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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Lulu femme nue
by Étienne Davodeau
Futuropolis

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

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.

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...

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