From Our Continental Correspondent – Crossing Comics | The Forbidden Planet International Blog Log

From Our Continental Correspondent – Crossing Comics

Thu, Apr 2, 2009

Comics and cartoons, Conventions and events, From our Continental Correspondent

One of the main events in this years Brussels Comics Festival is the Crossing Comics exhibition (Regards Croisés de la Bande Dessinée Belge) in the Fine Arts Museum, which opened last week.

The exhibition discusses the history of Belgian comics, and the different dynamics that shaped it into what it is today. Most notably the entrepreneurship of certain publishers after the war (see our earlier interview with Raymond Leblanc), and the importance of the confessional press (see an earlier article on Gray Croucher) are illustrated with numerous exhibits.

A second part of the exhibition consists of a series of cases which were decorated by some of the best living Belgian comic professionals, whether they are active as writers (Van Hamme, Cauvin), artists (Schuiten, Herr Seele) and all-round cartoonists (Hermann, Sokal).Each has tried to express an aspect of his personality or work by means of sketches, works of art, objects, etcetera. Francois Walthéry chose to showcase his most prized records, Herr Seele presents a piano (which he collects) and Johan De Moor filled a shopping cart with numerous trinkets and other memorabilia.

shopping trolley Johan De Moor.jpg

(Johan De Moor’s shopping trolley; I’m sure my gran had that wallpaper in the early 70s...)

There has been some grumbling about the fact that the majority of the creators are from the French part of the country (in fact, the Flemish comics scene, which was extensively focused on during the most recent festival in Angoulème, is represented by only four creators), but across the board, it seems to be a very good overview of the variety that the current Belgian comics scene has to offer. Moreover, the organisers seem to have succeeded in that rarest of exhibitions, one which will appeal to the general public and specialists alike.

Your correspondent is currently rounding up some of his cronies to go and visit the exhibition himself, but other obligations have gotten in the way as yet. But I promise an extensive review once everything gets settled. In the mean time, some quite nice reviews were published by ActuaBD and by BoDoi, which also has a lot of pictures of the murals and the keepsake cabinets.

Regards croisés de la bande dessinée Belge March 27th – June 28th, open daily except Mondays, from 10am to 5pm. Address: Musées royaux des beaux-arts de Belgique Rue de la Régence, 3 1000 Bruxelles; Web : www.fine-arts-museum.be