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Post by Arthur Gordon Scratch on Feb 11, 2018 14:58:40 GMT -5
Have I missed something or has no one commented on the fact that Corben winning the Angouleme grand prize (the equivalent in comics of winning the oscar for best director)? Elected by a vast jury of is peers. The other two finalists were Chris Ware and Emmanuel Guibert. Most mainstream medias were very suprised by this, almost upset, but the industry finally recognized one of its most innovative and influential creators, one of the few that still improved and never had his style weaken since the mid 60ies. Corben in 2018 is as fresh if not more than at the hight of his popularity in the Heavy Metal late 70ies/80ies. And I'm happy I just got this directly from him :
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Post by EdoBosnar on Feb 11, 2018 15:39:08 GMT -5
Wow, didn't know that. I also see he's one of the few Americans (along with Eisner, Crumb, Spiegelman and Waterson) to win the award. Interesting, just yesterday I left a comment at another comics blog about finding an unbelievably cheap copy of Farmer's "A Feast Unknown" with illustrations by Corben - got me pull the book out and flip through it to marvel at his work.
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Post by badwolf on Feb 11, 2018 15:53:52 GMT -5
I have never heard of this award, but I do love Corben!
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Post by Arthur Gordon Scratch on Feb 11, 2018 15:57:18 GMT -5
I have never heard of this award, but I do love Corben! Really? It's the highest award there is in the comic world, and Angouleme is the third biggest comic con in the world, the first one is you only take in account actual comics (no video game/holywood/toys/etc)
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Post by berkley on Feb 11, 2018 20:25:14 GMT -5
No, somehow I heard about Jérémie Moreau winning a prize for Grimr but not about Corben. Glad to hear it, well deserved.
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Post by codystarbuck on Feb 12, 2018 0:24:31 GMT -5
I have never heard of this award, but I do love Corben! Really? It's the highest award there is in the comic world, and Angouleme is the third biggest comic con in the world, the first one is you only take in account actual comics (no video game/holywood/toys/etc) Well, it is a top international prize, but America is all about home-grown awards and the Eisners are the top prize here; so, it is understandable to not get news about Angouleme. As for the mass media, they are surprised that comics still exist, let alone that there are conventions and festivals and awards.
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Post by Arthur Gordon Scratch on Feb 12, 2018 2:48:00 GMT -5
Really? It's the highest award there is in the comic world, and Angouleme is the third biggest comic con in the world, the first one is you only take in account actual comics (no video game/holywood/toys/etc) Well, it is a top international prize, but America is all about home-grown awards and the Eisners are the top prize here; so, it is understandable to not get news about Angouleme. As for the mass media, they are surprised that comics still exist, let alone that there are conventions and festivals and awards. Every single comic news site I follow reported on this (comicsjournal, bleedingcooll, newsarama, comicsalliance...) The Eisner aren't as recognized internationally as Angouleme, because foreign comics have a separate prize section, which makes them almost irrelevant to some degree. Plus the way the Eisners are won/voted for is quite special : each year, the Eisner commitee selects I some jurors (less than 10), not necessarly artists, and thta's where the prize emanates. The Angouleme Grand Prize is solely voted by comic book pros, and anyone who is a published one can apply - so that's thousands of votes - and they nominate whatever they want. For years, Corben had come closer and closer to the top, but then he finally made the to 3 this year. When the top three is established, the jury (an international pool of creators) votes, and the winner gets to be the president of the next year festival. The festival has been delivering this prize and various others annualy since 1974, and gets to the mainstream news in Europe, at least for a short week. Not front page new, but, you won't find a single newspaper or newsTV show that didn't report about it in France. I even learned about it watching the morning news over here in Sweden
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Post by codystarbuck on Feb 12, 2018 12:48:25 GMT -5
Well, it is a top international prize, but America is all about home-grown awards and the Eisners are the top prize here; so, it is understandable to not get news about Angouleme. As for the mass media, they are surprised that comics still exist, let alone that there are conventions and festivals and awards. Every single comic news site I follow reported on this (comicsjournal, bleedingcooll, newsarama, comicsalliance...) The Eisner aren't as recognized internationally as Angouleme, because foreign comics have a separate prize section, which makes them almost irrelevant to some degree. Plus the way the Eisners are won/voted for is quite special : each year, the Eisner commitee selects I some jurors (less than 10), not necessarly artists, and thta's where the prize emanates. The Angouleme Grand Prize is solely voted by comic book pros, and anyone who is a published one can apply - so that's thousands of votes - and they nominate whatever they want. For years, Corben had come closer and closer to the top, but then he finally made the to 3 this year. When the top three is established, the jury (an international pool of creators) votes, and the winner gets to be the president of the next year festival. The festival has been delivering this prize and various others annualy since 1974, and gets to the mainstream news in Europe, at least for a short week. Not front page new, but, you won't find a single newspaper or newsTV show that didn't report about it in France. I even learned about it watching the morning news over here in Sweden My point is that those sites aren't frequented by all and the US media, which is not represented by those sites, does not report on such things. I'm talking wire services, television/cable news and the like. NPR only covers comic things because of Glen Weldon and a very few others blog about them on their site (and even that is not on a regular basis). For the rest, if it doesn't come out of Hollywood, they don't report it. If you were to pull just American comic fans, I have a deep suspicion that the results would show over half are unaware of the Angouleme festival and comic museum. Thus, it is unsurprising that many die-hard American comics fans would be unaware that Corben was selected for the award. What does get reported, is Comic-Con International, aka the San Diego Comic-Con, because that is the big US con, and that is mostly due to Hollywood taking it over to promote things other than comic books. American news can be extremely insulated and despite the wealth of material to the contrary, still looks upon comics as children's material. It's nowhere near as bad as it once was; but, that is still an element. Even with the plethora of comic-based movies, the comics themselves get mostly ignored. Not entirely; but, mostly. I'm not trying to downgrade the news, just point out that Europe, for several decades, has treated comics with far more respect than America, in terms of cultural significance and acclaim. The US has really only been taking it somewhat seriously since the mid-80s; and, even then, it has been centered around a very select few works, like Maus, Watchmen and Sandman. You will see, at places like NPR, stories devoted to Free Comic Book Day and recommendations for graphic novels and the like; but, it is mostly confined to print media. The rest will report on the box office of the latest Hollywood superhero film, maybe run a review and an interview with the stars (which will mostly be sound bites). The Eisners are the top American industry award; yet, they really only get reported at the comic sites. As I say, their reach is far less than the mass media, even among comic fans. The sad reality in this country is that comics are a niche medium. The biggest selling comic-related publications come from outside the comic market. Young Adult graphically-told stories (like Smile and Diary of a Wimpy Kid) far outsell even the top American comics. Walking Dead sells a lot of book collections, thanks to the tv series; but, those numbers are far, far less than the viewership numbers. Millions see The Black Panther; but a few thousand will read a Black Panther comic book. Personally, I'm glad to see Corben be awarded the prize. I've enjoyed his work since the 70s. However, if your were to poll a hundred Europeans and 100 Americans, at random, I suspect more Europeans would be familiar with his work. He is huge within a certain segment of the American market, but that is outside the mainstream of said market. Corben's work has always been via Alternative publishers, like his own Fantacor, Heavy Metal and a few others. At certain times it has been more available than others; so, certain generations (those of us over 40) are more acquainted with his work. Probably a great percentage came in contact with it via the Heavy Metal movie and have no knowledge of his name. If you prompted them, they might respond, "Oh, yeah; the part with the naked women."
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Post by Arthur Gordon Scratch on Feb 12, 2018 13:17:24 GMT -5
Hey Cody, I'm well aware of all that. But we are in one of thos uber niche sites, aren't we, one that prides itself with a sense of history. That's why I was surprised to see someone unaware of Angouleme here, and even more to not find any mention of the Corben awarded prize anywhere over here. I mean, there's not that many american cartoonists who have had such an influence globally, an artists that all artists respect and revere, even when you don't really like his material. The guy is a titan, an inovator, an iconoclast, and a true independant. The european comic comunity was so proud to manage to get him that prize, and so was the online english speaking community I saw react to it on the popular comic book news sites. Ande even if he was only known for those voluptuous naked women, that's aready something
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Post by berkley on Feb 12, 2018 13:29:46 GMT -5
Hey Cody, I'm well aware of all that. But we are in one of thos uber niche sites, aren't we, one that prides itself with a sense of history. That's why I was surprised to see someone unaware of Angouleme here, and even more to not find any mention of the Corben awarded prize anywhere over here. I mean, there's not that many american cartoonists who have had such an influence globally, an artists that all artists respect and revere, even when you don't really like his material. The guy is a titan, an inovator, an iconoclast, and a true independant. The european comic comunity was so proud to manage to get him that prize, and so was the online english speaking community I saw react to it on the popular comic book news sites. Ande even if he was only known for those voluptuous naked women, that's aready something I almost made the Red Queen, from Den, one of my "Favourite Villain Designs" for this past year's Twelve Days thing but decided against it, thinking it wouldn't be taken seriously - but I really was serious!
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Post by Icctrombone on Feb 12, 2018 14:00:14 GMT -5
Sorry man , never heard of the award. Did Todd Mcfarlane win it in the past ?
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Post by Arthur Gordon Scratch on Feb 12, 2018 14:04:28 GMT -5
Sorry man , never heard of the award. Did Todd Mcfarlane win it in the past ?
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Post by codystarbuck on Feb 12, 2018 14:42:50 GMT -5
Hey Cody, I'm well aware of all that. But we are in one of thos uber niche sites, aren't we, one that prides itself with a sense of history. That's why I was surprised to see someone unaware of Angouleme here, and even more to not find any mention of the Corben awarded prize anywhere over here. I mean, there's not that many american cartoonists who have had such an influence globally, an artists that all artists respect and revere, even when you don't really like his material. The guy is a titan, an inovator, an iconoclast, and a true independant. The european comic comunity was so proud to manage to get him that prize, and so was the online english speaking community I saw react to it on the popular comic book news sites. Ande even if he was only known for those voluptuous naked women, that's aready something Even then, we all have our blind spots. I like to think I am pretty up on European comics; but, the truth is, I know of a certain amount of history, certain creators, certain publications and certain genres more than others. What I know is limited by what has reached these shores and has been discussed in things like The Comics Journal. If I hadn't read Maurice Horn's The World Encyclopedia of Comics, in the late 70s, I might never have seen a European comic or even a manga, until the 90s. I even got that book by accident, as I was trying to relocate a Flash Gordon collection, which the library no longer had, and was sent some other books about comics, including Horn's. That made we want to know more. I knew of Angouleme and had read some articles; but, had no knowledge of Corben being awarded a prize, as I haven't really followed comic news sites, since I don't really follow much in the way of modern comics. Then again, I couldn't tell you who has won the Eisners since probably the late 90s/early 2000s.
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,409
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Post by shaxper on Feb 13, 2018 10:05:25 GMT -5
I don't know who won an Academy Award this year. Doesn't mean I don't appreciate great film. I'm glad for Corben, but I didn't need to know about the award to know how fantastic he is.
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Post by badwolf on Feb 13, 2018 10:16:04 GMT -5
I don't know who won an Academy Award this year. Doesn't mean I don't appreciate great film. I'm glad for Corben, but I didn't need to know about the award to know how fantastic he is. Same here. I just don't pay attention to awards. I know of the Eisner, and the Eagle...that's all I can think of off the top of my head. As crazy as it sounds, I don't follow comics news sites.
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