The Angoulême International Comics Festival (FIBD), the fifth edition of which ends on Sunday, is rolling out the red carpet in Canada this year with the presence of an armada of local creators and publishers. Around sixty Canadians, including around thirty Quebecers, are on site to participate in several public activities.
The prestigious meeting dedicated to the 9e art, the largest of its kind in the French-speaking world, also offers a professional component and several business opportunities. “For a few days, the festival transforms the city into a veritable mecca for comics,” confirms Philippe Rioux, specialist in Canadian and Quebec comics. “The event, which alone attracts around 200,000 visitors each year, is an exceptional visibility platform for artists. »
Beyond meetings, the commercial aspect should not be neglected in a market as competitive as that of comics, believes the Concordia University researcher. “For those in the sector, in particular for independent publishers, Angoulême has become precious and invaluable for introducing local comics, but also for increasing financial opportunities. »
Talk to Luc Bossé, founder of Éditions Pow Pow, who has signed a number of agreements with publishers in French-speaking Europe. “There is a real craze for Quebec and Canadian comics. It’s a unique opportunity that we seize here by meeting other publishers from everywhere,” he says in an interview.
Its titles have also been available in France, Belgium and Switzerland since 2016 through Belles Lettres Diffusion, an independent box based in Paris. “It was concluded over the course of the meetings. It’s a publishing house that resembles us, and when we felt that our catalog was quite well stocked, we decided to join forces. »
Angoulême is a must, says the publisher. Book signings, exhibitions, conferences, workshops and round tables help to encourage contact between professionals. And it works, since the International Rights Market organized in parallel with the festival has tripled in size in just three years: in 2024, 35 countries, 1,500 industry visitors and 106 publishers were present.
“The age of maturity”
Competition remains tough, recognizes Luc Bossé, but Quebec’s creations are today “strong and solid” enough to attract attention on their own. “I see the honoring of Canada as a consecration. We have reached the age of maturity. Our own identity is being exported, and this is very good news for the sustainability of Quebec comics. »
In France, local successes are legion. Michel Rabagliati, the first Quebecer to win the Audience Award at the Angoulême festival in 2010, won the hearts of the French with his Paul series. Swithout forgetting the Angoulême Grand Prix, awarded in 2022 to Quebec cartoonist Julie Doucet for her career marked by her fanzine trash Dirty Plotte. “Our distinctive language, our talent and stories firmly anchored in our reality attract a French-speaking readership eager for new voices and new proposals. »
The Canadian representation in Angoulême remains impressive, with the establishment of a pavilion, a bookstore area and various kiosks (including one reserved for professionals). An exhibition called Form an ocean to another ! offers festival visitors a broad panorama of Canadian creations through a selection of cartoonists from the four corners of the country, including Montrealer Boom (A jellyfish) and Nova Scotian Kate Beaton (Toxic environment).
“These initiatives help promote the works of our creators and authors,” believes Thomas-Louis Côté, general director of Québec BD, an organization dedicated to promoting the 9e art from here.
He recalls that, last year, the festival dedicated part of its space and its programming to highlight Quebec and its national capital. “Book sales have been impressive. From the first day, we were missing titles which flew away like hot cakes,” he remembers with a laugh.
Mr. Côté has been attending the festival since 2006. “Publishers like Pow Pow or La Pastèque are regulars, but the arrival of new publishers in Angoulême shows an increased interest in co-publishing or translation projects. I think it’s very profitable for the Canadian and Quebec publishing community to come here,” he says.
A popular art
Laurent Boutin, bookseller specializing in comics at Planète BD in Montreal, assures that the prizes won in Angoulême can have repercussions on sales in Quebec. “Yes, there is a certain appetite on the part of our clientele for the festival winners. The fact remains that Quebec comics are already well established here. The big Quebec names are selling very well. And then, the fact that there is a large delegation in France proves that the 9e art is in good health,” he says.
According to him, Quebec comics have quickly diversified, with the next generation being less confined to a single style or niche. “The proliferation of festivals at the local level and the presence of titles in schools and libraries contribute to the success of the genre. »
The figures indeed demonstrate an increasing interest in this art, which represented 9.3% of the market share of the book industry in Quebec in 2022, compared to 8.7% in 2021, according to the Bilan Gaspard made public by the French-language securities bank (BTLF).
“The sale of comics in Quebec has been doing well for around ten years, both albums and graphic novels,” underlines Christian Reeves, sales director of the management company BTLF. “Among the highlights of the market is the growth of comics, which recorded a gain of 2.5%, propelled by mangas, in particular, with a strong increase of 35%. » Volume 4 of Experiences by Mini-Jeanby Alex A., was the best-selling comic book in 2022.