The 51st Angoulême International Comics Festival in France took place from Jan. 25 to 28, featuring a Taiwan Pavilion opening event during the first day. The Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) collaborated with Locus Publishing (大塊文化) this year and brought along seven Taiwanese comic artists to participate in the festival.
The Angoulême International Comics Festival is the largest and the oldest international comics exhibition in Europe. It serves as the first stop for Taiwanese comics to meet with European readers every year.
Taiwan’s Representative to France Francois Wu Chih-chung (吳志中) highlighted that comics play an important role in connecting the younger generations and helping international readers to get to know Taiwan. He added that one of the characteristics of Taiwan’s comics is open-mindedness, which is a symbol of the country’s mature democracy.
TAICCA said that there has been a rising demand for Asian comics in the European market, adding that the international copyrights of many Taiwanese comic works have been sold to European countries, including France and Italy.