| Stranger in a Yummy Land |
[Feb. 8th, 2006|03:50 pm] |
Well, I’m back. I’m exhausted even after 15 hours of sleep, and I weigh at least five pounds more than when I left, which is less than I deserve after all the things I’ve been putting in my body. In Lyon they have a saying, “Tout est bon dans le cochon,” All is good in the pig. I truly took this saying to heart. I’ll skip the gory details; suffice it to say that I consumed foods that would make a strong man tremble, and a sensitive vegetarian scream in horror. One particular delicacy was called “andouillette.” Don’t let the name fool you. This is no petite version of the spicy New Orleans sausage. No, this is what you get when you’ve taken everything away from a pig that Americans might possibly consider food, and stuff great hunks of what’s left into a sausage casing, which is then lovingly roasted and served with a fresh salad. Its odor is disturbingly reminiscent of a good healthy bowel movement, in the same way that strong goat cheese evokes the stinkier portions of a petting zoo. Not for the faint of heart, folks. I think that every culture in the world has one native food that half the population adores and the other half wouldn’t touch with a barge pole. Scotland has Haggis. England, black pudding. Japan, natto. In France, it’s definitely Andouillette. Frogs’ legs and snails don’t even come close.
Other adventurous meals included boudin noir (the French version of black pudding) over baked apples, grenouille, and escargot (frogs’ legs and snails; I couldn’t resist). Escargot is a lovely dish, but the grenouille, though deliciously bathed in garlic and butter, was a little too much work, like fifty or so tiny chicken wings.
Anyway…
It turns out that Angouleme Festival is the largest comics event in the world, double the size of Comic-Con in San Diego. And it’s ALL about comics. No movie previews, no toys, no videogames, just bandes dessinée, manga, and good old-fashioned American comic books. Why, do you ask, do all these tens of thousands of Europeans flock to a small town in the Bordeaux area in the middle of winter? Because in France, the comics creator is KING! KING I TELL YOU! People would wait in the freezing cold from morning till night to get the signature of a favored creator. Some publishers do a lottery, in which you are issued a ticket, and if that number comes up, you are brought before the great creator to bask in his or her presence for a few minutes while they do a little sketch in your book. This is an institution that I enjoy immensely. Maybe it’s only a quick headshot, but it’s an original drawing, and it makes the experience of meeting the creators much more personal. And you get to chat with them while they work.
I wore a badge that read 'Ted Naifeh: Auteur' which I rather liked. I drew about a thousand sketches. The early ones were rough, but as I continued, I refined my skills and my tools and by the end, I think I’d done many that were well worth waiting for. I also learned about a thousand French names, like Fabrice, Marie-Laure, Elodie, Bertrand, Cedric. It was tons of fun.
The final great experience of Angouleme, though highly embarrassing as well, was doing an American creators panel in front of a huge audience of several hundred, along with Eric Shanower, creator of Age of Bronze, and Mike Mignola, creator of Hellboy As if you didn’t know). Eric and I, both being published by the French imprint Akileos, had gotten to know each other already, but I hadn’t really met Mike before. He was very nice, and we got to talking about film rights and all that crap just before the event. The panel itself was pretty stiff at first, mainly because we were given these earpieces at the last minute, which translated the questions for us. It was very disorienting to have the live chat cut out and replaced by translations. Eric was overwhelmed, and Mike rendered a bit surly by the whole thing. I found that my best bet was to shut my mind off and go on automatic, but this didn’t make for clever answers. Eventually, though, we all relaxed long enough to make the audience laugh and take some questions. Most of these were aimed at Mike, and, rather annoyingly, were about the Hellboy movie instead of his comic. But despite these few problems, we managed to be reasonably interesting, and it was an amazing experience overall. The thrill of panic while walking out before the huge crowd was worth the entire trip.
After Angouleme I met with Kelly in Paris, and we embarked on a week-long five-city tour. We would get on a train every morning, and arrive by noon in a fabulous new city; Aix En Provence, Montpelier, Lyon, Grenoble, and Annecy. Each city had its own unique flavor. Aix I remembered for its narrow, winding streets, not to mention the infamous andouillette (which Kelly declined to sample, though she re-named it the pig-wad). Montpelier was particularly gorgeous and lush, with palm trees and these gigantic, strange fountains that were simply immense piles of moss. It has a very romantic flavor. Several local artists had done drawings of Courtney, and we all hung out and drank wine after the store closed. I bought something by each of them, along with a few things they recommended. Several gave me their drawings. It was there that I got lots of practice with the whole French cheek kissing thing. In the south, it’s three kisses, not two.
Lyon was bitterly cold, and the rich lunch almost killed me. Between Kelly and I and the two shop owners, we polished off three and a half bottles of wine and a shot each of something called marc, which could have probably caught the restaurant on fire if someone took a flame to it. That was an utterly amazing meal, but the signing itself was pretty tough. Eventually, Kelly dug out our supply of pepto-bismol, which helped. Lyon also has the coolest fountain in the world, a warrior woman driving a chariot with gigantic claw-footed horses. Amazing.
Grenoble was home to Albertine Ralenti, colorist of the French color edition of Polly and the Pirates. She hung out all afternoon at the signing talking with fans, and then agreed to join us for dinner. An utterly lovely person. The shop there was really cool, and they did special limited edition posters.
In Annecy, the small comics shop had gone all out. They made Courtney t-shirts, special limited edition silkscreen prints, and even a wine label. I stayed till nine signing and sketching, and met France’s most devoted Courtney fan, Claudine, who, I’m told, has purchased at least ten copies of the book to give to friends. That you so much, Claudine.
We spent that night in French Alps, where one of the shop’s owners runs a hostel. We awoke to a scene of perfect beauty, and spent the day frolicking in the snow.
There’s just no way to properly thank all the fantastic folks I met for their hospitality and kind attention. But suffice it to say, I feel very, very grateful for all the wonderful experiences, and I hope we will all meet again soon. |
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