The Annual Angouleme Boycott Update
I don’t think I’ve covered it here in any great detail, but FIBD (a/k/a Angouleme) is always a rambunctious affair filled with threats of boycotts.
Thankfully, we have Dean Simons around to cover the whole situation, and his most recent article explains everything very well.
Put simply, nobody likes the organization (and particularly its owner) that the owners of the Festival have chosen to run it. So they held a process to find a new organization, eventually picking the same organization to continue running it for ten more years. The process has been roundly criticized for various reasons, mostly to say the fix was in.
The annual boycott threats are back out in force this year, including dozens of publishers. A letter signed by 20 page Grand Prix winners are saying the 2026 FIBD will be their last. Last year’s winner has already announced her boycott of 2026.
The list goes on and on. Seriously, read Dean’s article. He breaks it all down for you in a very digestable way.
Update to the update: Yup, it got worse. More publishers threatening not to go.
There are now serious rumors about a cancellation.
At this point, it seems likely. I hate to see it, but I don’t see how they can put on a show without anyone there on the other side of the tables. ( I suppose they could scramble to do some kind of small festival of a different nature, but that’s a lot of work, too. ). The fans will show up, but if there’s nothing there for them to see or do, it’s an even bigger problem. I’ve stopped updating this article just because there seems to be a new addition to the story on a daily basis. Speaking of which, I heard Dean has an update over on ComicsBeat…. Here that is:
https://www.comicsbeat.com/angouleme-crisis-game-over-stakeholders-call-for-26-festival-to-be-cancelled/
I still believe everyone will chicken out at the last minute and it will still happen.
True there should have been for a long time a French-based similar-sized Alternative to Angoulême, preferrably happening sometime warmer.
There was one story today I saw where some locals are trying to pull together a small show in the absence of FIBD. They might be able to get a few creators to come for the Anti-Angouleme Angouleme show, if only as a show of support for the town but not the organization. We’ll see. It’s a fascinating game of chicken to watch.
As for an Alternative – how big is the Quai des Bulles Festival? That’s up in northern France in Asterix Land, right?
We’ll see. Maybe they prove me wrong.
You’re right, at the moment Quai des Bulles is the contender, if you exclude the mostly-manga stuff that takes place in Paris. It is based in St Malo, a coastal city upper north in Bretagne. Lovely city, great seafood and crêpes and cidre. I was there last year, I’d say it’s about 25-30% the size/volume of FIBD at the moment, don’t think the city could accomodate more the way Angoulême does. But who knows, if FIBD were to fold for good, they might raise to the occasion and take advantage of the opportunity, but that would take serious logistics and investments in infrastructure. It’s in October, so switching to a more amenable season might do it good. Were i to organise a festival like this, I’d aim for May/June, that’s a no-brainer. Who doesn’t like a whiff of nerd sweat in the morning lol.
Who do you think will win the Grand Prix at Angouleme in 2026, I am thinking famed Brazilian Cartoonist Mauricio De Sousa because, last month on October 27th Mauricio De Sousa celebrated his 90th Birthday, and has never won the Grand Prix at the Angouleme Comics Festival before. It would also be long overdue for him, and also a first for the country of Brazil because, no Brazilian has ever won the Angouleme Grand Prix before.