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Future of the comic industry under scrutiny at French comic conference

By John Freeman on November 11, 2023

La Cité internationale de la bande dessinée et de l’image in Angoulême, France is hosting a three-day conference titled Les modèles économiques (“Economic Models of Comics”), in French soon (15th – 17th November 2023).

It will “bring together comics specialists from different disciplinary fields (literature, arts, economics, law, contemporary history, sociology, etc.) to compare their points of view on the current situation of this cultural sector and spark debate on the changes in courses likely to profoundly transform the ecosystem of the comics sector in the French-speaking world.”

The Cité internationale de la bande dessinée et de l’image was created and financed by the Charente department, the French Ministry of Culture, the city of Angoulême and the Nouvelle Aquitaine region.

• There’s a PDF of full programme here

• La Cité internationale de la bande dessinée

With thanks to Paul Gravett

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “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.