Authors:
- Examines six albums published between 1964 and 1975, which chart the transformations of the French comics market
- Outlines the distinctiveness of the French comics publishing industry
- Studies publishers of comics rather than authors or creators
Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Comics and Graphic Novels (PSCGN)
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Table of contents (9 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
About this book
In France, comics are commonly referred to as the "ninth art". What does it mean to see comics as art? This book looks at the singular status of comics in the French cultural landscape. Bandes dessinées have long been published in French newspapers and magazines. In the early 1960s, a new standard format emerged: large hardback books, called albums. Albums played a key role in the emergence of the ninth art and its acceptance among other forms of literary narrative. From Barbarella in 1964 to La Ballade de la mer salée in 1975, from Astérix and its million copies to Tintin and its screen versions, within the space of just a few years the comics landscape underwent a deep transformation.
The album opened up new ways of creating, distributing, and reading bandes dessinées. This shift upended the market, transformed readership, initiated new transmedia adaptations, generated critical discourse, and gave birth to new kinds of comics fandom. These transformations are analysed through a series of case studies, each focusing on a noteworthy album. By retracing the publishing and critical history of these classic bandes dessinées, this book questions the blind spots of a canon based on the album format and uncovers the legitimisation processes that turned bande dessinée into the ninth art.
Authors and Affiliations
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IRHiS, University of Lille, Lille, France
Sylvain Lesage
About the author
Sylvain Lesage is associate professor in history at the University of Lille, and editor-in-chief of the journal Neuvième Art, published by the Cité internationale de la bande dessinée in Angoulême.
He specializes in book history and media studies, with a particular interest in comics. His PhD dissertation provided the material for two books: Publier la bande dessinée. Les éditeurs franco-belges et l'album (Presses de l’Enssib, 2018) and L’Effet livre : métamorphoses de la bande dessinée (Presses universitaires François-Rabelais, 2019).
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Ninth Art. Bande dessinée, Books and the Gentrification of Mass Culture, 1964-1975
Authors: Sylvain Lesage
Series Title: Palgrave Studies in Comics and Graphic Novels
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-17001-0
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media Studies, Literature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-031-17000-3Published: 02 January 2023
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-031-17003-4Published: 03 January 2024
eBook ISBN: 978-3-031-17001-0Published: 01 January 2023
Series ISSN: 2634-6370
Series E-ISSN: 2634-6389
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XV, 201
Number of Illustrations: 6 b/w illustrations, 31 illustrations in colour
Topics: Comics Studies, Popular Culture , European Literature, Audio-Visual Culture