The latest issue of African Writing (No 11) carries my report on the First Salon on African Graphic Novels, held in December in Paris. The visit was an eye-opener for me. The writing and illustrating of African graphic novels is often of the very highest quality. The main article reproduces some pages of from the works. This blog supports the main article by providing author photos, some links to larger clearer images of the work itself, and some extra thumbnails showing further works featured in the Salon.
One of the leading writers of African Bandes Desinées (BD) is Chistopher Ngalle Edimo (below).
Edimo is the writer behind the dark and hyper-realist Malamine: un african à Paris, illustrated by Simon-Pierre Mbumbo. To see larger version of all images below, click on them.
Below are thumbnail links to the cover and sample page of the more comic tale of émigré life also written by Edimo and illustrated by Al’Mata, Le Retour au Pays D’Alphonse Madiba dit Daudet. The main article describes the story with some comments by Al’Mata.
Christope Cassiau-Haurie is an organiser of the Salon, and is the editor of a new list of African BD for L’Harmattan publishers. Below is a link to an interview by him in French with Edimo on the Africultures website.
http://www.africultures.com/php/index.php?nav=article&no=8143
Below, Pahé, one of the most popular writer-artists of African BD. The last thumbnail below links to a larger image from his autobiographical comic novel La vie de Pahé.
T.T Fons is the author-illustrator of the popular Senegalese newspaper strip Goorgoorlu (below) The thumbnail links to the cover of one of his collections
Annani Accoh, one of the Accoh brothers who illustrate the Africavi series, which is written by three generations of the family. The series is in the Francophone tradition of robust humorous adventures.
Photo of Leon Ngandu, called Tchibemba, illustrator of Les Clandestines a la Mer
L’Afrique de Papa by Hippolyte, also featured in the main magazine, is a one of the most ambitious works featured in the Salon. Click on the thumbnails below to see larger images of this impressive work.
Marguerite Abouet’s Aya de Yopougon is a popular series of six graphic novels about a young woman’s life in a small Ivorien town. Cover below and links to two pages. The illustrations are by Clément Ouberie.
Rwanda is a powerful graphic novel, illustrated by Patrick Masioni.
Ago Publications are introducing superhero comics to Togo. Essingan is a magazine for younger readers featuring fantasy and superhero stories from the Cameroon.
A short documentary about the Salon is available on Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCtJUxJYGtU
If you would like to see more images from the Salon itself, or from African BD, please let me know by commenting below. There’s a short biography of me at
http://www.african-writing.com/eleven/rymanbio.htm
Geoff Ryman
I am developing a big comic show in USA in November of 2014. The focus is on the future of comics by black people. Would like your suggestions on artists that reflect the future of comics.
Wow. I’m quite impressed. I’m a Kenyan artist who’s worked a lot in comics. I didn’t realize how serious they are with their comics in francophone Africa. Such high quality production. Something to emulate. I’m able to view the pics by clicking on the link.
If you visit France you will find hardback BD in all of them… more than that in big cities you will find bookshops that sell nothing else but. (Just as you will find bookshops dedicated to manga). BD are much much more profitable, respected and mainstream in the francophone tradition than in English speaking countries. Something to do with TinTin and Asterix, with Belgium being a key player. That’s why for many years now, the list of the Beaux Arts now includes as the 9th muse Bandes Dessinees. In terms of production Francophone BD can knock the spots off English language BD even now. Hardback, full colour, large and/or sometimes long up to 100 pages. Francophone Africa plugs into this tradition though I understand that Mauritius had a thriving local tradition of its own with a long history.
Apologies for graphics… they’re inserted, they just won’t show up.
Cheers Geoff
Interesting post. Didn’t realise graphic novels were so big in France,