What is it that they put in the water supply of the UK's comic community? Whilst it might be one of the smaller scenes in the grand global scheme of words and pictures, it's certainly one of the most vocal. Following Scottish creator Edward Ross' in-depth look at the cross-section between comics and film comes David Ziggy Green, creator of Swimming with Shoes On, with another opinionated perspective.
Several months ago, following the success of his aforementioned collection at France's Montargis festival, David remarked to us about how much easier he found acceptance to come by on the other side of the channel. Saving this nugget of info in our memory banks ever since, we decided to take the opportunity to pick his brains about it during this run of One Question Interviews.
In your own experience, what's the difference between the British and French comic scenes?
"This is a subject I'm always trying to analyse for many reasons. My experiences with both countries are becoming more frequent and with that I'm learning more all the time. There are the obvious differences within the cultures and the attitude towards comics/graphic novels/bandes dessinées. The French public treat them with respect, the English public treat it as childish; simple as that.
The French use illustration to compliment storytelling, journalism, education and much more whereas here in the UK it really isn't important if illustration existed or not. That's what I believe. Everything from magazines to advertising to (fine)art in the UK prefers to use text, photography or other means to put messages across. Cartoons, comics and illustration are cast aside at the first opportunity. In France, illustration may not be on top of the pile but it stands along side all the other forms.
I believe the French have the '9 Arts'; a list of the respected art-forms of man. I think it is something like: 1. architecture 2. sculpture 3. painting 4. music 5. poetry 6. theater 7. cinema 8. media arts (television and radio I think) 9. the comic/bande dessinée. So of course this greatly effects the comics scenes of both countries. And boy are they different! Clearly France has an industry whereas the UK has a 'scene'.
For all the hard work and books that the UK creators produce, they are fighting a culture which is restricting them from having an industry which can support them. And yes, I will mention the tough times we are all going through because when people/publishers/editors need to make cuts to save money (all be it legitimate or not), here in the UK, comics, cartoons and illustrations are the first to go. Even UK illustration agencies are cutting back on their artist numbers. Unfortunately, the UK scene doesn't have a stable track record to show it should exist. Whereas in France, they can say 'Hey, can't you see how much money this or that publication has made!
The culture within the 'scenes' are very different also. In France, almost every creator or publisher I know in some way or another knows each other on friendly terms (it seems to appear). The industry and creators seem to feed off of each other's work and success. Most importantly, they appear to respect each other despite maybe not liking the style of work produced.
As an English creator, I was quite an outsider to the French comics scene this time last year but what I've found is that when I attend a French festival as a guest or a creator, everybody is hugely respectful of you whether or not they know your work. Also, everyone shares opinions and very constructive feedback. Personally, I have a small barrier of language as I've only been studying French part-time for a year but I have made some amazing friends in France through festivals.
When I talk about my experiences at UK festivals, all seems bleak but I think it's just the experience of me and my books. My hands are way up in the air when I say that I don't really enjoy UK festivals. In fact when I attend one, it's usually a kick in the teeth and confidence for me. It takes me a while to recover. This is because I have trouble selling books at UK fests. For example, during 4 UK small press events over the years I sold a total of 4 books!
This year I was invited by the awesome Arnaud Floc’h to be a guest at the first Montargis Coince La Bulle in France. I managed to put my book together in time for the festival. It is in English except for one French story and I included a couple of French translations. The whole experience was mind-blowing to say the least. Amazing people, food, places, books and more. But also, I sold over 30 copies of my book in 2 days which is more than I expected considering it is in a foreign language and by a complete unknown amongst some huge French creators. And even a few weeks ago I had a great experience at a Paris festival where I sold some copies of my book despite not even attending as a guest. The French love to buy books! Simple as that. I think, fundamentally, my work appeals to French a little more than English tastes. I don't know why. Also from now on it's more financially viable for me to attend four festivals in France and one or two UK festivals per year compared to visa-versa.
I'm also always harking on about the difference of the festival set ups. The French supply the 'readers' with chairs and the creators spend time to chat and sign and sketch to show appreciation. The whole thing is an experience to show appreciation. The person comes to show appreciation of the book and the creator appreciated the person buying the book. It's great! In the UK festival scene, it's like a street market. Due to less shop support and publicity, a UK fest has to be a main selling opportunity.
Therefore it's a different environment where the potential 'reader' is more open to the hard sell (which a lot of UK creators detest). But unfortunately, the colder market atmosphere is there because the creators have had to self-publish and desperately need to make their money back in able to live. Sometimes I just wish that one of the events would try giving the public a seat on their side if the tables so that more time is spent to show appreciation.
Another difference in the 'scenes' is the range of storytelling. The UK is a little too influenced by what America is constantly trowing at us. Be it the Superhero stuff or Sci-Fi Stuff or even the 'indie' stuff. France (and greater Europe) also have sections which are also influenced by the US but move a few shelves along in a French comic shop and you'll likely find a larger range of styles, subject matters and approaches to the medium.
The UK scenes' future seems very strange to me. Anyone trying to take things ahead should really start from outside the comics world. Otherwise no one out there will ever notice. As for the French industry, it is standing at a very precarious point. Readership and sales are at all time highs, but so is the publication of books. This sounds great but most creators I know are waiting for the bubble to burst.
Most UK creators are into the indie attitude. Because of money issues they embrace photocopying and home-printing more. They enjoy smaller page counts. The French enjoy larger page counts. They are open to different formats but treat the indie scene as more of a starting point from which you evolve from. The UK scene needs to fight for recognition against a culture which cares little about it. The French are much luckier.
I'm planning to experience my first Angoulême fest in January and I know there are also a whole bunch of UK creators going. Should be great."
A Eurotunnel-long high five goes out to David for taking the time to give us such a detailed account of his experience as a small-press creator abroad. Copies of Swimming with Shoes On are currently available over at his very own small-press distro site Samu.co.uk now. If you've never visited before, you can expect to find all kinds of great cult treasures from the world of self-publishing on the webstore, including Alternative Press' inspirational anthology Publish You and Richard Cowdry, Peter Lally et al's ever-awesome Bedsit Journal. Mr Greene, we salute you!
The French use illustration to compliment storytelling, journalism, education and much more whereas here in the UK it really isn't important if illustration existed or not. That's what I believe. Everything from magazines to advertising to (fine)art in the UK prefers to use text, photography or other means to put messages across. Cartoons, comics and illustration are cast aside at the first opportunity. In France, illustration may not be on top of the pile but it stands along side all the other forms.
I believe the French have the '9 Arts'; a list of the respected art-forms of man. I think it is something like: 1. architecture 2. sculpture 3. painting 4. music 5. poetry 6. theater 7. cinema 8. media arts (television and radio I think) 9. the comic/bande dessinée. So of course this greatly effects the comics scenes of both countries. And boy are they different! Clearly France has an industry whereas the UK has a 'scene'.
For all the hard work and books that the UK creators produce, they are fighting a culture which is restricting them from having an industry which can support them. And yes, I will mention the tough times we are all going through because when people/publishers/editors need to make cuts to save money (all be it legitimate or not), here in the UK, comics, cartoons and illustrations are the first to go. Even UK illustration agencies are cutting back on their artist numbers. Unfortunately, the UK scene doesn't have a stable track record to show it should exist. Whereas in France, they can say 'Hey, can't you see how much money this or that publication has made!
The culture within the 'scenes' are very different also. In France, almost every creator or publisher I know in some way or another knows each other on friendly terms (it seems to appear). The industry and creators seem to feed off of each other's work and success. Most importantly, they appear to respect each other despite maybe not liking the style of work produced.
As an English creator, I was quite an outsider to the French comics scene this time last year but what I've found is that when I attend a French festival as a guest or a creator, everybody is hugely respectful of you whether or not they know your work. Also, everyone shares opinions and very constructive feedback. Personally, I have a small barrier of language as I've only been studying French part-time for a year but I have made some amazing friends in France through festivals.
When I talk about my experiences at UK festivals, all seems bleak but I think it's just the experience of me and my books. My hands are way up in the air when I say that I don't really enjoy UK festivals. In fact when I attend one, it's usually a kick in the teeth and confidence for me. It takes me a while to recover. This is because I have trouble selling books at UK fests. For example, during 4 UK small press events over the years I sold a total of 4 books!
This year I was invited by the awesome Arnaud Floc’h to be a guest at the first Montargis Coince La Bulle in France. I managed to put my book together in time for the festival. It is in English except for one French story and I included a couple of French translations. The whole experience was mind-blowing to say the least. Amazing people, food, places, books and more. But also, I sold over 30 copies of my book in 2 days which is more than I expected considering it is in a foreign language and by a complete unknown amongst some huge French creators. And even a few weeks ago I had a great experience at a Paris festival where I sold some copies of my book despite not even attending as a guest. The French love to buy books! Simple as that. I think, fundamentally, my work appeals to French a little more than English tastes. I don't know why. Also from now on it's more financially viable for me to attend four festivals in France and one or two UK festivals per year compared to visa-versa.
I'm also always harking on about the difference of the festival set ups. The French supply the 'readers' with chairs and the creators spend time to chat and sign and sketch to show appreciation. The whole thing is an experience to show appreciation. The person comes to show appreciation of the book and the creator appreciated the person buying the book. It's great! In the UK festival scene, it's like a street market. Due to less shop support and publicity, a UK fest has to be a main selling opportunity.
Therefore it's a different environment where the potential 'reader' is more open to the hard sell (which a lot of UK creators detest). But unfortunately, the colder market atmosphere is there because the creators have had to self-publish and desperately need to make their money back in able to live. Sometimes I just wish that one of the events would try giving the public a seat on their side if the tables so that more time is spent to show appreciation.
Another difference in the 'scenes' is the range of storytelling. The UK is a little too influenced by what America is constantly trowing at us. Be it the Superhero stuff or Sci-Fi Stuff or even the 'indie' stuff. France (and greater Europe) also have sections which are also influenced by the US but move a few shelves along in a French comic shop and you'll likely find a larger range of styles, subject matters and approaches to the medium.
The UK scenes' future seems very strange to me. Anyone trying to take things ahead should really start from outside the comics world. Otherwise no one out there will ever notice. As for the French industry, it is standing at a very precarious point. Readership and sales are at all time highs, but so is the publication of books. This sounds great but most creators I know are waiting for the bubble to burst.
Most UK creators are into the indie attitude. Because of money issues they embrace photocopying and home-printing more. They enjoy smaller page counts. The French enjoy larger page counts. They are open to different formats but treat the indie scene as more of a starting point from which you evolve from. The UK scene needs to fight for recognition against a culture which cares little about it. The French are much luckier.
I'm planning to experience my first Angoulême fest in January and I know there are also a whole bunch of UK creators going. Should be great."
A Eurotunnel-long high five goes out to David for taking the time to give us such a detailed account of his experience as a small-press creator abroad. Copies of Swimming with Shoes On are currently available over at his very own small-press distro site Samu.co.uk now. If you've never visited before, you can expect to find all kinds of great cult treasures from the world of self-publishing on the webstore, including Alternative Press' inspirational anthology Publish You and Richard Cowdry, Peter Lally et al's ever-awesome Bedsit Journal. Mr Greene, we salute you!
interesting point of view !
ReplyDeleteGood answer!
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