While the majority of readers and consumers retain the selection of 15 comic book, comic book and manga albums at €2, the association is struggling to highlight the authors and their work throughout the territory. Patrick Hourcade, event coordinator, tells Internet users about the keys to the success of the latest editions and the exciting future that these candles highlight.
Comics everywhere, all the time. For its tenth anniversary, the 48H BD stretch across the territory on April 1 and 2. The association of 48H BD was born ten years ago from the desire of many publishers to create a common event around the 9 Art which would take place throughout the territory. In 2011, eleven publishers founded an association called “48H BD” with the aim of working together around a project that would promote comics – in all their forms – outside of the many festivals. In doing so, the publishers are responding to two issues: supervising the content but above all not concentrating in a single place, however accessible and known it may be, but covering all of France and the flat country to be as close as possible to tape readers. comics, comics and manga.
Some publishers, such as Jungle editions, have been present at all editions since the founding of the association. Others come and go depending on the year – and, every year, new publishing houses come through. In 2022, Akata editions are entering the association for the first time. Patrick Hourcade, coordinator of the 48H BD, returns for the Internet user to the purpose of the association and to this very symbolic anniversary.
Why create the 48H BD?
We don’t talk enough about comics throughout the year, especially in the media. The subject certainly emerges at the time of the Angoulême Festival. But apart from this ephemeral promotion, the 9th Art is less publicized. It is on the strength of this observation that the publishers wanted to create an event at a different time of the year. An event that would brew a wider panel of titles, and above all would cover a wider territory, from France and Belgium, which are the two most comic-loving states in Europe. The idea is really to talk about comics everywhere and to everyone, because we must not forget that the 9th art is a popular art, family and accessible to all.
One of the strengths of the association is this network of operations and events throughout the territory. And for accessibility, of course: publishing versions at a low price, ie 2€, which can be purchased by all families, guarantees an affordable gateway to reading.
Today, more than 1,700 bookstores take part in the event and many media libraries, scattered throughout the territory – from Lot et Garonne to Flanders via Brittany – ensure a large number of activities. For the ten years, we have 500 events planned!
That more authors can meet their audiences through paid animations was my first priority.
Will the online version stay?
We created the 48H BD live! to respond to the coronavirus problem. People can then not participate in meetings as much as usual. There has been a craze for this format, and not just for reasons of substitution. Not to mention that from a practical point of view, an author who lives in Quebec can more easily meet his audience via digital. For all these reasons, we maintain the 48H BD live! in a sustainable way. We have on the program debates, tutorials and especially for the festive and crazy finale the battle drawing France vs Belgium. A moment that I love and that I look forward to!
How to estimate attendance at the 48H comic strip?
There is no exact and precise ascent. This is impossible, due to the disparity of the speakers. We only know how many events we created. If we take a low range of 20 people on average per event, we arrive at 20 to 30,000 participants. If we add digital attendance, we are close to 300,000 visitors.
The authors are at the heart of the 48H BD project and this year an agreement was reached to remunerate the dedications. What about the 48H BD?
Without an author, there is no comic. We have signed an agreement with the authors and we have been paying them for several years. This was my first concern when I joined the association in 2017. We based ourselves on the authors’ charter to put in place a remuneration procedure that seems to us the fairest. We value comics as much as their authors. This year, we are going to spend between €50,000 and €60,000 on authors’ remuneration. No festival invests so much in the latter, even though they are at the origin of the entire creative process!
We have 250 confirmed authors who will be present during the two days of the event. It is essential to remunerate them, beyond an ethical point of view, in order to ensure that they earn enough of their living to continue to exercise this profession.
It is thanks to this vision and this respect that we have gone from 40 authors to nearly 300 interested parties.
How do we highlight the authors?
When the public comes to a book signing, what do they see of the author? His skull while he’s drawing. We try to go beyond a simple signing session by offering a meeting system. These can take place in bookstores of course, but also in media libraries or even in schools. Readers come for a meeting: commented exhibition, a debate, a drawing workshop, and then comes the dedication. All the speakers play the game and thus this moment of exchange allows a real meeting between the public and the authors.
How do you finance authors’ remuneration?
Each publisher member pays an annual fee and they undertake to produce one or two albums to be published at 2€. Of course, they choose titles on which they wish to have greater visibility and propose them to the committee. We are still in a collegial approach, and the committee is responsible for trying to balance the title proposals, to have as many titles in manga, youth, comics, adult comics, etc.
It is thanks to this commercial operation that the association can operate. Part of the revenue goes to manufacturing, distribution, bookstores, authors and the association. On these titles it is likely that some publishers work at a loss, they consider it a marketing operation. It’s not an editorial process to make money, but to promote the 9th Art.
This operation is a firm purchase, the booksellers undertake not to make any returns. This year there are 250,000 copies printed at €2. In addition, the association also benefits from subsidies thanks to Sofia, Saif and FWB.
The 48H BD are not a revenge on the big prizes of the festivals.
How are guest authors chosen? Here too, are you trying to balance the author/author ratio?
There are not enough female authors at the moment to be able to set up a ratio policy, but we are doing our best. For the event part, the site is open for requests exclusively for 2-3 months. Structures wishing to set up an event register and fill out a form to express their request. “I am the XXX media library and I would like to bring the author ZZZ to talk about the WWW subject” for example. Involving authors close to home does not just cover a simple budgetary interest but also shows that there are authors everywhere in France. And this proximity means that local authors are also invited outside the framework of the 48H BD. Today I called the publishers for a meeting at Hay Les Roses, one in Rezé and one in Bar sur Aube. It’s exhilarating to see comic book readers all over the country!
Are there often unrealistic demands?
Unfortunately, there are quite often requests for invitations from deceased authors. Or untouchable authors… If a small village of 20 people asks to invite a famous author, printed in more than 3 million copies, it is unlikely that we will be able to bring him.
Do the same structures solicit you from one year to another?
Indeed – and this is how we progress. We recruit new entertainment partners every year. There is no attrition, even those who came with amazing or highly targeted demand come back the following year. There is a strong desire to experience these exchanges again. Each participating structure receives a kit. Bookstores get garlands, balloons, totems, to dress up their bookstores. The places of entertainment have a fairly close kit – with, in addition, pencils for drawing. The guide which presents the albums in selection is printed in 100,000 copies.
We have long had a label and image of a purely commercial operation, but the lines are moving
What about Japanese authors?
Kurokawa, Pika, Nobi Nobi and Akata try to arrange meetings with Japanese mangaka. But Japanese publishers need to be reassured, it will take time to show their credentials. We will continue to insist and one day will come…
What is your challenge for the next decade?
One thing is certain, we will not go to 72 hours (laughs). We will be staying Friday and Saturday. The first for school and on Saturday to be as wide an audience as possible.
The goal is to continue to grow in speakers and readers. May more and more publishers join us. Let them be convinced that it is a right and worthwhile action. For a long time we had a label and image of a purely commercial operation, but the lines are moving and every year publishers are showing more and more interest.
children [] are the readers of tomorrow
Beyond valuing the authors, the other essential axis of development is the social side. Each year, we donate 50,000 comics to schools and reception centers (Gepso social worker association) and we carry out a very large educational action in the schools. Thanks to the 48H BD, we offer the 9th art as an educational tool for working in class. We create educational sheets with the distributor Ludic, which distributes comics at school. Each year, publishers offer comics on which professors – partners, paid by Ludic – work and create the files. This year we have developed 24 educational sheets for middle school and elementary school. For classes in history, French, etc. Throughout the month of April, we also have the operation “Comics are coming to class” with ten titles available for free reading (streaming on sites like Izneo and Calaméo) accompanied by educational sheets. It is very important for us to involve children, who are the readers of tomorrow. By supporting authors and children, we are betting on the future, and that is ultimately the objective of the 48H BD: “betting on the future”. Personally, I am often very moved when I see the projects carried out by teachers and their students, the emotion is palpable. This is a real sign of success.
The slogan of the 2022 edition is “April 1 & 2, comics are celebrating!”, find all the information on the site: www.48hbd.com