and he also has tons of photos. Above, the Lucky Luke building.
Finally, Dr. Bart Beaty is posting very timely updates via phone at the Comics Reporter.
Between all of them, it’s kinda like being there…but we’re not…again. Sniff.
