Daniel Clowes autobiographical graphic novel Monica has won Best Book of the Year in awards presented at this year’s Festival International de la Bande Dessinée d’Angoulême. There were plenty more prizes awarded, too…

Five years in the making, Monica, translated into French by Jacques Binsztok for publisher Delcourt, first published by Fantagraphics, is Clowes most personal novel to date, each part of which is treated in a different graphic and narrative mode.

A dazzling, spectacular tapestry of interconnected narratives that together tell a life story, Monica is the eponymous protagonist, a rag-to-riches character who, after being abandoned by her freewheelin’ parents in childhood, succeeds in clawing her way to the top – only to lose it all in a stroke of bad luck. She lives out the rest of her days in search of her parents, encountering a cast of eccentric characters who help to piece together her story.

An unforgettable ode to the many genres that have defined the comics form – from war, romance and horror to crime and the supernatural, Fantagraphics describes it as “mysterious, uncategorisable and quintessentially Clowesian… is a multi-layered masterpiece born of a lifetime of inspiration. Monica marks the creative apex of Daniel Clowes’ distinguished career, one of the defining voices of the graphic novel boom over the past quarter-century.”

Daniel Clowes, who was one of this year’s three nominees for the prestigious Grand Prix of the 51st Festival International de la Bande Dessinée d’Angoulême, is one of the most prominent voices in North American comics, and a leading figure in the independent comics scene. He entered New York’s Pratt Institute to study drawing, but soon eschewed art school in favour of a self-taught career, much more suited to his artistic aspirations.

Influenced by the lowbrow movement, he made his real debut in Love and Rockets magazine, and in 1986 published his first work, Lloyd Llewellyn, with Fantagraphics. This marked the start of a prolific career punctuated by now iconic titles, including Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron (1993), Ghost World(1997), Twentieth Century Eightball (2002) and Patience (2016). 

The winner of nine Harvey Awards, five Eisner Awards and five Ignatz Awards, his 1950s-style social satires also inspire the cinema. Ghost World and Art School Confidential have been adapted into films, with Daniel Clowes playing an active role as screenwriter.

The other winners were:

Fauve polar SNCF voyageurs: Contrition by Carlos Portela (writer) and Keko (artist), translation by Alexandra Carrasco (Denoël Graphic)

Florida’s highly restrictive law prohibits anyone convicted of a sex offence from living within one thousand feet of a place where children study or play. This is what makes Contrition Village a terrible ghetto of child molesters, rapists and stalkers. And, inevitably, when one of its residents is burnt to death, the investigation can only take an increasingly dark turn as it sinks into the darkness of an America haunted by the sin…

Carlos Portela is a film critic, radio broadcaster and screenwriter who started in comics in 1983 by founding the fanzine Interligne. He’s the author of series such as “Forest Hill”, “Impressiones de la Isla”, or “Les Hérésiarques”, and is currently working on a new series of The Adventures of Zorro for Amazon Studios.

Spanish artist Keko (José Antonio Godoy) made his debut in the Spanish film review magazine, Madriz. A master of chiaroscuro, Moi, assassin, his first album with Antonio Altarriba, won the 2015 ACBD Critics’ Prize.

• There’s an extensive interview with Carlos about Contrition here on the Spanish language RTV web site

Prix Spécial du jury: Hanbok Tome 1 by Sophie Darcq (The Apocalypse)

A poignant family story, the first volume of two planned, a debut graphic novel from Sophie, stands out from many autobiographical comics by force of the deep need for truth found in to pages and by the brilliance of the drawing. Moving casually from a breathtaking realistic style to a minimalist grammar, from an epistolary register to a historical narration, Sophie Darcq masters her subject and the language of comics like few authors publishing their first book.

Prix de la série: The Nice House on the Lake Volume Two by James Tynion IV (writer) and Álvaro Martinez Bueno, translated into French by Maxime Le Dain (Urban Comics) | Deluxe edition collecting #1 – 12 here (AmazonUK Affiliate Link)

Everyone who was invited to the house knows Walter—well, they know him a little, anyway. Some met him in childhood; some met him months ago. And Walter’s always been a little…off.

But after the hardest year of their lives, nobody was going to turn down Walter’s invitation to an astonishingly beautiful house in the woods, overlooking an enormous sylvan lake. It’s beautiful, it’s opulent, it’s private – so a week of putting up with Walter’s weird little schemes and nicknames in exchange for the vacation of a lifetime? Why not?

All of them were at that moment in their lives when they could feel themselves pulling away from their other friends; wouldn’t a chance to reconnect be…nice? In The Nice House on the Lake, the overriding anxieties of the 21st century get a terrifying new face – and it might just be the face of the person you once trusted most.

James Tynion IV started in the comics business assisting Scott Snyder in writing backup stories for Snyder’s groundbreaking Batman series. Tynion soon began writing Talon, a series that spun out of the hugely popular “Batman: The Court of Owls” story line. He has also written Detective Comics, Constantine: The Hellblazer, and

Álvaro Martínez Bueno is a Spanish comic artist, now working exclusively with DC Comics. The co-creator and artist on The Nice House on the Lake, in his long career as an artist for the American comic market, he has also worked on series such as Detective Comics, Justice League Dark, Batman & Robin Eternal, Aquaman, X-Men and more.

René Goscinny Award for Best Writer: Julie Birmant for Dalì – 1 – Avant Gala, drawn by Clément Oubreie (Dargaud)

Exiled to Belgium, Julie Birmant became a director at Insas, a prestigious film school in Brussels. She took the opportunity to produce popular science documentaries for RTBF and co-edit several issues of the popular magazine Alternatives théâtrales.

Returning to France after a visit to Japan, she freelanced for France Culture (writing theatre reviews for Lucien Attoun, and articles for Carnet nomade), became a playwright, wrote for several theatre festivals (including “Passages”, in Nancy, and “Paris quartier d’été”), and finally, produced creative documentaries at France Culture (Surpris par la nuit, by Alain Veinstein).

Working with artist Catherine Meurisse, her first graphic novel, Drôles de femmes, was published by Dargaud in 2010, a collection of portraits of famous women, including Yolande Moreau, Anémone, Amélie Nothomb and Dominique.

Pablo followed, tracing Picasso’s youth, published by Dargaud and in English by SelfMadeHero, and adapted in pocket format in 2022 by the same publisher, Julie working this time with artist Clément Oubrerie.

The duo reunited for Les aventures d’Isadora Duncan (“The Adventures of Isadora Duncan“), published by Dargaud in 2015, published in English by SelfMadeHero in 2019 – a diptych which tells the tragic life of the famous American dancer.

“Renée Stone” followed, a series of adventures of the eponymous heroine who embarks on a quest for the origins of our civilisation, taking her to the borders of Iraq. These have been published in English by Europe Comics.

The famous duo are now working on a series about artist Salvador Dali, the first volume of which, entitled “Gala”, was published in 2023 by Dargaud and in English as an eBook by Europe Comics.

The story poses the question – is there someone out there who will accept us for who we are? That’s what renowned artist Salvador Dalí was wondering before he met Gala, the love of his life. But just who was this person she accepted? Birmant and Oubrerie attempt to answer this question in the first volume of their Dalí biography, following the misadventures in Figueras, Madrid, and Paris of the feckless young man—dreamer, klutz, art school dropout, bourgeois son, a preternaturally gifted draftsman and an orthopterophobe, painfully timid yet privately arrogant—who would go on to become one of the 20th century’s best-known painters.

Prix révélation : L’homme gêné (“The Embarrassed Man) by Matthieu Chiara (L’Agrume)

Vincent is the king of procrastination. When his new – and charming – neighbour rings his doorbell, he wonders how to seduce her without being clumsy. Until the day she invites him to a weekend in the countryside…

Any resemblance between the antihero of this story, who combines humour and existential questions, and certain readers is not necessarily a coincidence.

A graduate of Strasbourg Decorative Arts in illustration, Matthieu Chiara is the author of Dessins variés, effets divers (Le monte-en-l’air, 2015), Hors-jeu (L’Agrume, 2016) and Pulp Mixtions. Petit illustré de la curiosité ordinaire (Anamosa, 2019).

He works regularly for illustrated magazines and produces engravings and cartoons.

Prix fauve Patrimoine: Quatre Japonais à San Francisco (1904-1924) (“Four Japanese in San Francisco”) by Henry Yoshitaka Kiyama. Translation by Numata Mutsuko (Onapratut / Le Portillon)

The history of Japanese comics can boast a rich heritage, entire sections of which remain to be discovered. This collection of stories published in 1931, inspired by the personal experience of the author who emigrated to the United States in 1904, evokes the cultural shock he felt and his vision of American society with lucidity mixed with humour.

Oshitaka Kiyama was born in 1885. He immigrated to the United States in 1904, to continue his art studies begun in Japan, his native country. He tried his hand at the emerging comic strip and patiently drew 52 stories taken from his daily life and that of his friends, which he finally self-published in 1931.

Later, he taught fine arts at a local girls high school in Japan, and continued to paint, occasionally exhibiting. He also produced a number of satirical drawings, and later, during the war, sheltered child refugees from bombed Japanese cities.

Kiyama died in 1951, but his memory lives on thanks to these works which are preserved at the Yonago City Art Museum.

Prix de la BD alternative: Aline by Ik Ben Aline​ (Holland)

Aline is a collective of Dutch authors who have published a a collection of short stories twice a year for three years, the stories featured working according to an imposed theme. The title is both a feminine first name and a play on words with the English “a Line” which symbolises drawing.

The collective comprises Typex, Wasco, Jeroen Funke, Anne Stalinski, Charlotte Dumortier, Helène Lespagnard, Octavia Roodt, Juliane Noll, Ludwig Volbeda, Wide Verjnokke, Frederik van der Stock, the anthology published by Ik Ben Aline​.

Fauve – Prix du public France Télévisions: Des maux à dire by Bea Lema, traduction de Jean-Marc Frémont (Éditions Sarbacane)

Monsters can be the work of a galloping imagination. But they are also a symptom of a mental illness. They stole her childhood from young Vera, whose mother claims to be harassed by a demon and gradually descends into madness… A singular story, which reflects the ability of comics to deal with a delicate theme such as mental health.

Bea Lema was born in A Coruña, a coastal city in northwestern Spain. When she was a child she used to draw non-stop, then studied industrial design and worked for several years until she rediscovered drawing.

An illustrator for magazines, posters or children’s books, she received the XII Banda Deseñada Castelao award from the Diputación de A Coruña in 2017, for O Corpo de Cristo, an autobiographical project that deals with mental illness from the perspective of a child.

In 2022 Bea was granted to do the graphic novel residency at the Maison des Auteurs de Angoulême (France), between January and June 2022. Organised by Acción Cultural Española (AC/E) and the Cité internationale de la bande dessinée et de l’image, with the collaboration of the French Embassy in Spain. The result was Des maux à dire, published in France by Éditions Sarbacane and in Spain as El Cuerpo de Cristo by Editions Astiberri in 2023.

Fauve des lycéens: Le visage de Pavil “The Face of Pavilion”) by Jérémy Perrodeau (Éditions 2024) – chosen by high school students

The scribe Pavil crashes in his aircraft in Lapyoza, a remote village on the Caspezian peninsula, not attached to the Empire that employs him. Forced to stay several months, he studies the customs of this community by agreeing to contribute to their daily life. A 160-page science fiction story that questions acceptance and tolerance, as well as the place of beliefs in a human society.

Born in 1988 near Nantes, creator Jérémy Perrodeau studied visual communication at the Estienne school in Paris, becoming a graphic designer, which then led to numerous projects with the prestigious Valence studio. At the same time, he began producing small self-published fanzines, and gradually branched out into comics and illustration.

Strongly inspired by wide open spaces and natural landscapes, he published his first comic strip in 2013: Isles, la Grande Odyssée, published by FP&CF republished in 2018 by FP&CF and 2024). In 2017, he published Crépuscule, an impressive science fiction story which earned him an official selection at the Angoulême festival and the Jury Prize at the Pulp festival in 2018. He then confirmed his talent with a psychological thriller, Le Long des Ruines, while waiting to dazzle readers with The Face of Pavil.

Prix éco-Fauve Raja: Frontier by Guillaume Singelin Label 619 /(Rue de Sèvres)

Is there life after life on Earth? Faced with the extinction of Earth’s resources, humans are forced to invent a new frontier, beyond the solar system. Through the crossed destinies of three characters, Frontier, under the guise of an adventure story, questions us about the possibility of a definitive break with our mother planet.

After two years at graphics school at EPSAA, Guillaume Singelin was noticed by RUN, who asked him to join the pre-production team for the feature film, Mutafukaz. Recognised for his qualities as a designer, he is also a master in the art of storytelling, a field where the influence of cinema is omnipresent for him. He also works for various video game projects as a designer. For Label 619, he’s the author of a (spin-off of Mutafukaz), The Grocery, P.T.S.D. and short stories in Doggybags and LowReader.

This year’s jury was chaired by musician Thomas Bangalter, with author Marion Fayolle, fencer Enzo Lefort, French manga author Tony Valente, singer Aurélie Saada, French producer Inter Eva Bester, and bookseller Vincent Poirier.

Other Awards announced at this year’s Festival were:

• Grand Prix: Posy Simmonds (read our news story here)

• À lire aussi: La Couleur des choses by Martin Panchaud, Fauve d’or d’Angoulême 2023

Simon, a slightly chubby 14-year-old English boy, is harassed by the young people in his neighbourhood, who give him all kinds of chores. One day, while shopping for a fortune teller, she reveals to him who the winners of the prestigious Royal Ascot horse race will be. Simon then secretly bets all of his father’s savings and wins more than 16 million pounds. That’s when his problems will begin…

Martin Panchaud was born in 1982 in Geneva, Switzerland) and has lived in Zurich for several years. Author and illustrator, he has produced several comic strips, large format graphic stories and numerous infographics, in a unique visual style. His very strong dyslexia was a barrier which considerably impacted his schooling and prevented him from pursuing higher education. He nevertheless followed training in comics 2001-2004 at EPAC (Saxon) and a CFC (Federal Certificate of Capacity) as a graphic designer 2005-2008 in Geneva.

His dyslexia made him place reading, as well as the interpretation of shapes and their meanings, at the centre of his research, and encouraged him to choose a very particular style to express his creativity and tell stories. Thanks to his work, he has received several prizes and awards, and has completed numerous artistic residencies in order to develop his creative projects.

Exhibited in various cultural establishments in Europe, such as the Barbican Center in London and the Onassis Stegi Cultural Center in Athens, he was particularly distinguished by his impressive work entitled SWANH. NET, a 123 metre long comic adaptation of Star Wars Episode IV, put online in 2016. His first graphic novel, entitled Die Farbe der Dinge, a 240-page book, initially published in German by Edition Moderne, was released in 2020. The book won numerous awards in Switzerland and Germany.

• Prix Special Jury jeunesse: Les Petites Reines by Magali Le Huche, based on the novel by Clémentine Beauvais © Sarbacane, 2023 (Sarbacane, 2023)

Vilified by others for their looks at their college, Mireille, Astrid and Hakima refuse to be seen as victims, and set themselves a challenge: reach Paris by bike – and crash the Élysée garden party! Magali Le Huche energetically adapts the feminist novel by Clémentine Beauvais, and takes a keen look at the excesses of social networks, and the torments of adolescent girls.

Magali Le Huche was born in Paris in 1979. She spent five years at the school of decorative arts in Strasbourg, three of which she spent specialising in illustration. She left the school in 2004 and came back to Paris with her first two children’s books tucked under her arm: Les Sirènes de Belpêchao (Didier, 2005) and Bertille Bonnepoire (Sarbacane, 2006). Ever since then, she’s been working regularly as an author and illustrator for the press and children’s publishing. 

Seeking: Dad 2.0 (Dargaud 2015, Europe Comics 2015) is her second graphic novel in collaboration with Gwendoline Raisson. In 2021, Magali created Nowhere Girl (Dargaud; Europe Comics in English), a touching and humorous autobiographical tale about a young girl overcoming school phobia by listening to The Beatles. Nowhere Girl received the 2021 Pépite Award in the Comics category of the Salon du livre jeunesse de Montreuil and a special mention from the jurors of the 2022 Bologna Ragazzi Awards in the Middle Grade Comics category.

• Fauve jeunesse: L’incroyable Mademoiselle Bang! by Yoon-Sun Park (Éditions Dupuis)

Adapted from a 19th century Korean novel, this thrilling saga features a little girl who chooses to be raised like a boy from an early age: because here, it is men who can practice kung fu and rule the country! Crazy humour, spicy dialogue and surprising adventures add flavour to this softly coloured comic, cleverly concocted by the author of Club des chats.

Born in South Korea in 1980, children’s author Yoon-sun Park began her French publishing journey with L’Eau sous l’ombre (Sarbacane) before beginning a long collaboration with Éditions Misma, which published Le Jardin de Mimi, an autobiographical story, Les Aventures de Hong Kiltong, an adaptation of a traditional Korean tale, and the series Club des chats.

• Prix spécial du grand jury jeunesse: Bâillements de l’après-midi – Tome 1 by Shin’ya Komatsu, Éditions IMHO et Les Petites Reines by Magali Le Huche (Éditions Sarbacane)

Over the course of very short stories, Shin’ya Komatsu takes her heroine through incredible everyday adventures where the fantastic erupts without warning. An umbrella that reveals the bottom of the ocean or a candy that tastes like wind, here are some of the surprises of this peaceful and poetic manga, going against the grain of classic production.

• Prix des écoles d’Angoulême 2024: Tout mou? by Marie Bailliard, (L’Atelier du poisson soluble)

• Prix des collèges d’Angoulême 2024: Nos Cœurs tordus T.1 : Ça tourne au collège, art by Javier Rey Calatayud, written by Séverine Vidal and Manu Causse, (Éditions Bayard – Bande d’ados)

A new arrival at Georges-Brassens college, Vladimir, known as Vlad, has knocking knees and the disorderly movements of a disjointed puppet… Disabled from birth, this young cinema enthusiast quickly falls under the spell of the pretty Lou. .. but she’s dating the odious Morgan! Fortunately, Vlad doesn’t hold his tongue in his pocket and he doesn’t plan to let his disability be an obstacle.

• Prix des lycées 2024: Monsieur Apothéoz, art by Dawid, written by Julien Frey, (Éditions Glénat – Vents d’Ouest)

“Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm”… In the Apothéoz family, ambition always leads to an exceptional death. Convinced that his name brings bad luck, Théo has decided never to do anything. At 30, he works odd jobs and lives with his father. He has loved Camille since childhood, but she knows nothing about it.

When Théo meets Antoine Pépin, a writer lacking inspiration, it is the beginning of an astonishing friendship. The latter does not believe in the curse of the Apothéoz and insists on helping him conquer Camille…

The duo Julien Frey and Dawid offer us an offbeat, must read, joyful comedy which leads us to reflect on our greatest failures, our youthful dreams and our ability to cope, a tale that puts a smile on your face and reminds us of the virtues of chance encounters.

• Lauréate du prix Jeune Talents: Charlotte Bresler

A young German creator who has created illustrations, concert posters and comics, who you can find on Instagram and Tumblr

• A list of the winners at Festival de BD d’Angoulême 2024 is here, with links to all the books, including sample pages

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.

Categories: Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Events, US Comics

Tags: Álvaro Martinez Bueno, Angoulême International Comics Festival, Awards, Bea Lema, Carlos Portela, Charlotte Bresler, Daniel Clowes, Dawid, downthetubes News, Fantagraphic Books, Festival International de la Bande Dessinée d'Angoulême, Guillaume Singelin, Henry Yoshitaka Kiyama, James Tynion, Javier Rey Calatayud, Jeremy Perrodeau, Julie Birmant, Julien Frey, Magali Le Huche, Manu Causse, Martin Panchaud, Matthieu Chiara, Posy Simmonds, Séverine Vidal, Shin'ya Komatsu, Sophie Darcq, Yoon-Sun Park