Le Parisien: reasons to go to the Angoulême Comic Festival – 21/01/19

Angoulême Comic Book Festival, three reasons to go to the Angoulême Festival, monumental wall design is at the service of comics, Angoulême murals tours, American comics, manga author, mural paintings and comics.

Reasons to go to the Angoulême Festival

From 24 to 27 January, France’s largest comic book event celebrates American comics, with a masterful Batman retrospective. Some 1,500 authors will be in Charente for this 46th edition.

At the end of January, no matter how windy, rainy or even snowy it may be, comic book aficionados are flocking to Angoulême. Since 1974, the Charente city has been the capital of the 9th art. And she’s well on her way to staying that way. The artistic director of the International Comic Strip Festival, who arrived in 2016, succeeded in bridging the gap between two orientations: a high artistic requirement, designed to make the event a world reference, and the preservation of its festive and popular aspect.

After a 2018 edition tinged with Japonism, 2019 is dedicated to the “comic book” and offers an immersion in the world of Batman. Europeans are not forgotten, with an exhibition dedicated to Manara with great pomp and circumstance, and another to Bernadette Després, creator of the series “Tom-Tom and Nana”. Meetings with the 1,500 authors present, dedications, workshops and “drawing concerts” are also on the programme for these four days of festivities. 
International comic strip festival, from 24 to 27 January in Angoulême {Charente). Pre-sale: 16 € and 36 € for 1 and 4 day passes.

Strolling in front of the drawn walls

About thirty painted walls dot the centre of Angoulême. Big names have already lent themselves to the game, such as Franquin, Morris, Florence Cestac, Schuiten or Druillet. More recently, a mural by the late Pétillon, from the “Black Baron”, has been drawn.

The free app for smartphone Murs BD Angoulême makes it easy to access this original heritage. To make this walk even more tasty and to discover a little more the soul of the city, a tip, taste an old-fashioned macaroon, with pistachio or cognac, from La Biscuiterie Lol mède, a house founded in 1889. A delight!

 

Le Parisien: 3 reasons to go to the Angoulême Festival