Bart Beaty at Angouleme 06: Report From Festival on Friday Afternoon

Bart Beaty Reports In From Angouleme:

Friday and the crowds have arrived in full force to the town of Angouleme. Thursday has been fairly well written off as an aberration and a bit of a disaster in terms of sales and excitement. The crowds never materialized on the icy streets, but now navigating the tents has become a full-scale challenge. I arrived this morning from the CNBDI and walked into the midst of an enormous crowd queuing for the chance to receive a Guardino book signing. A feeling of mad desperation in the crowd.

Everywhere you go people talk about the shuttle buses. So far I have had six good experiences out of seven trips. Last night I waited twenty minutes in the freezing cold for the navette, then it got stuck in traffic and I was late for my meeting. But that has been the exception, and the system generally still seems to be working well.

Perhaps people talk about the buses because there is not that much else to talk about. The exhibitions are far from overwhelming. This morning I watched Jim Woodring lead a tour of his exhibition at the CNBDI for the press, and that was a highlight, but otherwise there is nothing that people feel is a must-see. That, in combination with the remoteness of the main tents has the Festival feeling somewhat vacant. Certainly in the old town, there is very little sense that there is a Comics Festival in town.

Of course, the bars and restaurants are full as usual. If the Hotel Mercure bar was a little subdued last night you'd hardly know it for the screaming at 3:00am. Tonight, L'Association hosts a party for the launch of the third (and last) number of Eprouvette, the mammoth (570+ pages!) collection of essays and manifestos about the current state of the art, but they are promising a subdued affair befitting the mood of the Festival.

The awards were not handed out last night, so those looking for results will have to wait until Saturday. I spoke with a jury member yesterday who gave me no hint of what the jury is feeling. My sense from last weekend that Pourquoi j'ai tuee Pierre was a strong contender has been amplified by seeing the book, which looks lovely and fascinating.

The snow is melting, but not fast enough. The tents are about to close, which means we're at halftime on the day and the real business of the Festival can get under way at the bars. Certainly the highlight of the day was watching Jerome Mulot and Florent Ruppert sign at the L'Association booth -- a four-fisted enterprise in which they cut apart their books to turn them into frames for their sketches. Truly unbelievable. Meanwhile, the search for the perfect pork sandwich continues.
 
posted 4:50 am PST | Permalink
 

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