October Discussion - Bande Dessinée

#1 · October 6, 2024, 4:50 pm

Quote from James Baker on October 6, 2024, 4:50 pm
This month we're focusing on Franco-Belgian comics, known as bande desinée (or bandes desinée in the plural). There is an long and extensive comics tradition in these countries that's separate from English language comics. Here are some questions to get the discussion started:

Bande dessinée is sometimes described as the ‘ninth art’ with the other eight arts being architecture, sculpture, painting, music, dance, poetry, film, and television. What impact does the association of comics and graphic novels with these other art forms have on how they are viewed in the francophone world?

It is usual for bande desinée to list the artist before the writer, how different is this likely to make the way these books are viewed to those that list the writer before the artist, as is usual for English language comics and graphic novels? What does this mean for how we catalogue these titles?

It is usually reasonably easy to distinguish manga from western comics, but it can be more difficult to identify bande desinée. Why should we distinguish between these forms, and how can we do so most effectively?

Some bande desinée series have had significant cultural impact in the English speaking world such as Tintin, the Smurfs, and more adult titles such as Persepolis and The Incal. With so much interplay between them, how separate should we view English comics and bande desinée?

As always we have some suggested reading for the topic to help you engage:

Majnun and Layla by Yann Damezin (Humanoids)

Darkly She Goes by Hubert Mallie (NBM)

World Without End by Christophe Blain and Jean Marc Jancovici (Zando) - Please note that owing to publication delays this title is not available yet in its English translation.

And some additional questions based on these titles:

Majnun and Layla is a retelling of a Persian poem, and Damezin’s art is reminiscent of art from this region. Is it important to have this cultural diversity represented in our collections through bande desinée as well as through anglophone comics.

To some extent, the story of Darkly She Goes rewards familiarity with legends and fables out of European traditions, often using those to help set up narrative expectations before subverting them. How do you think reading this, translated into a second language, would be different if you weren’t as familiar with those legends and fables, and how could we ensure the best possible reading experience in that situation? Are the elements used universal elements that appear in legends and fables of all cultures?

World Without End has had its English language publication postponed more than once, and is now January 2025, although its original French publication was in 2021. What effects can the length of time between the publication of a work in its original language and an English translation have?

This month we're focusing on Franco-Belgian comics, known as bande desinée (or bandes desinée in the plural). There is an long and extensive comics tradition in these countries that's separate from English language comics. Here are some questions to get the discussion started:

Bande dessinée is sometimes described as the ‘ninth art’ with the other eight arts being architecture, sculpture, painting, music, dance, poetry, film, and television. What impact does the association of comics and graphic novels with these other art forms have on how they are viewed in the francophone world?
It is usual for bande desinée to list the artist before the writer, how different is this likely to make the way these books are viewed to those that list the writer before the artist, as is usual for English language comics and graphic novels? What does this mean for how we catalogue these titles?
It is usually reasonably easy to distinguish manga from western comics, but it can be more difficult to identify bande desinée. Why should we distinguish between these forms, and how can we do so most effectively?
Some bande desinée series have had significant cultural impact in the English speaking world such as Tintin, the Smurfs, and more adult titles such as Persepolis and The Incal. With so much interplay between them, how separate should we view English comics and bande desinée?

As always we have some suggested reading for the topic to help you engage:

Majnun and Layla by Yann Damezin (Humanoids)
Darkly She Goes by Hubert Mallie (NBM)
World Without End by Christophe Blain and Jean Marc Jancovici (Zando) - Please note that owing to publication delays this title is not available yet in its English translation.

And some additional questions based on these titles:

Majnun and Layla is a retelling of a Persian poem, and Damezin’s art is reminiscent of art from this region. Is it important to have this cultural diversity represented in our collections through bande desinée as well as through anglophone comics.
To some extent, the story of Darkly She Goes rewards familiarity with legends and fables out of European traditions, often using those to help set up narrative expectations before subverting them. How do you think reading this, translated into a second language, would be different if you weren’t as familiar with those legends and fables, and how could we ensure the best possible reading experience in that situation? Are the elements used universal elements that appear in legends and fables of all cultures?
World Without End has had its English language publication postponed more than once, and is now January 2025, although its original French publication was in 2021. What effects can the length of time between the publication of a work in its original language and an English translation have?

October Discussion - Bande Dessinée

Navigation

Sign up & get notified when we post new content