The Forbidden Planet International Blog

That wandering comics creator Sean Azzopardi‘s well-travelled feet took him to the fabled Angoulême comics festival in France at the end of January, and Sean has been kind enough to pen us a comic creator’s point of view of his and some of the other Brit comics pack’s Angoulême experience:

This year I travelled to Angoulême as part of the Dessinators crew. The group included Sally Anne Hickman, Oliver Lambden, Francesca Cassavetti and Dan Lester. Previous incarnations have been Azfab and BASTARDS. This was our fourth trip to France as a group. In the Independents tent we were tabled next to the Comica gang, so there was a small enclave of UK comics flying the Brit Indy flag. Completing this there was also a Nobrow table further along.

As with most conventions I attend, I mostly get the experience of being behind a table, and see very little of what any event has to offer. This year I didn’t get to see many exhibitions, and a good chunk of my time was spent trying to sell stuff or to get my pitch document seen by people. I did get to the House of Authors, the young talents tent and the Museum. I really enjoyed the Flemish cartoonists exhibition curated by Brecht Evans. Lots of lively work that broke away from the panelled page.

The festival seemed very low key this year. It would have taken something spectacular to replicate the buzz of last year (the much-acclaimed Spiegelman year) Saturday was an almost literal wash out due to heavy rain throughout the day.

But any event is what you make of it, and I had a great time. I was pleasantly surprised by the reception my recent work received, picking up some very positive comments. This was a major lift for me, as you can imagine,  and was an extra bonus. This trip wasn’t just about me though, and my table buddies all had good experiences. Sally Anne was selling two new comics, which sold really well. As did Oliver’s new Curtis And Terrorist, I’m glad to say. Dan sold well, Francesca got to drink and draw with one of her cartoon heroes, Willem.

Francesca had two tickets for the awards on Sunday, so I joined her, and settled into a very comfy seat. There was a touching beginning, remembering cartoonists who had died in the previous year. Then the awards themselves, where Dockwood by Jon McNaught (Nobrow), and Glyn Dillon with Nao of Brown (SelfMadeHero) both won, a great achievement. To complete a good event, Willem was voted president for the next year, so Francesca was happy.

And then suddenly it is all over. All that was left was pack away the table and say goodbye to everyone. I love this event – there is so much to enjoy. It’s comics, and lots of them, in France. For four days it feels like there is potential for something to happen. As a cartoonist trying to make progress this is really important. It’s inspiring and that’s a good thing.

Next year, get on the train and travel to Angoulême. Do it, you will not regret it.

Sally has written a really brilliant report about the event – in comics form! Go and have a look!