Bande Dessinée: Everything You Need To Know About The Ninth Artform

You know it’s not everyday I dedicate a topic on my blog from about data, that and Bande Dessinée is good stuff. Most of the visitors who aren’t of the US according to my all time page views actually come from France. Unless they’re using Geo Spoofing software like ExpressVPN, I only wish this was sponsored.

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I gotta say, it’s nice that some of the people who click on these pages are from the country who treat comics as a proper art form. I’m going to be a bit nervous considering how the EU is deciding to handle copyright laws; especially since recent developments could mean nobody from Europe will see my content. So if this really is the last time I’ll be seeing stats from Europe; I’d like to make this a tribute to my viewers from the French speaking regions.

Not Just France

Now this is a bit unique as the comics while in the French language obviously encompasses France; this will include other countries like Belgium, Monaco, even places like Switzerland. Now let’s summarize the usual details. Started off as simple cartoons published in newspapers and magazines, check. Held back by authoritative groups, check. US influence after WWI brought in word balloons, good. Ah… here we go during and after WWII.

The Archetypical Bande Dessinée

Believe it or not, the first modern Bande Dessinée (French comic book) came from Belgium’s Herge with Tintin. Not so fun fact though; it wasn’t quite the Tintin most fans know today and not just because of the much simpler artwork. There were racist caricatures in that series. Oh man, just imagine if social media was a thing in Herge’s time; but he has the excuse of early ignorance of racial and political stereotypes especially after WWII was over.

Fortunately for Herge there was a silver lining since the series was so popular people just wanted more. He even helped found the premiere comic company Casterman who has published Tintin for over 70 years. Heck Herge even learns from his mistakes after all the criticism and made Tintin better than it was before. The comic became so successful it set the standard of what comics in Belgium would be; complete with a competitor in the form Spirou both on its company Dupuis and with a distinct comic-dynamic art style against Tintin’s schematic style. I guess world traveling adventurers (and photojournalists) were the Belgian’s answers to America’s superheroes.

Guerre de Censure

But lo-and-behold, Nazis came a knocking and started to crack down on the traditional arts especially ones that looked like American propaganda. But the restrictions just made the popular medium stronger. Creators learned to make their incomplete imports into their own twists to help make stories they would later create. Well as long as they didn’t get carted off for suspicion of collaboration with resistance fighters. Some of them weren’t so lucky, but at least Herge and the Smurfs made it out.

At this point most history is just a bunch of deals that happened here and there you can just read on Wikipedia. But in any case, this and the following periods inspire many creators. They just had to get around the (not Russian) communists and the church magazines. A lot of famous homemade Westerns had come out during these eras, likely in resistance to foreign blockers. These include Jerry Spring, Blueberry, and fan favorite Lucky Luke.

S’adapter ou Mourir

The need for change and adaptation had to form to both growing audiences; and potential new ones in teens and young adults. This paves the way for series like ever famous Asterix; a comedic series about a small yet tenacious Gaulish warrior and his much larger friend Obelix. Others include some of the major sci-fi labels such as those by Moebius and Jodorowsky at Les Humanoïdes Associés or Humanoids if you prefer. The influence the company leads to the creation of the Metal Hurlant magazine. The Incal itself had gotten an animated proof of concept trailer just to display its potential for the big screen. Nevermind how one series from this era Barbarella became a cult classic movie that does better than the original. Just wish that Valerian and Laureline movie did better. It would show the world that there’s something in these properties.

Bande Dessinée Couronnement

Some of these creators were even knighted as patrons of the arts. So notable, Japan grew to appreciate the styles. Jiro Taniguchi famously combines manga’s cinematic style with the literary style of Bande Dessinée; granting him not only a knighted status but also the Tezuka Award back home.

But if that’s not enough, these character and action based styles began to influence many creators. Thanks to the French language being around so many areas, these stories and content reached so many people. The more surreal art influenced Neil Gaiman and Mike Mignola to become creators. Sometimes they even get their works across Europe to the point of influencing the famed Leiji Matsumoto who in turn is well liked by the French speaking world. For the best example look for Interstella 5555 a collaboration between Matsumoto and electronic band Daft Punk. Creators attempted to make their own take on manga because of the mutual influence.

Heritage Héritage

Nowadays, comics continue to grow at a rapid pace with the long running traditional comics from the above mentioned companies continuing to hold a steady place. Many of them aren’t even restricted to magazines and can be published as albums. Conventions including the Angoulême International Comics Festival continue to bring in talent from around the world. The industry never seems to stop growing in order to not be outshined by the US or Japan. In fact, a few places have taken to the internet including Delitoon, inspired by the webtoons of South Korea. One series in particular Lastman became so well known it received an animated prequel that can be watched on VRV in native French or English.

The French speaking regions certainly have a rich history and the people who inhabit them can strive to create masterful works of art that their culture has deemed something to be deserving of praise. The ink’s not dry on these parts of the comic book world so there is only more to come.

Thanks for visiting and as always remember to look between the panels.