French adult comic

It is no secret that the French love wine. But they are also the world's second biggest consumers of graphic novels after the Japanese. Now a new wave of literature is putting the two passions together -- comics for adults about wine. The genre that was completely unheard of little more than a decade ago has jostled itself on to the bookshelves, with a festival dedicated to it booming among the vineyards near Bordeaux.

Comic books are often dismissed as juvenile works, but they also represent a powerful art form that attracts imaginative storytellers who are interested in writing about the entire spectrum of human behavior. In the Golden Age, many comics embraced adult elements with the enthusiasm of pulp fiction. It also led to a slew of comics bereft of plot and a strengthening of the perception that the only "acceptable" comics were those portraying facile, simplified superhero stories. Despite these conditions, some of the comic world's best creators took leaps of faith and put out comics that explore explicit themes, yet aren't totally bad. In fact, these adult comic books are often masterpieces. Ironwood is a mystical forest between the realms of goblins and men and other unknown quantities.

In France, a country that has won more Nobel Prizes in literature than any other, it is now chic for intellectuals to boast about their avid reading of comic books. Almost every major bookstore in Paris has a comic book counter, and it is usually surrounded by educated, middle-class adults jostling one another to get at the latest publications. One comics artist and writer, Jacques Tardi, 39, has been made the subject of a biography. The literary magazine Lire, in its list of the 20 best books of , had a comic book in 12th place.

How can you possibly keep track of all the titles coming out and all the topics they cover? After the session, all the titles will be combined into a totally excellent resource just for you! With Karim Friha. Stop by Booth for morning croissants and comics.