French Comic Publishers

France is a major publisher of comics, or bandes dessine, where the art form is widely respected. It hosts an annual comics festival in Angouleme, home of the national comics museum, which sees the entire town taken over by comics, with almost every shop having some kind of comic tribute in the window. Publishers treat creators more like authors in the UK, where the artists and writers largely retain copyright on their own work. However, as I understand it from some UK creators who have found success there, as a non-established creator you would have to pitch an entire, completed work to a publisher in an attempt to be published.

• If you're interested in finding out more about French comics, check out HOP!, the quarterly journal of AEMEGBD (Association d'Etude du Mode d'Expression Graphique de la Bande Dessinée, or, in English, the Association for the Study of the graphic medium of Comic Books).

HOP! is the oldest French magazine/fanzine about the comics medium. HOP! ACTUALITE BD showcases a special guest - a cartoonist or a writer, with an interview and an extensive bibliography - under a special cover, usually commissioned. HOP! ACTUALITE BD also deals with other creators, magazines and albums in its profile pages, as well as files on particular topics usually split into two to four installments. HOP! ACTUALITE BD tells you all about the whole world of comics, the latest albums, magazines, press, fanzines, in France and abroad. Last but not least HOP! ACTUALITE BD boasts the largest comic obituary in the world, an impressive encyclopedia over the years.�

HOP ! NOSTALGIE BD publishes reprints of Franco-Belgium comics classics, but European and American, too. More, with each story that runs on 2 to 4 issues, HOP ! NOSTALGIE BD presents short comic stories, pages or strips. In every issue, a special feature focuses on an author and its series, 'Le Grenier a BD' is another column showing with some chosen panels the production of a famous classic artist, and 'Les Grands classiques de la BD US' is an historical study of the great American comic series seen in France...

Every issue has 64 pages.

Majors
Note: If telephoning from the US, dialling code of 0033 is replaced by 01133

Albin Michel
22 rue Huyghens, 75014 Paris
Tel: 0033 1 42 79 10 00
Publishes graphic albums

Casterman
36 rue du Chemin Vert, 75011 Paris
In addition to home grown strips in album format Casterman also publishes manga

Dargaud
15-27 rue Moussorgski, 75018 Paris
Tel: 0033 153 26 32 32 Fax: 0033 1 53 26 32 00
Publishes graphic albums and manga

Delcourt
54, rue d'Hauteville 75010 Paris
Tel: 0033 1 56 03 92 20 Fax: 0033 1 56 03 92 30
Publishes graphic albums and comics

Fluide Glacial
33 avenue du Main, BP 187 75755 Paris
Tel: 0033 1 43 20 23 96
Publishes graphic albums and comics

Glenat
31-33 rue Ernest Renan, 92130, Issy-Les-Moulineaux
Tel: 0033 1 41 46 11 41 Fax: 0033 1 41 46 11 13
Publishes graphic albums. Publishers of the hilarious Titeuf

J'ai Lu
84 rue de Grenelle, 75007 Paris
Tel: 0033 1 44 39 34 70
Manga publishers

Les Humanoides Associes
5 Passage Piver, 75011 Paris
tel: 0033 1 49 29 88 88 Fax: 0033 1 49 29 88 89
Publishes graphic albums

Semic France
44316 Nantes Cedex 03
Tel: 0033 2 51 86 14 14
Publishes graphic albums and licensed comics