BD Comic Strip Festival opens at Tour & Taxis from 9 to 11 September

The wide array of comic genres and art styles on display at the BD Comic Strip Festival simply proves the diversity of comic culture.

Multiple publishers have set up their stands at the event in Tour & Taxis. From graphic novels to comics that create new universes and cultures, there’s literally something for everybody.

One of the first exhibitions to greet visitors is Anne Simon’s Les Contes du Marylène. As both author and illustrator of this intricate and fabulous universe, she has created a unique world. Three volumes of Simon’s graphic novels have been published, all in her Franco-Belgian art style. Behind the array of funny looking characters and settings, lies a deep analysis of our society. Feminism, capitalism and even the Nazi’s Lebensborn programme make their appearance. Ultimately, her work is best described as her own ‘Game of Thrones universe’.

Further on, an immense space has been dedicated to the hugely successful Japanese graphic novel series Goldorak (Go Nagai illustration pictured, main image). The work is a collaboration by five people, a real challenge as communication and co-ordination play a major part. It has sold 350,000 copies worldwide in under a year, an important achievement in the comics industry.

From its manga debut in 1973 by author Go Nagai, Goldorak became a cartoon in 1978 that proved hugely popular in France and has now been converted into a new stunning format. Multiple storyboards are on display, showing the steps taken to produce these pieces of art.

Finally, one of the most significant parts of the festival, considering current events, is the Polish and Ukrainian comics stand. Multiple comics are on show, which deal with social movements such as feminism and also retell some important parts of both countries’ histories.

Additionally, visitors can see the cover for a new untitled graphic novel based on the war in Ukraine. It’ll initially be available in Ukrainian but will later be translated into other languages. Most of the material has yet to appear in French or English versions. But as some of the graphic novels lack text bubbles, the Ukrainian and Polish illustrators have been able to spread their work across the world without the need for a translation.