I'm really not trying to drag this out… but I will.
What we have here are a couple of nearly-panoramic-photo-collage-things I put together to try and give a sense of the fervor behind the Buenaventura booth at Festival International de la Bande Dessinée d'Angoulême when Dan Clowes, Chris Ware & Adrian Tomine were signing and sketching for fans. I'm not sure if it was any krazier than San Diego Comic-Con but the degree of passion and devotion on display was exciting, worrisome and definitely European. During San Diego Comic-Con it's not uncommon to see excited, overweight children trying to run from booth to booth to obtain free shit and a drawing from say the Owly guy or Prof. Neal Adams. Now, take out "excited, overweight children" and replace it with "concerned, well dressed European adult" and you get an idea of a common scene on display at the Angoulême show. One crazed, scary-eyed (and very nice) European man had snuck into (we call it "breaking and entering" where I come from) the building the day before the show opened in hopes he could procure autographs and drawings from Clowes & company!
Click to enlarge:
L to R: Dan Clowes, Alex Holden, Chris Ware, Adrian Tomine, Souther Salazar, Melissa P. Coats & way far to the right, just under the green sign is Tom Gauld
David Hockney I ain't, but these were fun to make.
L to R: Dan Clowes, Chris Ware, Alex Holden's shoulder, Souther Salazar & Kramers Ergot #7
Hiding behind a copy of Kramers Ergot #7, Dan Clowes signs books for his French publisher Cornélius. Signing at Angoulême is dangerous business.
Chris Ware and Dan Clowes slave away. This photo and commentary taken from a fan's point of view.
Dash Shaw draws for a fan in the French edition of Bottomless Belly Button. It was a lot of fun to watch Dash personalize copies of BBB, much to the delight of French sensibility, he drew ALL OVER the book, including the flip. It was cool.
Dash's French label mate and Seattle's own Kaz Strzepek draws for a fan as he blurs into the gloaming. Along the bottom of the frame you can see the hardcover to the French edition of Mourning Star… or you can click here to see it.
Photo of Tintin taking a photo of himself.
Are we there yet…?