La Ville de la BD

Rue Herge

Street sign, Angoulême

Angoulême does not merely tolerate the Festival, does not even give it the grudging welcome accorded to an event which must be encouraged to continue to bring hundreds of thousands of tourists to the town in the off-season. The city has embraced the Festival with every sign of genuine enthusiasm, getting into the spirit of things and describing itself as not only "la ville de la BD" (comics city) but also "la ville de la BD dans la ville" (the city of comics in the city).

In 2003, Angoulême celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Festival by renaming its main street; the former rue Marengo became rue Hergé, in tribute to the creator of Tintin. Many of the street signs are in the shape of a stylised speech balloon.

Not to mention the murals. There has been a continuing programme of adorning the walls of the city with murals designed for their specific locations by major comics artists: take a virtual tour (in French) or come for a stroll...

Click the thumbnail to see a larger image.


Traces of the Parcours Juillard
Florence Cestac: Le Jardin extraordinaire
Max Cabanes: La Fille des Remparts
Max Cabanes: La Fille des Remparts
Philippe Druillet's mural
Le Baron noir
John Difool
Lucky Luke
Frank Margerin: Un Samedi à Malakoff
Frank Margerin: Un Samedi à Malakoff
François Schuiten: Avec le Temps
Nicolas de Crécy: New York sur Charente
Yslaire's Mémoires du XXe Siècle
Yslaire's Mémoires du XXe Siècle
Titeuf, by Zep
Festival shuttle bus

Return to Angoulême home page or to the Shadow Gallery home page.


Photos © Roger Cornwell 2005
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