It is called Angoulême Bande Dessinée. At a press conference this morning, the Association for the Development of Comics in Angoulême (ADBDA) and the Morgane Group were finally able to reveal the successor to the defunct Angoulême International Comics Festival. The festival will take place in the traditional slot of January 28-31, 2027 – so pack warm clothes and waterproofs.
This has been the first public engagement by the new organisation since the conclusion of the legal case mounted by the previous organiser and original festival assocation last month.
Some takeaways:
- The name, Angoulême Bande Dessinée, is kept simple to reflect the place and the art form (in France comics are called bande dessinée, or BD for short).
- Six exhibitions were named, including the last Grand Prix awarded author Anouk Ricard
- Prizes return, will feature bronze trophies and – newly introduced – prize money
- Reflecting the strength of manga in the French comics market (still around 50% market share vs around 4% for Anglo-originated comics), the festival has a dedicated Tokyo office for international cooperation and exchange.
- AI is banned
- Next press conference to take place in December
(More to come…)
