A LITTLE PIECE OF JULIE DOUCET CAME HOME WITH ME FROM ANGOULÊME—
Stumbling exhaustedly past an old stone archway after my book signing at the Angoulême International Comics Festival two weeks ago, I saw the sign for an exhibition of original art by one of my first and most deeply influencing comix heroes, Julie Doucet. A Canadian artist who transformed indie comix in the 1990’s, she was awarded the Grand Prix at the Angoulême festival in 2022.
Slumping against the cold stone walls, I walked through the arch and climbed the steps that spiraled up three levels through a Medieval tower containing the towering achievement of Doucet. Incredible to see how the art I had long admired was done—full pages NOT assembled in Photoshop, with traces of white-out here and there, linocut illustrations with the actual carvings alongside.
This is the shock of Angoulême: the spectacular talent and mastery on display. My publisher, who wasn’t exhibiting at the show, found me a spot at another publisher’s booth, where I sat for three hours a day, cheek by jowl with the other artists, all guys, signing “dédicaces.” The French are not content to give a quick sketch and an autograph. They’ll cover a whole page with incredible original art created on the spot—no computer in sight—using pens, pencils, and watercolor. I saw one guy finishing off a sketch with a delicate spatter painting effect. The buyers wait patiently, enjoying the demo because this is slow, real art in the making.
One piece in the Julie Doucet exhibit was a dispenser on the wall. It looked like it should have cigarettes in it, or tampons. Instead there were little printed orange boxes. Doucet, who sadly quit comix as soon as she’d revolutionized them, is known for her prints and objects and collages as well. I figured this was just one of her wonderful crazy ideas and left the show soon after.
When I saw a friend later who’d also dropped by the exhibit, he said, “Did you get one of those cool little orange boxes Julie Doucet made just for the show?”
“WHAAAAAAAT?” I yelled. “I thought that was an INSTALLATION!”
He said, “Well, the machine was broken anyway. I’m going back. I’ll get one for you.”
And he did. And here’s a picture of it. It is MY grand prize from Angoulême. “50 ans” means fifty years and celebrates the 50th anniversary of Angoulême in 2023. Inside the box, there are scraps of Doucet’s art, as there are, inside all of us who do indie comix, scraps of Julie Doucet. “Precieux Albums” means precious books of comics, which they are, oh they are. It was an honor and a long-held dream to escort my first French album there.