The French Angoulême Festival has signed an official agreement to celebrate the best in Spanish comics during its 52nd edition in 2025.
The agreement to celebrate the “9th Spanish Art” in all its richness and diversity was between the Angoulême Festival, represented by Franck Bondoux, and the Spanish government at the Ministry of Culture in Madrid earlier today, in the presence of the Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, and the president of Acción Cultural Española, José Andrés Torres Mora.
The Angoulême Festival, returning next year from 30th January to 2nd February, has always aimed to explore and introduce comics from around the world. Now, in partnership, and with the financial support of the Spanish government represented by the Ministry of Culture and Acción Cultural Española, the Festival will invite the public and professionals to embark on a trans-Pyrenean journey, thanks to numerous events organised in different locations of the Festival.
Europe Comics offers a brief two-part guide to the history of comics in Spain on its web site, here and here, and the Spanish site Tebosfera offers a comprehensive guide to creators, publishers and comics that is well worth bookmarking.
Many Spanish artists have, of course, created comics for both the American and British comic markets down the years, and today those creators, such as Jordi Bernet, Carlos Ezquerra, Jose Ortiz, and many others, are widely praised for their work. Today, creators such as Juanjo Guarnido, Ana Penyas and Paco Roca are creating groundbreaking new work. It will be interesting to see how such a rich history of comics is introduced to Angoulême Festival goers.
Plans include an exceptional exhibition in the heart of the city, which will give Festival-goers a representative tour of 9th Spanish art as a whole. Not far from there, Festival-goers will also be able to discover the many facets of Spanish comics, in a Pavilion entirely dedicated to Hispanic creation, in all the languages spoken in Spain.
Spanish comics for children will also be highlighted in a dedicated space, set up in the Festival’s Youth Quarter.
Events for professionals will also be organised at the International Rights Market – and a tapas food truck will offer tastes of the country’s cuisine.
The town hall of Angoulême, a member of the UNESCO creative cities network for literature, has also chosen Barcelona, its counterpart, as the guest city of its UNESCO pavilion.
To represent all the diversity of the 9th Hispanic art, the Festival will also welcome a large delegation of Spanish artists and publishing houses.
Ernest Urtasun, Minister of Culture of the Government of Spain, has also taken the opportunity to invite all comic readers to Angoulême, to better appreciate Spanish comics in all their diversity and quality, and reaffirms his support for a key sector in the world of culture.
“We wants to reclaim the history of our comics and above all, our brilliant present,” he said.
This presence in Angoulême is part of a wider strategy by the Spanish government of internationalisation of the Spanish literature and publishing sector.
The Festival opened application for publishers and exhibitors from all over the world to apply for a stand at next year’s event. To find out more, if you are a newcomer to the Festival, visit the official website here
• For all the latest news about Angoulême Festival, visit bdangouleme.com
• Europe Comics offers a two-part guide to the history of comics in Spain on its web site, here and here
• Tebosfera – Spanish Language Comics Hub: tebeosfera.com
• Masters of Spanish Comic Book Art (AmazonUK Affiliate Link)
Masters Of Spanish Comic Book Art is a celebration of the great artists who revolutionised horror comics in the 1970s with their work on Warren’s Vampirella, Creepy, and Eerie horror comics. This comprehensive history of Spanish comic books and Spanish comic artists reveals their extraordinary success — not just in Spain and America, but around the world.
Containing artwork from over 80 artists, this in-depth retrospective includes profiles of such legends as Esteban Maroto, Sanjulian, Jose Gonzalez, Jordi Bernet, Enrich, Victor De La Fuente, Jose Ortiz and Luis Garcia Mozos. With 500 illustrations, over half scanned directly from the original artwork, Masters Of Spanish Comic Book Art honors the “Golden Generation” whose artwork inspired the imagination of comic book lovers everywhere.
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: Comic Art, Comics, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Events
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