Bastien Vivès’ Polina set for UK publication next year

By John Freeman on 5 February 2012

Bastien Vivès’ Polina (due to be published by Jonathan Cape in the UK in June 2013) was awarded l’Association des critiques de Bandes Dessinées at this year’s Angoulême International Comics Festival.

Polina recounts the joys and torments of a young Russian ballerina in the world of classical and contemporary ballet.

Vivès’ A Taste of Chlorine was previously published to much critical acclaim in the UK. The Observer described it as “extraordinarily beautiful” and the Independent wrote “Every once in a while, a graphic novel comes along that warrants the kind of attention more typically bestowed upon the likes of the Booker shortlist. Bastien Vivès’s A Taste of Chlorine is one such book.”

In other good news for Cape, Guy Delisle’s Jerusalem (to be published in August 2012) was also awarded ‘Best Album’ award.

The Angoulême International Comics Festival is the largest in Europe. 11 prizes known as the “Fauves d’Angoulême” were awarded in Angoulême on Sunday 29th January 2012, the last day of the 39th edition of the festival. They reward comic books published in French between December 2010 and November 2011; 58 books were shortlisted this year.

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John Freeman

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.