I often said it, I never liked the Angouleme comics Festival. Of course, one could argue that I sold my soul to American comics a long time ago. But that’s not the only reason. I have a whole collection of griefs against the city of Angouleme (I may share my worst memories one day), the successive managements of FIBD (the NPO behind the festival) and the fact that it occurs in January (which is totally stupid). Anyhow, even though my last visit to the festival was in 2014, I found a way to be there this year, and I didn’t even have to take a plane to do so!
2017 marks the 20th anniversary of Panini’s take over of the Marvel license on the French market. For those not familiar with Panini, this is a 50+ years old company which started producing stickers from soccer competitions and teams, then high-profile licenses like Disney and Mattel. Then, they decided to venture into publishing in 1994, in Italy, then in France. They were a subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment for a minute but retained the exclusive license on the Marvel catalog for many many countries including France. They have many detractors but I’m not one of those. There are many people working there that I can call my friends.
So…
This year, to celebrate their 20th anniversary as Marvel’s French licensee, they decided to organize an expo showcasing every French creator who ever worked for the House of Ideas: MARVEL’S FRENCH TOUCH. And guess who has a spot? Me!
They’re, of course, showcasing Spider-Man Noir, the character I co-created (with art by my old friend Richard Isanove, another talented French guy).
Thanks to Matteo Losso at Panini for his investment in this project. And to Xavier Fournier and Pierre Bisson for sending me the pictures! 🙂
