Here is a roundup of the Angoulême Awards 2023 which passed off on the fiftieth anniversary version of the competition. These are a liiitle late (thanks, hellish con crud) however we offer them now on your studying pleasure nonetheless.
Festival PR:
“The Official Prize List of the fiftieth version of the International Comics Festival of Angoulême was unveiled this night [Jan 28]. During the ceremony, hosted by Olivia Gesbert (France Culture), 12 prizes referred to as the Fauves d’Angoulême have been awarded. This official prize checklist honors works printed in French, no matter their nation of origin, and distributed in French-speaking bookstores between December 1, 2021 and November 30, 2022.
“On the occasion of this anniversary edition, special prizes were also awarded: a Special Fauve of the 50th edition was awarded to Hajime Isayama, and mangakas Junji Itō and Ryōichi Ikegami were awarded Fauves of Honor.”
FAUVE D’OR – AWARD FOR BEST ALBUM: La Couleur des choses [“The Colour of Things”], Martin Panchaud (çà et là)
This French translation of a singular Swiss German graphic novel has been getting a number of consideration previously 12 months – most notably receiving the Grand Prize from the French comics critics affiliation, ACBD, again in December. Hopefully an English translation isn’t far off.
Angoulême:
“Simon bets the family savings at a horse race and wins a jackpot that he can’t cash in. Meanwhile, his mother has fallen into a coma and his father has disappeared. This coming-of-age story, which sees a previously timid English teenager go in search of his father, is distinguished by its innovative form. The characters are colored circles and the settings are maps.”
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE: Animan, Anouk Ricard (Exemplaire)
Angoulême:
“In an amusing homage to Manimal, which she watched as a teenager, the well-known author of Anna and Froga relates the life of Francis who, as in the American TV mini-series, transforms himself into an animal to carry out his investigations. Composed of short stories interspersed with paintings, Animan practices a unique mix of genres, between humor, thriller, superhero and family chronicle.”
Publisher synopsis:
“Animan is a comic book e-book recounting the lifetime of Francis, alias Animan, in brief and humorous tales that comply with each other. The premise is impressed by the Eighties TV collection Manimal, the place a person transforms himself into an animal to resolve crimes.
“The stories are not only about investigations but also about Animan’s life, his confrontations and fights with his sworn enemy, Objecto. The book is punctuated with paintings, as in some of Anouk’s previous books.”
BEST SERIES: Les Liens Du Sang [Blood on the Tracks] vol 11 (Ki-oon)
Available in English from Vertical Comics
Angoulême:
“What is the border between passionate love and madness? If Seiichi’s daily life may seem banal, the young boy is in reality a prisoner of his mother’s excessive affection, which imprisons him like an insect caught in a spider’s web… A suffocating atmosphere in the service of a subtle plot which shows that love can sometimes be toxic.”
REVELATION AWARD: Une Rainette En Automne [A Frog in the Fall], Linnea Sterte (Éditions de la Cerise)
English version printed by now-shuttered Peow Press (RIP). Hopefully a brand new residence for the e-book in English received’t be lengthy in coming.
Angoulême:
“The day a bit frog meets two wandering toads who’ve captured the ghost of a flower, she decides to go south with them. On the best way, she is going to meet a wide range of animals and uncover life, fairly merely.
“An enchanting and poetic tale, magnified by a light and delicate line, which echoes the graphic worlds of Moebius and Miyazaki.”
HERITAGE AWARD: Fleurs de Pierre [“Stone Flowers”], Hisashi Sakaguchi (Revival)
No English translation launched (up to now)
Angoulême:
“Reissue of a classic manga set in Yugoslavia in 1941, which was under Nazi occupation, and whose heroes are two children who are confronted with the horrors of war. Published in France in 1997, Fleurs de Pierre is offered in a version faithful to the original work, thanks to a complete edition in five volumes with a new translation.”
KIDS PRIZE: La Longue Marche des Dindes [The Great Turkey Walk], Kathleen Karr & Léonie Bischoff (Rue de Sèvres)
Comics adaptation of a children story by the late American youngsters’s novelist Kathleen Karr. Suitable from ages 10+.
Angoulême:
“In the middle of the American West, young Simon sets out to drive a flock of a thousand turkeys to the big city of Denver. A long road full of encounters and dangers, but also an opportunity to grow up and find his way. This sunny adaptation of Kathleen Karr’s novel advocates, with finesse, self-assertion and openness to others.”
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE – KIDS CATEGORY: Toutes les princesses meurent après minuit [All Princesses Die Before Dawn],Quentin Zuttion (Lombard)
Available in English by way of Europe Comics (digital unique although). Suitable ages 14+.
Europe Comics synopsis:
“August 31st, 1997. In the bathroom of his suburban home, 8-year-old Lulu is trying on his mom’s lipstick. He dreams of kissing his best friend, a neighborhood boy. Meanwhile, his teenage sister Cam covers her much-older boyfriend sneaking up to her bedroom by blasting the latest summer hits. In the kitchen, their mother is waiting for their father, who didn’t come home last night. On TV, newscasters are announcing the death of Princess Diana. Three love stories, from budding desire to fading passion, play out within one family on a late summer’s day—a day that will change all their lives forever.”
FAUVE POLAR [Crime Thriller] SNCF: Hound Dog, Nicolas Pegon (Denoël Graphic)
Book synopsis (translated):
“César and Alexandre, two incredible losers, and the nameless mutt who is following them, on the trail of an accident masked as a murder masked as a suicide (not necessarily in that order). A funky ride between Twin Peaks and Bukowski in a pre-apocalyptic suburban America under the merciful and unblinking eye of the god Elvis…”
ÉCO-FAUVE PRIZE: Sous Le Soleil [“Under the Sun”], Ana Penyas (Actes Sud – L’An 2)
Angoulême:
“By telling the story of a family through three generations, Ana Penyas highlights the ravages of Spanish tourism policy since 1969 and its dramatic consequences on the city of Valencia, victim of the disappearance of its traditional activity, of the concrete development of its coastline, of land speculation and the excesses of mass tourism.”
FRENCH TV AUDIENCE AWARD: Naphtaline [tr: “Mothballs”], Sole Otero (çà et là)
English translation within the works and can quickly be introduced.
Angoulême:
“In 2001, Rocío moved into the house of her grandmother who had just died. The young woman begins a process of personal reflection that leads her to revisit the history of her grandmother and that of her family. But also that of her country, Argentina, and its patriarchal system. Partly autobiographical, Naphtaline is the seventh album by an author who now lives in France.”
FAUVE DES LYCÉENS: Khat – Journal d’un réfugié [“Khat – Diary of a Refugee”], Ximo Abadía (La Joie de lire)
Angoulême:
“Natan, a young boy from Eritrea, decides to leave his African homeland to find refuge in Europe. With hundreds of other migrants who, like him, have fled misery and hunger, he arrives in Spain. A beautiful album with dazzling colors, which testifies with precision to the daily life of these thousands of migrants who have abandoned everything to live a new life.”
ALTERNATIVE COMICS PRIZE: Forn de Calç (Spain)
Angouleme:
“Forn de Calç gives the opportunity to new and confirmed authors to freely experiment with the language of sequential art. And, above all, to build a space from below, from activism to independent comics.”
Nominees on this class have been from a fairly numerous pool, with representatives from Chile, Brazil, China, Croatia and – for the primary time – the Philippines:
- 64 PAGE (Belgium)
- BANZAI (France)
- BUCHE (La) (Switzerland)
- CABOT COMICS (France)
- CAFE ESPACIAL (Brazil)
- DARKNESS (Philippines)
- DET GRYMA SVARDET (3) (Sweden)
- DOPPELGANG (France)
- EGOSCOPIC (France)
- FORN DE CALC (Spain)
- GAZETTE DU ROCK (La) (Belgium)
- GO! GO! HUGO! (France)
- GORGONZOLA (France)
- GROSSE VICTIME MAGAZINE (France)
- INSECTOIDES (France)
- J’AI LE FANZINE (France)
- KILIG (Philippines)
- KOMMUNITY 2022 (Philippines)
- MARIA MAGAZINE (Brazil)
- MÉMOIRE D’IMAGES (France)
- MINI MACHINE (France)
- MURMURE (China)
- NACHI (Chili)
- NOVLAND (France)
- OHOHO ZIN (Croatia)
- PLI (Le) (France)
- POIJUKU TESSY (Belgium)
- POINT BAR BD (France)
- RACINES (France)
- RAGU 9 (Brazil)
- RIBOZINE (France)
- ROCHA NAVEGAVEL (Brazil)
- RUROK EXOTIC COMICS &ART ANTHOLOGY (Philippines)
- SEM OLHOS DE GUILHERME & SILVEIRA (Brazil)
- THIRSTY BOYS LOVE ANTHOLOGY (Philippines)
- TIRETDUSIX (France)
- TITAN TERRIBLE (France)
- TONNERRE DE BULLES (France)
- UNE CUEILLETTE DE RUTABAGAS (France)
- ZINE PANIQUE (France)
HONORARY FAUVE AWARDS
Ryoichi Ikegami
Mangaka draftsman Ryoichi Ikegami’s profession stretches again to the Nineteen Seventies. Best recognized in English for Crying Freeman with Kazuo Koike. Now in his late 70s (he’s 78) he’s nonetheless working – since 2020 he has been engaged on Trillion Game with Riichiro Inagaki. Also receiving a particular rerelease (in French) of political thriller collection Sanctuary. At Angouleme he acquired a significant profession retrospective exhibition.
Junji Ito
Horror impresario Junji Ito has been producing intensely disturbing manga for many years. The artist has a penchant for detailed strains to provide chilling horror results. Lots of his work has more and more quickly been making it into English and French in recent times. His earliest printed story in 1987 grew to become the Tomie collection which ran till 2000. Other works embrace Uzumaki, Sensor, Remina, Gyo – and that’s not to say the common translations of his collected shorts.
SPECIAL FAUVE AWARD ON OCCASION OF 50th EDITION OF FESTIVAL: Hajime Isayama (Attack on Titan)
Invited to the competition and given a particular exhibition of his smash hit manga collection Attack on Titan (2009-2021) which is at the moment within the ultimate season of its anime adaptation.
RENÉ GOSCINNY PRIZES FOR WRITING:
PRIX RENÉ GOSCINNY PRIZE – BEST WRITER: Thierry Smolderen for Cauchemars ex Machina [“Ex Machina Nightmares”], with Jorge González (Dargaud)
Angoulême:
“Paris, 1991. One morning in September, an old writer of suspense novels is killed in his locked office. To solve this mystery, we have to go back to the fall of 1938 and the secret dinner that a German enthusiast organized that year to celebrate his favorite authors. It is there that Margery Allingham, the great lady of English detective fiction, will cross paths with the young Corneille Richelin (who is inspired by his nightmares to write breathtaking suspense stories), and with Baron von Richtenback, who is close to the high spheres of Nazi Germany. No one knows it yet, but the pieces have been placed on the chessboard…”
PRIX RENÉ GOSCINNY – NEW WRITING TALENT: Mieke Versyp for Peau [“Skin”], drawn by Sabien Clément (Çà et Là)
Angoulême:
“Peau is a story about the body and its exposure. A story about aging, motherhood, the ideal of beauty, the thirst for perfection and the impact of time. About scars, shame, pride, sexuality, intimacy. And about life. The first Belgian – and Flemish – graphic novel published by çà et là, Peau is a beautiful graphic novel with soft and delicate illustrations and colors, and a superb portrait of women linked by an initially tenuous friendship that gradually becomes essential.”
PHILIPPE DRUILLET PRIZE: La Falaise [“The Cliff”], Manon Debaye (Sarbacane)
Note: New prize sponsored by Barbier Gallery to help new artists. For artists who’ve produced not more than three books. Winner receives €3000 and an exhibition on the Barbier Gallery in Paris.
Publisher synopsis:
“Two ladies, one oath…
“One is as blonde, sweet and dreamy as the other is brunette, violent and angry. The family of one is as rich and balanced as the other is broken and dysfunctional. At school, when one is immersed body and soul in her readings or in the writing of wonderful stories, the other harasses, insults and fights with the gang that accepts her because she is not a “real girl”. Everything contradicts them. Everything besides the cliff the place they meet day-after-day in hiding and the blood oath they made there to not survive their 13 years.
“Friday, before noon, will Astrid and Charlie jump into the void or will they face their feelings and overcome the gap that separates them?”
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