The Angoulême comics festival wrapped up yesterday, and the prizes were announced, with French cartoonist Blutch (aka Christian Hincker) winning the Grand Prix. As winner of the prize, he’ll be the “Grand Marshall” of next year’s show. Blutch’s career includes important work for Fluide Glacial and L”Association. Matthias Wivel has his own thoughts:
This is entirely understandable. Blutch is one of the great draughtsmen of the form and has spawned an entire generation of clones, significantly shaping one of the dominant style of French-language comics, mainstream or alternative, these years: what one might call the ‘ligne libre’ or something to that effect. The kind of elegantly wrought free linework that makes contemporary French comics so pretty and so boring (I’ve written more about it here). In the States he is less well known, but is a significant artist’s artist with a diehard following, with Craig Thompson as his most obvious epigone.
The rest of the prizes were also presented, with Pinocchio by Winshluss (also known as Vincent Paronnaud, co-director of the animated PERSEPOLIS) won the top prize. Some other winners, although the category names are taken from the official site’s English version, which is not ideal:
Essential Prize
Mon gras et moi, Gally
Angoulême Essentials
Lulu femme nue, vol. 1, Etienne Davodeau
Martha Jane Cannary les années 1852-1869, Blanchin et Perrissin
Le Petit Christian, vol. 2, Blutch
Spirou, le journal d’un ingénu, Emile Bravo
Tamara Drewe, Posy Simmonds
Best Newcomer
Le goût du chlore, Bastien Vivès
Heritage Essential
Opération Mort, Shigeru Mizuki
Youth Essential
Le Petit Prince, Joann Sfar, after Saint Exupéry
Alternative Comics Prize
DMPP, France
Congratulations, Blutch– the best of his generation.
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