Comic-Con is now huge business all around the world, and conventioneers ReedPOP have just announced that they will be bringing Paris Comic Con to the massive European market on 23-25 October 2015.
We often get myopic when it comes to what we think of as comics, but the European market for comic books and graphic art has always been a large industry. A shared language not just in France but in large parts of Belgium and Switzerland makes French a currency by which art and ideas can be exchanged and traded. Graphic albums, or bandes dessinées (often just referred to as BD), are generally treated with more respect than mainstream comics in the US and Australia, and the annual Angoulême International Comics Festival now in its 40th year. The expansion of ReedPOP’s Comic Con into the European market means big things for all of us.
“Paris Comic Con continues our growth across the globe. Every region has its own interests and personality, but we’ve found that fans all around the world share universal traits and the same desire to interact with their fellow fans and favorite entertainment,” said Lance Fensterman, ReedPOP’s Global Senior Vice President. “I can’t wait to see the flavor that Paris brings into the mix.”
ReedPOP, the folks who are now behind our very own Oz Comic-Con here in Australia, have been rapidly expanding in the last few years. In addition to the Oz Comic-Con, ReedPOP have planted a flag here to expand PAX to Australia as well. Last month, they also announced that they would be partnering with Comic Con India for a series of shows as well. Even within the US, New York Comic Con (which is on at the moment) has added a second comics-focused show in June called Special Edition: NYC.
ReedPOP, Reed France and JTS will collaborate on the event, with additional details to be announced at a press conference on 23 October. French Director Louis Leterrier (The Incredible Hulk, The Transporter) will join the event, signalling a push for big local names behind the new con.
Franco-Belgian comics have not always made massive commercial impact outside of their native markets, but their influence is incalculable. Apart from the more obvious successes of The Smurfs, and Asterix, and the Adventures of Tintin over the decades, modern comics have a rich vein of French history running through them. The number of artists influenced by the late Moebius is difficult to estimate, and publications such as Métal Hurlant (or Heavy Metal as it was known in the US) saw many European artists and writers find audiences overseas.
