Tuesday, April 21, 2009

French Webcomics

I've been pondering the differences between French and American comics. When American art strays from the comic idiom, it tends to enter the arena of illustration.

French art, by contrast, tends to move in the direction of fine art, like museum grade paintings.

These are from Athang . (There's a marvelous artist-and-cast drawing if you follow the link.) Notice how the cartoony-ness varies. I left the French text in for atmosphere, though it's awfully small. In fact, it's all small, and it's better to view the originals.

Do the faces in background remind you of any famous French oils? 
Perhaps Toulouse-Lautrec? And the fancy lady, his show girls?
This is from C.K. 
The majority of French webcomics do not evoke these connections, but for some work I feel I see the influence of the masters. It's worth browsing for the art alone. If you speak French, all the better.