Aude: Gruissan, temple of comics for the weekend

Is it the effect of Covid? In 2021, the comic saw sales growth of 60%. Unheard of, with 85 million albums purchased, which represents a turnover of 890 million euros. After this record-breaking year, 2022 seems to be riding a wave, and the crowds at the Gruissan festival are a perfect example.

In front of the stands this Saturday at the Palais des Congrès, the queues were very long, which resulted in a very even pace of signing, enough to make the authors present smile… We are far from book fairs where writers sometimes despair due to lack of clients. A dynamic market, stimulated by new editions, but also by reissues. Enough to satisfy an intergenerational clientele, from children to adults, including teenagers.

Long queues

Marie-Laure is patient for the dedication to Idefix and Boule et Bill, so we never get tired of the classics! “I, who love everything, immerse myself in comics and it’s another world, it allows me to escape. And then my daughter loves it! When we read children’s comics, we also read novels, it’s a nice opening.” Then it’s Nere’s turn, 10 years old, from Bayonne. Regularly vacationing in Gruissan, this great comic book reader never misses a festival. “I take advantage of Rencontres to restock, I avoid buying them in advance, to get them autographed, we never get tired of them! “ explains Céline, her mother. “Let’s go around the author, my daughter discovered the comics here in Gruissan and finished the novels, leads to reading, she devours!” Alain, he goes around France from festival to festival. “I’m retired so I have time, I have signed comic books for my son who owns a restaurant in Ayguades, he brings the authors himself in June.” Coming from Clermont-Ferrand for the holidays, Amandine is delighted: “I, who don’t like reading, love comics! And I think giving a signed comic is a great gift for the people you love”.

Meeting with two authors

Morgan Dance

This designer from Toulouse elegantly signs four volumes drawn from Marcelo Pagnolo’s successes, moving without blinking from the cold humor of Monsieur Vadim to the Fluide glacial tendency of Super Villains, then to the crazy adventures of the youngest Grotto and Brott.

He, who has been making comics since the age of 12, was launched to the world of bubbles by Wilfrid Lupano, with whom he publishes in Delcourt “Drunkenness of spirits”. This quadra enjoys the gags while being very comfortable with the adventures of little Marcel Pagnolo in Aubagne for this version of the comic that readers are eagerly anticipating. “Working for Fluide Glacial was a childhood dream, they came for me, it was great! I asked Gihef, Monsieur Vadim’s screenwriter to write the humor, and he worked with Janry (little Spirou and Fantasio). This gave Grotto and Brott, two delinquent aliens who landed on planet Earth to hide. We worked on the character designs for 6 months!” The result is hot with the first volume published by Kamiti, presented in Gruissan.

John Bastide also from Occitania, signed by Boule and Bill T3 and Idefix. This Albigensian was noticed by Bernard Yslaire in his first year at art school in Brussels. He collaborated with the latter and Vincent Mézil on the famous La Guerre des Sambres series, on volumes 1, 2 and 3, before publishing the first volume of the Notre Dame de Paris adaptation with Robin Recht. For 6 years, he took over from Laurent Verron with the characters of Boule and Bill, who produced 12 albums (1999-2015) after the death of Jean Roba. “It’s almost schizophrenic work, understanding how you draw, how you set up the characters, is very complex. I spent hours drawing the characters from Uderz and Robin. I’m still doing it, c is a way of intellectualizing the characters”.