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     RECOMMENDED > AWARDS > EISNER | HARVEY | IGNATZ | ANGOULÊME


Angouleme BD Festival Logo


ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
The French take their comics very seriously. Bande Dessinées or BD (meaning literally Band of Drawings or Strip) are an accepted and lively part of French culture, being read and enjoyed by millions, in large part due to the variety of material available for all age groups. The annual Angoulême BD Festival is the Cannes of the comic world. Every January, a celebration of comics takes over this quiet, provincial French town for a four day festival, culminating in the annual awards given to recognise the very best in French and foreign comic art.

In 1974 the Angoulême Festival Awards were originally named the Alfred Awards (after a penguin featured in Alain Saint-Ogan's series Zig et Puce) before the name was changed in 1989 to the Alph'Art Awards (after the title of Hergé's last, and unfinished, Tintin story).

In 2007, the Angoulême Festival Awards were been simplified. The award winners are known as the 'Essentials' and are chosen from the 'Official Selection', a short list of books determined by the Selection Committee from among the French-language comic books published each year.

Further Reading:
The 2009 Official Selection Booklet (PDF)
Indy Magazine: The Twenty Best European Graphic Novels You Haven't Read
Angouleme 2008: Bart Beaty Examines The Angouleme Nominees
Angoulême 2007: A Report By Paul Gravett
Angoulême 2007: Bart Beaty Handicaps Angoulême's Prizes
Angoulême 2006: Bart Beaty's Report & Photos
Angoulême 2005: A Reportage by Phoebe Gloeckner
Angoulême 2005: The Once & Future Angoulême by Jim Wheelock
Angoulême 2004: Adventures In Comics' Capital City by Jim Wheelock
Angoulême 2004: Changes by Bill Kartalopoulos
Angoulême 2003: Travelogue by Jason Little


2009 AWARD WINNERS
2009 Book Of The Year Award:

Pinocchio
by Winshluss
Les Requins Marteaux

Through a series of often silent sequences, Winshluss has produced a true graphical opera full of contradictory, incredibly rich and strong emotions. The peak of graphical invention provoking laughter and reflection.

2009 Best Newcomer:

The Taste Of Chlorine
by Bastien Vivès
Casterman

A young boy treats the beginning of his scoliosis by going to the swimming pool against his will. There he meets a more experienced girl swimmer and starts to fall in love... Through Bastien Vivès's economical communication we feel the sensations of that moment when we dare to believe in love.

2009 Essentials Award:

Le Petit Christian Vol 2
by Blutch
L'Association

"Some books you just read right away. I opened my mail yesterday to find a copy of Blutch's Le Petit Christian 2 (L'Association) and 25 minutes later I had finished it, convinced that it is one of the best comics I'll read this year. Blutch is one of those tricky figures in French comics. Of course, he draws like some sort of god, sent from the heavens to make ordinary comics look pathetic. There are a whole raft of American cartoonists who have been deeply influenced by the look of his work, and probably a larger contingent of Europeans. But -- and there's always a but -- he's a tough guy to turn people on to because, as his detractors will point out, his stories are never as strong as his art is beautiful. "
Bart Beaty - Read the full review here.

2009 Essentials Award:

Spirou et Fantasio: Le Journal d'un ingénu
by Émile Bravo
Dupuis

"I wasn't going to review Emile Bravo's Spirou and Fantasio book, Le journal d'un ingenu, on the basis that I'd already raved about his work once this year when I wrote about his Angouleme prize-winning Ma Maman est en Amerique. Only one rave per customer per year, that's my motto. But given the slew of awards and nominations Bravo is racking up for this new book, it may be necessary to say a few words. So here they are: Emile Bravo's contribution to the Spirou and Fantasio tradition is one of the smartest and most charming comics that I have ever read. It is a truly wonderful re-imagining of one of the defining characters of the Belgian comics tradition, and so masterfully constructed that it should be the model for any cartoonist seeking to update a classic work. Everyone should read this marvelous book."
Bart Beaty - Read the full review here.

2009 Essentials Award:

Tamara Drewe
by Posy Simmonds
Denoël Graphic

"Her career, indeed her whole life, also seem to have perfectly prepared her now for the multiple demands of creating and maturing the graphic novel. This November brings the publication in Britain from Jonathan Cape of Tamara Drewe. Like Gemma, this was serialized in The Guardian, starting in 2005, but on a weekly basis in their Saturday Review section, often in double episodes. It sees her applying her skills with colour, polished first on her successful children's books, to adult comics at last. This time, her literary allusions are to Thomas Hardy's 1874 novel Far From The Madding Crowd but transposed to modern, celebrity-obsessed Britain and the tensions between city and country. When ambitious urbanite Tamara inherits a family home deep in the English countryside, she turns the heads of three rival males and soon the whole village is abuzz with secrets and desires. It will be one of the graphic novels of the year, without a doubt."
Paul Gravett - Read the full review and interview here.

2009 Essentials Award:

Lulu femme nue
by Étienne Davodeau
Futuropolis

 

2009 Essentials Award:

Martha Jane Cannary Vol 1
by Christian Perrissin et Matthieu Blanchin
Futuropolis

 

2009 Heritage Award:

Operation Death
by Shigeru Mizuki
Cornélius

War is an abomination. The author of NonNonBâ (best album 2007) transmits this idea through a graphical requiem of 350 pages, based on a true story. On an island at the end of 1943, Japanese soldiers are obliged to commit suicide in order to save the honour of their country.

2009 Public Prize:

My Fat & Me
by Gally
Diantre

She is fat, very fat and has always had an existential relationship with her fat. She fights the bulge, the diet bars and people's stares with humour. A great remedy against the scales depression syndrome...

2009 Alternative Comic Prize:

DMPP #5

Lady Pipi loses her vowels, changes size (taking on a lovely Italian format), and gains in weight without losing its main identity as a sophisticated and « avant garde » comic strip. With this edition a new regime is initiated, "while continuing to explore the possibilities of Comic Strip writing, the magazine will include concepts of a certain author or an aspect of this form of expression." A great idea fully implemented with the file dedicated to Gustave Verbeek, the extraordinary creator of the 'Upside downs', a surprising read "the right way up" and then "upside down". Verbeek is in some ways the forerunner of OUBAPO and it is a shame that his work is unavailable (apart from the edition by Pierre Horay that can only be found second hand and incomplete). Published by a Dutch publisher, Lady Pipi is a selection of unpublished 'upside downs' (restored, and translated by the chief editor, Gerald Auclin) and more unknown comic strips (such as Terror of the Tiny Tads, about monsters created from word games such as the chanille catpillar on the front cover). The file includes an introduction, comments, tributes to contemporary authors (Benoît Preteseille, J. et E. Leglatin, Gotpower, Gérald Auclin, Martes Bartori, Manü Manü and O.P.+Lu-K), and will continue in the next edition with new unpublished pages and an article about a more unknown series (of over 300 pages) The Terrors of the Tiny Tads. The artistic side has not been neglected, far from it, with over one hundred pages of innovative comic strip and contributions from Andréas Marchall, Gérald Auclin, Martes Bartori, Gotpower, François Henninger... The Hoochie Coochie now also publishes the review. www.thehoochiecoochie.com


  2009 OFFICAL SELECTION
3 Déclinaisons by Pierre Maurel (L'Employé du Moi)
American Elf by James Kochalka (Ego comme X)
Les Amis by François Ayroles (L'Association)
The Autobiography Of A Mitroll Vol 1: Mum Is Dead by Bouzard (Dargaud)
Les Bidochon Vol 19 by Binet (Fluide Glacial)
BigFoot, Troisième Balade: créatures by Richard Brautigan (Futuropolis)
Bons mauvais grands et petits joueurs by Anne Rouquette (Éditions Lito)
Bottomless Belly Button by Dash Shaw (Éditions çà et là)
Cité 14, saison 1 by Gabus & Reutimann (Paquet)
De Gaulle à la plage by Ferri (Poisson Pilote/Dargaud)
Esthétique et filatures by Tanxxx & Lisa Mandel (Casterman)
Ferme 54 by Galit & Gilad Seliktar (Éditions çà et là)
Filles perdues by Moore & Gebbie (Delcourt)
La Force des humbles by Hiroshi Hirata (Delcourt)
Le Goût du chlore by Bastien Vivès (Casterman)
Le Goût du paradis by Nine Antico (Ego comme X)
Les Gouttes de Dieu, tome 1 by Tadashi Agi & Shu Okimoto (Glénat)
La Guerre d'Alan, tome 3 by Emmanuel Guibert (L'Association)
Gus tome 3 by Christophe Blain (Dargaud)
Harding Was Here tome 1 by Midam & Adam (Soleil)
L'Héritage du colonel by Varela & Trillo (Delcourt)
  La Jeune Fille et le nègre by Judith Vanistendael (Acte Sud l'An 2)
  Jonathan: Elle tome 14 by Cosey (Le Lombard)
Le Livre des destins: La Métamorphose tome 2 by Le Tendre & Biancarelli (Soleil)
Lock Groove Comix n°1 by Jean-Christophe Menu (L'Association)
Loin d'être parfait by Adrian Tomine (Delcourt)
Long John Silver: Neptune tome 2 by Dorison & Lauffray (Dargaud)
Lucien: Toujours la banane tome 9 by Frank Margerin (Fluide Glacial)
Lulu femme nue, premier livre by Étienne Davodeau (Futuropolis)
Le Marquis d'Anaon: La chambre de Kheops tome 5 by Bonhomme & Vehlmann (Dargaud)
Martha Jane Cannary tome 1 by Blanchin & Perrissin (Futuropolis)
Marzi (1984-1987): la Pologne vue par les yeux d'une enfant by Savoia & Sowa (Dupuis)
Mattéo by Jean-Pierre Gibrat (Futuropolis)
Max Fridman tome 5 by Vittorio Giardino (Glénat)
Mon Frère nocturne by Joanna Hellgren (Cambourakis)
Mon gras et moi by Gally (Diantre)
Nage libre by Sébastien Chrisostome (Sarbacane)
No comment by Yvan Brun (Drugstore)
Oncle Gabby by Tony Millionaire (Rackham)
Pauvres zhéros by Baru & Pierre Pelot (Rivages/Casterman/Noir)
Le Petit Christian tome 2 by Blutch (L'Association)
Pinocchio by Winshluss (Les Requins Marteaux)
  Pluie du paradis by Yu lu (Casterman)
  Le Roi des mouches: L'Origine du monde tome 2 by Mezzo & Pirus (Drugstore)
  Salade de fluits tome 2 by Mathieu Sapin (Les Requins Marteaux)
  Séquelles by Hugues Micol (Cornélius)
  Shutter Island by Christian De Metter, Dennis Lehane (Rivages/Casterman/Noir)
  Spirou et Fantasiol: Le Journal d'un ingénu by Émile Bravo (Dupuis)
Tamara Drewe by Posy Simmonds (Denoël Graphic)
  Tout seul by Christophe Chabouté (Vents d'Ouest)
Trésor by Lucie Durbiano (Gallimard)
Le Tricheur by Ruppert & Mulot (L'Association)
Undercurrent by Toyoda (Kana)
Ushijima, tome 3 by Manabe (Kana)
Le Voleur de visages by Junji Ito (Tonkam)
Wanted by Millar, Jones & Mounts (Delcourt)
   
  2009 HERITAGE AWARD NOMINEES
  Au bord de l'eau by Mitsuteru Yokoyama (Delcourt)
  Breakdowns by Art Spiegelman (Casterman)
  L'Enfer by Yoshihiro Tatsumi (Cornélius)
  Johan et Pirlouit: Sortilèges et enchantements, Intégrale 2 by Peyo (Dupuis)
  Les Naufragés du temps by Forest & Gillon (Glénat)
  Opération Mort by Shigeru Mizuki (Cornélius)
  La Rivière empoisonnée by Gilbert Hernandez (Delcourt)
  Taxista by Martí (Cornélius)
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PRIOR YEAR WINNERS
Best Album (Meilleur Album)
2008 - La Ou Vont Nos Peres (The Arrival) by Shaun Tan (Dargaud)
2007 - Non Non Bâ by Shigeru Mizuki (Cornélius)
2006 - Notes Pour Une Histoire De Guerre by Gipi (Actes Sud)
2005 - Poulet Aux Prunes by Marjane Satrapi (L'Association)
2004 - Ordinary Victories by Manu Larcenet (Dargaud)
2003 - Jimmy Corrigan by Chris Ware (Delcourt)
2002 - Isaac The Pirate by Christophe Blain (Dargaud)
2001 - L'Enquête Corse by René Pétillion (Albin Michel)
2000 - Ibicus by Pascal Rabaté (Vents d'Ouest)
1999 - Monsieur Jean: Get A Life by Charles Berbérian & Philippe Dupuy (Humanoides)
1998 - Léon La Came: Laid, Pauvre et Malade by de Crécy & Chomet (Casterman)
1997 - Qui A Tué L'Idiot? by Nicolas Dumintheuil (Casterman)
1996 - L'Autoroute Du Soleil by Baru (Casterman)
1995 - The Blue Notebook by André Juillard (Casterman)
1994 - L'Histoire Du Corbac Aux Baskets by Fred (Dargaud)
1993 - Basil Et Victoria - Jack by Edith & Yann (Humanoides)
1992 - Couma Acó by Edmond Baudoin (Futuropolis)
1991 - Road To America by Hervé Baru & Jean-Marc Thévenet (Albin Michel)
1990 - Gazoline Et La Planète Rouge by Jano (Albin Michel)
1989 - Théodore Poussin, Marie-Vérité by Frank Le Gall & Yann (Dupuis) - tie
1989 - Gens De France by Jean Teulé (Casterman) - tie
1988 - Jonathan Cartland: Les Survivants De L'Ombre by Harlé & Dumont (Dargaud)
1987 - Vic Valance, Une Nuit Chez Tenessee by Jean-Pierre Autheman (Dargaud)
1986 - Magician's Wife by Jerome Charyn & François Boucq (Casterman)
1985 - Fever In Urbicand by François Schuten & Benoît Peeters (Casterman)
1984 - Marcel Labrume: Recherche Des Guerres Perdues by Micheluzzi (Casterman)
1983 - Alack Sinner, Fic Ou Privé by Münoz & Sampayo (Casterman)
1982 - Kate by Cozy (Lombard)
1981 - Silence by Comés (Casterman) - tie
1981 - Parcuellos by Carlos Gimenez (Audie) - tie
1980 - No Award
1979 - No Award
1978 - Le Spectre De Carthage by Jacques Martin (Casterman)
1977 - Légende Et Réalité De Casque D'or by Annie Goetzinger (Glénat)
1976 - L'Empire Des Soleils Noirs by Godard & Ribera (Hachette/Dargaud)
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GRAND PRIX WINNERS
  Each year the Angoulême BD Festival bestows the Grand Prix de la Ville d'Angoulême on a living comics creator - artist or scriptwriter - who has made a significant contribution to the development of comic medium through their life's work. The Grand Prix is awarded by the group of authors who have already won this prestigious award: L'Académie des Grands Prix de la Ville d'Angoulême. The name of the winner of the Grand Prix is announced on the balcony of Angoulême City Hall.
  2009 - Blutch (Christian Hincker)
2008 - Philippe Dupuy & Charles Berberian
2007 - José Muñoz
2006 - Lewis Trondheim
2005 - Georges Wolinski
2004 - Zep
2003 - Régis Loisel
2002 - 30th Anniversary Award: Joann Sfar
2002 - François Schuiten
2001 - Martin Veyron
2000 - Florence Cestac
1999 - Millenium Award: Albert Uderzo
1999 - Robert Crumb
1998 - François Boucq
1997 - Daniel Goossens
1996 - André Juillard
1995 - Philippe Vuillemin
1994 - Nikita Mandryka
1993 - 20th Anniversary Award: Maurice 'Morris' de Bevere
1993 - Gérard Lauzier
1992 - Frank Margerin
1991 - Marcel Gotlib
1990 - Max Cabanes
1989 - René Pétillon
1988 - 15th Anniversary Award: Hugo Pratt
1988 - Philippe Druillet
1987 - Enki Bilal
1986 - Jacques Lob
1985 - Jacques Tardi
1984 - Jean-Claude Mézières
1983 - Jean-Claude Forest
1982 - 10th Anniversary Award: Claire Brétécher
1982 - Paul Gillon
1981 - Jean 'Moebius' Giraud
1980 - Othon 'Fred' Aristides
1979 - Jacques 'Marijac' Dumas
1978 - Jean-Marc Reiser
1977 - Joseph 'Jijé' Gillain
1976 - René Pellos
1975 - Will Eisner
1974 - André Franquin
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All artwork © the respective copyright holders