the 50e edition of the Charentais comic strip festival has unveiled its prize list. A vintage as usual always more pointed, which unfortunately no longer reflects the eclecticism of a popular genre.
We could expect it. The divide between mainstream comics and the prizes awarded in Angoulême continues to grow. For the 50th edition, we would have hoped for a jump. At the start of the festival, the election of the Grand Prix de la ville at Riad Sattouf gave some hope. The creator of the series The Arab of the Future symbolized an elegant bridge between a demanding author’s comic strip and the greatest number (more than one and a half million albums sold).
This 2023 list, on the contrary, affirms the jury’s desire to move away from popular comics. No more comic book heroes with a big heart from Tintin to Gaston via Bécassine, Natacha, Yoko Tsuno, Spider-Man, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Buck Danny, Blueberry or Spirou (when Dupuis is celebrating his centenary in an exhibition titled The hero factory ). No more humorous comics with a drawing stamped “big nose”.
Read alsoRiad Sattouf wins the Grand Prix of the Angoulême Comics Festival: “It was unthinkable!”
Gone are the adventure series and other twirling sagas with realistic design: welcome to the avant-garde, to dark, radical, committed, introspective albums whose graphic readability or formal beauty is no longer a major concern.
In addition to the absence of Franco-Belgian comics and major publishers such as Dargaud, Casterman, Dupuis, Delcourt, Albin Michel or Le Lombard, (which emerge on the edge of the awards), we have especially seen the manga rewarded, and especially the victory of a publisher who has an incredible flair, Serge Ewenczyk of the Cà et Là editions, publisher of “foreign comics aimed at a teen/adult audience”which won three major awards this year, including the Fauve d’or for best comic strip.
In the theater of Angoulême, the electric atmosphere was also at its peak during this award ceremony. The members of the jury crowned The color of thingsby the Swiss author Martin Panchaud, an avant-garde album, all round and square, between the abstraction of a Kandinsky and the formal audacity of a Chris Ware.
Only the Fauves jeunesse, that of the Youth Grand Jury given to All princesses die after midnightby Quentin Zuttion, as well as The Long Walk of the Turkeysby Leonie Bischoff and Kathleen Karr, avoid this experimental research, to favor a story and very romantic characters.
Unfortunately, we regret that the jury missed out on the crowning achievement of the work of The Last Queena sumptuous album by Jean-Marc Rochette, at a time when, shocked by the Bastien Vivès affair, the author of the famous Transperceneige had declared that he wanted to distance himself from the world of comics, and end his career.
We feel it, this radical and elitist list confirms the retirement of some and the rise of a new comic strip from small independent publishers. Place for young people…
The full list
Fauve d’Or – Best Album Award
the color of things, by Martin Panchaud, Editions Here and There.
Fauve d’Angoulême – Special Jury Prize
Animan, by Anouk Ricard, Editions Exemplaire.
Fauve d’Angoulême – Revelation Prize
A Tree Frog in autumn (and more…), by Linnea Sterte – Translation by Astrid Boitel, Les Éditions de la Cerise.
Fauve d’Angoulême – Prize for the series
Blood Ties T.11, Shuzo Oshimi – Translation by Sébastien Ludmann, Éditions Ki-oon.
Fauve d’Angoulême – France Télévisions Audience Award
Naphtaline, by Sole Otero – Translation by Éloïse de la Maison, Éditions Çà et Là.
Fawn of the High School Students
Khat, by Ximo Abadía – Translation by Anne Calmels and David Schalvelzon, Éditions La Joie de lire.
Fauve d’Angoulême – Heritage Prize
stone flowers, by Hisashi Sakaguchi – Translation by Ilan Nguyen, Revival Editions.
Fauve Polar SNCF
Hound Dog, by Nicolas Pegon, Editions Denoël Graphic.
Eco-Fauve Raja Award
Under the sun, by Ana Penyas – Translation by Benoît Mitaine, Actes Sud L’An 2.
Fauve Alternative Comics Prize
Lime oven, collectif, Extinció Editions (Spain).
Special Fauve of the Youth Grand Jury
All princesses die after midnightby Quentin Zuttion, Editions Le Lombard.
Fawn Youth
The Long Walk of the Turkeysby Leonie Bischoff – Kathleen Karr, Editions Rue de Sèvres.
Honor Beasts
Junji Itō.
Ryoichi Ikegami.
Fauve special of the 50th edition
Hajime Isayama.
Philippe Druillet Prize
The cliffManon Debaye, Sarbacane Editions.
Prix Konishi
Come on Dark – Tome 1by Q Hayashida, Translation by Sylvain Chollet , Éditions Soleil.
René Goscinny Prize – Best Screenwriter
Nightmares ex Machinaby Thierry Smolderen, Drawing by Jorge González, Éditions Dargaud.
René Goscinny Prize – Young Screenwriter Prize
Skinby Mieke Versyp, Editions Here and There.