I’m going to admit to being embarrassingly ignorant on the subject of Algeria before reading Algeria Is Beautiful Like America, at best understanding the basic colonial relationship it had with France, and the continued tension because of that. While the book doesn’t offer a detailed history of the situation, it does hold the reader’s hand […]
Think Batman’s Penis was bad? Wait ’til you see what Bastien Vives has got
Another controversy about male genitalia!
Joann Sfar’s Defense of Writing as a Career in France
A growing chorus of angry authors and artists in France debating the status of writers and their place in society
Review: The ‘Park Bench’ at the center of the universe
There have been several good works over the past few years – Here, A Castle In England, and 750 Years In Paris come to mind – that examine the idea of place, and each of them does so in the context of human presence and place as something that transcends that. Chris Ware’s Building Stories […]
Review: ‘Beautiful Darkness’ team goes to Hell in ‘Satania’
There’s something delightfully old fashioned about Satania, at least at the beginning, and that nod to tradition is what makes the whole experience so thrilling the nostalgia for this kind of adventure tale is slowly peeled away to reveal something more mysterious and terrifying. Completely different in tone than Fabian Vehlmann and Kerascoet’s previous achievement, […]
Review: 750 Years In Paris offers details within the broad stroke of history
Given the recent tragic events in Paris, Vincent Mahé’s absolutely stunning 750 Years In Paris is a sprawling reminder that this is not the first time darkness has been cast over that city, and it’s likely not the last. Paris has been home to bloodshed and destruction, as well as a site of rebuilding and […]
24 Hours of International Comics: Meet Boulet, Master of Visualizing Emotion (France)
By and large, American comics are exercises in external action. Rare is the superhero who ends up blighted by some existential crisis and is then forced to retreat into his or herself in order to resolve the issue. Rarely is conflict not solved through fights filled with flurried fists. Even Batman, “the World’s Greatest Detective,” generally […]
My Angouleme Diary Day 2: From Glénat to Tardi
Alors, things don’t always go as planned, including power outages at the delightful chateau and forgetting my password in the press room. • Yesterday, Friday was a busy day at the 41st annual FIBD, as things heated up in the streets and tents. The day started off with an interview with Jacques Glénat founder of […]
On the Scene: MoCCA Fest 2013, Words from the Market-Wise at the ‘Art as Profession’ Panel
Holding panels in the wood-panelled bowels of the Armory this year at MoCCA Fest did bring a certain gravitas to the proceedings even if the location was a little difficult to locate for the unfamiliar. When I arrived at the “Art as Profession: Creating, Promoting, and Making Money in Comics” panel at 11:30 on Sunday […]