FRANCE

Angouleme: Europe's biggest comic book fair

Friday, January 25, 2008

The French town of Angouleme is hosting its 35th international comic book festival where authors can be found signing their books everywhere - including the fish market. (Story: O. Fairclough)

China is taking a high profile at the Angouleme comic book festival, striving to break into the European market for graphic novels in rivalry with established Japanese manga comics.

With their own national pavillion set up in city hall, a large Chinese delegation boasted of 11 million euros (16 million dollars) worth of deals in the fields of comics and animated cartoons.

Friday was officially China Day at the Angouleme festival, with the country's vice culture minister Meng Xiaosi talking up the "universal" character of comics.

Less known as highly-successful Japanese manga comics, Chinese comics -- known as "manhua" in Mandarin -- so far have only a marginal following in the French and larger European market.

While manga traces its roots back to old artistic traditions, Chinese comics have -- until recently -- been propaganda vehicles for the communist regime in Beijing.

"Chinese comic books were always controlled by the state," said Sebastien Langevin, a journalist specialising in Asian comics.

"One day the Chinese government said to itself, 'We will make comics', and they obviously have very capable people, with a significant graphic culture."

Now Chinese comics are luring the attention of French publishers.

"Chinese artists have strength, and a mind-blowing graphic quality, in very different styles," said Louis Delas, chief executive of the Casterman publishing house.

Delas underlined his company's recent but rapidly expanding trade with China, referring to its most famous title -- Tintin.

"For Tintin, we published all 23 albums in one go (four years ago) and we have already sold three million copies", he said.

Such willingness on the part of China to promote its comics abroad contrasts with the more reserved attitude of Japanese publishers towards the Western market.

"With the Japanese, it takes a very long time," said Langevin, pointing to a "protectionism of sorts" from publishers who have little desire to see their manga stars dispersed.

The 35th international comic book festival in Angouleme, in the southwest of France, runs through January 27.

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