Musée de la bande dessinée. Credit: citebd.org
On June 20, 2009, a new museum dedicated to the art of the comic book opened its doors in Angoulème (south-west France). The Musée de la bande dessinée in Angoulème claims to have the largest collection of comic books and original comic book artwork in Europe, and possibly the world.
Within a converted factory visitors can now find in excess of 8,000 original drawings and approximately 110,000 magazines and comics. Of course, the best names in Europe are there: André Franquin (the creator of Gaston Lagaffe and Marsupilami), René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo (Asterix & Obelix), and Hergé, creator of Tintin.
Surprisingly, there is quite a large section dedicated to American comics. George Shultz (Peanuts), Superman, and many from Marvel are included in the collection. There are also Japanese manga, although mostly represented by copies not originals.
Angoulème hosts an annual comic book festival each January and has established itself as Europe’s cartoon strip capital. The new museum will be the official depository of every comic book published in France, in the same way that the Library of Congress receives a copy of books in print.
The bande dessinée, or "ninth art" is a term to describe the art of the comic book. This new museum, along with other recent openings such as the Hergé Museum in Belgium, is another step toward further legitimizing comics as an artform in its own right.
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