Even this year’s edition of the Angoulème Festival acknowledged its existence with a special award, and new series are springing to life on a daily basis: the French blogosphère des bédé is alive and kicking! And while comics blogs in the US or the UK tend to be quite varied in terms of themes and subjects, in France they have morphed into a genre in itself: diary comics about life as a cartoonist and above all, about other comics blogs. James Kochalka may have pioneered in this type of cartoon diary with his American Elf, but leave it to the French to turn it into an artform.
Below is a selection of the best French blogs bédé, blogs that you should have at least heard of. Even if you don’t read French, the art in these stories in a joy in itself so it is still worthwhile having a browse. And so without further ado, a completely personal, biased and not at all random selection:
Les Petits Riens de Lewis Trondheim – the French alternative comics godfather’s almost daily blog about his work, his ideas and his encounters with other cartoonists. Named after Mozart’s collection of less ambitious compositions, three collections of these strips have been published so far in Trondheim’s own imprint at Delcourt, Shampooing.
(one of the images from Les Petits Riens de Lewis Trondheim)
Bouletcorp – a series of incredibly detailed strips by and about French comics powerhouse Boulet (real name: Gilles Roussel), with commentary on his other projects, colleagues, festivals and any subject that can cause irritation and frustration. So far two “annuals” have been published (Delcourt). In 2005 Boulet was the president of the first Comics Blogs Festival in Paris.
Sway In Pepitoland – Cécile Lechevailler is a young illustrator from Marseille who blogs about living in an apartment building, trying to eek out a life out of freelance work and visiting geeky conventions in a sweet style that combines a clear Manga influence with a cute form of French alternative comics.
Jean Paul Pognon – Pognon draws in a very elaborate, personal style. His comics are a sort of long winding soap opera stories on paper, with a friends-like brand of zany humour. The art is very consistent, but never formulaic.
Lord Yoyo – the most kawai of the French blogs, this blog collects the semi-autobiographical anecdotes from the life of cartoonist and illustrator Johan Vinet, Him Of Orange Hair. Quite funny, often zany or absurd, but never bland.
(investigating Newton with Lord Yoyo – I tried this with my cats once and required stitches for multiple claw lacerations...)
Trentenaire, Marié, 2 enfants – This blog by Belgian illustrator Pascal Placeman (or PP for short) is different from the others in that it tells how a couple of freelance cartoonists try to juggle together their lives of work, love and especially their two young children. Very true, let me tell you.
Le Repaire de Lommsek – Winner of the 2008 Best Blog award at the Angoulème festival, this blog is one of the most ambitious in this selection. It offers a mix of autobiographical vignettes, short fantastical stories and illustration, along with reports on creator Lommsek’s other endeavours. Not always necessarily funny, which is a rare thing.
(aller simple verts le futur from Lommesk’s blog)
Le Blog de Vincent – Vincent Caut was one of the runners-up in the Best Blog Awards at Angoulème, but also one of the winners in the Jeune Talents competition for cartoonists younger than 18. His comics are surprisingly professional and mature, and his style is exactly that: a style, a language that Vincent understands truly. Amazing stuff.
Le Blog De Julien – This blog by Swiss cartoonist Julien is one of the most endearing of the lot, because his stories are never cynical or shocking. His style is naive, possibly self-taught, and very, very soft.
Bastien Vives – Bastien likes to experiment with long scroll-like comics, examining how he can make this peculiar form work in his stories. His stories sometimes are anecdotal, sometimes satirical, but always at least interesting.
March 2nd, 2009 at 2:20 pm
You mean to say you don’t consider Kochalka’s diary comics to be art? Please consider your wording carefully.
March 2nd, 2009 at 4:13 pm
Saying Kochalka is not art? Puhleeze. You give the French way too much credit.
March 2nd, 2009 at 8:06 pm
My intention with this column was not to slag off James Kochalka’s work. I deeply admire James’s strips, and indeed, they are a work of art.
In France, however, this form of comic blogging was picked up and turned into a structured philosophy of art, with dedicated websites, do’s and don’ts, festivals and magazines. And you can say a lot about the French, but they do know their cultural organisation skills.
Note to self : reread copy. Edit. Repeat.
But you are both right, and I apologise to you and to James. Perhaps I should have said “cultural movement” or “art movement”.
November 18th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
Thank you ! I just would like to inform u that from now my comicstrips will be translated in english, I said that if some of your English readers are interested ! (and sorry for my poor “google-translated” english !)
Have a nice day !