angouleme 2009

2008

2008

Amy, Stuart, and Nick

2007

Our friends Jason and Rosa came along in 2007

2006 journey to Angouleme

I had read up, asked, researched the festival, but the one thing I didn't know or forgot is; that the town of Angouleme is on top of a large hill.

angouleme tent

Due to construction this year. Most all the exibits were in giant tents.

Angouleme

hotel de ville

The festival itself was fantastic. creators from all around exibiting their books and artwork. For me at least everything was new and exciting. The chinese were the honored guests this year and had lots of intresting material. The publisher Soleil had a rock band in their tent which made it hard to look at their books. Alot of the creators were sitting around smoking at their tables.

Evening in Angouleme

My new friend's were phenomenal hosts. Their hospitality and humour were the highlight of my trip. We had a wonderful dinner and wine at a Brazilian resturant and conversation of every sort and in many languages. I know I was there to find out more about european comics, but as the wine flowed I became increasingly intrested in the region and the country. One of our hosts suggested that we retire back to his place and sample his cognac collection. The cognac, conversation, and company that followed was first rate. anecdotes and stories mixed with informative knowledge of facinating subjects. All the while I was examining the very old quill pen lable of vintage cognac. We wrapped it up very late and went on. The main group staggered on to other events that went on all night, but not before one of our group passed out bottles on wine adversting his comic shop! Two of us exhausted retired, only to find that the hospitality of the Angouleme people never seems to stop. wating for us where we were staying was a new bottle of cognac, with a note "enjoy.".

Herge

the creator of Tintin honored on a street baring his name.

Saturday morn

The streets of Angouleme starting to fill up.

Cathedrale Saint-Pierre XII

Terry Nantier of NBM

Monseiur Nantier of NBM; the formost and longest publisher of Graphic novels in the United States. Barely able to stand after a long night of boozing it up. Actually in all the years I have known Terry I have only seen him drink one glass of wine. His passion frames him, in his booth in the international section.

graphiti

One of the many drawings one finds all over Angouleme.

surprisingly there are no people in this shot.

11:30 the snow really started to come down and it was getting more and more crowded.

By 12:00 the lines to get in the tents had grown. When I left it looked like a twenty minute wait.

The train back to Paris was three hours late.

Back in Paris Cafe de Flore

The only drawing I got to do while visiting. It was either too cold, four in the morning, or I was running for a train or a plane.

Projection advertising the festival in the St Germain-des-Pres station.

displays in the subway station featured award winning Bandes dessinees.

Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise.

The following images of of this famous cemetary.

Theodore Gericault's grave.

His most famous painting is the "Raft of the medusa"

the sun catching stain glass.

Jim Morrison's grave.

There was a guard there at all times.