Advertisement 1

Montreal Comic Arts Festival draws on rich history of bande dessinée

We pick 10 top events at this weekend's family-friendly fest, which showcases the vast scope of comics culture in Quebec and beyond.

Article content

The acronyms MCAF and FBDM get used pretty much interchangeably, but whether you think of it as the Montreal Comic Arts Festival or Festival BD (bande dessinée) de Montréal, the annual event happening this weekend in the bucolic setting of La Fontaine Park has quietly become one of the true delights on the local cultural calendar.

The manageably sized, family-friendly get-together makes for a perfect warm-up — or, if you prefer, alternative — before the festival behemoths start rolling out later in the summer. It also serves as a handy checkup on the current state of comics nation, and the prognosis looks good.

Advertisement 2
Story continues below
Article content

Comics culture in Quebec goes back a whole lot further than the festival’s seven years, of course. The search for the ur-cartoonist can get you buried in a long-lost world; even the earliest local newspapers, in a practice dating back to Old World broadsides, featured editorial cartoons employing satire and symbols to address issues of the day with a directness often off-limits to wordsmiths. The form remains no less relevant in the 21st century, when collective memories of defining events and social currents end up concentrated in the images of artists like Serge Chapleau and Aislin.

Article content
The Montreal Comic Arts Festival hosts drawing workshops for all levels – even for those who think they don’t know how to draw.
The Montreal Comic Arts Festival hosts drawing workshops for all levels – even for those who think they don’t know how to draw. Photo by Montreal Comic Arts Festival

What makes Montreal unique is its position at the confluence of American underground and pop esthetics and the older European tradition led by France and Belgium. The latter’s presence is more than just a matter of those big, slim, ubiquitous Tintin and Asterix volumes that get more shelf space per store and library here than anywhere else in North America. It’s about a shared Francophonie pop-culture heritage and a resulting ingrained respect for the form that runs deeper than simple nostalgia. The late Albert Chartier is a local figure whose work leaps out of its period constraints: his long-running and deeply beloved strip Onésime is effectively a history of rural Quebec in the last century.

Advertisement 3
Story continues below
Article content

Just how much the French factor seeped into and nurtured the development of the anglo scene is difficult if not impossible to quantify — indeed, the two are often so entwined as to render the distinction moot — but the proximity certainly couldn’t have hurt. The importance of Chris Oliveros’s Drawn and Quarterly can’t be overstressed. Founded in 1990, the company’s catalogue is central to the form, its original, translated and curatorial historical works covering the whole graphic-lit spectrum. Its two shops in Mile End (the recently opened La Petite Librairie Drawn & Quarterly, kitty-corner from the flagship shop at 211 Bernard St. W., is devoted largely to children’s books and is a frequent venue for evening launches and readings) provide the nerve centres every viable artistic community needs. Comparably important, especially as a translator of French works into English, has been Conundrum Press, a company that maintains a strong local presence long after publisher Andy Brown’s relocation to Nova Scotia.

Women are more prominent than ever before in Quebec comics. Top talent includes Diane Obomsawin, whose book On Loving Women was released by prestigious publisher Drawn and Quarterly.
Women are more prominent than ever before in Quebec comics. Top talent includes Diane Obomsawin, whose book On Loving Women was released by prestigious publisher Drawn and Quarterly. Photo by Diane Obomsawin /Drawn and Quarterly

The age-old stereotype of comics culture as the preserve of a certain subset of male nerd is, at the present juncture, laughably off-base: this is, in fact, an arena where women are prominent to an unprecedented degree. When American underground pioneer Aline Kominsky-Crumb spoke with the Montreal Gazette last month and was asked to cite examples of her present-day inheritors, the first name she mentioned was that of Julie Doucet, a Montrealer published in the Kominsky-Crumb-edited Weirdo magazine who gained a worldwide following with her unsparingly personal Dirty Plotte comic series and My New York Diary memoir. Sylvie Rancourt’s Melody, a memoir of her experience as a stripper, is a sui generis cult item whose influence keeps growing; Diane Obomsawin (a.k.a. Obom), the late Geneviève Castrée, Julie Delporte and Sophie Labelle with her serial webcomic Assigned Male comprise the tip of an iceberg.

Advertisement 4
Story continues below
Article content

A zone with a notable overlap between practitioners and fans, comics culture’s vitality is synonymous with its shared perceived underdog status. People like to feel they’re fighting the good fight, and readers like to feel they’ve accessed something that hasn’t been rolled out for them on a corporate-branded platter.

Much like participants in the local music scene that proceeded contentedly low-key for years before producing artists like Rufus Wainwright and Arcade Fire, Montreal cartoonists have been able to incubate in a state of benign neglect. Some were never looking to crash the mainstream: Louis Rastelli’s free-ranging, randomly bilingual zine Fish Piss can stand for a ’90s and early-2000s era that’s now talked about in hushed you-had-to-be-there terms. Rastelli is also crucial for his role as prime mover behind Expozine, the annual alternative book/zine/comix/art fair that has survived venue changes to establish itself as an indispensable gathering of the indie tribes — a flip-side/complement to MCAF, if you will.

The Montreal Comic Arts Festival is a family-friendly precursor to the usual summer festival behemoths.
The Montreal Comic Arts Festival is a family-friendly precursor to the usual summer festival behemoths. Photo by Montreal Comic Arts Festival

When crossover successes have occurred — Michel Rabagliati’s Paul books spring to mind, as do the minimalist memoirs of Pascal Girard and the quirky travelogues of Guy Delisle — they have felt like uncompromised victories on behalf of the whole scene. Even when Rabagliati’s books got popular to the point where they begat merchandising spinoffs, the work never lost its grassroots appeal. 

Advertisement 5
Story continues below
Article content

Something that could not have been foreseen when all of this started has proved to be a boon: at a time when so many market paradigms have been tossed to the four winds by technology, a special strength of the form is coming into its own. Put simply, comic books and graphic novels are entities whose essence can’t be reproduced digitally. You need to hold them in your hands. Gather in one place a group of people who value that feeling, as MCAF/FBDM does, and you’ve got the kind of human experience that’s getting harder and harder to find.

Newly published and highly recommended, BDQ: Essays and Interviews on Quebec Comics (Conundrum Press, 204 pages, $25, edited by Andy Brown) was an invaluable source for this article.

Meags Fitzgerald received raves for the graphic memoir Long Red Hair.
Meags Fitzgerald received raves for the graphic memoir Long Red Hair. Photo by Meags Fitzgerald /Conundrum Press

Ten top draws

MCAF/FBDM is a bilingual festival, but its range is such that even attendees not completely comfortable in French, English or both will have no trouble finding satisfaction. So while the recommendations below are all for English events (full disclosure: some of them are moderated by this reporter), do feel free to wander. And don’t be discouraged if it rains — the big tent and the pavilion provide all the cover you’ll need.

Advertisement 6
Story continues below
Article content

Q&A with Meags Fitzgerald (Saturday, noon)

One of the rising stars on the national scene, Alberta-born Montrealer Fitzgerald (that’s her work on this year’s festival poster and program cover) garnered across-the-board critical raves for the graphic memoir Long Red Hair and Photobooth: A Biography. The former has just been published in French as Longs cheveux roux. 

Multi-talented Meat Cake author Dame Darcy.
Multi-talented Meat Cake author Dame Darcy. Photo by Montreal Comic Arts Festival

Drawing From Observation (Saturday, 1 p.m.)

A drawing workshop open to all levels — i.e. even to those who think they don’t know how to draw — embodies the artistic spirit of an inclusive festival. 

Q&A with Dame Darcy (Saturday, 2 p.m.)

Sure to be one of the festival’s big hits, Renaissance-woman cartoonist, musician, cabaret performer and filmmaker Darcy has gathered a large and devoted following with her Meat Cake comic series, collected into the bestselling The Meat Cake Bible. 

Comics Journalism (Saturday, 2 p.m.)

Jim Carrey’s anti-Trump initiative has been a reminder that cartoons can wield political clout; the Charlie Hebdo attack brought the same awareness in a horrifying way. Is a cartoonist obliged to take an active social role? Where is the ideal nexus of drawing and journalism? El Diablo, Sascha Hommer, Pierre Lecrenier and Sophie Yanow weigh in on these questions and more. 

Advertisement 7
Story continues below
Article content

Different Publishing Models (Saturday, 4 p.m.)

In a field traditionally friendly to all things indie and self-starting, there should be strong interest in this panel discussion. Tom Devlin of Drawn & Quarterly is joined by fellow publishers Andrew Benteau (Black Panel Press) and Alexandre Fontaine Rousseau (Éditions Pow Pow). If you’ve ever thought you’d like to do what these folks do, have some questions ready.

Tropes in Humour Comics (Sunday, 10 a.m.)    

Though we’re long past the assumption that all comics are meant to be funny, there’s no denying humour is still a pillar of the form. This joke-writing workshop will attempt to unpack exactly what it is that produces the reaction scientists have come to call yuks. 

Q&A with Magnus (Sunday, 11 a.m.)

An indispensable part of the festival experience is the opportunity it affords for discovery. Unless you’re a true adept, you probably aren’t au fait with the work of mono-monikered Uruguayan cartoonist Magnus, author of the cult strip My Life Without a Jetpack. Take a flyer and get a sense of the Montevideo mood. 

In the World of Sascha Hommer (Sunday, 1 p.m.)

Advertisement 8
Story continues below
Article content

Perhaps because it’s a market big enough to be self-sustaining, Germany hasn’t had a high profile in the international comics world, making the festival appearance of Hamburg native Hommer a welcome chance to catch up. In addition to talking about the life of a working German cartoonist, he’ll be previewing his new book En Chine, an account of the author’s culture shock on an extended visit to Chengdu. 

Meags Fitzgerald will take part in several festival events, including a Q&A.
Meags Fitzgerald will take part in several festival events, including a Q&A. Photo by Alex Tran

Women Representation in Comics (Sunday, 3 p.m.)

As noted in the accompanying piece, comics have come a long way in this regard. But have they come far enough? Pénélope Bagieu (author of the current bestseller Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World), Dame Darcy, Meags Fitzgerald and Obom are sure to have a lot to say about it. 

The Van Hornies

The space in front of Espace La Fontaine is enlivened multiple times daily by this 20-strong brass troupe, which formed spontaneously three years ago under the Van Horne overpass. Risqué name notwithstanding, children love them.

AT A GLANCE

The Montreal Comic Arts Festival / Festival BD de Montréal takes place Saturday, May 26 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, May 27 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in La Fontaine Park (in and around the centrally situated Espace La Fontaine, 3933 Parc-La Fontaine Ave.; the nearest métro is Sherbrooke). A small number of events happen on Friday, May 25 from 3 to 6 p.m. For the full program, schedule and ticket information, visit fbdm-montreal.ca.

ianmcgillis2@gmail.com 

Article content
Comments
You must be logged in to join the discussion or read more comments.
Join the Conversation

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.

This Week in Flyers