What I learned from being a judge of a Comics Award

At the end of 2023 I had the opportunity to be part of the jury of Fnac-France Inter Comics Awardof which to miss he is a partner. Well enough, after the publication of my first book, I am currently writing a comic, which will be published by Éditions Leduc in October 2024. It is a new exercise for me, so I was happy to be able to discover the underside of a Prize, meet experts in the sector and be able to discuss with them.

Mainly because, despite being a very (very) avid reader, especially of novels or essays, I rarely read comics. So it was also a good way to make new discoveries. And I had the opportunity to make some discoveries! Both on comics that I simply devoured, and on this genre in general.

Here’s everything that being a judge at a Comics Award taught me… and which could undoubtedly make me want to (re)start reading comics too!

A comic can be read quickly (even when it’s a large volume and you’re in a hurry!)

When I received the (fabulous) selection of the Fnac-France Inter BD Prize, I was initially scared, seeing this large box positioned in the center of my living room: around twenty selected works, which I was already wondering when I would be able to read…

It must be said, and perhaps you too are like me, that I usually shy away from volumes that exceed 500 pages. So I made a pre-selection based on the topic and started reading. And, to my greatest surprise, I realized that no matter the size of the volume, a comic can be devoured very quickly.

Even a very large volume can be read in one or two hours!

So, if you’re hesitant to pick up a particular comic or graphic novel, trust me: depth is an illusion, you’ll have finished the work faster than the novel that’s been lying on your nightstand for three months.

Well, ok, I want us to agree on one thing: it’s still difficult to carry a comic on the subway, it’s obviously very discreet and a bit bulky…

The variety of comic book graphics opens up a huge range of emotions

One of the advantages of being part of a Comics Award is that it allows you to have access to a very wide variety of creations: themes, formats, approaches and designs that are completely different from each other and towards which we would not have filmed initially. With each new album I opened I was offered a unique visual universe.

If I am passionate about art (I founded a media and a podcast about women and art) and easily moved by a painting, a photograph or a sculpture, I didn’t think that drawing a comic could arouse in me as many emotions as when faced with a ‘artwork. But the cartoonists, graphic designers and designers behind these works are artists, and their pencil strokes cannot leave us indifferent… Especially since sometimes a real artistic unity can be created between the text and the drawing ( who are generally two different people). , which makes the feat even crazier.

While reading, I could have tears in my eyes while reading The ones that touch meby Damien Marie and Laurent Bonneau, thanks to sensitive sketches and a screenplay, you will laugh as you discover the story behind it The big accidentof Zelba, discouraged by the discovery of the dark graphics of The beautiful house on the lakeby James Tynion IV and Martinez Alvaro Bueno or admire a full-page sunset Luca Guerreby Renaud Roche and Laurent Hopman, which was my favorite in this selection and which won the Prize.

You can also learn by reading a comic

Well yes ! If until then just readAsterix and Obelix OR lucky Luca, you may have thought that you couldn’t find real knowledge or education in a comic. However, there are as many comics and themes as there are comic book authors!

All I had to do was grab it Woman, life, freedomthe fabulous work edited by Marjane Satrapi, to discover more than I already knew about the political and social situation in Iran, starting from the events following the assassination, in September 2022, of the young Mahsa Amini, who succumbed to the beatings of the moral police for not having worn the veil “correctly”.

In this work, as beautiful inside as it is outside, we find geopolitical experts, but also a large number of designers. We do not emerge unscathed from this reading, but above all we close this work a little more informed on the topic and prepared to better understand the problems of such a situation.

And obviously there is no shortage of comics on extremely varied topics, from economics to politics, including biographies of artists and personalities from all walks of life. In short, if you want to learn and have fun, comics are perfect.

Jury deliberations are a bit like a lively BookClub

After reading the selected works, writing down my favorites in my notes to be able to defend them as best as possible, D-day arrived. We were a jury of about ten people, journalists, booksellers, comics critics… gathered in Paris to discuss and finally select the great winner of the Prize.

I really didn’t know what to expect, what would the “process” of selecting the winner be like?

The answer is very simple: the works resemble a large BookClub full of enthusiasts, and not just any enthusiasts, starting with the godmother and co-president of the jury, the journalist Rebecca Manzoni. Among the jurors we could also meet comics specialists from various other media (France Inter obviously, Inrocks, Konbini, BDGest, Le Parisien, etc.) but also an influencer, Sébastien Abdelhamid.

Some are sure of their favorite, others hesitate, still others express themselves more or less… Everyone is still passionate about reading or drawing. We discuss the content, the form, the interest or otherwise of awarding the work. If we want to defend our favorite thing, we must use our arguments, get the support of other members and not give up. It’s fun and at the same time very instructive, because we realize that there are as many ways to read a comic as there are readers, and as many ways to interpret it. In short, it is very enriching.

After a few hours, a first vote, then, if necessary, new exchanges and, finally, a title that stands out from the crowd, obviously or not.

This year it’s comics’ turn Luca Guerre, by Renaud Roche and Laurent Hopman, awarded. It’s a rich work and will speak just as much to fans Star Wars only to those who, like me, know nothing, or almost nothing, about the saga. It is also a precious sum that underlines an era, a history of cinema in which a group of young filmmakers takes place who will become the greatest artists of the seventh world art: George Lucas obviously, Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg… You must readCertainly !